The familiar smell of freshly brewed coffee woke me a few minutes after Anne got up. I was still half-asleep when I walked into the kitchen and said, “Is there coffee?”
“There is totally coffee,” she said.
I filled my new favorite mug with Peet’s French Roast. It’s a cheesy looking thing that says “Crabby ’till I get my coffee” with a picture of a frowny crab holding a mug of coffee in each claw. It came from Cannery Row, of course.
“Are you crabby ’till you get your coffee?” she said.
“Uh-huh.” I said, as I wiped sleep from my eyes and took my first sip. I kissed the back of her neck and said, “But I’m not crabby now.”
I’ll spare you the rest of how sickeningly cute we were at each other, but if you’ve ever been stupid in love with someone, you probably know what I mean.
The kids ate breakfast, and Anne took them to school. When she got back, she said, “You want to take the girls to the park?”
Ferris has a limited vocabulary, but I’m convinced that she knows the phrase “take the girls” because whenever she hears it, she runs to the cabinet where we keep their leashes, and kicks the door.
“Yeah. That will be fun.”
Fifteen minutes later, they were running around with other dogs while we watched like proud parents.
“I love the way dogs play just like little kids,” I said.
Ferris ran over, dropped a dirty tennis ball at my feet, and looked up at me. Riley sat next to her, trembling with excitement.
“Did you want me to throw the ball for you?” I said.
Riley jumped up and ran in a little circle. Ferris barked.
“Okay,” I said, and threw it as far as I could.
The dogs chased it at full speed, right through a big mud puddle.
“I guess I’m taking my car to the carwash today,” I said.
Anne looked at me. “How are you doing this morning?” she said.
“I’m okay.”
“You’re still dwelling on that stupid Entertainment Weekly thing,” she said. Not a question.
My left eye began to twitch. It’s been doing that for about a week, and I really wish it would stop.
“Yeah.”
“I know that it sucks, but you’re wasting a lot of energy on a few words.”
Riley got to the ball before Ferris, but kicked it across the grass. Ferris darted to the side, and picked it up.
“You know how they said I ‘endlessly lament’ in my book?”
“Yeah.”
“I used some linux tools to grep my manuscript last night. I wrote ‘I used to be an actor’ six times. That’s 48 words out of a manuscript of over 84000 words. That’s like point oh oh oh two three eight something something. It’s hardly ‘endlessly.'”
“Oh my god,” she said. “You are such a nerd.”
Ferris dropped the ball back at my feet, and took off before I could bend over to pick it up. Riley followed her, right through the mud puddle.
“It’s just that –”
Anne put her hand on my shoulder, and turned me to face her.
“You have to let this go. You know what the truth is, and so does everyone who reads your website.”
“But it sucks.”
“Let it go, Wil.”
I drew a deep breath, frowned, and rubbed my hands down my face. Ferris picked up the ball, and started to run back.
“I know. It’s just not as easy as I wish it would be.”
“I know. But if you dwell on it, you’re going to start whining,” she said. “You’re dangerously close to whining right now.”
Those were the magic words. She was right, and I knew it. I did not want to become a whiner. Somehow, I had to just let it go, learn something from it and just move on.
“You’re totally right.”
When Ferris was about fifteen feet away from us, she suddenly dropped the ball, and ran after a beautiful golden retriever. Riley scooped up the ball, brought it back to us, and lay down at our feet.
“Are you tired?” Anne said to Riley, in the overly-happy ‘I’m talking to the dog’ voice.
“Did you play too hard?” I said, in the same voice.
Riley rolled onto her back, and stretched out as far as she could. She was covered in mud.
Anne and I laughed, and I scratched the only part of her belly that wasn’t muddy.
“We are such geeks,” I said. Across the grass, Ferris and the Retriever were playing an excited game of you-chase-me-then-I’ll-chase-you.
I looked up at Anne. “When we get home, I’m going to write in my blog. I’m going to thank everyone for their support, and see if I can pick up a lesson from this. If I can, I’ll write about that also . . . but that will be the end of it.”
After a few minutes, Riley got up, and joined the game of you-chase-me-then-I’ll-chase-you, with an emphasis on the you-chase-me part.
While I watched the dogs run around, I marked how lucky and happy I am. “I have fantstic kids. I have a wife who loves me as much as I love her, and I was able to spend my Monday morning at the park with my dogs. I’ve got the freedom to write what I want, when I want, and I have the privilege of sharing these things with a wonderful audience who choose to give me a little bit of their time.
So fuck what some jackasssays, who doesn’t know me, and who didn’t make an effort to find out what I or my book was about. Yeah, the truth is important to me, but just like I can’t please everyone, I also can’t expect everyone to live an honest and honorable life, either. The world is filled with jerks, and probability just says that sooner or later I’m going to run into one of them.
If I spend all sorts of time dwelling on one person who was an idiot, it’s disrespectful to all the thousands of people who have been kind . . . not to mention a huge waste of energy.
There’s another reason the Entertainment Weekly thing hurt: so far, the mainstream media have ignored me and my book, and it has felt like a real rejection. But there’s something I had forgotten: Real People have not done either of those things. Real People have taken the Journey with me, on the website and in the book, and those people get it. If the mainstream is too busy with Paris Hilton, or just doesn’t *want* to get it, there’s nothing I can do about it.
Who did I write this book for? The mainstream media? Hollywood? Critics? Or did I write it for Real People? Did I write it for myself? The answer is easy. Just look at who the book is dedicated to. It’s not ‘The Media.”
I know that it’s risky to be totally honest, because some people view that as weakness, and attack. But the unexamined life is not worth living, right? If I’m not totally honest with myself, how will I ever learn and grow? Should I stop examining my life now, because I wrote a book about it?
Well, right now I need to examine my life, and I need to be totally honest with myself. I have to own up to something: I *did* hope that my book would get noticed by the Industry. I hoped that it would get noticed by critics, and I hoped that The Media would pay attention . . . but all that happened after it was published. When I wrote it, I hoped that my story would be amusing, interesting, and maybe even inspiring to people.
And you know what? That’s exactly what Real People tell me when they read my book: they were amused, interested, and occasionaly inspired.
What a myopic fucking fool I’ve been! What a stupid, stupid jerkass! I was so worried about impressing The Cool Kids, I forgot who I am, and why I do this. And even worse, I disrespected — even if unintentionally — the very people who have been with me on The Journey all along. It’s not some stupid magazine that owes *me* an apology; it’s *me* who owes all those Real People an apology.”
I turned to Anne. “I know what I’m going to write when we get home.”
“Good,” she said. “Just let it go.”
“I just did.”
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There is nothing unique that I can add to these sentiments above, yet I feel compelled to comment anyway.
Thank you, Wil. For doing all of this for us.
I don’t read “Entertainment Weekly”. I don’t care about Paris Hilton. I’m not much of a poker fan either but I still read your site daily and I have read both of your books. I appreciate your insight, your honesty, your humor and most of all I appreciate the fact that you share something real with all of us. That takes guts. Take a lesson from Riley and go play in the mud. The media can all go to hell. Come up to the Bay Area and sign a few books.
Hey Wil, That was SOOO cool. I totally get what you say. Me and the man get that schmoopy too. You know why we love you right? Cause you are a Real Person. No apology needed here… You reacted out of your initial feeling – hurt, frustration and disappointment – and that’s part of what makes you Real. Real People – we’re awesome because we’re human, we make mistakes. We react and overreact. We err and we apologize and we move on….
And here comes in my inner language geek – ILLEGITIMI NON CARBORUNDUM – Don’t let the bastards grind you down.
F*** “Entertainment” Weekly. It is a lousy rag, and their website won’t let you look at any article in the print edition, all that comes up is a prompt to subscribe to get access to the online edition. Some 20-ish editor probably decided to rip the book. He then went back to watch an episode of “Trading Spouses”
Kudos.
That is all.
hey wil, good on you for letting it go! it can be wicked difficult sometimes, but you did it. your book really is incredible, i was totally inspired!
take care
rach
It was brave of you to write your story and share it with the world. Please keep writing, I’ll keep reading.
Wil,
I rarely write comments in blogs but felt I had to let you know that I enjoy reading your blog immensely. We are the same age and have similar family circumstances. It’s fun to hear your stories. Screw EW. It’s a rag. Everyone knows it. I’ve had it on my list to buy your book for some time now. Tonight I will. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it being the geek I am. Anyway just my 2 cents. Take care.
Wow, this obsessing must be an entertainer/creative person thing. Even though we KNOW in our heads this stuff doesn’t matter, that idiots abound with nothing better to do than tear other people down, it really affects us. In the gut.
And we also think that if someone is correctly informed, such as reading the book, that they will come to similar conclusions. That must be a geek thing. We think if a program doesn’t work, it just means it is missing needed code. But some people have some nasty operating systems. No matter what info you put into them, they twist it.
Anyway, I’m learning lots from your experience with this entertainment rag blurb. And your day of being so hard on yourself during the Radio interview. (which was a great interview!) And reading everyone’s great comments on this site. Calling it the “Wheaton Experience.”
Thank you, everyone, for all your kind comments and support. I’m sure this isn’t the last time something like this will happen to me, but when it comes around again, I can come back here and review the lesson.
fat free milk: that g.w. movie was great!
Your books made me laugh they made me cry (yes, I teared up at Shatner’s apology) and drove my boyfriend crazy, because I wouldn’t stop reading snippets to him.
His parents, he and I had a two hour conversation about you over dinner one night. We were sitting there, drinking our Beamish pints and talking about how great it is that you’ve made a wonderful life for yourself and how cool it is that you have touched so many lives (mine included).
So, we (your fans) love you and we’re glad you were able to let it go.
Remember- To the readers of this blog, you *are* one of the “Cool Kids”.
Also- I teach intro-level college Astronomy to about 200 students per year. Your experience reminds me of the first time I got my student evaluations back. Man, students (usually only the most upset ones) will write some cruel things in their evaluations, and those things hurt the first time. But- as you said in your blog entry- you have to remember for whom it is you are doing this thing. If we taught our classes the way the students want us to, there would be no effort on their part and everyone would get an A (since every student seems to feel they deserve it, no matter how few classes they attend or how little work they put in).
I constantly have to keep in mind that there is a reason that I am the teacher and they are the students, even if I don’t always feel the most qualified to be doing what I am doing. In your case- there is a reason this reviewer is only a reviewer and you are the author.
Also, keep in mind that if you’ve done a thing correctly, you usually piss off half the people involved. Getting pissed off is usually someone’s outward reaction to an inward disappointment or struggle with something they don’t understand. Most semesters that I teach, some of my evaluations say that I am “the best teacher they ever had” and some say something like “worst teacher I’ve ever had, and I should know what makes a good teacher since I’ve been going to school for years.” I call that a job well done. Well done to you too.
Wil,
I am so glad that you *get* just how lucky you are to have Anne. She allowed your ride on the pitty pot (we all need one every now & then) – but….she gives you a reality check when it gets to an unhealthy point. What balance you two have!
Let it go Louie, let it go.
Be careful what you wish for Uncle Willy – the ‘mainstream recognition’ you desire is going to happen sooner or later and you might end up eating those words!
All the best,
Michelle
Wow! Excellent post…love it that you turned the non-event that EW tried to make out of their “review” and learned from it. I love your relationship with your wife, you guys rock! Oh, and my dogs wanted to tell your dogs hello. What I don’t get tho, is why do dogs sniff butt as a form of hello? Why not bark in their face? Hmmm…
Wilma….
You inspire me every day, you have done since i saw you in a movie, i was 11 years old and hopelessly bessotted with you….
No two bit piece of crap reporter fool who is just jealous of your talent, heart, mind, life, and fan base should ever make you fel like you have disrespected us!
Who doesnt want acknowledgement from the industry, its natural since you have been a part of it most of your life! Its not a sin, and how can you say you forgot who you are. You put your life on a plate in front of us every day sweetie!
We respect you, we adore you, and we love you.
You do inspire us, you make us think about things we wouldnt in every day life, hell i want the kind of relationship in my life that you have with Anne, you are what i look up to.
I have two copies of your book, both first editions and one signed which i ordered and got shipped. I am planning to fly out to just to meet you however i can next year… It isnt about that signature, it isnt about me getting fangirly and starstruck… its about meeting my HERO! someone who through being you made me a better person!
You had me in tears at the thought of you beating yourself up about this…
I wanted to boycott that magazine and tell them what pieces of shit they are… but you know what… i would have had to register and that would have made me low, i would have felt i was betraying something sacred…
i feel so strongly as do so many… Dont think who you are now is any reflection of what they said…
You are wonderful.
Lots of love
Andrea xx
You don’t owe me an apology. You probably owe your beloved a “thanks for putting up with me”, though. And then you’ll owe us details (assuming they’re blog-safe). 😉
remember what is said about “the best revenge” other than “served cold”: living well.
I hate the eyelid twitch myself. Drives me batty.
I hate the need for self-examination, but as a bipolar, I can’t get better, manage my downs better, without it. Consequently, I do know myself pretty well and fairly honestly, and generally only get blindsides by new stuff. I have a 10 yr old (also bipolar) to set me straight, and a husband who loves me for some unknown reason…and HIS middle name is Wesley.
Growth is good. So is your column.
Big hugs to you Wil. Glad you’re feeling better about it all.
You know something? Real People are better than Cool Kids. It took me years and years of trying to impress the Cool Kids myself to figure that out, so I know exactly the places you’ve been coming from. You try and try, and you get nothing for it, and then one day you say “Hey, wait a minute. Those aren’t Cool Kids. That’s Entertainment Weekly.”
I’d rather be in with the Real People any day.
Now that entry reminds me why you’ve been my favorite celebrity type since I was in little wee people school when I was 5. And I still think you kick ass. Imagine that. I’ve thought you kicked ass longer than I’ve thought anyone else did, except my Mom, and she rules the world.
I know I didn’t comment when you first announced the tripe EW wrote, but I agreed with what basically everyone else said, and what you just now said.
I feel like our places are being switched saying this, me being the adult and you the teenager (and a apologize for thinking that way)….but this entry is just proof of how mature you are and how well you can take criticism after you’ve thought about it. I feel all proud of you.
By the way, the gooey love between you and Anne is just adorable.
The one thing that pops into my mind is-an episode of “Murphy Brown”. It’s about the only zinger I recall of that show. . .
Murphy is lamenting a bad review she got from “TV Guide”, until finally her co-host Jim exclaims “For God’s sake Murphy-you got a bad review from a magazine whose readers are challenged by crossword clues like ‘Cat on a Hot Tin BLANK”.
That’s about what the EW thing is worth.
Wil, Saw you in Vegas, never thought a thing about Wesley or Wil, you were just under the radar. But, was totally impressed with your reading from your books, bought two, told you I was furious about a teenager being treated like you were…..Anyway, love your book, laughed, cried, read it outloud (parts of it anyway) to my high school class in Austin, Texas…..I am on a panel at the Lin Con in Austin in October…hope to see you there. Keep up the great work. They are the fools for taking your book for surface info…..it was so deep and introspective….very meaningful and touching. I feel lucky to have stumbled on such gems. Denise
Wil, I know you probably don’t read this far down with so many comments, but I’ll post anyway.
Apology accepted. But … we all do it. Every time we do something impressive, we think, “This is it. This time, it’ll be different. This time, they’ll see. They’ll understand.” And time and again we’re mistaken. And we kick ourselves every time for thinking that and for wanting their acceptance at all. And actually, it makes me feel good that someone as successful as you would still feel that vulnerable at times. Glad I’m not alone. And here’s hope we both grow out of it. Lots of love.
You, sir, fucking rock. \m/
That is all.
Wil,
There’s only one person that you write for–yourself. Those that “get it” will read your stuff and enjoy it for the shared vision of what you wrote.
Then there are those who have nothing better to do than to sneer at truth and beauty because they either can’t create their own, or are so jealous of those who can they have to try to bring the creators down to their perceived level.
Be true to yourself, and the honesty of what you write. Writing for anyone else is a hollow pursuit (unless it pays REALLY REALLY well–then it’s still hollow, but profitable).
And always remember, there’s a REASON why the magazine’s initials are EW. 🙂
S
“You’re totally right.”
Important words for any husband to learn and use frequently. 🙂
Wil,
I don’t think you owe us an apology. Just keep doing what you do – that’s why so many of us beleive in you.
I was sooo THERE with you and Anne and Ferris and Riley. Loved the romp in the park – so well described!!
Great blog.
NOW, let’s ALL resolve to let go of one stupid hurting remark that we took on and owned as part of us this week.
THINK of it, WRAP it up, and PUT it inside an imaginary box. GIVE IT THE BOOT and don’t think about it again.
Grab hold of your blessings. THINK about who you are – what you believe in – what you do have – and find one good thing someone told you today. PUT it on a pedestal, SHINE a light on it, and OWN it. DWELL on this for a while.
Ahhhhhhh. Better.
This comment is late but: I’ve seen more than a few people I know read this entry and nod slowly, knowing exactly what was going through your head. This is something a whole lot of people have to deal with.
The advice to just “let it all roll off you” is well and fine, but such observations are only the start of wisdom in dealing with issues like this – not the end of it. That’s because there is always context, and context puts a unique spin on everything, every day. If it was really so easy to just clear your mind and shrug everything off, ignore the world no matter what it did to you, then hey: there wouldn’t be such a thing as zen retreats for people to go to just to master the difficult task of truly emptying the mind from the world. The truth is we’re wired up, in both biology and sociology, to care about these things. We’re wired up to listen to criticism – people who are entirely devoid of feeling over negative feedback are closer to sociopathy than “toughness”.
The upshot is that this is a real battle for your headspace – a true war. Never mistake that. There’s a terribly tricky balance; sure, you have to pay attention to criticisms and warnings that are valid, but at the same time, you have to take human behavior into account always: Bruce Lee once said, in response to the criticism he recieved over his martial art style being impure “He who runs with the ball is always chased by many”, or a quotation to that effect.
We love you, Will. ^_^
Wil, I’m not an enemy or a troll. What I’m about to say may make me come across like that, but I own both of your books, subscribe to your RSS feed, and generally tell other people about you in terms of: “Yeah, he’s really become a hell of a good writer. You should check out his site.”
That having been said … dude, get your head out of your ass.
I’m sorry to be that harsh. But you need to realize some of the treasures that you have, that other people would desperately love to have in their life.
You have a gorgeous wife who appreciates your smarts, who has ethics and morals, who is socially conscious and can express herself well. There are those out there who are passing the decades without having had a relationship last more than a month, and who find themselves desperately lonely as they go through life.
You have stepchildren who think very well of you, who want to emulate you in many respects, and who enjoy spending time with you. Yeah, they have problems, I’m sure, but they sound like incredibly smart, special, funny, interesting kids. Do you know how rare that is? I held my cousin’s toddler on my shoulder and felt him sigh and fall asleep, and realized that I want to be a father so badly … and it’s going to be a very long time off for me before that ever happens.
You have a wonderful talent writing publishing contract with O’Reilly, and fans who love what you write, and who hang on every word that you write. This commenter being one of them. Again, do you know how rare that is? Once we geeks have labeled someone as unreedemable, they rarely do a 180-degree turn as a culture and then accept someone as wonderfully cool. You made the turn.
You had a chance to majorly impact popular culture not once but twice (“Stand By Me” and Next Gen).
You are relatively in shape (unlike this commentator, who is roughly 130 pounds over his healthy weight), and you have no chronic conditions (fortunately, like this commentator).
In short, you have a wife that loves you, children who respect you, a growing writing career, and a small but devoted cult following amidst hard-to-convince connosieurs of writing.
And yet you evidently have been devoting a considerable amount of your emotional and mental life this past week to a few words spoken by an idiot, full of sound and fury, SIGNIFYING NOTHING.
Wil, I love what you write, and I respect you, but I have to say again:
Dude, get your head out of your ass. And LOOK AROUND with new eyes.
Wil – I am glad to see that you have finally filed EW under “G” – for Garbage. Take heart in the fact that so many of us geeks and non-geeks love and respect you and your work. I have both books, and enjoyed them immensely. In fact, in comparing them to Tim Allen’s books and Ellen de Generes’ book, I enjoyed yours so much more! Keep up the good work, cuz we need you buddy!
You know, Wil, how lucky you are to be married to Anne? Good.
As much as I would love to spend some time hangin’ with you, I *really* want to hang with your wife. She is wise and wonderful and caring and a straight shooter — sounds a lot like my wife. In fact, here’s a toast to those women who love us geeks and put up with us and support us and teach us, and laugh at our stupid jokes, and help us to get beyond ourselves and reach new levels of realization.
I just finished the book today…after a three-hour-read-straight-thru session. I must say that i absolutely LOVED it. I heart “Just A Geek”!!!!!!!
Wil, your book made me cry, laugh out loud, and just feel good to know what you went through as a human being…maybe even as one of those “Real People” you were talking about.
I hope you don’t ever take something like this to heart again and always remember what a great job you did on this. And what an impact it has on one person (me) and everyone else who has read it.
Great Job! Keep going!
Thank you!
-becky
Dont you just love dogs … 🙂
no matter how sad I am or turned down, all I need is my dog.
Those drooopy eyes and forever loveble howls.
Give EW the boot and move on, am happy that you took that path.
And man you have it made, with a wife that loves you that much, nothing in the ‘verse can stop you. 🙂
enjoy.
Try to remember that “we” are the cool kids not them.
This is probably not getting noticed this late in the thread either, but Wil, the reason why the Mainstream Media doesn’t notice your book is that you yourself seem to ignore it. There is not nearly enough stories about you promoting your book on this website. I think there are even fewer than there are on “Dancing Barefoot”. Having a big shot niche publisher does not liberate you from promoting the book like hell yourself. In order to be noticed you need to be friends with the mainstream media. Get their email adresses, set up a priviliged press mailing list. Well, the works. It’s never personal. It’s all about getting through the noise. And, there is no such thing as bad press. That EW piece did sell more books than the nonexisting CNN story. And the people who read the book will certainly not agree with EW.
Have fun. Cheers, Oliver.
Wil, You hit the nail on the head there. You’ve a great life. Obviously that reporter felt the need to take you down.
My guess is that jealousy somewhere is at play. You have done what all the movie/tv people want: act for a few years then move on to writing or directing or something. Granted, you did all this by the time most of them get their first job.
Truthfully, the family is more important than some rag that only gossip mongers read.
Really enjoying your book! You have inspired me and your website is a must read.
Best regards.
ps. We all know who you, but nobody knows who that hack is. Poetic justice, no? 😉
Listen to your wife and listen to the odds:
1-number of stupid reporters who hate your book
50,000-number of monkeys that love you and your book.
All in all, you kinda win.
ah, wil — i don’t read your blog for a bit, and come back to this frelling entertainment weekly crap.
glad you let it go — glad your wife helped you do that — glad you remembered what’s really important.
you wrote what was true. you know it, we know it. that’s what matters. what lazy so-called reviewers say — that does not matter.
peace — rie
(and btw — i’m the reader who often uses your blog entries on your writing process to instruct my college fresh-people in my writing classes. they adore you.)
Hugs! Good for you to see the truth. You are impacting lives. I hope that I will read your book someday. I can not really afford them yet. I want to read them so bad that I have been dreaming about searching for them in book stores.
Someday I will read it and I am sure I will be inspired because your blog inspires me. Thank you Wil!
Beth
Holy crap on toast, that’s a lot of comments.
As a fellow writer, I was exceedingly disheartened when I found out that Paris Hilton’s book is the same number of pages as mine… but where I only sold 37 copies in six months (I am never, EVER using this publisher again — their idea of marketing is trying to sell you a book they publish called “How to market your book”, and all their books cost $20, even mine, which I hadn’t planned to charge more than $12.95 for) Paris’s book will certainly sell at least 37,000 copies.
*sigh*
Pfft. All I know is, I’ve never picked up a copy of Entertainment Weekly in my life (well, except for an LOTR special, but y’know, that was exceptional circumstances). I did, however, buy your book to read on my hols, and ended up reading it in an entire sitting about an hour after I’d ripped apart the Amazon packaging.
Any recommendations on holiday reading greatly appreciated now…
I just found your blog, Wil. I love it.
Good for you for putting the Entertainment Weekly thing behind you. I never read that stuff anyway. Don’t let the bastards get you down.
It’s perfectly healthy and normal to enjoy pubic recognition. Even Real People would have to admit they’d almost swap a paycheck for a hearty pat on the back from Someone Who Is More Important.
This may be redundant, but they say the media doesn’t report on all the houses that didn’t burn. In the case of JAG, if they can’t find something snarky to write, they’re in danger of not only a non-story (in their cynical world view), but they’d be dancing in the realm of not coming across as Witty Writers. Heaven forbid they would tackle anything over 1,000 words. The fact that you wrote 84,000 means you are, Wil, 84 times the writer they are.
As so many here have written, I adore your book and your blog and your personality. Perhaps WebTalk Radio is not Mainstream Media, but we have loyal listeners and I’m editing your interview (and transcribing it for an article) at this moment and we’ll get the world out to a million or so more Real People. Tune in Saturday at WebTalkRadio.com.
Thanks for the reminder of what is important.
I’ve been doing a lot of writing lately myself and there are always those fantasies of being a best-selling author, get the adoration of millions, and have the critics fall all over themselves at how wonderful I write.
Thing is, thinking like that will alter what and how you write. To be true to your art and those who really care you have to put aside the aspirations for the grand outcomes and put to paper what matters. A story with heart and soul crafted out of love for writing, not love for attention, is the true goal.
You’re such a grown up! you’re also a success in any of the ways that matter. You’ve earned my respect, and I don’t think many of your fans feel disrespected by you. We get annoyed at idiots who cancel Futurama or hate on the things we like – no reason that you shouldn’t be upset when it’s your own work getting trashed by idiots. Their opinions unfortunatly carry some weight, and that sucks.
Thank you Wil, for this post (sorry for being a bit late…!) – and for all your weblog, since this is the first time I comment on it!! I love your lively reports, your accuracy and humor and your wonderful honesty which is so rare among people!
You are true to yourself and a really good writer! So don’t let yourself ever be discouraged by anyone! You know, “the media” could disregard you today and celebrate you tomorrow…there’s nothing to it! You are SO RIGHT realizing the good life you have and be thankful for it! A lot of “celebrities” don’t have something like this. So don’t be sad anymore….your time will come!!
All the best and lots of greetings!
Elli