I’ve been listening to writing podcasts lately. The ones I really like are Seated at the Writer’s Table and Helping Writers Become Authors. These podcasts offer advice on writing and selling. Good stuff. For fun, I like The Disney Story Origins Podcast, Myths and Legends, and Rabbits.
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I created a Patreon page as a way to keep myself on track toward my bigger writing projects. One of the first things I have learned about myself is I don’t do very well if I don’t have accountability partners. Believe it or not, I need someone to support me. I know, strange stuff coming from a creative person. Anyway, I plan to keep supporters posted on my progress of writing The Farmers Cop, a cozy mystery I have been thinking about but not writing. I appreciate anyone who wants to learn with me or follow my progress.
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Bill O’Reilly received a $25 million dollar exit package to start a podcast. I wish I had that kind of money to support my creative juices.
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Hackers from China, Russia, India, Malaysia, Brazil, and United Kingdom are causing me problems on one of the websites I manage. Where do these idiots come from? And all using stupid logins in their attempts to get into the site. I must be on some kind of stupid-person mailing list. United Kingdom, really?
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At my bagel breakfast place, I managed to sit next to a guy who spent the next 20-minutes preaching about how the Fibonacci code and sound vibrations prove the existence of miracles. He was really loud and kept interrupting; one of those “listen to me” guys. I eavesdropped because I like paranormal. However, everyone started looking our way because he was so loud. I was grateful when the little league team sat down between us, giggling with horseplay, while covered in cream cheese.
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A television station in Alaska now powers the evening newscast with citizen journalists. I wonder how this will turn out? In my experience citizen journalists are a fickle lot. And writers are rapidly becoming tired of doing everything for free. So how do you convince creators to keep on creating for the local newscast if they are never paid? And how to do you keep the same people from talking for more than two minutes each night about their toenail fungus? I don’t see this lasting too long. Sure, the station saves money by not employing journalists, but the local furniture shop will not advertise on a show that only features toenail fungus updates. Or, maybe they will.
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There are two sides to every story with opponents and advocates each having their viewpoints. So why do we spend all of our time looking for just one side of the story? News reporters irritate me sometimes. And they never see the whole picture. Take umbrage at a story and they defend it. No, we’re trying to get you to look at the other side. All of the grammar and the punctuation was there; we need the other side too.
© 2017, Michael Shawn Sommermeyer. All rights reserved.
