16710--Writing is Not the Place to be Shackled by Realism

I've heard that some writers get bored by their projects.  I count myself as fortunate, having never been plagued by such ennui or writer's blocks.  If you're going to write, you should have love and enthusiasm for your work.  I don't think you can really give it your honest best otherwise.

As I sat at my keyboard (big shock), pounding out my work-in-progress (WIP), the teenager I continue to feed came to me with his latest idea.  Unlike most, this one was about me rather than himself.

"You need to do audiobooks," he said.  "Y'know, for your books."

"Well, it's a thought," I told him, "but I'm not really--"

"Then you could get people to listen to you tell them about your books," he said, "instead of having to read them."

I decided not to take that in a negative way and explained that I liked the idea of actors doing the reading rather than doing it myself.

"Oh!" he said with a wild-eyed flash of inspiration.  "Could we get Samuel Jackson to do it?"

"While that might be interesting," I said, "I'm not sure he does that sort of thing and I'm pretty sure I couldn't afford him."

"Oh, well, how about Batman?" he asked.

"Which one?"

"ummmm...Not Adam West.  Batman Beyond," he said.

"You want Kevin Conroy?" I asked.  "He played Batman in that and Batman: The Animated Series."

"No, the other one.  Who played Terry?" he asked.

"Will Friedle.  He was Ron Stoppable.  He's Lion-O, now."

"Oh, I know, Clint Eastwood," he said, convincing me he had no grasp of this whole thing at all.

"Clint Eastwood."

"Yeah," he smiled and nodded.  "How about him?"

"Dude, he's one of the biggest box office draws on the planet," I explained as clearly as possible.  "If I can't afford Samuel Jackson, there's no way I'm going to be able to pay Clint Eastwood.  On top of that, Clint only uses about twenty-five words a year and I don't think he's going to waste them working for me."

"Really?  Only twenty-five words?" he asked.

Yeah, that was his take-away.  "Don't worry about it," I said.  "When the time is right, I'll look into a small cast of unknowns."

He slunk off a little deflated, but raced back about twenty seconds later.

"Oh, I know!  James Earl Jones!"

"Which part of 'can't possibly afford to pay' is not getting through?" I had to ask.

"If I had a million dollars," he said, "I'd give it to him for you."

"And while I do appreciate that," I told him, "I don't think you want to give it all up on a reading gig."

"But you'd make it all back on the audiobooks, see?""

Who could ask for more confidence in a business manager?

"I think, perhaps, you're overestimating Mr. Jones' fee as well as the return on investment we could expect on the project, but thanks."


Now, this fine fellow would be worth the million.



All that said, a lot to learn, but points for enthusiasm and positive thinking.

Keep writing.