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GD Deckard

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86 comments on WHAT’S SELLING?

WHAT’S SELLING?

Colleen Hoover wrote six of the “Top 10 Selling Books, 2022 Year-to-Date.”
https://www.npd.com/news/entertainment-top-10/2022/top-10-books/
Colleen Hoover is an American author of romance and young adult fiction. Many of her works were self-published before being picked up by a publishing house. As of October 2022, Hoover has sold more than 20 million books.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colleen_Hoover

Who knew? It never occurred to me that one author had cornered the market with romance and young adult fiction. That is quite an accomplishment!

I intended to blog about the different kinds of best sellers from various authors as evidence that it could happen to any of us. Publishing a book should be like buying a lotto ticket. For a brief moment, we should be able to fantasize a miracle. But it turns out that the chances of having a best seller are not much better than the chances of winning the lottery.

I would have already known this, of course, if I were insisting on writing a best seller. Not to evoke the taste of sour grapes, but I know the difference between writing and fantasizing. I enjoy both but writing is satisfying and real.

So I guess the real question here is, why do you write?

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GD Deckard

Severely beaten as a child by a WWII hero and combat-induced-PTSD stepfather, the author, as a teen, faced the old man down with a shotgun and earned his blessing to join the military at the time Americans were learning about a country called Vietnam. The “lazy, no good son-of-a-bitch” opted out of combat and hard labor by becoming an Air Force medic, stamping out suffering and misery on Freedom’s Frontier at Clark Airbase in S.E. Asia and earning some kind of medal pinned on him personally by then Secretary of the Air Force, Harold Brown, for “Saving lives, etc.” There followed a summer in Europe ending in the first of happy marriages. Then graduation with University Honors, kids worth dying for and a career in business. Life is good. Author, The Phoenix Diary, Penguin, 2015. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-phoenix-diary-g-d-deckard/1122175645 Founding Member, Writers Co-op. https://WritersCo-op.com Co-Editor, The Rabbit Hole anthologies. https://www.amazon.com/Rabbit-Hole-Weird-Stories/dp/1691225355/ref=sr_1_1 Founder, SciFi Lampoon Magazine. http://scifilampoon.com/ Contributing Editor, A Celebration of Storytelling https://www.amazon.com/Celebration-Storytelling-GD-Deckard/dp/1951716167 Current WIP: Code Blue and Little Deaths, stories from Clark during the Vietnam War. Recipient of the Psi Young award for Creative Biography.

86 responses to “WHAT’S SELLING?”

  1. John Correll Avatar
    John Correll

    What a god-awful question. Are you some psychotherapist hooked on listening to others’ misery? I write because it reminds me how fragile, decrepit, and pathetic I am. Perhaps I stubbornly take after my American grandfather who said: “They’ve taken a lung and my bottom lip, but to hell, if I’m going to stop smoking. Those doctors can peel the cigarette from my stiff cold fingers before I stop.” I write to forget that I’m going to die, and there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it. Death’s done alone, even in a massacre, and that scares the bejesus out of me. And writing lets me pretend to connect, now and later. A silly dream. It gives me the illusion of being significant when I bloody well know I’m not. I cling to some fantasy in its creation, like my long-lost teddy. Look at me, I write.

    I write junk, GD’s ‘dark writing,’ over and over again. But I can’t stop. It’s a sickness, an addiction, a nuisance, and a waste of time, but I love the puzzle, the emotion, and the voice in my head. “Write, you stupid fool. No one will read it, but who cares.” It’s the hard bitter-sweet pill of hope.

    Sorry, GD. That question really sparked an overly emotional response. Forgive me.

    Liked by 8 people

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    1. Sue Ranscht Avatar
      Sue Ranscht

      I have to say, John, none of this has been evident to me from your writing. Your answer here scares me a bit — I worry for your well being. I’m not sure why death being done alone seems so scary to you. It makes me wonder how you might hold a light to that by writing about it.

      Liked by 6 people

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      1. John Correll Avatar
        John Correll

        Ah, Sue, another good question. Thank you for being so concerned. I appreciate it.

        Yes, writing about it — that’s what I’ve avoided. The elephant in my room. I saw it exactly two years ago, and it forced me to start writing again. The beast appeared right after one of those – hard to look back on – life-changing moments.

        In short, I was a zombie. Or it felt like it. I mean, it felt like a big problem in the heart; no weight on my chest, no broken love, only odd dizziness from massive dehydration. I’ve always been fit, but a six-hour stretch of finishing the cement driveway could have killed me. Yet, My ticker kept beating. Only, well — it ticked with no particular rhythm. The worst drum solo ever. Atrial fibrillation is the medical term. The closest thing to the walking dead I can imagine. But I was lucky; I had an outpatient defibrillation (150 volts), a new course of meds, and boom-da-boom and on and on. And I’ve been zombie free for two years.

        Yet every morning, I take my little pill. I look at it closely to make sure I’m taking it. Because if I forget, I’ll know. My heart races like five cups of coffee, which, by the way, I can’t have anymore. NO COFFEE! I know what you’re thinking; that’s a fate worse than death. But hey, I get by with decaf tea. Yeah right.

        Anyway, that pill is my lifeline, my everyday reminder of mortality. Without it, I wouldn’t be here. It’s a heartfelt and frightening dependency.

        But knock on wood, I’m healthy and fit; I fix the house, go on day-long hikes, kayak, ski, and bike. My little pill and staying hydrated keep me humming to the slowest of Souza’s marches. And, unless I do something else particularly stupid again, I should be around for a while longer.

        Still, that day in October 2022 casts a long shadow. I know it’s there, but it’s something I have to live with, maybe even get used to.

        So, in one sense, I write with some humor, not to hide the shadow, but to make it bearable, to feel a little meaning and reason to the whole mystery of our brief existence. And sometimes, the shadow screams with bursts of passionate sentences as if balancing my reticence, an emotional release for the give and take of being.

        And, for me and everyone, there is one overarching moral to this story; always drink lots of fluids on hot days.

        Liked by 8 people

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        1. curtisbausse Avatar
          curtisbausse

          ‘An emotional release for the give and take of being.’ I get you, John. The shadow approaches us all, though some are more aware of it than others. And writing offers us the tiniest glimpse of an illusion that we can make sense of it all.

          Liked by 8 people

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    2. GD Deckard Avatar
      GD Deckard

      LOL John! You should write horror. Write with brutal honesty and a style as distinct as Poe or Lovecraft and you will create best sellers.

      Liked by 6 people

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  2. Ayi Ariquater Avatar
    Ayi Ariquater

    Nice

    Liked by 4 people

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  3. SMWebb Avatar
    SMWebb

    Colleen Hoover is clever. She is well known for writing dark romance that makes her readers cry. There’s a great clip somewhere (TikTok, maybe) she made about an interview where she was asked when she knew she made it as a writer. She had said it was when she made the USA Today Best Seller list but then later realized that wasn’t true. The moment she actually realized it was after someone left a snarky comment on her post about needing a thesaurus. When she went to the troll’s page, there in the profile was something like, ‘I hope Colleen Hoover dies before she can publish another book.’ That’s when she knew she’d really “made it.” 😆

    To answer your question, I write because I love to tell stories, and I nurse an eternal hope that I’ll find my audience and connect with them.

    Liked by 7 people

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    1. Sue Ranscht Avatar
      Sue Ranscht

      I’ve never heard of Colleen Hoover before this, but that only confirms the vast chasm between me and the multitude of people who enjoy reading romance. They never seem to tire of romance’s formulae for success. Maybe it’s all about the wish for a perfect partner. I say, good for Ms. Hoover for scratching that itch so well.

      Liked by 7 people

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      1. Sandy Randall Avatar
        Sandy Randall

        I’m in your boat Sue. Read a couple of swashbuckling Romances in my teens and decided I preferred the swashbuckling but not the romance … Romance is a dish personally savored and not for someone to dictate. But my opinion only.

        Liked by 2 people

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    2. GD Deckard Avatar
      GD Deckard

      Ooo. Maybe you could work a storyteller into one of your stories, SM.

      Liked by 4 people

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  4. mimispeike Avatar
    mimispeike

    I agree with John. It’s a sickness. And I may be a masochist. I have my next six Showcases cued up, all except for #4, the violin scene. In Showcase 5, John Dee is furious on the ride home, so they can spar entertainingly. What is he furious about? I haven’t a clue.

    He would be displeased, certainly, by Sly’s antics of the evening. But what is he furious about? I have my Evolve for tomorrow, and two more Showcases in the can. (I’ll make them work with whatever the prompt may be, as I have with my ‘Evolve’.) So I have a month to figure out what John Dee goes ballistic over on the ride back to Mortlake.

    I’ve been at this all weekend. I need to take a break. But, of course, I won’t. Because I can’t. Like I said, this is a sickness.

    Liked by 6 people

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    1. Sue Ranscht Avatar
      Sue Ranscht

      Is obsession necessarily a sickness? You make it sound like you need a cure, when I think you just have a world inside you that you need to manifest in words. You’re doing that in both an informative and entertaining way.

      Liked by 4 people

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    2. GD Deckard Avatar
      GD Deckard

      Should I win the lottery, I’m having us to some cafe where we can all eat and drink and talk the night through. (Hemingway will be envious.)

      Liked by 5 people

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      1. Sue Ranscht Avatar
        Sue Ranscht

        I would be honored to join you at the cafe of your choosing, should you win the lottery, lol.

        Liked by 3 people

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      2. Sandy Randall Avatar
        Sandy Randall

        I have flight benefits … just tell me when and where … I’ll show up!
        EDIT:
        I also make coffee as of 11/9/22 … started a part time gig at Starbucks lol

        Liked by 1 person

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      3. GD Deckard Avatar
        GD Deckard

        It would be a memorable evening, would it not?

        Liked by 1 person

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    3. Sandy Randall Avatar
      Sandy Randall

      “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” Maya Angelou
      I write because I feel like there are worlds and universes in me wanting to be heard. If I don’t write I think all those worlds bottle up and make me uneasy … The world I live in provides writing prompts everywhere I look. Publish? I thought I wanted a best seller and movie rights, but now that I am staring at 60, I realize it’s not about publishing, it’s about getting as much out of me before I return to the ether and become part of the stories I write.
      That’s my reconciliation with Death as well.
      John … Listen to Neil Gaiman’s “The Sandman.” Death is an awesome character.

      Liked by 4 people

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  5. Sue Ranscht Avatar
    Sue Ranscht

    I like creating things. I enjoy everything about writing. I relish taking on the challenge to do it well enough that other people will take something positive from it if they read it. Yes, I’d like to have appreciative readers who say, “I’ll read anything you write,” but the truth is, I’d write even if I knew nobody else would read it. I am not compelled to write by random characters in my head screaming to get out or insisting I tell their story. Au contraire, I create characters to live in a story that occurs to me for any number of reasons — brain glitch, bizarre event, questions I can’t easily answer, old memories, a glimpse of something that amuses me or that I don’t understand, the occasional writing prompt, and on and on from among the millions of bits of information that bombard our brains every day. Hopefully, my characters will be real enough, deep enough to inhabit whatever world they find themselves in so they can tell me the story.

    I suppose it’s the same drive that fueled the evolution of science. That desire to make sense of life, the people we know or encounter, the physical world, the universe. But I want it to be more than enlightening; I want it to be entertaining because I like being entertained. Another option might be creating a new religion, but I just don’t find religion all that entertaining. So writing it is.

    Liked by 6 people

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    1. mimispeike Avatar
      mimispeike

      “Hopefully, my characters will be real enough, deep enough to inhabit whatever world they find themselves in so they can tell me the story.”

      That’s it, exactly.

      Liked by 5 people

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    2. John Correll Avatar
      John Correll

      Sometimes I wonder if the creating, the doing, gives the most meaning and pleasure to the whole labor of writing. The completed story is nothing more than footprints of a beautiful run on the beach.

      Liked by 6 people

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      1. Sandy Randall Avatar
        Sandy Randall

        Destination: Journey… John, your thoughts right there should be the Forward Quote of RH VI

        Liked by 2 people

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      2. GD Deckard Avatar
        GD Deckard

        Yeah, John. You should definitely submit something to RH VI.

        Liked by 1 person

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    3. GD Deckard Avatar
      GD Deckard

      I suspect you are right, Sue, that there is a commonality between creativity and science. We humans like to imagine what is not and then make it so. From “This stone is no longer sharp. Maybe I can make it sharp?” to, “I can’t throw a stone high enough to hit the moon. Maybe there’s a better way to get it there?”
      Of course, we can’t do everything at once. Technology builds on itself. It took a long time to go from imagining scrying mirrors to television. Or making materials strong enough and light enough to allow da Vinci’s helicopter to fly.
      So, you may yet be right about time travel. 🙂

      Liked by 5 people

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      1. Sue Ranscht Avatar
        Sue Ranscht

        I live in hope, GD. Hope and defiance of conventional thinking.

        Liked by 3 people

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  6. coraleggcalypso92586 Avatar
    coraleggcalypso92586

    GD,

    As usual, you made me think. I thought you might like to read my thoughts on your question. I miss our sometimes conversations and certainly hope your holiday was great. All the best.

    Mike DiMatteo

    An acquaintance of mine, GD Deckard, a fine writer, posed a question via email to subscribers of his newsletter, writers co-op. He began his piece by mentioning a female author whose sold more than 20 million copies of her books, dominating the fantasy and youth fiction genres over the last few years. Further, she was a self-published author at one time until one of the “big houses” picked her up (for obvious reasons).

    In his short blurb, GD posited that his initial intention for his post was to encourage his readers by saying anyone of us could “hit the big time” with evidence in support. Rather, he found the chances of writing a best seller are similar to winning the lottery. He outlined his reasons for writing then asked, “So the question is, why do you write?”

    It’s a compelling question, one I’m sure many writers wax poetic about either in public or private, attempting as best they can to sound erudite, brilliant, and just a bit mysterious. I have no such compunction. Nor do I feel as though my thoughts are necessary, erudite, or overly brilliant. I do have some insights on things I’m knowledgeable about; education for example, and I do love writing about history and historical figures. But, I’m not insightful like Dostoyevsky, not brilliant like Orwell, and not a master of the craft as Flaubert or Johnson. I’d like to be, but to be fair, I don’t obsess over writing like so many of them, a key part of their greatness.

    I write because I always have in one capacity or other. Whether it was writing about my German roots on a quiet evening in my apartment so many years ago, overly dramatic tomes filled with clichés about German blood, burning spirits and the like, or trying to find answers to questions about myself. There were clumsy attempts at writing stories that always seem to have a familiar tone, simplistic plot or silly premises no one would want to read, but I kept writing anyway, on an off for reasons I know not.

    I’m not a particularly driven writer, although I suppose my first self-published book was driven by my desire to “tell my story”, hoping to help others in the process, but the compulsion to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) doesn’t keep me up at night. I do think about stories all the time, I do jot notes down of interesting phrases I might be able to use, I do keep a notebook, electronic—more of an app, always available to scribble down a thought I might have that might work out into something.

    I do post twice weekly writings…one on Wednesday and the other, the main article on Sunday via my Substack account. I do have two books published with two more on the way. I do sit at my desk every morning and put thoughts down on my iPad, or my handwritten paper tablet (another writing experiment I’m trying out—long hand and then convert and edit), and I do observe and comment, keeping a separate file on my cloud drive called: Bits and Pieces which are short snippets of anything that I might choose to revisit later.

    I read books to learn the craft, read “how to write” books, the best thus far being Ann Lamott’s Bird by Bird among others. I tweak my novels, write memoirs of my first 8 years on the planet which, if a movie were made of them would border on the fantastical or even not-believable side of things—but were true.

    I look out my library window at the bare naked old ladies who’ve dropped their leaves in preparation for winter in East Tennessee and become inspired to scribble what I see and how they make me feel. Somehow, the theme is always the passage of time, the tacit or not so tacit realization I have far fewer days in front of me than are behind me…and sometimes become melancholy because of that realization, if only for the few minutes I dwell upon it.

    I guess, in the end, I’m not sure why I write…I just do…and that seems good enough.

    Michael DiMatteo Author of:

    Confessions of a High School Football Coach
    Flavius Fettotempi – a historical fiction novel set in the 14th century Aegean Sea

    *both available on Amazon or Apple Books

    Blogs: Mike.dimatteo.substack.com Think31.com Twitter: Triple_31 Instagram: Historyguy31

    “What man is a man who has not made the world better”

    Get Outlookhttps://aka.ms/sdimjr for iOS ________________________________

    Liked by 8 people

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    1. GD Deckard Avatar
      GD Deckard

      Thanks, Michael. As usual, it’s good to hear from you.
      Writers do have their personal reasons for writing. But that contributes to the uniqueness of their voices.

      Oh, and remember, when your WiP is ready, we want to hear about it.

      Liked by 4 people

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  7. Perry Palin Avatar
    Perry Palin

    I write fiction as therapy.

    There is a storyteller gene in the family. Some of the men in my family, including and especially my father and his brother Ray, were storytellers. They would build suspense, throw in some diversions, provide all sorts of seemingly strange but necessary facts, and conclude with a twist or a joke. It was an oral tradition. They never wrote anything down.

    My first childhood story was of the reign of Tommy, my teddy bear, over his healthy, happy, and prosperous island kingdom. He was a firm but fair ruler, and it was clear that his subjects revered him. I rode with him through the towns and countryside in an open carriage pulled by a pair of blond horses. I never wrote that ever-evolving story on paper.

    We were poor. As a child, I didn’t know how poor. My mother held our family together. She died when I was ten. I have two sisters, and our mother’s death was probably worse for them than it was for me. Our father wanted the best for us but he didn’t know anything about raising children. I didn’t have close friends. I was the awkward kid with the cheap haircut and the mismatched ears. I was never sure of what the future held. What event, what catastrophe, would come tomorrow, or next week?

    I turned inward. I am an extreme introvert on the Meyers-Briggs scale. It was easy to tell myself not to care what others thought, but I still needed an anchor for myself. I retreated to writing as one place where I have control, and where I can determine my own ending. It’s fiction, but it is therapy.

    I had a string of jobs where my writing ability was useful. I wrote business correspondence, policy manuals, training materials, presentations, my employer’s response in legal proceedings (I am not a lawyer, but our lawyers didn’t argue with my drafts), all sorts of other things, and I edited the writing of some of my bosses. When I was settled in my career, I still retreated to my fiction therapy.

    The post asks, “What’s Selling?”, and I don’t know the answer. The post’s “real question . . . is, why do you write?” I write for myself. I’ve sold some stories and some books. It’s nice to have people comment on my stories, but I never worked, never had to work, to make any money at this. The therapy is enough.

    Liked by 9 people

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    1. GD Deckard Avatar
      GD Deckard

      I suspect that at some level we all find writing to be therapeutic. Cathartic, at the least.

      Liked by 5 people

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    2. John Correll Avatar
      John Correll

      Self-therapy. You screwed the nut on the bolt, Perry. That is so true, and probably true for everyone. They just don’t realize it.

      And it’s supposedly effective too: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7451300/#:~:text=Studies%20showed%20that%2C%20when%20people,et%20al.%2C%201995).

      I obviously have some bottled-up issues from my outbursts above, but I avoid psychotherapists. I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay somebody to listen to me blather and then lie to me. My dog does that for free. And he seems sincerely concerned and adds a free-of-charge tongue facial afterward.

      Writing, friends, and dogs (maybe cats, but only on their terms). That’s the best therapy around.

      Liked by 6 people

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      1. Sandy Randall Avatar
        Sandy Randall

        Exactly John … and that makes this place so special. Reading everyones “Why” is similar yet different, like snowflakes. The same basic property is a water crystal, how it presents is the unique.

        Liked by 5 people

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  8. GD Deckard Avatar
    GD Deckard

    Stories say things that, if I were to just talk about then, would cause people in the room to look at their cell phones.
    I could explain why I find much of our “knowledgeable behavior” to be worthy of humor, irony, exaggeration, parody, caricature, ridicule -or- I could write a satirical story.
    Maybe a story about an ordinary man, Bob, a socialist reporter, Piper Wellington, and a visiting space alien, Old Spice, who encounter a group of young people who have just earned their PhDs in a socially acceptable field and are now out to save the world. The story could include a scene like the following.

    A girl with an angry look on her Oriental face served them tea. “We have to save the planet.” She offered Old Spice her hand, “Wang Fang. My name means aromatous flower in my language.”

    Spice sniffed her hand. “If you say so.”

    Wang wiped her hand on her cheongsam dress, straightened and said archly, “Continental drift is causing deadly earthquakes.” She leaned forward conspiratorially, “That’s what killed all those people in Tiananmen Square.”

    “What?!” Bob sprayed her beautiful silk dress with sipped tea.

    “Tian’anmén Guangchang in Standard Mandarin,” Spice said, one eye consulting his inner almanac. “Also known as the Gate of Heavenly Peace.”

    Bob stared at the girl in outraged amazement. “That’s about the dumbest thing -”

    “Hush!” Piper Wellington kicked him. “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, Bob!”

    The group twittered assent.

    “Science has proven conclusively,” Jackson intervened, “That continents drift.” Speaking with smooth authority, he calmed his group by announcing what they already knew. “Our computer models predict that the present rate of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions will increase, and civilization will be destroyed in 37 years.”

    Piper nodded, obviously impressed. “Computers don’t lie.”

    “We stopped using computers long ago,” Spice said. “The input always predicts the output.”

    “I’ll bet,” Bob smiled around at the group, “That you don’t need donors. With computer models that predict the future, you make your money on the stock market. Am I right?”

    “Of course not,” Spice corrected him. “Science cannot predict the future. Empirical science is based on observation and measurement. One cannot observe or measure what does not exist.”

    “Unbeliever!” someone hissed.

    Liked by 7 people

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    1. John Correll Avatar
      John Correll

      GD, now I’m intrigued about where you are going with this story? Will there be more?

      Liked by 4 people

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      1. Sue Ranscht Avatar
        Sue Ranscht

        There is more. 🙂

        Liked by 3 people

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      2. GD Deckard Avatar
        GD Deckard

        John,
        That was a scene from “Stop Continental Drift,” published 2019 in Sci-Fi Lampoon magazine. The story was first previewed here as part of the Writing Dayz series:

        Writing DaysZ 3

        Liked by 5 people

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      3. GD Deckard Avatar
        GD Deckard

        FYI, the Writing DaysZ series begins here:

        Writing DaysZ 1


        (The pdf link in the posts no longer works.)

        Liked by 5 people

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  9. mimispeike Avatar
    mimispeike

    I’ll tell you what’s selling, to me. I’ve saved the below to my cart on Amazon. Before I hit Proceed to checkout, I’ll try to think of what else has been in my mind to get.

    So far I have: Archie and Mehitibal / Master Flea / Follies of God – Tennessee Williams talks about actors and they talk about him.

    And: a historical novel about Frances Walsingham, daughter of Sir Francis, wife of Sir Phillip Sydney. This is the only thing I find on her. And googling her calls forth nothing but barebones biographical info.

    I can make her up, but I want what I invent to be within the boundaries of the possible. Most of all I want to know: her father and brand new husband were both staunch Puritans. Was she also? At the time of my story, she was sixteen years old. I’m hoping she might have been inclined, at least occasionally, to silly, girlish behaviors.

    Here’s something that may be useful: she had accepted the proposal of a man her father did not approve of. He nixed that match and chose Sydney for her instead. I’m sure she was pleased to be the wife of such a prominent man. But was she a bit pissed off, in the mood to stage a small rebellion?

    Liked by 6 people

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    1. GD Deckard Avatar
      GD Deckard

      Mimi,
      “googling her calls forth nothing but barebones biographical info.”
      There is a “daily newspaper” quality to Internet information, isn’t there? Googling shows us what people today think of just about anything. But we still need original sources for historical research. Case in point, Google “alienation.” Today it’s a common condition. But look it up in a hundred-year-old dictionary and it’s a form of insanity.

      Liked by 5 people

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      1. mimispeike Avatar
        mimispeike

        I have found, not original sources, but the next best thing, academic papers, and Ph.D theses on various matters. Nothing on Frances Walsingham though, as one writer said, she had to have been an intelligent woman. She married three of the most prominent men of her day.

        I’ve worked out a psychology for her. If the novel about her doesn’t contradict my theory, I have solved my problem of silly behavior from the wife and daughter of Puritans. That novel will arrive in a week or so.

        She will sing a song I’ve harvested from a site containing traditional tunes. She sings, Sly plays an Irish harp, and Delly dances.

        The fact that she contracted a marriage without her father’s consent gives me to believe she was a headstrong young lady. Walsingham’s only daughter, she was probably spoiled. This is what I need from her.

        Liked by 3 people

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  10. Carl E. Reed Avatar
    Carl E. Reed

    Why do I write? Since you asked, GD (pardon the repost–many new writers gathered here who may not have seen this the first time; perhaps some of these points will strike a cord):

    Why I Write – Carl E. Reed

    Liked by 6 people

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    1. GD Deckard Avatar
      GD Deckard

      A worthy repost, Carl. Thank you.

      Liked by 4 people

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      1. Carl E. Reed Avatar
        Carl E. Reed

        With great comments from “the motley scriveners”!

        Liked by 4 people

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    2. Sandy Randall Avatar
      Sandy Randall

      Excellent post Carl, and the discussion which followed was also a real treasure. I got lost in the conversation. I learned new things I want to read and devour. The why’s of writing and the depths of reading, just fuel the desire to write. It’s the community of writers that also fuels my desire to not only write, but write well.
      Which brings me to the point of mentioning the discussion about your post. The discourse between you, Atthys, GD and Curtis was compelling. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
      Thank you!

      Liked by 2 people

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  11. GD Deckard Avatar
    GD Deckard

    WoW Carl! That’s a great name! And now we own it!
    TheMotleyScriveners.com
    Belongs to us. To all of us here at the Writers Co-op.

    So Motley Scriveners, what do we do with it? Set up another WordPress site? And for what use? A place where we can all have our own page to scribble on?
    What say Ye? Whatever we decide, let’s have fun with this!

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply
    1. mimispeike Avatar
      mimispeike

      I’m about to go up to bed, GD. And I’ll be thinking about this all night.

      Each a page? I like that. I really like it. Here is the blog I never got around to creating.

      Liked by 5 people

      Reply
    2. Carl E. Reed Avatar
      Carl E. Reed

      !!

      Liked by 5 people

      Reply
      1. GD Deckard Avatar
        GD Deckard

        Yup, Carl. Whatever this turns out to be could be all your fault.

        Liked by 3 people

        Reply
    3. mimispeike Avatar
      mimispeike

      Let me play around with a format and a front page, everybody welcome to make suggestions.

      Or should I hold off until we see who might be on board with it?

      Liked by 4 people

      Reply
      1. GD Deckard Avatar
        GD Deckard

        Let’s see what others want to do with TheMotleyScriveners.com
        BUT we will remember that you have volunteered to “play around with a format and a front page.” 😁

        Liked by 4 people

        Reply
    4. Sue Ranscht Avatar
      Sue Ranscht

      Love the name. Have an idea of what I’d scribble on my page. Guaranteed fun for me! How soon can we get started?

      Liked by 4 people

      Reply
      1. GD Deckard Avatar
        GD Deckard

        Maybe, we could make TheMotleyScriveners.com the subject of next week’s post here & use the comments to thrash out what we want?

        Liked by 3 people

        Reply
        1. Sue Ranscht Avatar
          Sue Ranscht

          Go for it, GD!

          Liked by 3 people

          Reply
        2. Sandy Randall Avatar
          Sandy Randall

          Thats a great idea

          Liked by 3 people

          Reply
  12. Sandy Randall Avatar
    Sandy Randall

    Hey all,
    Looking forward to Friday’s showcase… I likely will be non communicative this week.. I seem to have acquired a sinus infection that wants me to sleep, rest and drink lots of fluid, which that part of the program is being constantly interrupted by the puppy we thought we had to get.
    So at the moment only going to concentrate on those two things today and maybe tomorrow 😂

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply
    1. Sue Ranscht Avatar
      Sue Ranscht

      Here’s hoping you recover quickly, Sandy!

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply
  13. Carl E. Reed Avatar
    Carl E. Reed

    There’s your writing assignment, Sandy! Write a short multiverse sci-fi story incorporating the elements of puppy, sinus infection and strange fluids.

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply
    1. Sandy Randall Avatar
      Sandy Randall

      🤔 I can use that for my first Motley Scrivener post…

      Liked by 4 people

      Reply
      1. GD Deckard Avatar
        GD Deckard

        You could compact the imagery by just including strange sinus fluids.

        Liked by 4 people

        Reply
        1. Sandy Randall Avatar
          Sandy Randall

          Or strange puppy fluids…

          Liked by 4 people

          Reply
          1. Sue Ranscht Avatar
            Sue Ranscht

            Or strangely fluid puppy sinus infections. (Those fluid puppies are a real mess!)

            Liked by 4 people

            Reply
            1. GD Deckard Avatar
              GD Deckard

              Now cut that out!

              Liked by 3 people

              Reply
              1. Sandy Randall Avatar
                Sandy Randall

                😛😜🤪😹 (That last is Sly laughing at puppy humor…)

                Liked by 3 people

                Reply
              2. Sue Ranscht Avatar
                Sue Ranscht

                LOL!

                Liked by 2 people

                Reply
  14. victoracquista Avatar
    victoracquista

    Short answer to your question is I write because I have something to say and want to say it. I write as a means of creative expression.
    I am reminded of this bit of wisdom circulating among science fiction authors and I know that you are such, GD.
    Question: What’s the difference between science fiction and fantasy?
    Answer: Science fiction is writing about things that are possible. Fantasy is believing that your books will sell.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply
    1. GD Deckard Avatar
      GD Deckard

      😏🤣👍

      Liked by 4 people

      Reply
    2. Sue Ranscht Avatar
      Sue Ranscht

      “I write as a means of creative expression.”

      Some people cook. Some people paint. Some people garden or dance or sing or stuff dead animals. I wonder if there are as many modes of creative expression as there are people.

      Writing may be one of the easiest to undertake, but I think it is no easier to master than the most difficult method of creative expression anyone can imagine.

      Liked by 4 people

      Reply
      1. GD Deckard Avatar
        GD Deckard

        Evokative comment, Sue.
        I immediately thought, if writing is the most difficult method of creative expression I can imagine, then, that’s the best I can be. Which may be why I find writing so satisfying: I’m being the best I can be.
        (You could probably haiku thoughts that tight.)

        Liked by 4 people

        Reply
        1. Sue Ranscht Avatar
          Sue Ranscht

          Lol! Hmm… let me think…

          Liked by 2 people

          Reply
      2. victoracquista Avatar
        victoracquista

        Why do I suddenly want to try my hand at taxidermy?

        Liked by 3 people

        Reply
        1. Sue Ranscht Avatar
          Sue Ranscht

          Lol!

          Liked by 3 people

          Reply
  15. GD Deckard Avatar
    GD Deckard

    I thought Google had everything. But I can find nothing at all on how to stuff a live animal. Not even on YouTube.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply
    1. Sandy Randall Avatar
      Sandy Randall

      It’s not a google thing … it’s a YouTube thing

      However I did find this link using google with the question “how do you do taxidermy “

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
      1. Sandy Randall Avatar
        Sandy Randall

        Also I didn’t watch it … I just can’t…

        Liked by 2 people

        Reply
    2. Sue Ranscht Avatar
      Sue Ranscht

      You need to look for a video about how they stuff (force feed) live geese to make pate.

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply
      1. GD Deckard Avatar
        GD Deckard

        Peddling freshly prepared Foie gras at PITA conventions resulted in a lifetime ban for Roy. And his geese.

        Liked by 3 people

        Reply
        1. Sue Ranscht Avatar
          Sue Ranscht

          LOL!!! He is an enterprising man.

          Liked by 2 people

          Reply
  16. mimispeike Avatar
    mimispeike

    A question re: And now we own it! Do we own TheMotleyScriveners.com or TheMotleyScriveners.wordpress.com?

    Who is paying the yearly fee for the .com site?

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
    1. GD Deckard Avatar
      GD Deckard

      We own TheMotleyScriveners.com. I got the domain name for two years on sale for $20.01. I should be able to redirect it to a page here, or to a new and free WordPress site.

      That’d be like WritersCo-op.com – we own that domain name & it is redirected to bring you to this site.

      Liked by 4 people

      Reply
      1. mimispeike Avatar
        mimispeike

        So, you pay the $10 per year for the domain name, then redirect it to a .wordpress.com site? Do I understand that right?

        Liked by 2 people

        Reply
        1. GD Deckard Avatar
          GD Deckard

          Close. Godaddy sold me the Domain name for $20/yr and threw the first year in for a penny. Did you know that SlyTheRogue.com is currently available for the same deal? On sale for two years for $20.01 at Godaddy.com.

          Liked by 4 people

          Reply
          1. mimispeike Avatar
            mimispeike

            I have my domain and my site all in one with WordPress. But when I first bought a domain name seven-eight years ago (from Namecheap), I believe the cost was ten dollars a year. It may be double that by now.

            Liked by 3 people

            Reply
            1. GD Deckard Avatar
              GD Deckard

              It is. The GoDaddy price is, technically, for 2 years at a penny for the first year and $20 for the second year.

              Liked by 2 people

              Reply
  17. mimispeike Avatar
    mimispeike

    Archie and Master Flea are here! Eberhard and I are going up to bed. I’m reading Flea, he’s reading Cockroach. Then, we’ll trade.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
    1. GD Deckard Avatar
      GD Deckard

      Yay Archy and Mehitabel! They were creations of Don Marquis, a celebrated American author, novelist, journalist, humorist, poet, playwright and newspaper columnist. All of which are now forgotten. (He died in 1937.) But Archy and Mehitabel are still being published.

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply
  18. mimispeike Avatar
    mimispeike

    I’ve read chapter one of Master Flea. Not a flea mentioned! Bummer! But chapter two has just what I need.

    Pedro and Sly hide from pursuers in a traveling street show. Jealous of Pedro’s trained cat (he and Sly create an act called ‘The Duke of Danger and the Marquis of Mischief’), a nasty bear handler plots to kidnap Sly and have all-in-one a supremely talented cat, and also, fleas with prior theatrical experience for his new idea, a flea circus.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
    1. Sandy Randall Avatar
      Sandy Randall

      Brilliant Mimi
      I would think a flea act would lure patrons close and distract them while cut purses lighten their wallets…

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
      1. mimispeike Avatar
        mimispeike

        Yes! Thank you for that.

        Liked by 3 people

        Reply

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