I've had reviews throw Stephen King's name out there. I don't see it, but that's just me. I'd say when it comes to FUBAR, there's a lot of Jonathan Maberry in it. I don't know that I fit the mold to say "I'm the next so and so."
Run!
Actually, depending on how young, I could flash all the way back to grade school. I used to love writing stories. I still have a handwritten story called "Dunes" about an experiment on Mars that goes wrong, unleashing worm creatures onto the colony. I think I slapped together three chapters or so. Not bad for 6th grade.
I'd likely tell myself to not listen to the other students. They were mean bullies. Even close people I considered friends. I was constantly torn down. Even teachers tore me down. It may have taken me two or three decades to jump back in, but I'm glad I did. I only wish I didn't stop back then. My imagination was wilder back in the day.
It's painful. It's draining. It's stressful. Have I hyped it up enough yet?
I would say, especially if you're self publishing: Take your time. There is no deadline worth half-assing your book. I learned the hard way by tossing a book out into the public too soon. That was likely a handful of bad first impressions. Looking at where I am now, I pay attention to ensuring everything looks as good as it can. When you're writing your story, take your time. There is no rush to get to phase 2, or the next scene. Write the story as you see it in your head, whether you storyboard it or fly by the seat of your pants. Take your time.
If you can't write? Writers block isn't a thing, but exhaustion is. Take a break. Go do other things. Play an instrument. Hike. Video games. Anything. Ignore the fact you're writing. I have the luxury of graphic design for my book covers, so I may dabble in that. I might give the website a facelift. Who knows? Just save, close, and don't look at your word document for a while. Inspiration will hit you.
I always enjoyed writing. I wrote small stories in elementary school and up. I also wrote poems, songs and short stories during those times as well.
It wasn't until 2018 that I decided to write down the crazy things that happened in my previous marriage. My friend David was always excited to hear the tales. He unfortunately took his life, but I felt the need to publish the stories with his encouragement.
Since then, I've written quite a lot. It's fun to see what I can dig out of my brain and put on paper. I only hope people enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.
Awkward. I always jokingly apologize for their time reading my book. It's usually following by boasts about how fun the read was, or how real the setting was. I also enjoy, particularly with Fubar, when people are upset that I killed characters off. It means I wrote a decent character, even briefly, and someone connected with them.
