The Pipedream of Writing (aka Alex Thomas is My New Hero)

Writing is a very solitary endeavor. 

Frequently comic book scripts are sent off with no response from publishers or editors. Screenplays, likewise, go off to a production company with nary a word. Even when you find a vehicle for your work like I did with Adventures in Pulp, you put it out and, save for the electronic clicks, you don't hear much back. Once in a blue moon a reader might post a kind word and for days I would find myself bounding around with glee. 

Me (left) on The Comics Movie Panel from RobCon 2015.

Someone read my story. 

Last year at RobCon someone told me they loved our stories. I was floating in orbit. 

They read it and LOVED it. Sweet, sweet validation. 

This year a reader called me his favorite writer. If there hadn't been a table between us when he came up to me at the convention, I would have kissed him. 

There are some pretty damn good writers out there. He chose ME as his favorite. Hearing something like that would put other people's head in the sky (or squarely up their posterior) but all I could feel was humbled. My little stories, stories that are fun little adventures, spoke to him in some way that elevated me to his "favorite." Now I have to write for him and the others. I have an obligation to put out work that they will hopefully continue to love. I have to give my best with each plot, each character, each line of dialogue. 

That's the way it goes... just when I think everything is getting lost in the media buzz, someone with a kind word or post picks me up. It flatters the ego but it makes me buckle down and try to improve. It makes the silence of rejection worthwhile.  It dulls the sting. But it's still just the opinion of a passing stranger. A kind word that peps you up but it can be fleeting. Eventually the wheels spin and doubts creep in.

Today I got something a little more. A good review. 

Alex Thomas of Pipedream Comics gave one of the best reviews I have ever received.
You can read it here: pipedreamcomics.co.uk AIP review. As you can see, it's not just a line on twitter or a single post in a comments section. It's an in depth review and analysis. In just a few short paragraphs he dissected two stories and explains why he likes them which showed me "he got it." That's a tricky nebulous thing. People can like a story but did they "get" what you are trying to do? Alex did. He nailed it, which means perhaps, maybe I did too. Maybe I actually achieved what I set out to do. It's the type of review I want to frame and put up near my computer.

Maybe there is hope, for today Alex Thomas made me feel mighty. Alex Thomas made me feel vindicated. Today writing wasn't solitary. Today was a good day.

Thank you, Alex Thomas.