A Disappointingly Small Goal
A Halls of Pandemonium Day 31 Prompt Response.
People ask what I hope to achieve as a writer.
Most people around here want to get published. See their book in a bookstore. Make a career out of writing. Fame.
I’m older now. Tired. Grumpy. I have little time or patience left for either the literal or figurative politics and drama that seem to surround so many creative spaces.
So my answer is disappointingly small.
I don’t need to change the world. I don’t need to become famous. I don’t need my books taught in schools a hundred years from now.
I just want someone to start one of my stories late at night, tell themselves they’ll read one more chapter, and then look up at the clock three hours later. I want someone to finish my books, then pass them on to a friend. For me, the magic is in the storytelling, not in the storyselling.
If I can do that, I’ve accomplished what I came here to do. Everything else is doesn’t matter to me.
This is a response to day 31’s prompt for Bradley Ramsey’s “Halls of Pandemonium” writing event. Although I’m not participating in the scoring portion of the event (you know, since I, uh… wrote the backend for it), likes, comments and restacks will (maybe) help us achieve community goals and spread the word about the challenge.