Make sure you watch this guy fail
By: Ryan Douglas Martin
Tags: Writing Life, Writing, Writer, Writing Prompts, Writing Tips

Awe, this is cute….

That unoriginal dad from suburbia is back at it writing things again.

Can someone please share with us what exactly it is that he expects to accomplish?

It’s doubtful he’s ever had an original thought (even though he fancies himself an “explainer” of sorts.)

Clearly, those close to him are afraid to tell him how it is.

He’s like the poor fellow that’s allowed to wander onto the set of one of those America’s Got Talent, The Voice, American Idol, or name your reality singing competition shows…what he hopes might be his “gift” is, in actuality, more like a curse on those that carry the burden of having to experience it each and every time shares it in public.

And yet somehow, it seems everyone has neglected to feed him the real talk he needs. For the sake of humanity, will someone please just do the loving thing and shower him with a double dose of reality once and for all?

Why is he still doing this to himself?

It’s hard to imagine this poor soul surviving the crash and burn that’s waiting for him, much less envisioning him experience any kind of reasonable level of success.

He doesn’t even know what success looks like — much less how to grab hold of it.

He wants to write, but he doesn’t really know what he even wants to write about.

So he hits the reset button…

…again…and again…and again…and again…each time telling himself,

“this is the time I’ll be more consistent.” “This is the time I’m really going to keep some momentum going.” “This is the time I’m going to finally nail down an efficient schedule, and I’m really going to rattle off some good stuff…this time.” “…This time will be different.”

And yet he fails.

He forgets that he has 4 children under the age of 8 that swallow up most of his time and the best of his energy.

He forgets that he has a full time job at a competitive corporate gig and has REAL responsibilities he should be worrying about — not pipe dreams of vocational pontification.

And he’s a meat head…

He forgets that he picked a career in the construction industry for crying out loud — not exactly a breeding ground for critically acclaimed creatives.

He knows nothing of being a marketing professional. He’s never conducted research for a renowned author. He’s never worked professionally at any level of qualified journalism. Ever.

He’s never received any formal instruction on writing, and he certainly doesn’t read enough books.

Not to mention the biggest elephant in the room…he is WITHOUT A DOUBT too old to be just now launching out into this sphere.

He’s the classic picture we’ve all seen before — guy sitting at his typewriter with an overflowing waste basket next to his feet. Each wadded up piece of paper represents all of the swings and misses he’s incurred on his writing journey. Each crinkled sheet an unfinished blog post. Each crumbled up ball just a story or an idea that never left the incubator.

It’s hard to imagine this guy’s journey taking him anywhere noteworthy.

But…this is him launching out one more time.

…trying to change the narrative yet again.

…soldiering on while everyone around him wonders when he’ll finally get a clue.

This is cute.

Follow along and see if he proves this post wrong.