Is it weird?
Is it weird that I think I can make a career change this late? Is it weird that I think I can write a novel in a few months when I wasn’t an English major, and haven’t written in decades? Is it weird that my characters have bounced around in my head for so long that they are almost alive?
Ok, now even I think that is a bit weird. But then today I heard a podcast with a best-selling author… Brad Meltzer:
But with Brad, I feel I’ve never met someone this determined to do what he loves…
When he started writing, he had no idea what he was doing. And he didn’t have a plan.
He was in law ( out of fear). This goes back to the “not wanting to struggle,” thing. But luckily, he quit before it could begin sucking his blood.
He started with a story about two kids living in Michigan.
“Everyday I started to fall in love with talking to these imaginary people,” Brad said, “Everyone always tells you to find what you love and then find someone to pay you to do it. I didn’t know what I loved, but I found it in talking to these characters.”
So someone who changed careers and was able to successfully write. Someone who loved talking to imaginary characters in his head and basing a novel on them. And a Michigan connection.
Then separately today at lunch, I mentioned the book that was part of my inspiration for my first novel. It was a book I had found as a kid in an old drawer. Something maybe a grandparent had read and left. Not remembering anything about the author, I googled him when I got back to the office. The book was published almost 90 years ago. The author had written his first novel when he was in his 50’s… and became a best-selling author. And, he had lived in Michigan… another Michigan connection
Weird.