End of an Era

by Dennis M. Myers, 12/1/2022

In just two weeks I will no longer be able to loudly proclaim that I am still in my fifties. Something I had been doing more and more frequently these last few years. That is, without making myself a liar. On the 15th of December I shall pass beyond the veil of that sixty year mark. My oh my. How time has flown. Seems like only recently I was joking with a friend that we needed to party as hard as we could because when we reached twenty, life would be over. We would have to get jobs and act like grown-ups.

Sometimes I want to go back just so I can slap that guy up the side of the head. He had already found the desire to write. But wouldn;t get serious about it for far too long. I would tell him to start now, and practice his craft. Learn to tell stories early, before he needed to pay rent. Hindsight is, well. You know.

My advice to anyone these days who wants to be a writer is to get started right now. Don't wait for a better time. There won;'t ever be one. Start writing now, because you will need the practice to get better. Until eventually, you are good enough at it that someone publishes one of your stories. Then, well then you keep going. Keep writing and telling stories as long as you can manage it. Because every voice added to the conversation matters. Each is unique. Sure, some are more commercially viable, but that doesn't matter if you have a story to tell.

Another thing I would tell that kid is to learn about compound interest, and start saving money. I mean, really packing a little bit away every paycheck. This is something we should be teaching our children in school. The power of saving a little bit on a regular schedule starting very early in life.

Lastly, I would tell him that as dark as it is going to get in the future, there are silver linings that shouldn't be missed. For example, my first marriage was an unmitigated disaster, but I wouldn't trade my children for anything in the world. Besides, I did much better the second time around.

Much better.

Final Assembly is ready to go, just looking for someplace to send it. I started working on the Legend of Akushu again. Hammering that into shape and working out the story. I know what my theme is, and what I want to say. I know some of what happens, the major twists and such. I think I know where it ends up, but I still need to work out exactly where I want to leave this one. I know how I want to end the second book, and I know how the third book starts, and what the end has to be. Final victory.

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End of an Era