CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

  An experiment in looking at the hero’s journey using a series of Crapsey Type II cinquains. A Hero’s Strife Foretold Riven From hearth and hold From family and friends In a long-lived journey that was Foretold Driven From home and kin From the familiar And accused of this the most dark Of sins Striven To next redeem A life thought lost, hope reamed Through ev’ry step, and ev’ry strife, Peace dreamed

This article starts almost by apologizing for its harsh…or blunt…beginning, but it touched a chord for me. You can find it here: https://kriswrites.com/2023/02/15/business-musings-how-writers-fail-part-11-they-want-to/ Sure, it’s blunt, but blunt is good - and this article pretty much describes the battle I've slowly been winning against myself...although it is not failure I was afraid of, but success. I mean, I *know* how to handle failure. Success, on the other hand, is an entirely different beast. Four years ago, I *cried* if someone said they'd read and enjoyed my book. Someone telling me they hated it, not a problem; I was used to people not liking what I did, or not liking that I was the one who did it. That was normal...and comfortable - but doing something right? Something approved of? Well, sometimes it was better to fail than to face *that*. I've fought that particular demon for years. Some of you have heard me use the analogy of a rider bringing a young