I am a writer looking for his tribe. I got this commission at the 2017 Pacific Northwest Writers' Conference. Find your tribe, E.C. Find your tribe.
So what does that mean? Well, what I THINK the speakers at the conference was alluding to was finding a group of peers who have similar interests to you.
My problem is I write a lot of different stuff. I am TOTALLY opposed to writers being branded. You wanna fit me in a box--FUCK YOU!! I've written comedy. I've written dark sci-fi. I've written YA teen stuff. I've even written a bible adaptation. This boy's got some range.
So who's your tribe, E.C.? Who are YOUR people. What is your platform?
Elizabeth Warren a.k.a Pocahontas here, always willing Indian tribal member.
Love the last one, because THAT'S a selling point. Sadly, I've NEVER been a popular person. Not in grade school. Not in high school. Not in my 20s. Not in my 30s. And so far in my 40s, which are almost up btw, I'm STILL unpopular as all fuck. But I need people. I need a tribe. I know that... now.
It was about a year ago that I began the whole Facebook and Twitter, social media campaign. This blog has been around for a while. You can thank Billy Mernit for that. Billy had a rom-com site that I serious dug for a very long time. I came to Typepad because of the high quality of his' Typepad site. Anywho, that's some of my history which brought me to this point.
But now I'm endeavoring to find "my people". Since the super colossal IS my opus. My people are going to have to be a people with an epic fantasy bend. You like "Lord of the Rings" or "The Chronicles of Narnia"? Well, if you do, you're well on your way to being one of my people, because artistically THAT'S where I am. NO, the "Legend in Thars" series is not a clone of those two predecessors, but I want it to be able to hang and be mentioned favorably to those two classics. That's my goal. My people should be cool with that.
Thankfully at this year's conference I attended three fantasy related panels. Out of which I found 2 people who led sessions who are tribe material, and who can definitely help me find and establish my platform. Popularity matters. Twitter followers matter. Facebook friends matter. It's not that I've totally neglected that. Before you can have a platform you have to have the ART behind you to back the justification for that platform. And now 20+ scripts in, and 1 novel manuscript done, with then next to be complete by the end of this month or the next; it's time to take it to next level and foster a following. I need to grow my platform. I need to find my tribe.
Ever since I was unpopular as all fuck in high school I have been waiting to rise to surface and have friends. At age 48 the dream is still alive and active. So I'm a late bloomer? So what? Fuck you, it's time to have some fun. Fun isn't just for wipersnappers in their 20s. Fun is where you find it. And at age 48 I'm going to find some fun--maybe even the fountain of youth! The Lord is good. I trust that He will lead me to green pastures. See, I'm going to bring light into this world. There is so much darkness and dis-information. Thankfully, I don't play like that. Never have. Never will. I'm a straight-shooter. An honest person. An honorable man.
Tomorrow, I set off in earnest in search of my tribe. Going to e-mail those two ladies from the conference, and see what advice they have. It's happening folks. E.C. Henry is going to find his' tribe. He's not going to be a loner any more.
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