Death to the Humble Brag

I know it works so as long as it does, it will never die, but let's be honest-- most of us are sick of it.

It's one thing when you are able to see the good and bad in your work. Sometimes I will post something I am proud of and will say so, but add what I'd like to improve. I feel like it gives people permission to say what they like or don't like about it.

That's not what irritates me.

I'm referring to the tendency for people to downgrade their abilities, post a passive positive comment someone else told them, or some other attempt to avoid just directly avoiding putting a spotlight on their massive ego but still constantly needing people to stroke it. Writers, we all have it. Creatives in general. If you didn't love what you do, you wouldn't do it. I'll be real with you though-- if I catch someone doing it, especially on the regular, I will avoid their work like the plague. If there's one thing I don't like, it's being manipulated. I like GoT because a good friend who knows what I'm into recommended it and they were right. I also can't stand The Hunger Games because Battle Royale did it better. I sometimes agree with the bandwagon, I sometimes take the long route to avoid it. There are a lot of reasons I'll try something, neither of them involve internet Like Whoring.

One thing I can agree with in current news is the intense feeling of freedom I get from cutting out social media for chunks at a time. I used to enjoy it more when it was jokes and sharing interests, but it has since become ad spamming, constant debating, passive aggression, and public masturbation. I love using it as a tool, but it's really lost its flavor otherwise. All the better that I'm not dumping time into it recreationally.

My only real point here is that I would love to see more honesty in people's work. You don't have to trick me into being interested in you or if you're really that interesting. Writing as really helped me meet some amazing people, but there's a downside too. Then again, I'm not the biggest people person. I could make a nice long curmudgeonly list that gets longer by the day.

In the spirit of honesty, I'm glad to say I have the ball rolling on my own projects again. If you haven't already, give my excerpts a readthrough on my site HERE. Keep in mind that these are adult stories (or at least late teen-- I've been reading this sort of thing since I was 12 so that's where my compass is). Feel free to give feedback. The first series is set in stone, but I love to interact and know what parts are working for people for future projects.

Pick up the fourth book in my first series, A World Reborn: Children of Heroes, or start from The Truth about Heroes and work your way up. If you're looking for a darker read, check out the UnQuadrilogy. Keep in mind that purchasing the print copy guarantees the ebook copy for free. I know print is pricy for PoD so I like to make things as affordable as possible.