Celebrity Death Thread

[Passepartout]

Really he had a lot going for him. So sad! As we may not had known he had suffered from depression. Having had depression myself! RIP! :(

[Malto Marko]

Wow!

I find it tragic there is a publicist that can make a statement on his death but, no one he could reach out to when he needed someone most.

I am in the same boat as you, Islair. I have not seen any of his work. So by the company you can relate to, yes you are getting old.

[FVD]

Surprised nobody mentioned this:
Elmore Leonard, author of many books including Get Shorty and Be Cool passed away.

[Tony G]

No! Justified is based on one of his characters also

[Malto Marko]

I heard this earlier. I also heard he was hospitalized last week but his Son said he was doing well.

I am deeply saddened by a loss of a neighbor and great literary mind.

I have a son that has a gift of writing but, he refuses to continue to write because he sees no future in it.

Sad because he is really good.

[YT]

I heard this earlier. I also heard he was hospitalized last week but his Son said he was doing well.

I am deeply saddened by a loss of a neighbor and great literary mind.

I have a son that has a gift of writing but, he refuses to continue to write because he sees no future in it.

Sad because he is really good.

Try to convince your son to become a technical writer. A job with almost unlimited potential, pretty recession-proof and many positions allow for working at home.

The wife of a great friend of mine is a technical writer and has won awards for her work. She started out after college with Scientific Atlanta, then worked for Bell South and now works for a Japanese firm.

[Malto Marko]

Actually he excels at fiction and particularly in depth story telling with characters that have special powers/abilities. I think technical writing is too dry and boring for his imagination.

[Islair]

If he enjoys writing, he should should write just to write, because it brings him joy. The money is a bonus.

After saying that, there have been many non published authors starting to publish directly online to the Nook and Kindle pages. They do some shameless self promotion, and maybe make a little money. Lots of people go after a certain career because they love it, but once in that career it becomes a job, and thus no longer fun.

Push him to enjoy his gift, and enjoy it with him. The money is just extra.


This isnt my article, but very insightful.

http://voices.yahoo.com/my-experience-publishing-kindle-guide-11541920.html?com=3&cat=38

[Islair]

Oh and talk to Chemic.....also a published author on this site. See what his views are on the subject.

[Malto Marko]

I know, and I have been trying.

I can not compete with the damn video games.

They occupy and inordinate amount of his waking time.

[Islair]

Hopefully he will come to enjoy his gift. I love books, and really enjoy writing, yet with 3 kids at home it is a little difficult to find the time. So I keep journals of our everyday life, no more than 3 or 4 pages that give the highlights of our life that would normally be forgotten about a certain day. It is fun to go back and read them and find out what we did in the past, journals are laying around everywhere in this home, but it is cool to see my own work on the bookshelf.

For my 30th birthday I wrote my first novel, it was just for me, no it was never published. Yet it was a way for me to push myself, and get myself away from 3 or 4 hours of tv a night, or even video games, because I am an avid gamer myself. I just saw myself wasting too much time in front of the tv and wanted to get away from it. It took me over a year to write it, but in the end it was nearly 400 pages long, and I can look back at it and say, "Yea, I did that."

It is where the name Islair came from, in case anyone is keeping score.

Now I have half written books written all over the place. Ill get 15,000 words deep and get bored with it, and start something else, but those words are always there if I want to come back to them. It is a form of entertainment of my own making, I choose the direction, I choose the outcome, and I find great joy in it.

Yet it is all for me, it isn't a job or a career, and I am not under some deadline to make a publisher happy.

Even if your son doesn't want to make his creative writing his future for his income, at least give him a shove to enjoy it in his free time. Buy him a nice writing pen, and a hardbacked journal for his birthday that he can fill with his ideas. I got these gifts for years from my family, and I think they enjoyed it more than me as we would sit around some camp fire and I would put page after page of written words behind me while we sat around and enjoyed the flames.

I hope he comes around, the world is always in need of more talented wordsmiths.

[Malto Marko]

Buy him a nice writing pen, and a hardbacked journal for his birthday that he can fill with his ideas.

Funny you should mention that.

I was wishing #3 child (#2 son) a happy birthday earlier this week. It was his 34th birthday. There is 10 years between him and #4 child (#3 son), the one we are talking about being an exceptional writer.

Anyway, #2 son tells me he is teaching a class for people within his industry to keep up with social media and how to use it to their advantage. He remarks to me that it has been suggested that they no longer teach handwriting in elementary schools because todays students are utilizing computers instead of pencils and paper.

He goes on to say that he is lecturing and after he finishes, he asks are there any question. A student raises his hand and asks if he is going to provide a digital copy of his lecture. He responded, no, you need to get out a pen and a piece of paper and take notes. The class groaned and was buzzing with contempt.

#3 son does everything on his computer. Problem is, when I get him to doing something creative in writing, he is toggling back and forth with some kind of online game he is involved in and, guess what gets the most attention?

[Tony G]

How old is he?

[Malto Marko]

How old is he?

34-10=24

I was wishing #3 child (#2 son) a happy birthday earlier this week. It was his 34th birthday. There is 10 years between him and #4 child (#3 son), the one we are talking about being an exceptional writer.

[Islair]

Funny you should mention that.

I was wishing #3 child (#2 son) a happy birthday earlier this week. It was his 34th birthday. There is 10 years between him and #4 child (#3 son), the one we are talking about being an exceptional writer.

Anyway, #2 son tells me he is teaching a class for people within his industry to keep up with social media and how to use it to their advantage. He remarks to me that it has been suggested that they no longer teach handwriting in elementary schools because todays students are utilizing computers instead of pencils and paper.

He goes on to say that he is lecturing and after he finishes, he asks are there any question. A student raises his hand and asks if he is going to provide a digital copy of his lecture. He responded, no, you need to get out a pen and a piece of paper and take notes. The class groaned and was buzzing with contempt.

#3 son does everything on his computer. Problem is, when I get him to doing something creative in writing, he is toggling back and forth with some kind of online game he is involved in and, guess what gets the most attention?

I have always felt a closer connection to the pen and paper when it comes to creative ideas. The keyboard and screen just have too much of a sterile vibe for my liking. Eventually everything does go onto the computer, but the ideas flow better for me if I have to write them down. Besides, with the computer, you have too many other distractions to contend with.