Fame and Fortune

I’ve been musing on the subject of fame for years, but this week it rose through the detritus of my mind when I received notice that Flash Fiction Magazine is going to publish A Brief Affair, one of my short stories. (Check out their stories here https://flashfictionmagazine.com/)

To say I am ecstatic (thrilled, joyful, jubilant, tickled pink, over the moon . . .) would be an understatement.

Which leads to the question: Why?
Why is publication so important to me,
and to all the writers I know?

The easy answer is that we’ve been programmed to see publication as synonymous with talent. You’re a good writer if you’ve written a bestseller; you must be mediocre – or perhaps even terrible – if you have not been published. Or maybe you just haven’t been “discovered” yet, and you simply need to try harder. Send out more queries. Attend more workshops.

The same principle applies to actors. We accept almost without question that these are the indicia of quality: big studio hire, awards, box office success. And politicians: raising insane campaign contributions, and being elected, constitute success.

This holds true even though most of us can think of many so-called successful people who seem to have an astonishing dearth of talent. Bestselling writers whose sentences are clunky and whose story lines are lackluster and predictable. Politicians whose self-serving, inane, or even hate-filled words and policies leave us incredulous that they were elected in the first place, and shaking our heads in disbelief if they are re-elected.  

Conversely, most of us know someone outrageously gifted who has never received the acclaim they deserve.

Clearly, public success is not a reliable indication of genius.

And yet we cling to it, reach for it, long for it.

I think our lifelong indoctrination by the media is only part of the reason.

The other part – at least for me, as a writer – is much more straightforward.

Writing is my connection to you.

In person, I often say the wrong thing, or fail to say the right thing. And so all the words I long to communicate build up in my heart.

Writing is my way of righting that wrong.

(Cute wordplay, no?)

If no one reads the words I write, it is as if I am standing on a mountaintop shouting, but the blanket of clouds between sky and valley floor muffles the words, and no one hears. Publication lifts the clouds, the barrier between us. You may dislike my words, or disagree with them, but at least you hear them.

In the story slated for publication, the character recognizes how many meaningful life experiences she has missed because of fear, but feels powerless to change. (Spoiler alert, in case you decide to read it: a frog and a goose encourage her to try.)

Other stories I’ve written touch on the nature of fate and whether the “gospels” we tell ourselves are truly written in stone; the struggle to find and hold onto identity; whether change is possible for the privileged; and the interconnectedness of everything.  

These are some of my heart’s deepest ponderings.

The philosophical underpinnings are clothed in quirky characters, murder mysteries, animal antics, and other colorful and (hopefully) interesting plot developments, but if I’ve written well, the dialogue and action serve to invite you into conversation with me about these ideas.

If no one reads the stories, if no one comments – even to tell me I’m crazy or wrong – then what’s the point?

There is no dearth of information about the dangers and false promises of fame. This article talks about shortened lifespan: https://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2013/04/19/fame-may-be-dangerous-to-your-health. This article exposes the lie that, if we are famous, all will be well https://www.theschooloflife.com/thebookoflife/your-desire-to-be-famous-and-the-problems-it-will-bring-you/. This article points out the ephemeral nature of fame in today’s social media environment https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/199505/the-other-side-fame (“"To be a celebrity means to have more than the usual assaults on one's ego," says Charles Figley, Ph.D., director of the Psychosocial Stress Research Program at Florida State University. . . . "The public is ultimately in control of whether your career continues.")  

Without diminishing in the least the truth of the problems highlighted in these articles, the fact remains that a writer without an audience – no matter how small and intimate the audience – is simply living inside their own head. There are benefits to writing to and for yourself, of course, but forming a connection with others is not one of them.

Connection

And I crave that connection. I think most of us do.

So I am giving myself permission to be happy about publication.

And inviting you into the conversation: Share your thoughts in the comments box, on our Brillig Facebook page or Twitter feed, by email (thepickwickians@gmail.com), by carrier pigeon . . . .

Images by Mukul Kumar @eyesofmuk (glittery face profile); Rita Morais @moraisr (magazines); NeONBRAND @neonbrand (the Thinker); Shane Rounce @shanerounce (hands on a tree).