Writing Evolution
I can never get enough of driving this car.
I'm done with political correctness and have been for a long time. I think a PC world has generated more harm than good. I don't watch my swearing as much as I once did. Fuck it! My primary reason is that it takes all the fun and impact out of writing. My goal as a writer is to go for the unexpected, and sometimes that takes just the right words. Fuck it are two.
I don't want to write like other authors, and I can now pick out AI-written work in the first or second sentence. It all follows the same predictable patterns. I never wanted to be an average writer, someone whose work got pounded into the center where you don't remember a thing about what you just read. I don't try to follow writing rules. I do my best to match my writing with how I actually talk and think.
A friend is looking for a house here in Springfield, and I have to keep reminding him why I moved here in the first place. I didn't come here to blend in as a writer. I keep a relatively low profile in the community, something I didn't even notice until it was pointed out to me, but my goal as a writer was to find the place where I'd do my best work. I wanted to be free of constraints, tell it the way I see it, and do it unapologetically. I wanted to delight you and keep you reading because you liked it. I don't care which narcissist I offend.
Driving back from Northwest Arkansas two days ago, I was thinking about how important country drives are to my way of thinking and how they influence my writing. It's not just the drives. It's the whole country lifestyle.
I bought the black 740i in 2025 and loved my drives. I then added the red 760i so that no matter which car I drove, it would be a wonderful experience and a chance to think about my work. I get home with new ideas and get busy putting them together, hoping I arrive at something original. I could do it in any car, but the 7-Series is wonderful and shockingly invisible here in Missouri. Pickups get more attention, and I like that.
We had a dinner conversation last week where friends said I was scary and super-intimidating. I've heard that for the last 30 years of my adult life, and I have no idea what to do with the information. How in the world did that ever happen? It seems to get worse because of my reader audience or the way I write. I'm always the same person, but the perception of me changes, and living out here seems to have an influence. Yes, I'll speak my mind and say things that are not popular. That's what writers do. I'll tell someone to go fuck themselves now and then, like someone off in the countryside would. It's funny. It’s normal here.
The reality is, I don't know how to become successful without my own discomfort along the way, and the best way to push my thinking is to be where I can think and get out on a drive to ponder something and write about it. I can't make everyone warm and fuzzy when I write and still help others challenge their own views. My writing will continue to evolve with me. I just wanted to tell you what’s up.