Wednesday, April 21, 2010

STUFF

Okay, read about a YA book where the adult self could call the teenage self. Found this because authors I admire were putting messages to teenage selves on the tweets. Mine was: Dear 15 year old self -- It gets better. Really. When they say "these are the best years of your life" they LIE. Just hang in there.

15 was hades, hideous in intensity and in ways that only the young and ragingly hormonal can understand.

But it got better. For which I need to thank God . . . EVERY . . . FREAKING . . . DAY!

And for kittens, and puppies, and flowers, and all that happy stuff. But definitely for 15 not lasting forever.

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One of the coolest things about the major authors I've run into is that they are NICE. I'm sure there are assholes out there. I mean, a major chunk of the population are, so it would follow that a chunk of the author population would be too. But for the most part, the ones I've run into---including the ridiculously successful, powerful and influential ones, are NICE.

Nice is, in my opinion, seriously underrated. People think "nice guys finish last" and that nice people are pushovers. From what I've seen it's not true. Some of the most successful folks I know are nice. Nice does things like set up a charity to end a hideous and devastating illness. Nice donates time and effort to protecting the civil liberties and free speech of everyone, even folks that you don't agree with. Nice encourages struggling newbies and helps them find their footing. Nice meets and greets and promotes charities and is patient and kind when folks gush and are incoherent, and puts up with the crazies (and I'm not talking the nice crazies (for whom I have an abiding fondness), I'm talking the stalker, scary, gee I'm spending the rest of my freaking life with armed security and ooh, isn't it fun they just hacked my system and screwed with the fans because I set a toe out of what they think is line crazies) and keep working under difficult to impossible circumstances.

I hope I can be that nice.

I'm not entirely positive I can.

But hey, it's good to have a goal. As far as goals go, I think nice works for me. Of course raging success would be good too. Really.

3 comments:

Tammy said...

You're already nice, as for successful, you guys are on your way!

Dolly said...

I like "nice". If that's the worst anyone can say about you...hey you're golden.

Agree with Tammy. Anyone I know gets books recommendations from me, which includes you guys.

C. T. Adams said...

Thank you ladies! :) You're very sweet. And yes, NICE.