Go for the Unrealistic - Tips for the New Year!

 

Jinx isn't afraid of the 'impossible' - WallPapers.com

I want to wind up 2023 with a meaningful idea, and the topic that comes to mind is What's Next? It reminds me of a piece I wrote a few decades ago after hearing Will Smith talk about doing the impossible. I've tweaked it to fit the NOW. Hope you enjoy, and have a wonderful holiday season, and New Year 2024.

Will Smith said in an interview once that it’s unrealistic to bend a piece of metal and fly people over the ocean in it but fortunately, the Wright brothers didn’t think so. 

It all begins with this premise. 

Michael Parkes

A lot of advice for emerging writers, students, biz owners, teachers, apprentices, and entrepreneurs centres on ‘being realistic'. For example, you have to start at the bottom, take baby steps, like... forget about landing an agent if you haven’t published, and definitely forget about a major publisher without an agent. What you want to achieve is very hard work, $$$ will be tight, and rejection du jour so keep your day job...  It's enough to sink your dreams into the sludge.

But is the advice realistic? Probably. 

Do you let that guide you? No!

I highly recommend these five unrealistic tips to set yourself up to do the 'impossible' in 2024. 

Tip #1 Forget about being realistic. Stop thinking about the practical advice and the ‘cold hard facts’ and develop your craft/heart/goals. If you have a dream, something you are enthusiastic about, develop the skills to deliver it. All the talent in the world won’t fly if you don’t have the skills to communicate your vision. Develop them!

Tip #2 Think in terms of component parts. In publishing, you don’t set out to write a 500,000-word, multi-book series. You don’t even set out to write a single novel. You get up in the morning and you write five hundred words. You do that for a time and get some confidence and maybe, after a while, you find yourself writing a thousand words a day. Then two thousand. Same with a new business plan, thesis, art show, album, you name it. Component parts, day by day.

Tip #3 Say you can do it. He who says he can and he who says he can’t are both correct. Confucius. Think about that for a while.

Tip #4 Know your motivations. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ motivation for your artistry. It might be that you want to prove something to the world. You might want to feel of value. You might be obsessed with telling a story that will touch people’s hearts. Whatever your motivation is, know it. Know thyself. The awareness of what drives you is your touchstone.

YaoYao Ma Van As

Tip #5 Decide, devote, deliver. But first, just decide that you will do it, that you will achieve your dream. Devote your whole heart to it, and allow for compassion for others and the planet to be part of that devotion. Deliver what you promise to yourself and to others—one step at a time.

Bonus tip. Remind yourself to go for the unrealistic. I mean, what if we’d listened to any of this ‘realistic’ advice?

Everything that can be invented has been invented.  Charles H. Duell, an official at the US Patent Office, 1899

The singer (Mick Jagger) will have to go; the BBC won’t like him. -First Rolling Stones manager Eric Easton to his partner after watching them perform.

I’m sorry, Mr Kipling, but you just don’t know how to use the English language. –The San Francisco Examiner, rejecting a submission by Rudyard Kipling in 1889

You better get secretarial work or get married. -Emmeline Snively, director of the Blue Book Modelling Modelling Agency, advising would-be model Marilyn Monroe in 1944.

With over fifteen types of foreign cars already on sale here, the Japanese auto industry isn’t likely to carve out a big share of the market for itself. Business Week, August 2, 1968.

There will never be a bigger plane built. – A Boeing engineer, after the first flight of the 247, a twin-engine plane that held ten people.

If anything remains more or less unchanged, it will be the role of women. David Riesman, conservative American social scientist, 1967. (Of boy!)

I hope these ideas offer you inspiration for the New Year 2024!

Blessings to all,

xxKim

***

About Kim Falconer

Kim Falconer, currently writing as AK Wilder, has released Crown of Bones, a YA Epic Fantasy with Curse of Shadows as book 2 in the series. Currently, she is working on the third book, out in 2024.

Kim can be found on  AKWilder Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 

Throw the bones, read your horoscopes or Raise Your Phantom on the AKWilder.com site

Giveaway at Blood Rose Books

Crispin Korchen

Hi Sup readers!

Over at Blood Rose Books, they are giving away copies of The Blood in the Beginning with my recent interview. I thought I would give you all the highlights, and the chance to grab an ebook (for Aussies) or physical book (for Aussies AND/or international peeps).

To enter, go to Blood Rose Books Interview with Kim Falconer.

Below are highlights of the interview (with my comments on the questions).

BRB: If there was one author you could co-write a novel with (they can be alive or dead) who
would you choose and why?

KIM: They opened with this. Very challenging. I thought of 20, then 20 more ... then thought of how to explain ... I spent all day pondering it! You can see where I settled, after thinking of Homer to Jane Austen, all my Supernatural buddies to several best friends.

BRB: ...why did you decide to create the Mar?

KIM: More hours of contemplation. Did I create them? They already exist, right, as mythological creatures appearing for thousands of years in all cultures, in all places, in all times. They well up from memory, for all of us ... a loaded question, I thought!

BRB: ...What about Astrology appeals to you?

KIM: For me, this question is like asking, 'What is it about the English language that appeals to you? Here is my answer in full: My first six novels, the Quantum Enchantment and Quantum Encryption series, have themes of astrology and astronomy relevant to the plot. Some of the characters are expert stargazers and rely on the symbol system to solve mysteries and make critical choices. Being an astrologer for over 40+ years, my father an astrologer before me, means it’s part of the way I perceive the world. It naturally seeps into the writing, unless I make an effort to keep it out. I’m sure we’ll have more astro-relevance in the future. It would be weird without it.

BRB: What do you think would be the hardest or most challenging genre to write a novel in and why?

KIM: I liked this question, and had an answer immediately - narrative non-fiction  - a novel-like story about real-life people and events. Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood is the classic example; Into the Wild is a more contemporary one. The research and ethical issues alone would be daunting for me, maybe even stifling, especially with a still-living subject. I have a lot of respect for authors who tackle this genre.

BRB: ... how much research did you do in order to make the information in these parts of the book sound extremely real?

KIM: Another immediate answer. To quote Will Smith: "Sicking amounts of work." But I loved every minute of it. One of my fav aspects of writing is discovering new things. 

BRB: ... what appeals to you of the darker side of our culture?

KIM: Hours of contemplation went into finding this answer, starting with 'I'm attracted to the dark side?' Really good question!

BRB: Holy Crap is Ava an amazing character, she basically has the perfect balance of badassness, smarts but also self-aware (plus she lacks the whiny or smugness that many female characters have in this genre), what went in to her creation? Was important to you to make sure she was balanced character? Do you train in MMA to help Ava learn all her skills?

KIM: My answer in full, because what author doesn't like chatting about their main characters? 

I’m syked you think Ava is amazing. A lot went into her creation. 

She evolved organically, but I think, for one, the environment has shaped her. She develops what it takes to survive the Big One, CHI-Tech, being raised in the system … survive and thrive. If she was whiny, I don’t think she would have made it through her teens, living under the radar, in the streets. Ava’s character grows from the unseen past that moulded her to the current challenges she faces. It’s sink or swim. (LOL the pun)

I also wanted to balance Ava’s badassness with heart. She’s defensive, at times. Cautious. Brutal. But she will do anything for those she loves, as we find out.

Training on the beach

To help write ‘real’ characters, I give them astrological charts, a horoscope just like anyone born in the future might have, only I get to pick the day, month and year to fit. It ends up being a character reference guide. If I am not sure how she might respond to a certain situation, I refer to her chart and ask, “What would a Virgo with Pluto rising and Moon in Gemini do?” Gets me unstuck every time.

I’ve trained in martial arts and Iaido, (Japanese Sword) and I do pull on those experiences to choreograph fight scenes, but in this series, I collaborated with a Jujitsu and MMA fighter as well, to give that extra level of authenticity.

To see the full interview and put your name in the rafflecopter for a free paperback or ebook of The Blood in the Beginning, hop over to Blood Rose Books. Great reviews there too!

Kim Falconer's latest release is out now - The Blood in the Beginning - and Ava Sykes Novel. Find this novel in a store near you.

You can also learn more about Kim at AvaSykes.com, the 11th House Blog, and onFaceBook and Twitter.  She posts here at the Supernatural Underground on the 16th of every month and runs Save the Day Writer's Community on Facebook. All Welcome.