Tag: Taylor Swift

Let’s Applaud Jason Kelce, by Art Smukler, MD, author & psychiatrist

by artsmuklermd, posted in Writing

It’s such a treat to watch the greatest athletes in the world compete for the right to play in the Super Bowl. I’m in awe how a puny 170 lb running back can survive multiple hits from gargantuan 300 lb defenders. Most of the time, after being plastered to the turf, they simply pop up and get ready for the next play.

But in today’s world, calling football a game is not accurate. It’s a business with billions of dollars riding on how well a team performs. For the players, there’s a simple rule, If you mess up too much, you’re fired.

Jason is one of the premier centers in all of football and is loved and respected by his Eagles teammates and fans. He showed up at the Chiefs-Bills playoff game to support his brother, Travis, an all star end and Taylor Swift’s boyfriend. So what happened?

After Travis scored his second touchdown, Jason pulled off his shirt, left the enclosed suite, and carrying his beer he ran into the freezing stadium and endeared himself to the Bills fans. Shirtless, he even carried a young girl back to the suite so she could meet her idol, Taylor swift.

Jason took all the seriousness out of the game, flipped it upside down, and enjoyed himself and embraced his brother’s success. I loved it! He’s a great father. A hard worker. A person who obviously doesn’t take himself too seriously. And he reminded us that football is a game, a game that most of us played as kids, and he let us all forget for a brief few minutes how money sometimes ruins our perspective.

If you want to have some more fun, join my amateur sleuths. LITTLE ITALY, PATIENT X, and THE SECRET OF CAROL ROSA are a click away.

Thanks, Art

#TaylorSwift, #Traviskelce, #Jasonkelce, #NFL, #amateursleuths, #mystery, #suspense, #romance

WHY WRITE FICTION? by Art Smukler, MD, author & psychiatrist

by artsmuklermd, posted in Writing

Worldwide there are millions of authors.

Writers who sit in front of their computers and make up stories are a special breed. They devote countless hours searching their souls to find just the right way to portray their imaginary characters, to make them come alive on the page and make their make-believe-lives something that readers will want to devour.

It can’t be just the money. The percentage of Grishams, Cobens, Patchetts etc. are so rare that it’s like a girl who writes songs and aspires to become Taylor Swift. It can obviously happen, it happened to her, but the chances of it happening are minuscule. If you become a rock star or a famous author you can make a fortune, but everyone else is doomed to getting their pittance from Amazon or Barnes & Noble. And obviously, 99% of writers support themselves with a real job, with savings, or with family money.

Is it simply a silly hope that you’ll be the one who breaks through and garners all the money and acclaim? No. Writers aren’t stupid. They’re smart enough to create an imaginary world and they’re smart enough to know that the chances of them making enough money to live off their books is like winning the lottery.

So why? With everything stacked against success, why do very bright people keep persevering?

Lester, one of the detectives on THE WIRE, the TV series that ended 15 years ago, said it so well, when describing why detectives battle the odds to catch and then convict the crooks, ‘It’s the journey, not the destination.’

And for me that’s the answer for writers too. Authors love the journey. They complain, describe the misery and loneliness of writing, how frustrating it is, but in the end they keep doing it. In spite of all the obstacles, the creative process is engaging, exciting, and meaningful. Even if no one else agrees, the author like the determined detective, will not be derailed. The process is too important. Agents and publishers have their opinions and we have ours. And if every so often you lose your impetus just give it a little time. You’ll bounce back.

If we can’t write, we suffer.

Don’t suffer!

Get back to your characters, your plot, and your fantasies.

You never know who your story will touch.

Check out PATIENT X, a mystery. If you think you have a problem as a writer, you’ve got to meet Jake Bennett.

Thanks for reading. If you’re not a subscriber to Tales From Smukler’s Couch, just click away and you can become one.

Art

#authors, #writers, #psychiatrist, #mystery, #suspense, #romance, #JohnGrisham, #HarlanCoben, #AnnPatchett, #TaylorSwift, #amateursleuth

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