Member-only story
I’d Rather Bludgeon Myself With Household Appliances Than Play By The Rules
I don’t want clicks or legions of fans. My journey as a creative has been harder for it, but more rewarding.
Call me a fire-starter. Instead of coloring in the lines, I’d rather torch the book and watch the pages cinder in the flames. I’ve never been popular or conventionally cool; my work has never appealed to the masses no matter how hard publishers try to market it, and I’ll never lead a mighty army. I can barely handle a group conference call without an anxiety attack, so why would I invite a legion of strangers into my life?
The last thing I want to do is influence people. The last thing I’d want to be is a person picked clean, scrubbed down to a shell of a person because that’s what the peanut-crunching crowd demands. A digestible version of you — neat and tidy, returned to manufacturer settings. The crowd’s bought their tickets, munched on their popcorn, and filled a stadium of seats to watch the show. And there’s no room for disappointment, no margin of error you can exceed.
There’s only the smallness of you, turning tricks for the masses.
Why would I want my work to go viral? We’ve cracked open the word, bleached it, and made it worthy of desire. Watch our…
