Epiphany!

March 14, 2011

I had an Epiphany last week.

Somebody on FaceBook posted that director Steven Soderbergh had announced that he would retire from film-making after his next two movies, and a discussion began as to why he would do that.  After all, he's still a talented, relatively young man who could keep turning out movies for many years.

My reaction: "He's made several very good movies.  He's won an Oscar.  What else does he have to prove?"

And, as soon as I wrote that, I started thinking about myself and my own career. 

I may not have won an Oscar or any other award for that matter, however I have, over the years  accumulated an impressive body of work and there are several successful things that I've written, then seen produced or published of which I'm very proud.

So many people that I meet say to me: "You've led a very interesting life."

And, I guess I have.

Yet, I've always felt this inner "need" to do more; to have a new book or play or whatever out there every year or two.  So, as soon as I finish  one project, I've felt that I had to start another right away, because if I didn't, I would be a slacker...a bum.

But, I've now come to realize that what I said about Soderbergh also applies to me:  What more do I have to prove?

I have my resume'.  Financially, I'm comfortable.  I no longer "need" to write. 

Perhaps the writing of my memoirs has brought me to this realization.

Don't misunderstand.  I will continue to write, but in the future, I will write because I "want" to write a particular story, either for a fee or because it's a story that I will enjoy telling.

In the meantime, my next book, DRACULA MEETS JACK THE RIPPER  And Other Revisionist Histories, is still coming out later this year from BearManor Fiction...and, hopefully, there will be others after that.

You have a creative day.

Michael