DMB Pulp: Different? or Dumb?
I like doing it my way.
Are you the type of person who does things the established way, because you know it will be tons easier and save you lots of time? Or…are you the type who has to blaze their own trail, even if it’s right beside a paved sidewalk?
Spoiler: I’m the latter.
I simply like the process. I like sticking my hands in the goo and mushing it all around, rubbing it in my hair, and possibly, when nobody is looking, giving it a little taste. I know everyone else says the goo is toxic and can’t possibly be used as a hair product. But how many of them have actually tried? Seriously? Maybe one percent? They just take everybody’s word for it. Maybe some bald guy with a cold tried it once and then promptly sneezed snot all over the place. A rumor started that the goo caused his hair to fall out, and there you have it.
I know, I know. Chances are the goo really is toxic, and my hair actually will fall out. But you never know. And that slight chance I find a diamond in the rough—something everyone else is sleeping on—is the problem. It’s like a drug.
What is “the American Way” if not essentially, “I did it my way?” I mean, according to Shary Bobbins of The Simpsons, “Just do a half-assed job. If you cut every corner, it is really not so bad. It’s the American Way!” She makes a pretty solid argument as well. And sometimes the two definitions aren’t so far apart. Doing it my way is often just an excuse to not bother researching the correct way. Or rejecting the wisdom of the people who have figured it out before me, so I can rationalize my laziness in the name of originality and/or ingenuity.
Other times, I’ll put in hours and hours of work just to come up with something subpar that I can call my own (only to find out weeks later that at least a few dozen other schmucks hacked out the same process years if not decades before me). It really is a problem. I have a problem. I’m not sure why it is so hard for me to simply admit, “Someone else has done this better than me. I can learn from them.”
If I could learn to at least steal from a handful of sources and perhaps tweak something to make it my own, that would be progress. I suppose that’s what my brain is doing anyway. There’s nothing new under the sun, right? It would be a lot easier if I just went along with it. Instead, I wake up in the morning with goo encrusted hair and a sour stomach wondering why I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning attempting to conjure a new mystery out of a long dead horse.
Meh. I suppose there are worse hobbies to have in life.
If you want to start reading the Lost DMB Files…
[Click here for an introduction by Jim Buckner]
[Start with the introduction to the series.]
Thanks so much for taking the time to read Twitch and Die!, Season Four of the Lost DMB Files. I’ll be publishing FREE daily scenes from the Lost DMB Files until…I die…or something terrible happens. Seriously, I’ve got over 400 scenes written so far, and I’ll be writing more until the story reaches its natural ending. You are totally welcome to read the entire story for FREE! If at any point you decide you would rather finish the story in ebook or print format, just click the buttons below and you can do that as well. If you enjoy reading the serial releases, BUT you would also like to support me as a writer (my kids need wine!) please subscribe to my premium content for bonus scenes, exclusives, and insider access to my process. And of course, I’d be grateful if you would share this post with any of your reader friends who you think would enjoy the Lost DMB Files. Happy reading!