***YOU TUBE VIDEOS***
Whenever I’m in a creative funk or I just need to wind down,
I’m usually surfing You Tube. My favorite channels are Wrestling with Wregret,
What Culture, Wrestle Talk TV, College Humor, Buzz Feed, and Cracked. I also
like watching random videos of You Tubers playing hacked versions of
videogames, whether it’s a custom-made Mario game or an Open Beats of Rage
version of Double Dragon or Final Fight. While I agree that binge watching You
Tube videos is not the most productive thing I could be doing with my free
time, the alternative would be channel surfing on my TV. I don’t have a gaming
console of my own, so videogames are out of the question (unless I decided to
use an emulator to play OpenBOR games or Nintendo and Super Nintendo games).
In all this time of watching You Tube videos, it made me
wonder why I wasn’t making any of my own. I currently have one You Tube video
in my uploads section and it’s twelve minutes of Smokey rolling around in
catnip while I make a whole bunch of drug jokes. Surely there’s something
better I could be doing with my digital camera. But the question is, what would
that be? Could I use You Tube videos as another avenue of promotion for my
books? Could I give my opinions on various subject matters? Could I shoot
another twelve minute video of Smokey rolling around in catnip?
Even if I knew what to do with a You Tube account, I don’t
have the fondest memories of the comments section on the videos I used to have
uploaded back in the late 2000’s. My videos could be anything from drawing or
photography features to songs that weren’t originally available for free play.
Aside from my songs being taken down by WMG (Warner Music Group or Website
Murdering Group, whichever one you prefer), I didn’t have the easiest time
fending off trolls who wanted to criticize everything I did. I admit that I’ve
gotten sensitive over the years with schizophrenia and autism weakening my
mental defenses, but even so, not everyone can have the troll slaying skills of
JK Rowling (if you haven’t seen her respond to Trump supporters, look it up on
Buzz Feed; it’s fucking awesome).
The question now becomes, is it all worth it? Should I put
myself out there to the You Tube public as a way of advertising my
self-published books? I suppose I could do that, but all in all, it’s just
another avenue of communication, no different from Deviant Art, Good Reads,
Face Book, or Twitter. What’s the point of having another channel if my
audience is going to be just as limited as it was before? That’s why I don’t
submit stories to Inkitt.com anymore, because it was just another channel with
nobody taking interest.
Another thing I would have to consider is being able to calm
my nerves while making the videos so that I don’t stammer over my words or need
multiple takes. I don’t know what it is about being in front of the camera that
makes me nervous. I used to take acting classes in middle school, high school,
and college, so I’m used to performing in front of a crowd. The only reason I
was successful in those ventures was because I had a script to follow and I got
lots of practice. You Tube videos and interviews are supposed to be spontaneous
and free. If it sounds like I’m reading from a script, then my audience will
know. It’s one of the reasons why I don’t like public speaking: because you’re
not afforded the privilege of reading from or studying a script.
Given all of the cons I’ve listed for making You Tube
videos, it makes me wonder why I’m even considering doing this. It’s because I
see so many of my friends making them with a lot of confidence and it’s
inspiring to me. I recently watched a video of former What Culture contributor
Suzie Kennedy talking about what an awesome 2016 she had and she was the
dictionary definitions of confidence and strength. I’ve also seen my beta
reader Marie Krepps do a video promoting her Some By Day, Some By Night vampire
series. She was very laid back and dare I say she has the cutest southern
accent in the world. Aww!
The reason I can’t exude confidence like my friends can is
because I don’t like the sound of my own voice or the way I look on camera. I
don’t take selfies very often because every picture makes me look heavier than
I really am and I don’t like to fake smiles even for photographs. I don’t
record myself either because I sound like I’m whining nasally whenever I play
it back. The more I talk about my onscreen presence, the happier I am that I
chose to be an author. Introversion and privacy are valued in my line of work,
so there’s nothing to be scared of.
If I ever do decide to make You Tube videos, it’s something
I’m going to have to think long and hard about. I might even need to be
convinced by someone else. You Tube seems to be the hottest way to get a public
image out there, so that’s something else to consider. Then again, do I really
have to read the comments section if I don’t want to? Is it possible to post
videos and stay in the shadows at the same time? That would be fucking awesome
if I could. If I ever did have fan mail to read or questions to answer, I’d
have to screen each message first. Yes, I know I sound like a snowflake, but
that’s not by choice; it’s called psychology, people.
The question of the day is, would you like to see me make
You Tube videos on a regular basis and if so, what would you want me to talk
about? We’ve got ears, say cheers!
***DARK FANTASY WARRIORS***
Lord McCain is ready to rock and roll, which means it’s time
for a heroic character to be on the chopping block. That heroic character is
Tony Castle, the psychomancer from…well…”The Psychomancer”. He doesn’t solve
Ashley Cormier’s problems for her; he just gives her the means and courage to
solve them herself. I’ve tried to teach this lesson in a short story called
“Deus Ex Machina” and it seems to have worked so far.
***DEMON AXE, CHAPTER 13***
After a month of busying myself with other creative
activities (as well as zombie walking), I finally posted the twelfth chapter of
Demon Axe, where Roger Zee does what he does best and slashes the shit out of
Daniel Mercer’s closest friends. Chapter thirteen won’t be any prettier as
Roger takes Daniel to a dark room and tortures him with his own heavy metal
music. The elf plays it at an annoyingly loud volume with flashing strobe
lights for an extended period of time, hoping to make Daniel hate his own genre
of music as a result of this torture. Guantanamo Bay
***LEGOS***
I still have two Lego sets that need to be built and
photographed in some creative way. I have a Batman set that I got for Christmas
and a WWE ring that I got for my 31st birthday. Maybe when I’m
sitting around in the dark with nothing to do, I’ll get cracking on building
those sets. Legos are a perfect alternative to channel surfing and You Tube
browsing.
***POISON TONGUE TALES***
Marie Krepps has been working hard on critiquing my Poison
Tongue Tales stories, so it’s only right that I keep my end of the bargain and
actually make the changes she’s suggesting. Since I like to edit things three
at a time, the next stories you’ll see updated in my Deviant Art gallery are
“Bee Jay the Glutinous”, “Born to Die”, and “Cigaro”. I’ve got a lot of work to
do to get them ready for publication, but I’ve never been afraid of hard work
before, so it shouldn’t be an issue.
***WHAT HIDES IN THE DARKNESS***
Now that “Once Upon a Pastry”, “Titan Screwed”, and “Child
of the Night Guild” are all in my rearview mirror, my next reading adventure
will be done as a favor for Marie Krepps. She has a friend named KL Cottrell
who is in need of some thoughtful reviews, but is shy about public life. I’m
always happy to help out a friend in need. Miss Cottrell wrote a trifecta of
paranormal fantasy books in the Light series and the first one is called “What
Hides in the Darkness”. I hope it’s a good one! I know it will be, but I’m
hoping anyways.
***LYRICS OF THE DAY***
“I get by in a world with no conscience by shouting it out
and being anonymous. And the problem is, you’re just like me.”
-Three Days Grace singing “Anonymous”-
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