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Stan Lee Had It Right: The Idiots Don’t Get to Dictate What You Write
Seriously, your stories are your own beasts to tame.
I’ve been struggling lately with my writing journey: despite some minor successes, I still haven’t managed to chip away at my big ambition to finish and publish a novel. NaNoWriMo 2021 even passed with barely a whisper as I struggled to tackle ideas that seem so much bigger than me.
Today was a particularly sobering day where I sat at a desk in a cubicle — something I never thought I’d do — and flashed to a future where I’m tied to the chair and screen. Even though I know I’m in a good position to have any job at all (especially one not in the service or retail industries), I still can’t help but feel that it will become a trap if I’m not careful. Perhaps it’s an unpopular opinion, but I’ve always felt that the truest artists will live and suffer by their art — even if that means success, as we quantify it, actually only greets them after death. (That idea probably needs an essay in and of itself.)
Then, doing some YouTube scrolling, I was recommended this video featuring Stan Lee and the true origin story of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man:
