I honestly feel horrible for famous people, writers, etc. Most people don’t, and look up to them. Now, I’m not saying not to look up to them. Most people become famous because they determined not to quit from the thing they enjoyed regardless of what people said about them. But to me, fame just seems… overrated. Here’s why I have my odd opinion, why I hope my writing never becomes popular.
- You travel – a lot. Now as much as I love seeing different places, having to go because of conferences, meetings, book deals and general fame-related issues just seems problematic. If I could, I would wish to stay home and enjoy myself in the comfort of my writing chair, pounding out stories.
- Crazy fans. I’m terrified that one day my books will get semi-famous, and I’ll be doing book signings when suddenly, a wild fan appears. They ask about said plot hole that even I hadn’t noticed. What would I say to him or her? How would I explain that I’m really not as smart as they think I am?
- Paparazzi. This isn’t as big of a deal with writers as with other famous people, but people like to watch. But I’m not much to watch. I don’t want people judging my every move. All they’re probably going to see is a guy doing regular house things, occasionally typing on a keyboard, reading a book and watching Netflix. They aren’t going to see me randomly glowing or anything. If they want that, they can go see Edward Cullen.
- Talking. I hate talking in front of large groups of people. I’m more than happy talking into my microphone for podcasts, or talking to, say, a group of five. But people expect you to be some guru or something and want you to get up on stage and tell you how to live your life. At least that’s what it seems goes down with some of them. How prideful do you have to be to think you can do that and actually sound smart? I would just say, “be a good person, don’t do drugs” and walk off that stage faster than Usain Bolt in a 100-meter dash.
- I would feel bad for my descendants. For some reason, people think that if you are born from someone who is good at something, you must be good at it too. My dad is an excellent at fixing and modifying cars. Can I fix and modify cars? No. My mother is an excellent teacher. Can I teach? Not really well. And nobody else in the family writes, so it seems to me that your parents don’t define you. Yet whenever a famous person has a kid, we all think, “Oh, look, they’re going to be just like their famous mom or dad”. But I don’t care if my future children or grandchildren write or not. I want them to be happy and not have people putting unrealistic expectations on them just because of who their dad is.
Maybe in the end, I actually do want to be noticed, but not have any of the problems involved. What do you think? Would you be okay with fame?
Gabriel to Earth 