The stack of blank paper is yelling. Write ME! If that M. Clifford guy can do it, so can you!
What is this? Let's check the cover art. Advice on writing. Projects I'm working on and what's to come, updates, and all that jazz. Practices, like my proc...
Hello, Wattpadders (or WattPotters, as I used to fondly call my fanfic crew)
I'd like to formally (re)introduce myself. I'm Michael Clifford, not of the 5 Seconds of Summer variety. I've written books as myself, as M. Clifford, as Emmet Sinclair,and soon to be writing Romance (!!!) under the pseudonym Robyn Wrangler with my wife here on Wattpad and beyond.
And then some other super secret novel under another name that will remain a mystery for the time being, thank you!
(cough cough) So what am I doing here after so long? Well, I thought it would be good to reset a little. It's the close of 2022 and those "New Year's resolution" vibes are kicking in. This also happens to coincide with my return to Wattcon, which I attended in 2018 and which was just hosted here in Los Angeles in November. Those post-convention spikes of creativity and adrenaline are pumping through me! My mind is going a mile a minute, and I'm trying to catch up. I missed out on the 2019 Wattcon in NYC, even though I bought tickets, because I'm also a father and... well... commitments and all that. Needless to say, it was great to be back.
Father, you say? Yes, that's right. If you're new to me, I'm not only a man (which I appreciate is rare in some circles of Wattpad), but I'm also an "old". Really... what is age? I'm joking. That said, I certainly don't feel like I'm turning ((INSERT FRIGHTENING NUMBER HERE)) this week. But even if I am the same age as the Goonies and the gang from Stranger Things, that was my childhood, I own that with pride, and I'm happy to reconcile with whatever that means. I have mostly good memories of the 80s and 90s. Among many things, that's when I became close friends with the girl who would one day be my future wife. And I love her. Like a ton, so...
If you can't tell by now, I have lots of ADHD. I tend to meander through topics based on the whims of the moment. So while I'm hoping this will be sort of an educational journey through the life of an author, here's to secondly hoping you actually get something out of it. Perhaps a sense of place or purpose. Or an appalling example of alliteration that should be left on the cutting room floor... But whatever this is, it'll be me, raw and unedited (as you can tell).
Why do I think this is necessary? Because I'm back, in every sense of the word. I've been through a couple years of struggles and felt "lost" in a number of ways. The entire planet took a nap. That happened. And I've been obsessing over one project, in particular, that's made me reconsider everything about art and storytelling and the future of this fantastic, empathetic medium!!!!
Mike, your mind is wandering. Again. Even as I write this, I'm thinking of Artificial Intelligence and the physical process of creating fiction in thirty years... How about we save that for another time?
For now, hello to those who don't know me, and hello again to those who do.
byeeeeeeeeee
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