do good recklessly

Which is advice written directly by Chuck Palahniuk about how to write like Chuck Palahniuk, which is a style that OP doesn't want to emulate.

Popularity ("one of the world's best authors") isn't necessarily the same thing as writing well. Eragon was popular. I couldn't make it past the first few pages because it was poorly written. Anne McCaffrey told beautiful stories about Pern, but I always found her writing itself to be dry and difficult to swallow. Steven King is hugely popular, but his writing can also be dry at times. James Patterson has his name on a lot, a LOT, of popular stories that.... Well. Aren't really his, or at least weren't actually written by him. Would I take advice from any of them about how to write? No, probably not, unless it actually suited my style.

It's common right now for TV series to have 8-12 episode seasons, when we used to have 22-24 episode seasons. To tell the story in the shorter period of time, a lot of the "fat" gets trimmed, but if you've ever cooked meat you know that the fat is where the FLAVOR is. I desperately miss 22-24 episode seasons. I miss the trope episodes that don't particularly affect the plot. I miss that style of storytelling, and it's largely been sacrificed for the go go go trim the fat style OP references.

And the thing is, their advice isn't necessarily bad advice. But the message often comes out like OP says: "this is the only good way to write, and if you do x or y or z, it's bad writing."

And that's not necessarily the case. Maybe it's writing you don't like, and that's fine! Not every piece of writing is for every single person. But there are people who enjoy styles that aren't necessarily popular. That don't do what that advice orders them to do.

Which is advice written directly by Chuck Palahniuk about how to write like Chuck Palahniuk, which is a style that OP doesn't want to emulate.

Popularity ("one of the world's best authors") isn't necessarily the same thing as writing well. Eragon was popular. I couldn't make it past the first few pages because it was poorly written. Anne McCaffrey told beautiful stories about Pern, but I always found her writing itself to be dry and difficult to swallow. Steven King is hugely popular, but his writing can also be dry at times. James Patterson has his name on a lot, a LOT, of popular stories that.... Well. Aren't really his, or at least weren't actually written by him. Would I take advice from any of them about how to write? No, probably not, unless it actually suited my style.

It's common right now for TV series to have 8-12 episode seasons, when we used to have 22-24 episode seasons. To tell the story in the shorter period of time, a lot of the "fat" gets trimmed, but if you've ever cooked meat you know that the fat is where the FLAVOR is. I desperately miss 22-24 episode seasons. I miss the trope episodes that don't particularly affect the plot. I miss that style of storytelling, and it's largely been sacrificed for the go go go trim the fat style OP references.

And the thing is, their advice isn't necessarily bad advice. But the message often comes out like OP says: "this is the only good way to write, and if you do x or y or z, it's bad writing."

And that's not necessarily the case. Maybe it's writing you don't like, and that's fine! Not every piece of writing is for every single person. But there are people who enjoy styles that aren't necessarily popular. That don't do what that advice orders them to do.

“I was going to get my masters degree but then it was 2020, so yeah”

“I was cast in a play and then it was 2020”

"My baby was born in 2020, and then (two weeks later to be precise), it was 2020."

the trouble is, you think you have time.

Grace Rocky Save Stars!

If you don't know her, Dani Donovan is an artist who makes these great ADHD comics. You've probably seen her comics even if you don't know her name:

These are just a few of my favorites, but there are a TON more on her website and Instagram. She's also the one behind the Anti-Planner workbook, if you've heard of that.

Yesterday, she sent out an email to her mailing list explaining that her business is really struggling:

I've been going back and forth on whether to say this. But authentic honesty is my whole thing, so here goes. ​ I'm fucking exhausted, dude. I've been putting out fires for a Very Long Time and keep getting hit back down before I can fully stand back up. I've got a link at the bottom of this email to a blog post with way more details about wtf has been happening with my business. (I've held a lot back over the last 2 years.) [here is the blog post] The reason it's so scary is that admitting everything that's gone wrong behind the scenes is vulnerable and I feel like a pretty massive failure. TL;DR is I've had to downsize my team from 7 people to just me and my husband, which is making things wayyyy harder. My business is in a really scary spot right now. Given all that, my upcoming launches are about to be the make-or-break moments for my company. And I'm so nervous I won't be able to pull it off in time. But over the last year, I've had tons of awesome people like you tell me in supportive DMs, emails, and IRL: "When you need help, put out the bat signal—your people will show up." So, uh…  

Your support right now will genuinely make a difference. A ticket, a share, or just forwarding this to one friend who might really like this upcoming launch. If it's not the right time or it's just not for you—I completely get it. Shit is rough all around these days, and I 1000% get it. Your existing support already means more than I can say. 💖

I don't know Dani personally or anything, I'm just an ADHDer who's been a fan of her comics for years and enjoys her blog posts. From the blog post about her business, she's in a rough spot and I thought Tumblr would want to know. She has the Anti-Planner, posters of her comics, and a bunch of other different neurodiversity-related merch available at her store here. I just grabbed two of my favorite posters I've wanted forever and some stickers.

She's also holding an online event, a 2-hour “How to Get Sh*t Done When You Don't Feel Like It” Masterclass + Workshop, which you can learn more about/register for here. (this is also linked in the quoted email I copy/pasted above). I think it comes with some Anti-Planner merch as well? It sounds really helpful for all of us neurodiverse folks.