Martyn @martyn@writing.exchange

I feel seen.

The weirdest thing about writing is expecting people – strangers, even! – to care about what happens to characters you just made up in your head.

And yet they often do.

#writing #fiction

I wish I'd never nailed my shadow to my feet.

"Gun laws just don't work" is a pretty strange response from these politicians that always run on Tough on Crime. "People will break the law, so I guess we shouldn't have laws at all!"

One of the weirdest things happening in superhero comics right now is the Punisher's anti-redemption. Marvel are trying to make him less heroic in order, I suspect, to counter the Punisher-worshipping cops in the real world wearing his logo on their uniforms and guns. But will making the character more of a psychopath change that?

#comics #police #superheroes

Now this is a headline.

Hello, I'm an edgy, rule-breaking comedian. You can tell because all my jokes support the status quo. Also I'm probably a millionaire.

I didn't like school much when I was a kid, but I'm very grateful I had that time away from my family. Very often, parents do not "know best"; a big part of school is just giving you important time out from under their influence.

#family #education

Like many writers, I talk to myself throughout the day. It's like a podcast for my dog.

My entire life I thought it was the Medusa's snakes that turned you to stone. Now I find out it's the Medusa's own gaze that does it, and the snakes are just for... decoration?

When I think about leaving twitter – mostly to try to disentangle my dopamine from it – I worry that it's necessary for occasional bursts of self-promotion and I end up staying.

The best thing about having insomnia in Australia is at least large chunks of the rest of the world are awake to entertain you.

I've been thinking a lot about the "all your favourite artists have wealthy parents" meme that's going around. To be glass half-full about it, I think it shows that – when we have the choice – many of us choose to be artists. And we should try to make that possible for everyone who wants it.

It's a good day in Australia: we managed to vote out a corrupt, incompetent government that tried to weaponise transphobia and made us climate pariahs around the world.

Now we just have to force the new lot to be better.

#australia #politics

Sometimes I doubt I'll ever have the chance to sincerely say "Not where are we – when are we?"

It's election day in Australia, which means I think about how awesome it is that we have compulsory voting. Or compulsory "showing up to vote" anyway – you can always scribble nothing and walk away...

Anyway: wish us luck!

When the entire point of THE IRON GIANT is that the Giant refuses to be reduced to violence – even though it's what he was made for – this kind of cheap IP mining makes me sad. Stories should matter!

https://www.kotaku.com.au/2022/05/all-pop-culture-is-merging-into-mush-and-the-iron-giant-is-the-latest-casualty/