A Mark of Midwittery

A Mark of Midwittery

A word of caution I frequently give my editing clients is that excess repetition quickly exhausts readers’ patience. Most authors quickly get the concept.

Continued reliance on repeating the same old saws ad nauseam is a mark of midwittery and creative bankruptcy.

Whether former Disney author propagandist Chuck Wendig never had an editor who gave him that advice, or he simply can’t take it, I leave for you to judge.

Wendig - Hookers

We discussed this and many other pop culture topics on the latest episode of Geek Gab. Watch it here:

But it’s not all dunking on oldpub rejects. Daddy Warpig, Dorrinal, and I also talk newpub, including the smashingly successful crowdfunder for Combat Frame XSeed: S.

If you haven’t browsed the campaign in a while, we’ve added several tantalizing new perks, including a Deep Lore bundle featuring all four XSeed eBooks, Series 4 Combat Frame Cards, the brand-new Pilot Cards, and the Illustrated Tech Guide!

Claim yours to help us reach our Sixth Stretch Goal and unlock a second free XSeed short story exclusively for backers. Support the project now!

Collectors' Lore Bundle

24 Comments

  1. wreckage

    As a midwit, I must object in the strongest terms to being lumped in with this knucklehead. You defame us, sir!

    • Brian Niemeier

      If it's any consolation, Wendig is probably suffering from demonic obsession as well.

    • Anonymous

      Jesus says that man does not live by bread alone, but Mr. Wendig could probably use some. A diet free of gluten and high fructose corn syrup will only keep you healthy enough to rebel against God.

    • Brian Niemeier

      Having been subjected to several of his Boomer guitar hymns growing up, I can't say I'm surprised.

    • Scott W.

      I was hoping his hymns would be abolished by papal bull, but this works too.

    • Durandel

      “You Are Mine” lyrics now have a creepy tone.

  2. Scott W.

    Enlighten my ignorance please. What is this "dead hooker" thing Wendig keeps flaying?

    • Brian Niemeier

      What you see is what you get.

  3. Chris Lopes

    Wendig, whatever his other problems, has some serious issues if he really thinks that crap is funny. Repetition is bad enough, but the substance of the repetition is just plain sick.

    • Brian Niemeier

      That, too, but humor is 99% delivery. Norm MacDonald made the same joke funny.

    • Chris Lopes

      A professional comedian can make almost anything funny. With Wendig it just comes off as lame at best and creepy at worst.

    • Brian Niemeier

      Indeed. That's why the best comedy writers are justly revered in the craft.

  4. Eli

    Living proof that you can be a terrible writer and have a successful career as long as you have the right politics. See also John Scalzi, or any modern hugo awards winner if we are being honest.

    • xavier

      Yup. Another blogger remarked in a tweet we aspiring writers need not agonize about our writing again.
      Also I'm affronted. As someone who suffers from dyspraxia, I struggle not to be wordy when writing and prolix when speaking but Chuck has had a career where he write mediocre texts that read like involuntary sonic outbursts from….something.

      Lord grant me concision of speech and economy in writing so I can offer my modest creations to Your glory and love.
      xavier

    • Brian Niemeier

      Elevating mediocre-to-horrible writers is oldpub's entire operation now. It's all a humiliation ritual.

    • xavier

      Brian,

      Concour. It's the reason I refuse to read DC/Marvel comics and prefer to read non English stories

      xavier

  5. Durandel

    Obsessed much? Reading those tweets, my takeaway is that the creep really did murder a hooker.

    • Brian Niemeier

      Unlike Trump, Wendig can't boast that murder wouldn't make him less popular.

    • Mike Solyom

      Those guys are really good at projection. It was my takeaway too that he was probably involved in the death of a hooker.

      That also reminds me of something I heard another author say. She said "Writers like to write stories about people that are just like themselves. It's why I'm glad I'm not George R. R. Martin's sister."

    • Brian Niemeier

      That's the nigh-universal tendency among female and effeminate authors. They can't resist writing about themselves.

  6. Emmett Fitz-Hume

    I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Chuck Wendig probably hasn’t murdered any prostitutes. However, he probably thinks about it all the time to the Detroit his marriage and social life.

    I would agree that there is likely something demonic going on there. It reminds me of James Gunn’s tweet history and his obsession with pedo jokes.

    • Brian Niemeier

      The industry selects for these people.

Comments are closed