Addendum to the reading

[I posted yesterday's blog entry to the Wil Wheaton Yahoogroups list to share, and then forgot to tell them all about this incident and posted it as well.]

When Wil was doing the Q&A after his reading -- he read the chapters about the "Hooters Incident" and about his audition when his family went on vacation -- a guy came sauntering into the bookstore, and you could tell he was "different." Unkempt hair, terribly matching clothes... let's just say he was the standard NERD type like in high school that you hoped would never stop in the halls to talk to you lest you be banned from the normal kids forever. (Not like our dear Wil, he's Just a Geek :).

The audience could see the fellow coming, barreling along side the makeshift "podium" past Wil as he's answering someone else's question. He looks to see who the speaker is -- stops, takes a double take and then immediately shoots his hand up in the air, waving.

My heart sunk. Please don't ask it.

Wil takes his question next.

"Hey, hey! Aren't you the guy who used to be on Star Trek?"

"Yeah. Used to be." Ugh. Poor Wil. Sucked up real good and I know I wasn't the only one with him. But the guy goes on:

"Oh yeah, yeah. Well, have you done anymore science fiction?"

Not a bad question and Wise Wil runs with it. I'm sorry, I can't remember the answer, but it's basically no -- I was too distracted by the other fellow's hand at attention again, ready to ask yet another question! Fortunately one of the employees there felt our collective cringe and told the guy something like "Give everyone else a chance, moron!" (okay, maybe not exactly that). He pulled his hand down and he left us and Wil alone.

We all got a taste of the entire "Hooters incident" right then and there, twenty minutes after Wil read it to us. Wow. Talk about synchronicity. Talk about empathy.

Wow Wil Wheaton

You ARE "Just a Geek"! But a humble, smart and funny one at that.

I made it to the reading with ten minutes to spare (ah the benefits of living ten minutes from Sunset and Vine), and was shocked to see that Borders wasn't teeming with teens. Just us other geeks who want to be ourselves... I think Wil was the youngest one in the room! And boy was he fun. I've never been to a book reading where the author was an actor -- this was the most entertaining one ever. He sure has the best of comic timing, in his writing so consequently he had something great to "act." LOL Hey Wil, did were you thinking that when you sat down at the computer how you were gonna "say" it? Because it certainly all rolled off the tongue.

He said he writes "narrative non-fiction" and wants to make others feel the way his favorite writer, David Sedaris, makes him feel. [How come I've never heard that phrase before, "narrative non-fiction"?!] Well, right back at 'ya Wil -- I want to write like YOU.

The difference, I heard today, is DISCIPLINE. "I'm very disciplined with my writing," he said. "Sometimes I write 5,000 words in three hours, sometimes 60 words in three hours, sometimes I write a lot of stuff and then throw it all out. But I'm disciplined." He got that from Stephen King's book "On Writing" -- hey, I read that book and I didn't get THAT out of it! For shame. Come to think of it, I don't even know where I PUT that book...

Three hours. Every day, no matter what. Pen/paper, typing... no matter what.

Yes, I can do that. I want to do that. Hell, Madonna does that (three hours of "creative time" everyday before anything else) and look where it got her.

As I was driving back, I thought "He doesn't know me, but I'm gonna drop him a nice note" and I realized that everything that will let ME be successful in the world MY WAY has do with OUTPUT. Writing. Playwrighting. Composing. All time I need to be ALONE and honest and OUTPUTTING. That's it... no heavy lifting required.

I can do this. It doesn't matter if I'm, as a reviewer said who's review I can't find again, a "normal person trying to be famous" as opposed to Wil who's a "famous person trying to be normal." I just have to do the work.

Make the time. Sit in the chair. Be yourself and output.

Thanks Wil Wheaton. You've made my day.

(P.S. to this story: I was warring with myself whether I should spend my $14.95 + tax for his "Dancing Barefoot" to have him sign it -- or get Yvette's nails trimmed since I only have $26 left to my name. I felt bad if he wasn't going to have a line of people to sign it... but he did, all those other older geeks like me, who unlike me, brought funds to buy the books. So I didn't feel so bad walking/sneaking out. (Besides, my hair looked like shit. I didn't want to remember this like that -- okay, I didn't want to meet ANYBODY or Wil like that... so maybe I'll find him at the San Diego reading and get a book signed there. Support the arts and the arts will support you!)