A writing update that blends personal reflection with creative thinking. In “Comments and Video Games,” Greg Luti discusses getting past social media spam, the unexpected value of reader comments, and how looking at life through a video-game lens helps him make sense of both writing and the world. Out of Facebook Hell I have some good news on the writing front, and that is I am out of what I called Facebook Hell, which is when the spam on the page was so bad the very page was dead. No comments, no shares. Nothing. Only me posting stuff for basically myself. After much clicking and blocking, the page is getting some people actually responding to it. I like reading comments because they are never really something that I think about when I am writing something, whether that is a blog post or a story. I write up something, take out a few quotes for the social media pages, and then someone responds to that line, which has its own meaning. As I was writing, I never thought the one line would get a response, but here we are… Feeling Like a Video Game Character My progress on the Facebook page made me feel like I was a character in a video game, where I now have some decent equipment. I can go around the map and kill some things. I can actually have some fun in the game, rather than just praying that the zombies don’t get too close to me, or I die in a random way because my character is too weak. Nope, I am not there anymore. Thank god for that. I was getting drained from the project, honestly. I swear there was a book I was going to publish recently, but the page was more dead than a corpse, and I had to remedy that issue. Video Games as Analogies I then got to thinking about how video games are quite a popular thing in our society, so much that we like to relate many areas to them, even though we all don’t play them. I have a few examples too. The SAT and Video Game Design Did you know that the modern SAT is modeled after video game level design? Yeah, I am not kidding there. The test that will determine the fate of millions of students has the same setup as a Zelda game. There is a certain irony in that our education system’s most important test takes from video games. See, in video games, you have to get a certain score to move on to the next level. You don’t get the score, you can’t advance. It is that simple. (This is not for every game, but for the most part, if you want to get to the harder levels, you have to prove that you can beat the easy ones) The SAT is like that now. The only way to get the best score possible is to get to the hard module, and how do you get the hard module? You have to get a certain score on the first module you take. No certain score on the first module means you are stuck on the easy module, and your total score is limited. And that school you want to attend is out of reach. I would like to think that there is a video game designer out there that one day thought his game setup would help be a prelude to the SAT test, as a way to get the students prepared for it. (He probably was more worried about the appearance of the game’s newest guns.) Napoleon’s Waterloo Then there was a time I was talking to a buddy of mine, and I mentioned a part of history, and I related it to video games. The event was Napoleon’s Waterloo, the notorious last stand for the French general. I told him that Waterloo is like when you beat a game, and then have an extra level, where the game puts your character back to level one strength with no upgrades and a basic weapon and expects you to fend off all the toughest enemies in the game. That is Waterloo. You really aren’t supposed to win. The odds are too stacked against you. Even the greatest general needs some advantages in a battle. Are We Living in a Simulation? Then there is a third way we use video games, and I have seen this example more than the other two. It is about our reality. I am not sure if you noticed, but your life looks a lot like a Sims character's life, or is it that the Sims character’s life looks a lot like your life? People play video games so much and have watched The Matrix one too many times that they are starting to think that maybe, just maybe, we are in a video game. It is one of those ideas that a character I write about would say in a scene, or flash fiction, as a way to introduce a radical idea to the narrator as a way for them to see the world differently, but not as an absolute truth. The concept is great if you want to teach someone to open their mind and view things from a perspective they have not considered, but not if you want to really get to the bottom of things. The more I think about the simulation theory, which is what it is called, the more the boring answer that we are in reality right now is more likely. You would figure that someone from outside the video game we supposedly are in would enter the game and tell us. “Hey, by the way. You guys are all in a video game. Yup. Video game. That is all this is. I am a developer in the game.” There is no one who ever said that, and probably never will. (Say what you want of religion, they at least have a few individuals who claimed to be from other worlds or places) I also heard someone ask the intriguing question, “If we are in a simulation, how much energy would be required to run a simulation that large? Does that amount of energy even exist?” So yeah, video games are great for analogies and explaining things in life. Also, for shooting things at an unhealthy quantity, but let’s stick to the other two and move away from video games altogether. The Contest I Missed I have a funny story about a recent story I didn’t write. There was a contest for a Freewrite device I was going to enter, and for those who don’t know what that is, it is a laptop without the internet, basically. It is supposed to help with getting into the flow of writing. I have used it a few times, and I do like the device, which is why I still get their emails. There is a Hemingway edition that is really a flex more than anything. I would have it just to show people I had it, and then mention something about him. (But I gotta be real, I am not that much of a fan of the guy. I would do it for Shakespeare though.) Anyway, I waited for the announcement for the contest’s theme to get one of these devices. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the contest was for a flash fiction piece. I thought I'd do that on my site, so why not spend some time on one for the contest? I went to the YouTube channel where they announce the prompt, because I work during the day and was not going to listen to the livestream for that. I skipped to the part of the video where they named the theme: haunted. I had to write about something haunted. Now, I don’t really do haunted, in case you haven’t figured out my style. I don’t like haunted stories. I never did. I couldn’t get through Frankenstein. I don’t like scary movies. And I never even read King. I don’t do haunted. Now, I had to come up with a story with that as a theme? I went back to my email, the original one that had the submission date, so I could see how much time I had for this contest. The theme lingered in my head. Haunted… you mean like a haunted house? Who the hell wants to write about a haunted house? What is this Halloween? I came up with a funny idea, not even a haunted one. Everyone mocks haunted houses, even me, for the apparent exaggerated tales and misleading information, but no one would want to spend a night in one. I thought I could work with that and was eager to write up the story. I checked the submission date. It was yesterday. I missed it, probably because I was too busy blocking spam accounts on Facebook and thinking about freaking video games. But yeah, I never wrote that story, and I don’t plan on either. Another New Story Idea I actually came up with a cool story idea about a week or two ago. I have a good outline set for it. I am putting the scenes together. And… I just realized this is about the third time I told you guys that. “Hey! I have this great story idea. No words. No chapters. But you have to trust me on this!” That is me explaining every new idea I have. Maybe I should start telling you about the bad story ideas I have, just to change things up. Learn Analogies And now for something that you can take with you. And no, I am not going to give you video game advice on what level to play to upgrade your character faster. Wrong site. Here is something: Learn analogies. Seriously, learn them. Learn how to relate things that are not seen as connected. By doing this, you can help yourself better understand both topics. Start with things that you do every day, and see if there are ways they are showing the same thing. If you want to help make the world easier for you to grasp, learn analogies, and the concepts you thought were too complicated will start to appear much simpler.

A writing and editing advice post that speaks directly to a common fear. In “When No One Reads You,” Greg Luti shares practical ways to stay professional and keep growing even when the audience is small — or not there yet. I was given the site of the month (for July 2026) by Midwest Book Review, which is pretty cool. I try to write practical pieces of advice for other writers on here. I am in the trenches, writing my own stories, and crafting my own plots, so whenever I do give advice, I try to make it something that I would find useful too. Thanks to Jim Cox at Midwest Book Review. I appreciate the shoutout. When No One Shows Up Recently I noticed that a handful of writers mentioned they know all too well about not being read, or by going to a place and not having anyone there read their work. First off, that stinks. I know the feeling too. You put all this time into a story, one you think is worth being read, and then the most you get is nothing more than a few people who modestly care about it. The Upside of Not Being Read But I don’t want to dwell on the bad part of that situation. Anyone can be in that room and let it get them down, but I don’t think we should. We know the empty room, where the manager even decided to leave since they were embarrassed for you, or the lone vendor table where even the people at the fair are looking at you like, “Why is this person here? I guess they ran out of food vendors.” The feeling is bad, but also fleeting. I think there is a good part to not being read, at least for a while. Hey, you don’t have to worry about all those annoying critics and know-it-alls who like to act as though they know your words better than you. That sounds like a win. You also don’t have to worry about bad reviews for your book. That is mostly because you won’t get any, but hey, you can’t say anyone hated your book. I relate that last point to a moment I was talking to a buddy of mine. He said, “Power and money corrupt people.” I joked, “Well, it is a good thing I don’t have either.” Act Professional When No One Shows Up My advice when the event doesn’t go as planned is two-fold. The first is to act professional. Don’t bitch and complain or pretend as though the world owes you anything. They really don’t. Those people who ignore you today may be your fans tomorrow, so show some professionalism in the handling of your event. What does that actually look like? If you are at a book reading, and nobody is there, but you promised the store owner you would read for a certain amount of time, then damnit, read for that time. Or if you go to a fair, and planned on being there for a certain amount of time, and nobody is there, then stay there. Learn From the Failure Now, I have to mention a realistic part to that advice. It is easy for me to say this now. Away from the reading nobody attended, and not at the empty fair. If you say no to reading or decide to leave early, will the world end? No. No, it will not. But that gets me to my second point on why you should treat the event with respect. You want to learn from this. Hey, we all fall down. Everyone makes mistakes and fails. That is life. You are best to learn from this moment and note ways you can make it better. Perhaps you can speak to the store owner about a better time for a reading, or you can see if there are certain things you can market for the next time you are there. You can note that the fair you attended was not a success, but the sign you made for it and the organization you had for your layout were useful. Take that with you. If you are going to lose and not learn from your losses, then you should never expect any change. But if you take the losses as a learning experience, then the odds of success go up. A Reality Check Here is another reality check: That doesn’t mean success is automatic. I am not saying that one change will make everyone in town go to your next book reading, but I also don’t want you to get into your car and say, “Well shucks, that didn’t go as planned. I will get them next time.” How will you get them next time? What is your strategy for next time? When is even next time? My Own Stories of Not Being Read I have a few funny stories about people reading (or not reading me). My first novel was read by all of nobody. I wrote it under a pen name, and now there are no reviews for it, because Goodreads is a pain like that…. Anyway, nobody read it. A cashier looked at the cover of the book when I dropped it off at a local bookstore and said she would read it. I think the store was out of business within a year. (For some reason, all writers think that one store is the beginning of something special. Like the one placement will lead to being a bestseller. I know I was naïve enough to think that.) My family, to my surprise, set up a little get-together where they would celebrate me finishing my first novel. My dad had to trick me into wanting to go to a certain restaurant. I was relaxing and not in the mood to deal with anyone. It was a weekend when I felt more like playing Call of Duty than actually celebrating the book being published. When we got to the restaurant, my family was there to congratulate me on the accomplishment. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that the book would sell all of three copies, all of which I bought, but that is not the point. I learned that I have people who support me, even when I don’t always know if the writing is worth it, honestly. You may not know it, but when you are in the empty room, reading to no one, there are a few people who are happy you are up there and would gladly cheer you on. They aren’t there, but when they learn about you going to a book reading, they would say, “Damn, I wish I was there.” Don’t forget those people. They can help you when you are down, and the words don’t do anything for you. Then there is a second story about me not being read. I used to write on a literary blog, and one of the articles was not well received by a reader. In fact, I was so surprised that anyone read the piece that I was more honored by the insult than anything. I was like Jack Sparrow in that movie. The guy said he would never read the blog again. I thought, “Well, he did read it though.” Not everyone will like your work. It is best to not take it to heart and move on. Anything else is time wasted. How You Handle It Matters Like most obstacles in life, it is not really the obstacle itself, but how you handle it that matters. Failure in writing, in our case, reader reception, is no different. Keep going if you fail. Do your best to make that failure a future success. And heck, consider the experience a free story idea too.

A writing update that mixes practical behind-the-scenes work with honest reflection. In “Facebook Hell,” Greg Luti discusses cleaning up spam on social media, the modern expectation that writers must be personally likable, and his ongoing progress on the flash fiction collection *Little Fires*. Updating the Website Recently I have been doing a few tasks that are not really exciting for readers to learn about, which is of course, why I am going to tell you about them. The first boring task I completed was updating my website to reflect more of the writer in me, not the editor. It used to have more of an editor feel, where you would think I was an editor more than an author, but now I made the site reflect both equally. I do plan on adding more pages to the site, related to the books, but that is not something I am doing right now, since there is another task occupying my time more than that. (That ladies and gentlemen is called a transition sentence. You use it to connect two paragraphs. Now, you know the next paragraph will be about whatever the hell I have been doing aside from updating my site) Facebook Hell I can describe the recent activity I have been doing to help myself as a writer as one that is menial and just freaking awful. As some of you may know, I made the stupid mistake of promoting too much of my Facebook page to spam accounts. I mean, promoting to way too many spam accounts. Well, now I have to get rid of the accounts, one account at a time. Yeah… I also learned that I need the Facebook page as a part of my writing portfolio since Instagram and Twitter/X don’t care all that much about long form written posts, which is my specialty. The phrase I have been using is Facebook Hell, which I am sure there is someone out there who hates Facebook that will say I am being redundant, but that seems cruel. Thinking About Hell The amount of time I have been blocking people has been so taxing on my mind that I have found myself thinking about the very nature of hell, which speaks for my mental strain. I grew up ,like most, thinking that Hell is full of fire and Satan and a bunch of red demons ready to be tricksters and mean to anyone there. We all know Hell is bad, but is it really that bad? I mean, I have seen the Simpsons episode where Homer went to Hell, and it wasn’t that bad. He lived and was fine afterwards. So as much as I know about Hell, I treated it as a place for a time out, a really long time out, more than anything else. I then heard a pastor say that Hell is life without God, and I have been thinking about it in that context ever since. What does life look like without goodness? What happens when the hero doesn’t show up to save the day? What happens when the bad guy gets away with it? Or worse, what happens when the monster that scares everyone doesn’t die? The thought is more terrifying than I originally wanted it to be. We seem to be in a world where no matter how bad it is, we justify the possible appearance of hope, which I get, and want to hear as well. We say that Hitler was evil, but he is dead. The monster in the movie is not real. It was just a movie. The bad people, like the real sickos, will get their due eventually. Even if they do not, we know that the goodness will attempt to win. I guess that is what scares me more about Hell now than the fires I learned about as a kid. What if the bad in the world isn’t stopped? What happens then? Yeah… I know…. It is not the most comforting thought. But whatever that place is, whether it has fire or not, is what I think Hell is. Sure it would be helpful to know more about the place, but let’s be clear, I don’t want to take a tour of the place to learn about it either. I am fine just speculating about Hell. The New Expectation for Creators The other topic that goes through my mind as I am working my way out of Facebook Hell is the creation of a new writer, one I am not sure many realize is happening. First, let me tell you how I got there, and then I will relate it to writing. I was listening to a few comedians on their podcast as I was cleaning up the page. For those that don’t know, comedians on podcast are not really like comedians on TV, or doing standup. They aren’t even always funny. They are just a few guys chilling around talking about something random that happened to them over the weekend. The relaxed nature of the podcast makes for easy listening since the viewer is not actively engaged in the conversation. For example, I was blocking accounts as I listened. I was not listening in and wondering about the conversation. That is the beauty of the podcast. But that is where the problem occurs. See, the person you listen to on the podast, is not the same as the one you see at the comedy club. One is relaxing, just chilling, while the other is actively trying to make you laugh. The first listen has no pressure on the comedian, since you are already doing something else as they speak. The second one, the comedy club show, has pressure on the comedian since you are there to actively laugh. That gets me to my point. It seems you can’t really be a professional today, if you are not well-liked. I don’t mean respected for your work, but liked in a way that you become a character in the eyes of the audience. Think about it, if a person has a bad attitude or is just a jerk, and podcasts or weekly appearances are important to being relative, then that person is in trouble, regardless of how talented they are. Do You Have to Like the Writer? I think of two writers for this: JK Rowling and Stephen King. I don’t know if I can tell you if they are even nice people or not. I can count on one hand how many times I have seen them in interviews. They just don’t do it that much, and never did. Even Rowling got in trouble for her political views, and that is a reflection for how we want to like our idols more than anything they actually believe in. It brings up a question I have: Why do you have to like the writer? Says who? I honestly don’t know if I would get along with F. Scott Fitzgerald, or even like him, but does that make him any less of a writer. I am learning that society is giving insights to who we are, even when we all feel like we are just acting as though we should or try our best to help. There are a lot of questions in this world, and you are answering them, and so am I, whether we want to or not. Book Updates Now to give you an update on my books, I got about half way done with the proofreading for Little Fires, my flash fiction book. I think my other short story book Everything Must Go is only in print form, since I had a problem putting it in digital form when I originally published. (I have to get to fixing that eventually) Cry, Smile, and Laugh And now for something that you can take with you: I once heard someone say that a great day is one where you cry, smile, and laugh. Maybe there is some truth to that. Learn what makes you cry, since that shows what makes your heart feel. Know what makes you smile, since those are the things you want to keep close to you. And learn what makes you laugh, since laughter shows the stress of life hasn’t gotten to you yet. Next time you do one of those things, keep note, since those are the actions that define what makes you go.

A flash fiction story that captures a quiet domestic moment filled with quiet contrast. In “Letter Of The Day,” Greg Luti places a toddler’s simple play against the backdrop of adult conversations about war, celebrities, and the weight of the wider world. A child of no more than two years old and a grandma sit in the living room, getting ready for the afternoon they are going to spend together. On the floor, the child is playing with his toy cars, as the grandma is watching the news. The TV is discussing the latest tragedies of the world. They had just finished covering a house fire in the next town and had moved on to the war, and how the worst part is not the deaths. The uncle, a spitting image of the nephew at that age, walked into the room, hearing his buddy had arrived. “Is that Marky Mark?” The uncle went up to the child who was on the floor playing with his toys. The child smiled and greeted his uncle, who patted the child on the head. “Are you going to make a rap song and somehow have an acting career longer than most can hold a job?” The uncle addressed his mom. “I don’t know how that guy had such a long career. I did like him in that football movie he was in.” He went back to talking to his nephew. “Remember Marky Mark, playing football causes CTE, which is not good. We don’t want CTE, because that means Marky Mark’s brain is hurt. We gotta keep that brain of yours healthy, buddy.” The child continued to play with his cars, attempting to push them back and forth. The grandma’s eyes were fixated on the segment about the latest war efforts of their country. Recently, it had been revealed that both sides were being armed by their own country. Many now suspect the country never wanted the war to end. “What happened? Another attack?” The uncle asked. “No. Apparently we are trying to fight both sides. We are giving weapons to both our enemies and our allies.” “Who are our enemies again?” “I don’t even know.” She commented. “What are you guys doing today?” “Once Dad gets home, we are going for a walk with him. Then we are going to get some lunch.” The grandma said. “Oh, that is nice.” The uncle went to sit down, as though he had just run a mile. The reporter on the TV asked, “This has to be the most pressing topic of our time. A topic all will be wondering about.” The uncle sat on the couch half-paying attention to the TV. He wore his T-shirt, one he had worn for the past three days, and his boxers, which were fresh. His nephew was on the ground by the TV, playing with his cars. The child had yet to figure out direction and did not know if he pulled the car back, the car would then release to go forward. The grandma sat on the other end of the couch watching the screen. She was ready to try out her new walking shoes when they went for a walk today. The uncle sarcastically responded to the reporter on the TV, as though she was talking to him. “Oh really, I thought it was the growth of oligarchical influence threatening to overtake democratic principles we all hold so dear to our hearts, leaving us in a country we don’t recognize, until we all wake up one day and see that there are two laws: those for the rich and those for everybody else.” He got up to play with the child. “There is a third law for criminals, but we don’t talk about that one, buddy. It is bad to steal.” The child in the room continued to play with his toys, unaware of his uncle’s rant. “What do you think, buddy?” He asked his nephew. “Do you think we are becoming an oligarchy, or are we isolating ourselves by not committing to a side in the war?” The child finally pushed the toy across the room. When it flew across the floor, he looked at his uncle, amazed at what he just discovered. “I agree. It is probably both.” The grandma in the room sensed the inappropriate nature of the coverage. “I am going to change the channel.” She took a moment to properly move the remote so that it was pointing directly at the TV and then switched the viewing to a children’s show. “Yeah, it is probably best you do. He doesn’t need to see this.” The characters on the TV screen were from a show the uncle grew up watching as a kid and were all singing a song for the letter of the day, a theme on the show. The child started bopping his head up and down to the song, as the uncle sang, “Letter of the day. Letter of the day. Do you know the letter of the day?” He stopped singing as the child’s face was fixed on the screen. “The letter of the day is f, by the way.” The uncle addressed the grandma, “Yeah, this is better for him.”

A writing and editing advice post that explores one of the most important questions a writer can ask. In “What Does The Audience Know?,” Greg Luti discusses how deciding what readers know versus what characters know can shape tension, humor, and the overall effectiveness of a story. Superman and What the Audience Knows There is a question regarding one of pop culture’s iconic heroes that a writer can use in order to better understand their own story. The knowledge that Superman is, in essence, a disguise for the real man is not a surprise. The very idea is so well-known that many mock that one person can fool everyone by taking off his glasses. But there is a storytelling device that we can use. The Superman Situation First though, let’s discuss the situation. In the story of Superman, the audience knows his identity. That is, in fact, part of the charm to it all. He is helping people, but not really doing it in a way to draw attention to his real identity. We know that as we are following him, he is kind of also tricking people too. He is saving people; no one knows who he is. It creates a light-hearted dynamic. When Clark Kent becomes Superman, we as the audience are not expected to be taken aback. Why the Audience Needs to Know In other stories, you may see this tactic of split identities used as a way to tell the story, but in superhero stories, this tactic of the main character’s identity is never hidden from us. For example, imagine if you were not told that Superman was Clark Kent, and that only at the end of it all, you are told that reveal. Well, that kind of takes away from it all. Rather than being with the hero, we are following the story, not him. When you know the story from the perspective of Superman, his actions become the important part, not his identity, since we obviously already know it. What the Characters Don’t Know The other key part of the knowledge of the character is that the characters in the story, those that know Superman, don’t really know he is Clark Kent. They only see a man doing incredible feats of strength, not aware that the guy is nothing more than the average journalist in his spare time. That is deliberate, by the way. If the characters in Superman know that he is also Clark Kent, the story is kind of ruined. (Yes, I do know that some recognize him, but for the most part, the world he lives in does not) The characters become the audience, downplaying the very actions the character does, since they see him as not the Man of Steel, but as Clark Kent. The hero then has to answer an uncomfortable question: why even be Superman? This then shifts the light-hearted actions to something more serious. And why? Because the characters in his world figured out he is Clark Kent. The Two Rules of the Story The entire framework of Superman is built on two very important storytelling components. 1. The audience knows his real identity. 2. The people he is with, those in the story, do not. (for the most part) Every plot point, every scene, every interaction goes back to those two things. If the story deviates from this, then the very character created shifts. The Key Question for Writers That leads us to the important question every writer should ask themselves before they write a story: “What exactly does the audience know?” Whether it is a tragedy between two Italian lovers, a thriller about a patient on an island, or the actual identity of a superhero, the audience’s knowledge of the characters plays an important role in how you create them. How Other Stories Handle Audience Knowledge Once a writer answers that question, the writer can then decide on what they want to do with that information. Shakespeare tells us about the deaths of the two main characters, so we are following the story with that in mind. Shutter Island keeps it vague so you are unsure of the mental state of the main character, creating suspense throughout, and Superman wants you to go along for the ride with the hero as he saves the day, rather than having his character put on trial. And why can this happen? Because the writers clearly defined what information the audience would know in the story, making the story itself easy to navigate, because every plot point went back to that original idea. Practical Advice: Write It Down Early I would suggest that a writer write out a line or two when they outline their book of what the audience is aware of, so that the writer never gets too far from that. I can give two examples from stories I wrote. My Own Examples The first is when I wrote my first novel, Day in the Life. I decided the audience would only know what the narrator tells them. There is no other person jumping in to correct the narrator. That means there are times when the real story, or what is actually happening, is different than what is being told to the reader. Yes, the narrator can learn from his journey because he is the one the reader is with and naturally closely attached to it, but that also means he may miss a few things along the way too. I knew that I had to have the narrator believe his story more than anything else. The second is for a story in my short story collection, Everything Must Go. In it, I had a character meet some sort of mysterious vendor. Right away, I knew the vendor was meant to be an almost-ghost-like figure. The hero does not know if the person he is speaking to is real or not, and neither does the audience. That means that when the vendor character spoke, I knew I had him speak in a way that was realistic but could be seen as ominous too. I did both of these when I wrote my stories because I knew what the audience was going to know. To use another example from a flash fiction piece I wrote that will be in my latest collection, Little Fires, I had a joke in a flash piece that is for readers of my stuff. I noticed that I wrote a handful of flash pieces that had a quirky message at the end of them, so I decided to subvert that expectation in one of them by not having a message at all and having the narrator of the story almost disappointed by the absent trope. The audience, who are readers of my stories, should get the joke. They just read 5-6 stories in a row of people meeting in an everyday setting and learning something deep from a random encounter, so when a story doesn’t present that, the readers should recognize the pattern. Why could this happen? Because the answer to what the audience knows was answered early on. Don’t go back to what the audience knows in your story. Have an answer for that right away. Why Superman’s Glasses Actually Work Oh, and to answer the myth about how stupid it is that Superman is Clark Kent. I think that is an easy thing to say, and funny as a joke, but really fails to see the story being presented. Think about it like this: how many people in the Superman world see Superman up close? Maybe a handful? It is not like it happens all the time. Isn’t the guy mostly flying around or punching things? And when people are seeing Superman up close, what are they doing? Probably being saved, right? He is holding a building up, saving you from a fire, or doing something else where you are like, “What the hell is going on right now?” That means Superman is a guy who is rarely seen up close, and when he is seen by people, he is saving them from dangerous situations. Let’s be honest, most would probably remember the big S on his chest and his cape, and not even look at his face, because moments ago, they thought they were going to die. If you were ever saved from a fire, would you be able to tell the face of the firefighter who saved you? Probably not.

A writing update can mark a major shift in how an author shares their work. In “Blogging Here - Writing Update,” Greg Luti explains his decision to move all his content from Patreon to his own site, bringing unpublished stories and poetry with it, while planning a shop for books and editing services. Why I Started Blogging Here I decided to start a blog in order to update you guys on what I am doing with my books and other writings. Right now, I am all about adding more stories to this site. There are stories from my Patreon that I have not published yet that I wish to add to this site. Moving Everything from Patreon I was going over making a blog one day, and what I would like to write on it, when I realized that writing on a blog is basically the same thing as my Patreon page. “Wait? Why don’t I have everything on my site?” If the Patreon page, which has shorter stories I write and some poetry, can all be put on my site, then why am I not doing that? The decision was made. I would then take on the painstakingly annoying task of transferring the stories on my Patreon page to my site. I am still slowly completing that task. Adding a Shop to the Site Eventually, I want to add a shop to this site, one in which you, the reader, can purchase items related to my writing. Those can include anything from the services I provide, meaning editing, to the books I write. And because I can’t do everything all at once, I am going to slowly implement that aspect of the site. Hit of Henry Update I have not focused on my books as much as I would like, given that the stories being transferred and the site modifications have taken priority. The book I am working on is called “Hit of Henry,” which is about a baseball player accomplishing an incredible feat. I will include some chapters on this blog for you guys to read eventually. I have no date set here. Member-Only Content There is a catch to my blog, and that is that some of it will be for members who pay a small fee every month. Remember how I said that I was taking the Patreon page and putting it as my blog? That includes the pricing, too. For 3 dollars a month, you can be a member of my site, and get exclusive stories and previews of what I write, and yes, eventually that will include deals on the items in the shop. Of course, if you don’t want to do that, then you don’t have to. You can read the free poems and flash fiction I include here every so often and be on your way. Hey, I get that decision too. I am not trying to put everything behind a paywall. Poetry Collection in Progress I have a poetry collection that has a bunch of poems completed waiting to be edited. I have a title for this collection, too, but I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself. Reviews for My Published Books Concerning my current published books, I am going to get a few more people to review them, as I never got around to doing that when they were first released. I recently got a nice review of my first novel, Day in the Life. The reviewer said how the book was surprisingly profound. I must admit that sort of insight into the book was one of the more rewarding. I knew the book had a certain level of heart, but I guess I didn’t expect a reviewer to notice it, too. (I am not sure my logic here) Recommendations for New Readers If you are new to my writing, then I do suggest either my poetry book, Collected Poems, or my novel, Day in the Life. You can read my short story collection, Everything Must Go, but I should warn you, I did take storytelling risks in that book, as compared to the other two, which seemed to be more grounded in their approach, and hence more readable to more readers. Frankly, the writing in my novel is very candid and honest; if you like that sort of storytelling, although the story itself is nonexistent. The writing is better in my poetry collection. I honestly think the best poems there hit better than the novel or the short story collection. The novel has a consistent message and journey, so you are captivated by that, more than the stellar writing, if I am honest. This is not to say that I don’t think any of my books are not worth reading. They are. You should read them, because I think you would enjoy them. Most of the time when I write, I record words that I believe the reader would be able to take something with them afterwards. It is rare for me to sit down and write and then get to the end and say to myself, “Well, that was awful. No one will even like this.” I take a lot of pride in my writing and can proudly say I don’t think that often. Everything I write has a purpose, even if I am not able to accomplish that purpose through technical manipulation or storytelling devices sometimes. My Editing Services I mentioned my editing services, and that is because I am a capable editor and someone others have gone to in the past to improve their writing. I was just talking to a parent earlier in the day about when I helped her son write his college essay. I also outlined a book with a potential new client earlier in the week. (I will never give you guys the names of these people, out of respect to them) I am available to be contacted about editing if you are looking for someone to review your book or anything else you are writing. Shop Designs in Progress I have a guy who is going to make designs and other images for the items for the shop. I just got done talking to him the other day, and I am excited to see what he is going to do. He made the pictures for my book, Collected Poems. My Approach to Social Media One last thing is my social media accounts…. I have a love-hate relationship with social media. First off, I don’t do all that video nonsense. I never did, and I never will. That is not really my vibe. I put images of random thoughts I have up, because I figured talking about my stories, website, or career all the time can be a bit boring for anyone interested in my writing. I also get overwhelmed with life sometimes and frankly forget to schedule posts, which is why there are times when I don’t have any posts up on my social media pages for a week or so. I was running around for that time, so I just never got to it.

A writing update that offers insight into the final stages of preparing a book. In “Proofreading,” Greg Luti discusses refining his flash fiction collection *Little Fires*, adapting covers for different formats, and balancing personal creative work with the realities of publishing. Proofreading Little Fires I have been proofreading my recent book, Little Fires, for the past few days before I publish it. The thing that always gets me with proofreading is not the minor errors in the story, or even the phrases, but the time and place the story is in. As much as I like to think that I am writing for every era, and for anyone, it feels as though every story is latched to a physical setting and place, and that is seen no matter what I do about it. Sure, I can add lessons and themes that can be appreciated later on, but the actual setting is something that, when I am writing the story, feels as though it is only natural to what I am saying, but is in reality a chain I am attached to, whether I want to be or not. Stories Are Tied to Time and Place I would look over a piece I wrote, and notice how I wrote it from a certain perspective or from a certain place, and that is really a marker on how I felt and thought about it at that time. I find that part of writing fascinating. Ebook vs Paperback Covers I noticed when going over the book covers for the ebook and the paperback edition of my next book that the ebook cover has to be a little different due to the format. I normally make my covers based on the reader holding the book in their hands, but I noticed that an ebook needs to have larger font and fewer pictures because the screen for the actual cover is not as big. I am actually going to work on this with the current book before I publish it. Ignoring Trends and Focusing on My Own Work I don’t worry about other writers or the trends in the industry, because I am having a hard enough time writing all that I want to produce. I look at each story I write and try to make the best of it in the way I know how. I don’t get why writers are thinking of others or what is popular, since I am a big believer in doing your job to the best of your ability, and I guess that mentality goes against it. I think I said this before, but as far as what is trending and what is going on with the publishing world, I can honestly say I don’t really care. I got my own books to worry about. That takes enough of my time. Learning from James Patterson’s Model If there is a writer I would say that I have learned from over the years, it is James Patterson, and not for the reason you may think. I use his business model as an example of my own. He writes a lot, and he writes them fast. People know what they are getting too. And they buy. I am trying to adopt that system to my own books, rather than sitting around and writing just one book every few years. Write a lot. Write often. And stop worrying about whether the book is perfect or not. (And yes, I know that Patterson doesn’t really write his books at this point) The Inspirational Phase I have noticed that there is an inspirational phase when I have a new idea. I get the idea, I then outline it, and then I write what I can of it, but then after about a week, the inspiration is gone. The idea is still there, and I still work on it, but then I become more of an investigator, putting the pieces of the story together, deciding what works or doesn’t, rather than having that same spark for the story. This happens with every story that I write, honestly. I used to think I should write the entire story in that inspirational phase, but that is not realistic. I have learned to use the inspirational phase as needed, to really understand the story better, so when the inspirational phase leaves and I am left with just the story, I have a roadmap to completing it. Update on the Unnamed Novel I think the last time I wrote one of these updates, I was explaining how excited I am about an unnamed novel I am working on. I still love the idea for the book, and I still have not decided the major cause of a big event in the story, but as far as me jumping up and down for the story, that phase is over. I guess it would be a bit odd and against what I am trying to do as a writer if I was excited all the time for everything I wrote. Plus, I also don’t have the energy for that. Reader Feedback and Encouragement Some of the readers have given me nice feedback when I send out the newsletter, and I am always happy to hear the kind words from them. If you are one of those readers, know that I do see and read the responses, and they do help me along. I think that sometimes people are quick to point out all the bad, but I prefer to remember the few good remarks people leave me as signs of encouragement. When I used to work in retail, it was easy to note all the annoying customers, but no one ever brought up the kind customers who asked a question, got what they needed, and went on their way. I like to think of those people when I do stuff, more than the people who gave me a headache. Common Decency And now for something for me to leave you with: How about we all try to have some common decency? I don’t think that is asking too much of anyone. I am talking about the little things that everyone knows are wrong. I mean, there are so many videos I see of people stealing, knowingly too. They walk into a place and then grab a few things and walk out. Or how about cutting someone off when driving or being mean to a kid. We all like to blame the leaders of the world and say that they are the reasons everything is wrong, but none of us like to look within and admit a harsh truth: “I can be a little bit better of a person today than I was yesterday.” Next time you are unsure of doing something, ask yourself this simple question, “If someone did this to me, would I be fine with it?” If the answer is no, then you know not to do that thing.

A writing update that offers insight into a busy creative period. In “A Few Projects Now,” Greg Luti discusses juggling several book projects at once, including finalizing one collection and starting new work, while reflecting on the excitement of moving deeper into publishing. A Few Projects Now In my writing update last week, I had no idea what I was doing, and I even had to take a second to ask about the very question. Now, I am not asking myself the question but wondering how I am going to get the stuff done. I got a laundry list of stuff to do, only so many hours in the day, only so much coffee, and not to mention actual laundry to do. I'd better buckle up my seatbelt. Little Fires and Hit of Henry The first good piece of news is that I am finishing up my book, Little Fires, which is a collection of flash fiction pieces from this site. I expect to be done with the book sooner rather than later, honestly. I announced the book in my newsletter recently. I only have a few more things left to do before the book is available for purchase. Then there is the current novel I am working on, Hit of Henry. Although I will be honest with you in that I have not really looked at the book as much as I should have recently. Whenever I am working, and it gets time to look at the book, another assignment always seems to get in my way for some reason. The book is done in that the outline is done. I just need to write up a few major scenes. Starting a New Novel I started a new novel, one that I am very excited about now, even more than Hit of Henry, even though I do think the Henry book has a certain charm to it. I don’t want to give away any more details about this, but the new book has a plot I think the readers will like. I will give more details on this story as I get closer to completing it. Still Building Clearance Then, because I apparently think I have all the time in the world, I am still putting together poems for my next poetry book, Clearance. I have already included some poems on the site in my book updates. Sheesh, did you get all of that? I don’t even know if I did. I may have to look back at the notes I wrote about all the stuff I am working on, like I do when I write down the previews of movies when watching a movie in theaters. Can you believe that I liked four previews the last time I saw a movie? That has nothing really to do with anything, but I just thought you should know. Moving Into Book Publishing I told you guys that the publication of books would eventually come into play on the site, and I am happy that I am in that part of it. I will still be writing up blog posts on the site, but the books will also be written, which I am excited about. Still Dealing With Facebook Spam I am still in Facebook spam hell, where I am blocking everyone I can to get the page somewhat normal. I will let you know when I get out of that disaster. I guess I can only do a block at a time. I am trying to get this done, since I know for authors, Facebook is the best social media platform. Why I Love the Different Parts of Writing I think the transition to adding the books to the writing schedule will be a nice challenge for me. There is something fun about having a story and creating it, and seeing the parts that can go into it, rather than writing up a two-page story and making a message and a fun character for people. I love both parts, but sometimes when I just write up the flash fiction or poetry on this site, I find I am not really being the writer in the creative sense where I am putting a story together. I will relate this to the two novels. For Henry, I cut out a part in the latter part of the story that I felt was not needed. It would hurt the flow of the story. In the unnamed novel I am working on, there is a major plot point I just haven’t figured out. It really decides the entire story, and I just don’t know why it happens. Those are what I am talking about. I don’t think it is editing or writing as much as being more of a storyboard creator or an outliner of the plot. Technically, you can call that writing or editing, but I view what I am talking about as different. There is always a part in the stories where I say, “Ah, now this would work in this. This makes sense to what I am doing.” In Henry, when I originally wrote it, I didn’t really have the inspiration for the character’s certain actions. I just knew that the character would do the task. It was only when I was creating the outline of the story that the inspiration came to me. I guess I am describing why I love being a writer. I love writing up short pieces that are spur-of-the-moment write-ups. I love editing the works to improve them. I love outlining the stories to make them complete. They are a part of the writing process, and I appreciate each in their own way. Learn to Listen Okay, so now I'm going to tell you something to take with you. Listen. That is the advice from me. Learn to listen more. If you listen to people more in your life and give them the time of day, I bet your life will improve. When someone talks, give them the same attention you would want from them. It seems like such a simple thing to do. I mean, who can’t listen? But the more you look around, the more you see there are too many who would rather state their views than listen to what others have to say.

A writing update that offers a candid look behind the scenes of the creative process. In “What Have I Been Doing?,” Greg Luti shares his established blogging routine, his tendency to start new projects, and how he navigates both creative impulses and everyday life. What Have I Been Doing? There is always a question each week that I ask myself: “What have I been doing?” Now, most times, the answer is obvious, in that I can tell the reader whatever it is that has been on my mind. But there are some times when I look and think, “Wait, have I been doing anything at all?” I spend all this time thinking about writing, and yet no words are coming out of me. Talk about needing your muse, (or not needing your muse, if you don’t like that sort of stuff) Luckily for me, and I guess, also the reader, I have been doing something this past week. The first thing is that the blog is in good hands, mostly because it is in my hands. I have settled in with the writing schedule and the routine. I am very happy with where the blog is. For some reason, I have been lazy this past week with social media, and every time I have to put up some stuff, I decide against it. Yeah, so I have to get into doing that. Family Concerns and Hospital Questions Oh, and one of my family members asked if I was okay after reading the lines of one of my poems. It was one of those dark poems. For the record, I am actually alright and only ever lean into that stuff for the sake of the stories. I know that for my first novel, the narrator was a jerk, but I leaned into it and made him a little bit more of a jerk than originally intended. So when I write up a poem that is sad, I lean into the sadness. Which, I am not going to brag, but I like the recent things I posted here, the one with the Founding Fathers and the two guys talking about being dead. They were really fun to write. Remind me down the road to go back to the Founding Fathers discussing stuff, or having the personification of something talk to a human who feels that way also. That is good stuff. I actually remember being in the hospital, and they asked me, “Are you suicidal?” I think that is just what they ask people after asking about weight and taking a blood test. Which, the more I think about it, is kind of all over the place. Step on the scale, let me take your pressure. Have you thought of offing yourself anytime recently? They might as well ask what my favorite lottery numbers to play are, and if I like to wear certain clothes in the summertime. Those make as much sense. Oh, and by the way, I was not in the hospital for weight-related issues or depression. I guess they feel the need to get a profile of me before actually helping me with my current issue. Not cool, doc. Not cool. Anyway, I laughed and told the nurse I was not suicidal. I cut out the part that I enjoy singing the lines from that pop song where the guy says the words in the lyrics. That seems a bit frivolous to me. Letting the Story Lead the Way I guess I always let the story lead the way, as though there is a map I am trying to navigate through. If the story says that inspiration is the way, then I am going that way. If it says that sadness is the choice, then I guess I am getting out the tears. What is actually funny about that is that I really don’t like to use GPS. They annoy me, since they always have me going on a highway where I have to cross four lanes to get to an exit. It is also always funny to me when people are worried when they read sad things I write, as though I am going off the cliff. You know they never mention how happy I am when I write the funny stories. As you can tell, I have a fairly sensible mindset about this. I write so many freaking stories and words that I don’t even worry about everything readers do with them. I do the best I can with the story I have, and then move on. Always Starting New Projects Talking about stories, I actually have not gotten to look over my current books that I am working on. But in typical author fashion, I have an entire outline for a new book that I have not even started yet. I want to say I am surprised, but I am not really. If there is one thing a writer is better at than finishing their story, it is creating a whole new one that they may never finish. Changing the Newsletter Day? Regarding the newsletter, I am thinking about changing one of the days it goes out. I like sending out the newsletter on Sundays. I just do. But I know that no one really reads emails on Sundays. There is data to show this. I am then forced to change around my writing schedule for that. For now, I am keeping Sunday, but don’t be surprised if I experiment with another day. Figuring Out Newsletter Content I am not sure what exactly the readers want from the newsletter in terms of content. I thought that they liked having multiple pieces, and then I dropped a free poem with two guys talking about death, and that did better than most of the other newsletters. I know that I want to give the readers a lot to read in the newsletter, but I just don’t know where that happy medium is right now. I am working on it. Working on Better Subject Lines Just like how I am working on the subject line for the newsletters. Look, I won’t lie to you about them. I don’t care to think much about them, and most times I write something like “a poem about (something), a book update about (something).” I am not sure if that is what the readers want, though. That can be my signature, I guess. I am going to play around with this in the coming weeks. Life Moves Fast As usual, I will leave you with something to take with you. Life goes too fast for most of us to comprehend. I mean, I know that I look back on the posts I wrote and think, “Damn, I wrote that three months ago. That felt like last week.” Don’t stress so much because it goes by so fast; try to enjoy it as much as you can. One day, you will be like, “Damn, that went fast.” And then before you know it, you will be pulled right back into life, as though that moment didn’t even happen. We all think we are going to be here forever, and that is just not the case.

A writing and editing advice post that encourages self-awareness during the revision process. In “What Type of Editor Are You?,” Greg Luti discusses the importance of understanding your natural editing tendencies so you can strengthen your craft more effectively. The Most Important Question Before You Edit There is always advice that you hear about improving as a writer, but I think there is a basic question that can be addressed by a writer to help them with their writing before they go into the details of the writing process. This question is, “What type of editor are you?” If a writer can answer this question and then act on it, they are already going to improve with their craft. Now, I don’t mean editor in the way that I do when I edit books for clients, as I tell them the difference between copy editing and developmental editing. I am talking about the writer’s ability to know what they do as they edit. Vague Advice Doesn’t Help If I tell you that to be a better writer, you should just become a better editor, then I would feel as though I am not really giving you anything of value. Vague advice without practical application is nothing more than empty words. It is like telling someone to be a better person, and they should be kind. I mean, do you have any examples of what that means? Are we talking about donating to charity or saying hi to a stranger, because those are two very different ways of being kind? But on the other hand, if I say that to be a better writer, you need to do one specific thing, then I am being a bit too particular at the moment, where a writer may not find that advice useful. I admit that later down the line, I can go into specific moments of editing, but for this piece, I think it is best to start with a simpler concept. To relate it to the better person analogy, it would be like giving someone the exact way to say hi to someone and giving them a recommended amount for the donation. It is a little much. The details are not needed in the beginning, especially if the intent and purpose are not defined. Most of Writing Is Editing When you write, most of the writing is actually editing. Think about that for a second. We call it writing, but it is not really writing if you edit the piece one hundred times. This means that you need to know what you see when you edit your work. If you don’t know what you are looking for when you edit, then I don’t know how you are expected to improve with it. My Own Editing Style I will use myself as an example here. I learned that I am a writer on the first draft who likes to get the idea on the page, in a very straightforward manner. That means no imagery or metaphors on the first try. This also means that when I am editing, I am to actively look for areas where the stories can be more artistic. I then add subtext to the stories, not on the first draft, but on the second, third, and so forth. Instead of blindly saying I am editing, I know that I am looking for a few things. What I Look For When I Edit What can I say that I am not saying right now? – Is there a character that can have something going on that I never mention to the reader, or perhaps another meaning to the entire piece I don’t actively promote? Are there areas where I can improve the language, with metaphors and imagery? – Is there a spot that can use some poetic flair to add to the value of the piece? Did I miss any gaps in the story so far? – Are there parts that I originally wrote that don’t make any storytelling sense, and do I have to connect the parts? Are the beginning and ending good? – I always like to see if the beginning and ending are good, since the beginning pulls people in and the ending is what they leave with. If I have any good lines in me, I try to put them there. Once I know what I am saying and I put it down in the first draft, the next edits are all about adding to what was said and refining it a little bit better. Know Your Editing Patterns This is why I stress that a writer should know what they are looking for when they are editing to make their overall pieces better. Maybe you misspell a bunch of words on your first draft, then you know that you are going to be spell-checking for one of your edits. Maybe you realize that you never really have much of a story for your first draft, and you allow the mood and tone to do much of the work. You then know you should focus on a coherent tale for your edits. Whatever you are doing in your edits, it is not what you did in your first draft. Know that, and then adjust accordingly. Simple Advice Is Still Worth Following This advice is rather obvious, but I relate it to something I have told my SAT students before. The first thing you should do to improve on the test is to actually not omit any questions. That is obvious, right? Yes, it is, but that does not mean you are not to address it. The questions the student omitted are areas of possible growth. The same goes for learning your editing style. It is obvious that one has to edit after their first draft and should know the style they like. But if that is the case, then how come there are writers out there who do not know or understand their editing style? Yes, it is simple, but that does not mean it is to be ignored either. Tying your shoes every day is basic and boring too, but you can’t really go walking without them. Next time you write, have a list of things you want to do with a piece. Then, when you write up something, see how many of those things you did in the first draft. Whatever you didn’t do is what you are to focus on in your edits. If you are like me, you will start to see a pattern with your editing, in that there are certain things you should focus on, for no other reason than that you naturally write your first draft a certain way. The Bottom Line Sure, becoming a better editor will help you with your writing, but it would be helpful if you actually knew how to do

A reflective poem that examines the feeling of being emotionally and spiritually dead while still alive. In “Two Dead Men,” Greg Luti portrays two men sitting in a park, each lost in their own internal sense of emptiness and disconnection from life. Two men sit on a park bench, neither really looking at the other. They are speaking to each other, for no one else is there to even care. The sky is bluer than the ocean, and it would have you comment on the lack of clouds in the sky. The weather is just right, at a temperature where you can feel warmth and coolness at the same time. The weatherman on TV has told people that this is the kind of day to get outside and enjoy themselves. Smell the richness of the new seasonal flowers. Take in the calmness of the day set forth by the weather. Breathe in the fresh spring air as you not only take in the air, but also a newness in life. Enjoy the day. That is what most would do on this day. But not these two. Both men spoke in an honest voice, as though they accepted their cruel words before they uttered them. They were not talking to each other as much as they were to themselves, and the other person just so happened to be there. None of the world mattered to them, aside from the dark cloud they created over their heads. They have both accepted a harsh truth: you can live in this life long after you die in it. When they bury you is not the only time you may die. “I am dead because life passed me by. Now there are kids who the world focuses on, and tries to help along with their journey. We all act as though their mistakes are no big deal, and tell them how much life they have ahead of them. You know I used to be one of those kids. Now, look at me. An old bum who complains about the world having problems, As if I have not been living in it for the past 20 years.” “I hear that… I am dead too. Would you believe that?” “You dead? I don’t believe it… “Yeah, as a doornail. Everyone used to be on me. I was the place to go. The cool hip thing to do. But not anymore. Now, what am I? An empty abyss for the soulless who are so blind they don’t even see the emptiness they have.” “I feel the emptiness in me. It is somewhere in between my tears and some profound moment I have.” “Really?” “Yeah… I cry about my life, and the failure I am. What I basically messed up on. If I think about certain things for too long. The tears come. Then…. It stops. And I feel empty. Just a hollowness in my chest, as though I am sick. Like, I know there is nothing there. Sometimes I think I may have accidentally dropped my soul while living. I probably dropped it at a park or some parking lot and then never went back.” “You at least had a soul. What do I have? What did I ever have? I was created to share information, but somewhere that information got lost and perverted. I mean literally perverted, like all sex….” “Oh…” “Yeah… so what happens after the emptiness sets in…. You said you then get a profound moment. I remember those.” “Yeah… I cry. I doubt, and then I reason. It’s weird. It is like my brain gets so rewired that I then come up with an idea I never thought about. I don’t know if I can’t be happy, or if this sadness is what inspires my thinking.” “You go from tissues to a shotgun to a theory on life. Damn, that’s a lot. Most of what I deal with is bullshit. Bullshit… that is all I have become now.” “It’s not a shotgun. You can’t kill yourself with a shotgun. How does that even work?” “Fair…. Sometimes I think I was a mistake to even be made. All anyone ever says about me are bad things I have enabled. You hate yourself because you failed. I hate myself for who I am. I just… I just don’t know if I am anything anymore. I used to be myself; now it feels like I am overrun with nothingness. And you know what hurts the most? Those who use me don’t even know about it. They think I am fine. They think I am healthy. But I am not. I am dying, and all anyone wants to do is use me for directions or porn.” “Don’t forget pointless posts.” “You can kill yourself…. I can’t. I have it so bad that people say if I get rid of myself, the world would go into a dark age. I am not who I used to be. I am dead, and those who use me don’t even know it. And when I am brought up, the world defends me, not even seeing my tears.” “You can cry? How does that work?” “I can’t. But I can feel less of a realness. What used to be full of life is a feeling of nothing now. I share information, but now I am making information and then sharing it… And with who? With who? Myself. I have become a joke. A punchline those guys on the roasts say.” “Eh… I don’t watch those things. The most joke I know about those things is when I imagined a line I would say about how no one would care if the fifteen heathens on stage all went down in a plane crash.” “Damn, bro… That’s dark.” “Well yeah… I know. I guess that is part of the joke.” “I don’t get it.” “Neither do I. Neither do I.”

A humorous flash fiction story that reimagines a pivotal moment in American history. In “United Name,” Greg Luti brings the Founding Fathers together as they debate — sometimes heatedly — what to name their new country. I would like to think that there was one conversation between the Founding Fathers about the development of our country that had more to do with its name and what exactly they would call the country than any pressing matters. As though the back and forth got thrown into the mix because they were in the room together for too long. They seemed to have spent so much time talking about everything else regarding life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that I imagine one of them would get up and submit the question, “Do we really want to call ourselves the United States of America? Does anyone have a better name than that?” This is one of the conversations we are never taught in school. It probably happened on a Tuesday mid-morning meeting, in between important matters, too, like how many troops George Washington still has, and how to get the French to help us in the war. Dickinson, a lesser-known Founding Father, but one nevertheless, stood up and spoke to the room, “Now, gentlemen, I believe we have missed a very basic question for this new nation we dream about. A question so obvious, I am almost insulted to have to bring it up. That is, ‘Do we even want this nation to be called America, or the United States of America?’ I, for one, feel the name is bland and ineffective in telling about what we are all about as a country. We are united states, so we are to call ourselves the United States. That is redundant, and I object to our new nation being called such a thing.” “Would you rather we be called New Britain?” John Adams responded with a certain roughness that made you wonder if he even liked Dickinson. Adams always had a lot to say in these meetings. Dickinson ignored Adams. “I only think a nation of great people, who have overcome a great war, deserves a great name, and we are falling short of that expectation.” “I believe the expectation of any new nation is survival. For if we don’t make it through our creation, what is the use of a catchy name? Can you tell me that?” Adams challenged Dickinson. “I have never heard anyone compliment the name of a nation rather than the merits of its government.” “We are all intelligent men in this room, for the most part.” Dickinson didn’t mention who on the opposing side he was insulting, but everyone in the room knew it was aimed at John Adams. “Can we not agree that our nation needs to win this conflict to be created? There is not a soul in this room who feels otherwise. I am saying that the name of this nation is not one we all agree with, and we should therefore get to a conclusion we all like.” John Hancock, who sat at the front of the room, spoke up, “Do you have a name for this nation, aside from the one that has been previously stated by Mr. Jefferson?” “We do not, Mr. Hancock.” John Adams rebuked, “Oh, so you have the audacity to mock Thomas’s name, but not enough to come up with your own name?” “I am not saying I don’t respect the work that Mr. Jefferson has done for this nation. In fact, I think we can all agree that the words he has put down have inspired us all. But that doesn’t mean he is to be the judge, jury and executioner in the name of this nation.” Ben Franklin took a second to get up out of his chair and responded, “Mr. Dickinson, are we not in America? Do we not live in states? And are those states not united? It appears to me the name United States of America is only natural for our new nation.” John Adams got up and added, “Either come up with a better name, or we’re keeping it.” John Hancock got the room’s attention. “Unless Mr. Dickinson or any party in this room can submit another name for the nation, we are going to keep it as is.” Dickinson bowed his head. “That is fair. I just thought the room should be given an opportunity to speak on the matter.” Ben Franklin, still standing, spoke to the room. “May I interest this room in another mundane issue troubling my fragile mind?” Dickinson smiled back and said, “Mr. Franklin, that list may be a bit too big for this congregation.” Franklin nodded at the other party, noting the harmless joke. “I submit having a bird be the nation’s animal.” “If we all like the bird, then yes, why not?” Dickinson quickly responded. “I propose a turkey as the nation’s animal.” Franklin insisted. Both sides started to boo Franklin’s proposal. Even John Adams was shaking his head at the choice. “Very well. I see I may have overstepped my boundaries of efficient banter for this meeting.” John Hancock got the room’s attention once more. “Very well. We agree that the name of this nation is America, or the United States of America. And we all, most importantly, agree that the nation’s animal will not be a turkey. Can we all move on to more important matters? Possibly about the very war we are still fighting?”