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National Jelly Bean Day 2023
Jelly beans were really never my jam, but it is National Jelly Bean Day all the same.
Sweet Time This Weekend
You can tell a lot about a fellow’s character by his way of eating jellybeans. ~Ronald Reagan
As much as I prefer to stay home, Kelly talked me into going somewhere with her today. We’ll see how it goes.
Even though I’ve got tons to do, I still need to get out and stretch my legs now and again.
Besides, you never know what kind of cool stuff you’ll find when you go shopping with your silly wife.
She’s got a way of making just about anything fun. As long as she’s with me, it doesn’t much matter where we go.
Just being somewhere with her is sweeter than a ton of jelly beans.
How They’re Made
How Jelly Belly Jelly Beans Are Made | Unwrapped | Food Network
Wow, it takes days to make a jelly bean. Who knew?
The jelly beans I grew up with were fairly generic in flavor. They were brightly colored, but they tasted pretty much the same. So, I never grew a particular affection for them.
I always liked the foil-wrapped mini chocolate eggs, the Cadbury Creme Eggs and the coconut creme eggs.
Now, I need to avoid candy as much as possible, but there are sugar-free variants when I need a treat.
Uncommitted Crime?
Every work of art is an uncommitted crime. ~Theodor W. Adorno
Okay, I’ll admit that I’m pretty mystified by that one. I don’t even know what he’s on about.
In fact, I’ve seen a number of works of “art” that are definitely crimes that have been committed.
There are a lot of dreadful things that have been foisted upon us over the years.
The great thing about these is that we can use them as examples of what not to do.
There are books, classes, seminars, entire YouTube channels full of advice on what you need to do.
There are just as many works that are illustrative of what not to do.
It needs to be said that this is entirely subjective.
There are tons of things that I vehemently detest that are beloved by countless others and vice versa.
I don’t like to be a hater. There are entirely too many of those online.
Even so, there are a lot of things I simply don’t like. As such, I can use these as guardrails for my own work.
Much like leaving my house, some artistic experiences leave me feeling as though that’s time I’ll never get back.
Some experiences are simply meh, but others are viscerally detestable. Both are experiences that can encompass areas for me not to explore.
Nothing will ever be universally appealing. As a colleague of mine said to me a while back: when you try to make something that’s everything to everyone, you make something that’s nothing for anyone.
Genres are self-identifying fanbases. Many people enjoy some genres but not others. Typically, there are genres to which someone will naturally gravitate, while the others serve as spice for variety.
I don’t need everybody to like The Sentinels. It would be nice, and good for sales, but it’s not realistic to expect it. Some people will never like a superhero story, no matter how it’s presented.
Even within genres, there are variations that people prefer over others. Some people like high fantasy while others prefer urban fantasy. Some people like space opera while others prefer hard sci-fi. Some people prefer police procedurals while others like hardboiled private eyes.
There’s a lid for every pot, as they say. So, don’t cast too wide a net. Know who your intended audience is and try to craft your work to please them specifically.
Some people write to what they believe will be a profitable segment of the audience. What’s hot right now? Let’s write a trilogy of that.
Other people write the kinds of stories they’d like to read. I’ve heard this a lot. Many authors say they found a book or series they really enjoyed and couldn’t find others of similar style or quality, so they took the job on themselves.
Either way, do what you do because you want to. If you ever think your story is too far out to appeal to anyone, just remember that there are such things as Cocaine Bear, Sharknado, American Pickers and the Teletubbies. Some things, beyond all reason, manage to find an audience.
That’s all for this sweet jelly bean weekend. I hope you’re getting some rest or some quality time with your sweetie like me.