About the Bear Thing

More than a few of you wondered if I wrote the prior post about bears.

I did.

Was I drunk or on drugs when I did it?

No, but that's a great idea for next time.

Was it some sort of social experiment?

Well, sort of.

My general approach to life goes like this:

Try something --> Observe results --> Learn --> Try something else

I'm well-suited for drawing comics and writing blog posts because I can erase/delete/adjust a thousand times before the public sees it. I'd be bad at, for example, walking a tightrope across a canyon or doing brain surgery. Those professions don't respond well to "oops."

I use this blog to practice my writing, try different styles, float ideas, and generally get into the heads of the public. It's a bad idea in my profession to assume I know what other people want to read. I can only know for sure what is in my own head. And as a general rule, the people who go into my line of work don't think like normal citizens, for better or worse. So I take a business approach to writing; I test different styles and topics, observe the reactions, and adjust accordingly.

With the bear post, I wrote it as a character instead of my normal personality, and imagined the reader being a particular type of person who would drink beer - lots of it - with that character. That's what produces the different style. And now I know your reactions to it. Thank you.

In October you'll hear a lot about my upcoming non-Dilbert, non-humor, non-fiction book. The approach I took in the book comes from what I learned after trying different topics here and observing which topics and styles had the biggest impact on people.

I appreciate all of you for putting up with me. Truly. I hope my new book returns the favor. It is designed to do just that.