Random thoughts about rest, regeneration and success
Here's a thought:
People like success.
They love to celebrate you for being a smash hit.
They quite like longevity, too. eg. Harry Potter being a smash all the way to the end.
They also love you to fail. To mock you for becoming a has-been.
"Whatever happened to...?" is seen as lots of fun. Almost as much fun as scandal or falling off the pedestal in spectacular fashion.
But what they like, most of all, is for a failed success to re-emerge and RE-TRIUMPH.
Like Doctor Who. Or Kylie.
Once you come back from Mocksville and become a bona fide success all over again - you can never fall down from there. You are officially a King whose crown will never go dull.
I think this is why it's so important to ride the wave of success and then retire into utter obscurity for a while, rather than doing something half-hearted. Better to do nothing rather than give your star a chance to fade.
I wonder whether it's even possible to stage a regeneration (ha!) without having some sort of rest period to give people a chance to get sentimental about how good you were, rather than how you're not so good any more.
I wonder how much of Jo Rowling's success involved making people WAIT for the next bit. Once they've been waiting for something, they're primed to like it.
People like success.
They love to celebrate you for being a smash hit.
They quite like longevity, too. eg. Harry Potter being a smash all the way to the end.
They also love you to fail. To mock you for becoming a has-been.
"Whatever happened to...?" is seen as lots of fun. Almost as much fun as scandal or falling off the pedestal in spectacular fashion.
But what they like, most of all, is for a failed success to re-emerge and RE-TRIUMPH.
Like Doctor Who. Or Kylie.
Once you come back from Mocksville and become a bona fide success all over again - you can never fall down from there. You are officially a King whose crown will never go dull.
I think this is why it's so important to ride the wave of success and then retire into utter obscurity for a while, rather than doing something half-hearted. Better to do nothing rather than give your star a chance to fade.
I wonder whether it's even possible to stage a regeneration (ha!) without having some sort of rest period to give people a chance to get sentimental about how good you were, rather than how you're not so good any more.
I wonder how much of Jo Rowling's success involved making people WAIT for the next bit. Once they've been waiting for something, they're primed to like it.