A Stranger Made Me Smile Yesterday.

I often meet people when I am out and about, but a few days ago when I was out shopping, a man who I had never met before, spoke to me.

He said that he had been reading 'My amazing work online.'

I was beaming!

He said that he wanted to start writing online, so I told him about Vocal and Medium.

I explained that you could write about your experiences, business, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, life, and more; and proceeded to explain a bit about earning, whilst also making it clear that you won't earn much straight away from your writing, and the benefits of membership on both platforms.

He humorously asked me,

"Do I need a pen?"

I cracked up in an instant.

This lovely man had only ever written using pen and paper, he had only ever sent emails and read online.

He had written for a variety of magazines a long time ago before people started writing online.

He was used to writing on paper and submitting his stories in the post, though he had never written online before.

He did enjoy reading stories online, but he thought everyone submitted them in paper form.

I explained to him that you could write and submit your stories online, but it was best to check with whichever platform he chose to write for what their guidelines were for, he also said that he was going to give it a go and then he said that he wanted to read more of my online stories; I encouraged him to read the stories of other authors too.

Days like these make me feel good about my work. They make me want to write more when I learn that not only the writers and readers I know so well are reading my work, but strangers who I have never met in real life are also finding them on the internet and reading them too!

It keeps me motivated to write more.

We sparked up a conversation about our favorite book authors which include Enid Blyton, Jane Austen, Clive Cussler, Judy Blume, HP Lovecraft, E.L. James, and more.

He was intrigued by my reading tastes which span a wide variety of genres and authors, which would take me forever to list here!

The conversation went on for at least an hour, and now we are good friends. He gives me writing advice, and I have helped him to start writing, though he hasn't joined the platforms yet; he is planning on getting to grips with writing online first!

We shook hands and smiled at the end of the conversation, and he said that he couldn't wait to read more stories by me.

I told him that I had authored a few short stories for a mixture of different ages on KDP and that I was also working on a few of my main books, some of which will be paperback books.

I explained that some of my first shorts were stories from the platforms I had written on which I had turned into E-books. I also explained that I wrote sexually explicit content which was strictly for adults over eighteen.

He couldn't believe that I could write such content, because I have a soft personality.

I explained that in my world of writing, I had to be very cautious about choosing the right age group for some of my stories, because some are suitable for young people, while others are not.

He was very impressed with my work.

We forgot that we were supposed to be heading home and at the end of the conversation, he said,

"I'll take my hat off for ya!"

This was the kindest way in which anybody had ever approached me about my work.

It pays to be nice to authors and writers, no matter what they write. You will find authors who write a mixed genre of stories, some you may like, and some you won't.

This is not a permission to be unkind. You don't have to read a particular story since there are plenty to choose from.

A simple compliment, or a nice conversation such as the one I had, goes a long way!