19 Comments
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Tara~Star Still Blooming💫🪷💫's avatar

This was absolutely awesome! I loved how it kept me engaged from the stsrt to the finish honestly im so glad that he went with the origional!! So many people allow other people to get inside their heads and this particular story shows this spiral unfold in real time!! Well written!! Loved it!!

Max Echard's avatar

What a compliment! Thank you 🙏🏼

Deferred Maintenance's avatar

This was hilarious, horrifying, and inspiring all at once. Phenomenal.

Max Echard's avatar

Thank you!

Ray Sweatman's avatar

Hilarious!

Max Echard's avatar

Thanks, Ray!

More fun to come.

I.M. AIken's avatar

I read this last night before climbing into bed. It brought me quiet joy as I woke this morning. You made me twist like one might do while looking at that silly sketch of a young lady/old lady. A perfect tone for satire. Poor struggling author listening to intently to f'n idiots with bad advice. Funny author with a delightfully ironic sense of humor. More please.

Max Echard's avatar

“Quiet joy” is about the best thing this weird little disco bird story could’ve brought someone.

Thank you. More coming. ❤️

S. J. Barratt's avatar

loved it! Sooo true how all this advice on line gets in your head.. Now I have the Beegees in mine :-) Thanks for a great read, and thanks for the follow! I'm intrigued - what made you follow as I'm not exactly writing satire but for kids... maybe you are nostalgic for your childhood like me?!!

Max Echard's avatar

So glad you liked it!

I recently had my second child. Been considering writing something for them. Not quite sure what yet.

Also, I’ve recently written and posted a personal essay on fatherhood titled “Audience of One”

I bounce around quite a bit lol.

Thank you for your kind words—to me and the kiddos!

Cate - a Snowball in Hell's avatar

Well done!

Max Echard's avatar

Thanks, Cate!

Glad you enjoyed. I’ll be posting more fun ones soon.

R. Michael's avatar

Fantastic! REALLY. You kept it moving. That's harder than it looks.

Glad you kept the finch. The Bee Gees part was funny. "Coached out of his own childhood" brilliant.

Max Echard's avatar

Thanks so much, R!

And thank you for picking that specific line—was proud of that one

Stay posted for the next wild ride!

Bryan Wiler's avatar

first, the title...brilliant in how it drags the reader in by the hair. I re-read the first couple sections, not because they were unclear, but because I wanted to experience the reveal of what the title meant a second time.

morsels of subtle humor sprinkled throughout worked so well -"not knowing whether you were supposed to pray for a bird," "Same ache, now with oat milk," "Nobody grieves whimsical animals."

and of course, the entire concept - a story about writing a story - is wonderfully subversive. it's a cheeseburger with two patties as the bun.

Max Echard's avatar

Thanks Bryan!

I was apprehensive of the title.

I switched it to “The Tune” for a while. But this is a good example of how the story sometimes picks it for you.

Here’s a fun little Easter egg:

If you go back and read the actual internet advice, you’ll find it doesn’t just make him write LIKE “Staying Alive”—

they’re literally the EXACT blueprints to the EXACT song.

I knew most, if any, would pick it up. But it made me laugh lol.

Bryan Wiler's avatar

Well shit, I’m disappointed in myself for not connecting the dots there. You can never go wrong hiding an Easter egg though. It’s something I do frequently, just on the odd chance than one single person figures it out and has a moment of glee. Bravo.

Max Echard's avatar

Well, now I have to go back and see for myself…

Seth's avatar

Good satire of modern "writing". My favorite line: “More mugs, more plants. Coffee shops are timeless. Subway tiles are trauma triggers.”