You encounter a Cafe Regular. They smile. You ask, “What are you?”
Hello! I'm Milo. I'm a lot of things, but mostly I am intrigued. Some of my favorite things are talking to strangers, reading about unusual ideas, and embracing stories. The world is bizarre, notably its people, and I am so, so interested. So, what are you?
“I'm a graphic designer,” you say.
What a coincidence! I have a BFA in graphic design from SUNY New Paltz. I've been honing the craft for about ten years. Has it really been that long?
I like to branch out in the field. I do web and UX for money, branding and illustration for favors, and print and book design for me. I'm especially a fiend for typography, and of course, UX. User Experience is in everything, for me. It's really about problem solving, and problem solving is another of my favorite things.
“I'm a bit of an artist,” you admit.
Oh yes, a kindred spirit. Art is so incredibly important, don't you think? It's explosive, and the shrapnel is feelings, ideas, and preoccupations. It's a sandbox to devise winding towers and destroy dead shopping malls. It's what drives you forward and where you're going.
Anyway, I use a lot of different media. Learning the new stuff is honestly the thing that gets me going most, because each medium is its own system. It has rules and elements—and I know a lot of people would disagree, that human creation is about breaking rules, but even all the chaotic beauty of the universe operates on definable math. That's why math is magic.
What was I saying? Right, so, I like figuring out the systems. I do a lot of drawing and printmaking, and I'm halfway decent at silversmithing, songwriting, fiber arts, podcasting, and of course, writing fiction—which is absolutely a form of art, but I'll get into that later.
“I've always wanted to write a book. It's daunting, though.”
Yeah, it is. I've been seriously going at it since 2021, and its only the past year that I've started focusing on figuring out how to write a novel. I've gotten close, and I have several in the works. Writing is definitely the hardest craft I've ever attempted, by a landslide. Writing fiction involves upward of ten or so distinct skills. I taught myself, basically creating a curriculum where I focused on each of those skills in the order they were illuminated to me. I'm not published yet, although I have some short stories I'm trying to get out there. It's hard to find the right publication.
Anyway, let me know if you want to read anything. I mostly do paranormal fiction and fantastical realism—stuff that challenges the definition of humanity and faces uncomfortable stuff head on. I like to respect the faults of my characters, you know? They deserve to have the story told true.