How To Model Something That’s Never Been Done

In discussing modeling, someone said that it wouldn’t work because they are doing something unique.

Really? Well, COUNTLESS times in human history human beings have done new and unique things. Guess what? You can study them, and see what emotional and mental structures and strategies they needed to be explorers.

When I set out to be a black SF writer, I didn’t know of any others. No pictures on book-covers or in any industry magazines that I could see. Does that mean I couldn’t model? Heck, no.

I just

1. Modeled successful writers
2. Modeled successful SF writers
3. Modeled black people who had been successful in other artistic fields
4. Modeled black MEN specifically who had been successful.

In studying these sets, I looked at at least three different people in each category.

1. What successful writers did led to the Lifewriting 6-Step process we teach to this day.
2. Successful SF writers understood some specific sets of extrapolative strategies, as well as specializing in some aspect of the sciences (successful writers in general often had specialized knowledge they repeatedly wove into their stories. Mark Twain and the Mississippi, for instance)
3. Black people successful in the arts had some aspects that were the same as artists of any race: obsessive practice, finding mentors, etc. With the…