I was friended on Facebook
by a professional photographer.
He clearly wanted to sell me
stock photos.
He private messaged me
with ‘Hi.’
I said ‘Hi’ back.
His next message?
“Where do you live?”
His business is online.
My business is online.
I have no idea
why he wanted to know
where I lived.
I’m certain he must have had
a reason for asking
but the question,
especially for writers
who deal with stalkers every d*mn day,
came across as creepy.
It was also useless small talk.
If he asked me
about my upcoming stories,
about characters
or settings
or themes I’m writing,
his pitch could have been tweaked
to supply exactly
what I’m looking for.
Small talk is good.
Creepy small talk is bad.
Useful small talk
benefits everyone.
Put some thought
into your topic.