A writer friend of mine recently had someone email him to tell him a story of his was "brilliant," which rather made his day. The fan said that Spider Robinson instructed her to be sure to tell artists when you like their works. Because, you know, they’re all people, no matter how famous they are, and a note like that might just make their day. And, hey, if they’re totally not famous yet, then it’s even more likely to have a real impact. So don’t hold back. It’s easy enough to find contact info for most authors these days. Find out how to get in touch and tell them how much you liked that story.

On another note, I have to say, I still kind of resent this one author who I emailed back in 1999 or so when I was just a nobody in college. I found him on AOL while I was searching for people to chat with. (I was searching by subject, and stumbled across him.) His profile indicated he was the author I thought it was (not just someone with the same name, which would have been unlikely). So I emailed him, told him how much I liked his book. His first novel, btw, and this is someone you’ve never heard of. But I never heard back from him.

So I guess there’s a lesson in that too. When someone writes you a nice note like that, thank them.