Writing Through The Darkness with Corey Croft

"Let the ego shrivel up and die on the vine." In this episode, Michael Dargie sits down with Vancouver-based independent author and publisher Corey Croft for a candid conversation about writing, depression, ego, and the strange compulsion to finish terrible books. This episode is sponsored by my new book BRANDJITSU, helping you find, shape, and share your story with the world. Corey shares how his path to becoming a novelist began not with ambition, but with anxiety. During a difficult stretch marked by depression, he realized he always had "time" to write — he just wasn't using it. A community writing challenge to produce 1,000 words a day became the catalyst. What began as an experiment turned into a therapeutic practice, and eventually into a serious body of work. Writing, for Corey, became a way to confront inner chaos and shape it into narrative. The conversation moves from craft to philosophy. Corey speaks openly about ego — how it quietly sabotages artists — and the importance of humility when pursuing creative work. He reflects on literary influences like Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, the discipline he learned from Stephen King's On Writing, and why he treats writing like a job rather than waiting for inspiration to strike. There's humour woven throughout: from his refusal to abandon a bad novel (no matter how painful), to his thoughts on dog-earing book pages, to his suspicion of overly optimized, AI-driven culture. Beneath the jokes is a deeper concern about authenticity — about becoming too polished, too homogenous, too disconnected from the rough edges that make people human. At its heart, this conversation is about staying real. Corey talks about diminishing the "mask" we wear in public life and striving to align who we are on the outside with who we are internally. For creative rebels and entrepreneurs alike, it's a reminder that art isn't about perfection — it's about honesty. Audere est facere. To dare is to do. And sometimes, to write. PULL QUOTES "You always have time. You just have to make it." — Corey Croft "Let the ego shrivel up and die on the vine." — Corey Croft "The freaks make up the world." — Corey Croft "I love broken spines." — Michael Dargie "If you're not your honest and true self, how are people ever going to fall in love with you?" — Corey Croft EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [01:22,000] Independent Publisher | Corey explains why he created Fly Pelican Press and chose the indie route. [05:35,000] Writing as Therapy | A 1,000-words-a-day challenge becomes a turning point during depression. [09:45,000] Dostoevsky on a Megabus | The book that changed Corey's life: Crime and Punishment. [10:26,000] Writing Like a Job | Lessons from Stephen King's On Writing and treating creativity with discipline. [13:02,000] Writing Across Gender | Why Corey avoids writing female leads — and the authenticity dilemma. [17:52,000] You Always Have Time | The myth of "when I have time" gets dismantled. [23:32,000] Homogeneity and AI | Concerns about optimization and losing human imperfection. [28:34,000] The Completion Compulsion | Corey refuses to abandon bad books — no matter how awful. [32:30,000] Rebels in Waiting | Advice for aspiring artists: diminish the ego and embrace rejection. [38:05,000] Reduce the Mask | Authenticity as a lifelong practice. LINKS FROM EPISODE Corey Croft Author Website (https://coreycroftauthor.com) Corey Croft on Instagram (https://instagram.com/coreycroftauthor) Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7144.Crime_and_Punishment) On Writing by Stephen King (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10569.On_Writing) Henry Miller (https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/147.Henry_Miller) Edinburgh, Scotland (https://www.visitscotland.com/places-to-go/edinburgh) About the Host of The RebelRebel Learn more about Michael Dargie, his book on branding, and cool tools he built at https://MichaelDargie.com