And Somewhere Along the Way…

I figured I should offer an update on what's going on over here in the mayhem that is my Writing Corner. Well, I was feeling slumped and distinctly lacking motivational drive to work on the WIP projects that were on the top of the "To Do" list.

It was that "ehhh" sensation, where as a writer or artist, it's best to step away from a project and focus on something else. Or take a break completely, a vacation from effort to rediscover some vigor.

And then my dear friend, the Wielder of Claymores and Hand Grenades, sent me a catalyst of sorts.
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It’s All in the Presentation

I'll admit it here for the world to see and read.
I am a nerd. A geek.
One of my all-time favorite books on my bookshelf is Edward Tufte's volume titled "Visual Explanations." Between its hardback covers is a brilliantly executed argument for the method one uses to process data into information so that it impacts its audience with the desired effect, conveys the proper sense of urgency.

It was given to me by my engineer of a father about seven years ago, and hands-down the best tangible gift I've received from that source. It triggered a realization that it is not enough to have a legitimate grievance, a valid argument, or stand in the right. If you are going to challenge the perspectives or perceptions of others, you as a human being have a responsibility to your fellow human being to present an alternative, and to do so in a coherent, rational manner that conveys your information effectively and succinctly.

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Edamame & Bull’s Blood

No, I promise those are not the protagonists in my current WIP.
I did, however, stumble across an Earnest Hemingway quote earlier this afternoon:

Write drunk, edit sober.

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Playing With Imagery

I really was beginning to focus on the writing again. Within the past week or two, I'd begun fiddling with characters, secondary cast members, and potential entanglements, plot threads.

I've hit on the idea of writing the synopsis before I start writing this. Highly unusual, but I'm going to see if I can make it work. Now that I have the characters in place. It's very much like setting out the ingredients for a baking recipe: once you determine what's going into it, there's usually only one possible end result for what you'll take out of the oven when it's done.

Back in December (I think) I sold a short story. Did a heavy rewrite-expansion, and returned it in late January. Though it was contracted, I knew it was waiting its turn. Yesterday, I got an email from the art director requesting completion of a Cover Art Request for the story. The timing was really bad–I almost face-planted in the middle of the road in the parking lot at work, reading that email.

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The huMan/huMan Genre: On Responsibility

The definition of the word is: the quality or state of moral, ethical, legal, or mental accountability; burden.

Writers, as artists, have a responsibility to both entertain and challenge their audience.
Granted, not every work of art will deliver both in equal measures.
But both responsibilities exist, if the artist is one who seeks to challenge themselves, to grow and evolve. There's also the responsibility of quality, which encompasses any number of aspects including subject presentation with sensitivity, authenticity, etc.

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Invasion of the Shinies

This afternoon, the weather was warm enough, for the first time on a day off, to venture out with Iron Mike and do our walk. I still have no idea how long it is. It takes about thirty minutes. We don't walk slow.
On the way back, I stopped to check the mail. Mistake. Ended up juggling two large packages along with leash and keys. Thankfully, Mike's a sensible creature and didn't trip me.

At any rate, boxes!
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Artists Don’t Refill at the Gas Pump

I'm discovering what feeds my inspirations, and it's rather strange.
Or maybe I just have strange tastes.
Or maybe it's just a case of the creative tide shifting. These sorts of things happen when they feel like it, seriously. I can string words together in sentences all day long, and sentences into paragraphs, etc. but if it gets me nowhere fast, it's useless.

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WIP Overhauling: A Reason to Plot First

It happened a lot with BTB. It's happening again, as I work through a plot direction lag in this overhaul of Dancing Circles.

I get lost in the reading, so lost that I'm drowning in the experience all over again as though it's the first time. I forget what I was supposed to be focusing on, and accomplish nothing.

With BTB, I had to literally force myself to skim during the editing passes. The schedule was too tight, the book too long, for anything else.

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Too Much Music: Exploring Communication

Years ago, someone challenged me to write a story just using dialogue.
No labels, no descriptions, nothing but the spoken words between two characters. As though all but one of the senses were shut down, and even that one was filtered with extreme prejudice.

It was a challenge. It took a bit of effort. But it also helped me develop as a writer, opened my eyes to thinking about communication in a completely different way.

And these days, instead of just "people-watching" as some writers are prone to do, I close my eyes and listen. To the flow of conversation. To the nuances of language, word choice, the volume of silence stretching out between them, even. It all speaks.
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Life is in The Little Things

I swear these shots are in no way planned or staged.
This one, I took earlier this month–manual shutter, no flash–upon glancing up while in the middle of a conversation with a close friend. Sometimes life lets you know that you're where you're supposed to be, doing what you're meant to be doing.
Fate, destiny, design? I don't pretend to know.
You decide for yourself.

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