Time to cue the music, put on your dancing shoes, take out your pens and paper and start writing! If that seems like a mixed metaphor maybe it's because it's a mixed post. Yes! Another two posts in one!
The Insecure Writer's Support Group
Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog.
The co-hosts for the June 1 posting of the IWSG are SE White, Cathrina Constantine, Natalie Aguire, Joylene Nowell Butler, and Jacqui Murray!
June 1 question - When the going gets tough writing the story, how do you keep yourself writing to the end? If have not started the writing yet, why do you think that is and what do you think could help you find your groove and start?
When the Music Starts, Keep on Dancing
Speaking for myself I'd attribute a situation like this mostly to laziness. And believe me, I've been lazy long enough to know this is what it's all about. I'd say this is probably the case for most of us facing writer's block or whatever you want to call it, but I'll speak for myself and let you decide whether this is where you are in this issue.
I've got so many unfinished (or unstarted) writing projects that are just lying around waiting for my creative genius to prod them into fruition that I can come to few conclusions other than I'm just too lazy to get busy working on them. Distractions are plentiful and many of those distractions are frivolous diversions, though some are legit. Still, there is always a reason that can keep me from moving on with my stories or whatever other project is waiting for a swift kick of my action boot.
Of course, some ideas just don't grab me enough to keep running with them. When the inspiration dies I can reasonably accept not pouring energy into them. And there are some ideas that seem good, but then I don't feel like I am the one to be telling those stories so why waste my time working on something that my heart is not into.
But then there are those ideas that stay in my mind and I work through them in my head over and over again. I think about them and maybe scribble some notes for later before I go on to something else that seems more important, more fun, or just another notion for me to pursue. Or I can just be Annie and sing "Tomorrow" as I fuddle through today.
What I need to be singing is "Let's Face the Music and Dance"!
And that sounds like a cue for another Battle of the Bands....
Battle of the Bands
Let's Face the Music and Dance
This Irving Berlin composition first appeared in the Fred Astaire film Follow the Fleet. It has been recorded by many artists since and used in a number of films and TV shows. In this Battle I'm putting the Astaire original from the film up against pop singer Taco, a Dutch artist who launched his career in Germany in the eighties. It's the old school guy against the popster from nearly fifty years later. Take a listen and see whose camp you'd like to set up your tent in...
Time to Vote!
Which of these song versions do you prefer? Do you like the old school or updated disco version better?. Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind. You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.
Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.
Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:
StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands
'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'
'Curious as a Cathy'
Sound of One Hand Typing
Jingle, Jangle, Jungle
Winner of this Battle Announced on Wednesday June 8th
Fred Astaire "Let's Face the Music and Dance" (1936)
Taco "Let's Face the Music and Dance" (1984)
Time to Vote!
Which of these song versions do you prefer? Do you like the old school or updated disco version better?. Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind. You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.
Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.
Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:
StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands
'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'
'Curious as a Cathy'
Sound of One Hand Typing
Jingle, Jangle, Jungle
Winner of this Battle Announced on Wednesday June 8th
You've got time to vote but vote as soon as you can because you know how quickly time goes and how easily you forget. Don't dally! Face the music and vote! And then come back to see if your choice won.
Skip to the songs. Though I would like Fred better, but I didn't. Too smarmy! So I'm going with Taco. As for writing...my theory is if you want to do something enough, you'll do it. You probably aren't lazy, you just have other interests.
ReplyDeleteLiza, I do have other interests that intrigue me more than writing much of the time. And then there are those things other people like my wife would prefer that I do.
DeleteFirst vote goes to Taco.
Lee
I can definitely sympathize being distracted enough not to really accomplish anything writing related (be it blogging or other things) and I had that issue for the longest time. My solution was start using pen and paper to do my regular writing. I was more or less pushed to this solution due a lot variables you've touched upon, but it works for me. Allows me to concentrate, expand and explore with almost no distractions.
ReplyDeleteI would got with Astaire over Taco.
GB, I do keep notebooks and pens at a few strategic places around my house. It's good for jotting ideas or snippets of lines that I like, but it still doesn't help with concentrated writing. The best I've been able to do lately is get my blog posts up now and then.
DeleteA vote for Fred Astaire.
Lee
Boy oh boy this is a tough one! In my heart it is a tie. And on a side note I loved the strange woman left nervously at the table with her funny little hat on while the other two danced amongst the Armageddon. That'd be me only I'd have a notebook.
ReplyDeleteAs for your supposed laziness I call foul! You are most decidedly not lazy, so like Liza I point to other interests.
Jan, thank you for your affirmation of my industriousness. I'd like to believe that myself. Unfortunately a lot of my other "interests" include chores and obligations to keep others happier. I do need to try to write more.
DeleteI agree this is a tough choice. I guess your vote is a wash.
Lee
Sometimes there are more interesting things in life than writing.
ReplyDeleteL.Diane, either more interesting or more obligatory.
DeleteLee
Lee,
ReplyDeleteI'm short on time today, so I can do much jibbering and need to cut to the chase with my BOTB pick. Fred Astaire makes feels nostalgic but I really like the vibe of Taco earning my bote in this battle. Have a bandtastic week, my friend!
Cathy, I always feel a bit short on time and yet I seem to not do that much. Ah, life!
DeleteAnother vote for Taco.
Lee
Lee,
DeleteIt's all the craziness we've been in the midst of since April with plumbing repairs and appliance replacements rolled in with the prep work that still has me reeling. Now, we're gearing up for vacation this fall and that has its own craziness. At least it's the good kind of crazy. We were in south western Virginia over the weekend. I thought of you when we passed by the Marion exit. Although real estate cost is up everywhere, you'd probably do very well finding the perfect place in the area if y'all sell your place in California. This is a great time for someone who wants to sell but not so good for those trying to buy who have limited band accounts.
I wish, but so far my wife has not been convinced. She'll probably change her mind when things get really bad here and it's too late to turn a good profit on our house.
DeleteLee
BOIDMAN ~
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you expected I would bote for Special Delivery Kluger (S.D. for short), who was also known as Fred Astaire. And I expected to vote for S.D., too. However (it almost pains me to say this), I'm boting for Pizza! Pizza! Er... I mean, TACO! TACO!
Yes, yes, that's the sort of Disco-ish stuffs I always say I hate - and usually do. But there's no denying that's just too much fun to hate on. I remember how, to my great surprise, I also dug Taco's hit 'Puttin' On The Ritz' back in the old days. Somehow they manage catch a bit of that sound and vibe of Rudy Vallee singing-thru-a-megaphone shtick. And there's just something about that which has always appealed to me.
You can mark it on your calender: On this day in 2022, I chose Taco Disco over Fred Astaire. (Surely another sign of the impending apocalypse.)
This Battle was a fun, goot juan, Bird!
~ D-FensDogG
STMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS
STMcC, you do indeed surprise me with your vote, but I agree with your case in favor of your pick. He's campy, but it's pretty good campy.
DeleteA vote for Taco.
Lee
All over the place with ideas and never finishing... Yep! I totally relate! But is it laziness? Or it is a prioritizing of interests to maximize brain power and inspiration in the moment?
ReplyDeleteYou know, I wasn't keen on the beginning chipmunk sound to Taco's version, but as soon as I heard his normal voice, my brain went "Puttin' on the Ritz" and it swayed my vote.
Taco for me!
Loni, you argue a good case in my favor. Okay, I'll take that. I do have a lot of different interests as well as things I have to do for my life situations. I'm lazy, but do lots of stuff when I'm not just loafing in front of the TV. And maybe that's not all just loafing.
DeleteA vote for Taco.
Lee
It is Wednesday... so it is not Taco's day. His version isn't bad, but I must stick with the classic original version. I was never a huge Astaire fan (I always liked Gene Kelly better. He was more manly.) But I loved Ginger Rogers and generally liked their movies.
ReplyDeleteSix
6-Gun, good to see you on this Taco Wednesday.
DeleteI like Kelly a lot but Astaire is my overall favorite for the dance routines and his skinny suaveness is Fred Astaire. I really do like both these versions so it's a tough one for me.
For you it's Fred Astaire.
Lee
You know I am all for the original even though i enjoyed Taco's version. I had to play that on YouTube because it just repeated the original where Taco should have been.
ReplyDeleteFun anecdote..watch when Giner twirls toward Fred near the beginning of the dance. Her dress was covered on beads and weighed a ton. She often co-designed the dresses and wanted them to stay the way she designed it. The sleeve hit Fred in the face and he stated it almost toppled him over. It was a huge painful slap.
Another anecdote, Fred had a friend and dance partner in a man called Hermes Pan. They would work out all the steps before hand with Hermes as Ginger. He would then teach Ginger the dance steps. Can you see 2 men do this...hahahaaa
Birgit, I hadn't noticed that sleeve slap before even though I've watched that sequence many times. Astaire does indeed look surprised for a moment. They were real pros. I've read where Ginger said she would practice until her feet bled. The striving for perfection shows in their performances.
DeleteA vote for Fred Astaire.
Lee
Fred is definitely a better dancer than Taco; he''s also a better dancer than singer. I liked Taco's voice better than Fred's, and since this is a contest based on the song, I'll go with Taco.
ReplyDeleteJohn H, I'd agree on both accounts. I only remember Taco from "Puttin' on the Ritz" and was impressed with his vocals in "Face the Music".
DeleteA vote for Taco.
Lee
Hi Lee!
ReplyDeleteI didn’t recognize the song by the name, but I sure did once I played the video. Such a special place Fred and Ginger held in the world of music and dancing. This one is particularly elegant. Then again, a room full of happy dancers is always fun too. That’s where you’d find me yesterday, when I was young ;-) A vote for a roomful of Taco, please ;-)
Diedre, it's not a song that is heard that often these days--at least I haven't heard it anywhere other than in my YouTube searches. When it came to dance, Fred and Ginger were the most elegant of them all.
DeleteA vote for Taco.
Lee
The incomparable Fred Astaire. I've watched every one of his movies.
ReplyDeleteJacqui, I've got several Astaire films on DVD. Always good for multiple viewings.
DeleteFred Astaire.
Lee
I like them both! Fred Astaire is wonderful, but tonight I'm going with Taco. It's likely my mood more than anything else, Arlee.
ReplyDeleteFundy, yeah, I get you on that mood thing.
DeleteTaco.
Lee
I'm very familiar with procrastination and/or laziness about writing projects. Like you said, so many distractions! Interesting battle today. As I'm not a fan of Disco, my vote goes to Fred and Ginger. Smooth! ☺
ReplyDeleteDebbie D, sometimes I feel like the King of Procrastination. Maybe someday I'll do the research to confirm whether I'm right.
DeleteA vote for Fred Astaire.
Lee
It's always felt as if I was displaced and belonged in another era. I vote for Fred Astaire.
ReplyDeleteJoylene, I think I know the feeling.
DeleteAnother vote for Fred Astaire.
Lee
I'm sure that Taco had his good points, but Fred for me, sir!
ReplyDeleteCW, I wouldn't mind a couple of tacos for lunch today.
DeleteA vote for Fred Astaire.
Lee
I worry about being lazy, too! I need so much accountability from other writing and blogging friends!
ReplyDeleteVoting for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers :-)
Deniz, I don't worry too much about being lazy since that's the way I've been my whole life and I've gotten used to it.
DeleteA vote for Fred Astaire.
Lee
Fred Astaire is a jerk, but he is our jerk.
ReplyDeleteTaco seemed to be trying to channel Baz Luhhrman all the way down to hiring old farts like me to dance.
I;ll give it to Fred
Craig, now that you mention it I get that Baz Luhrman vibe too.
DeleteA vote for Fred Astaire.
Lee
I have to vote for the Taco disco version. Let's face it, I was team Disco while reading and watching The Martian, telling Mark Watney to shut his face and give the beat a chance.
ReplyDeleteS.E., disco works for me.
DeleteA vote for Taco.
Lee
A late in the game vote for me... goes to Taco!
ReplyDeleteMary B, late, but not too late.
DeleteAnother vote for Taco.
Lee
I get lazy too. But I don't want to be productive all the time anymore.
ReplyDelete