Out of the Box and In Again ( #IWSG & #BOTB Results )

 From a personal perspective, the COVID absurdity came along at the best time in my life--I'm not in school, not working a job, not having to socialize with anyone for any reason.  Being retired, the lockdowns and restrictions haven't mattered to me since I'm mostly doing the same thing now that I've been doing over the past few years.  And so I'll keep telling myself...

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 October 7 posting of the IWSG are Jemima Pett, Beth Camp, Beverly Stowe McClure, and Gwen Gardner!

October 7 question - When you think of the term working writer, what does that look like to you? What do you think it is supposed to look like? Do you see yourself as a working writer or aspiring or hobbyist, and if latter two, what does that look like?

        If I were a working writer then I'd be working at writing and making money at it.  Since I'm doing neither then the term working writer doesn't apply to me.  The most writing work I've been doing of late is writing these blog posts so I don't consider that to be much in the way of work and I'm certainly not making any money writing.  

         So I guess my writing these days would be more as a hobbyist and I'm doing a pretty lousy job at that as well.  One should have some degree of passion in pursuing a hobby.  My passion just ain't there either.  These days when I write I'm more in a mood of just getting it out of the way rather than immersing myself in the joy of the experience of writing.

        Recently I dug my old stamp collection from childhood out of the closet.  Perusing some of the old albums and other items from those days of pursuing my hobby of philately, old memories came back to me of the excitement of the quest to fill blank spaces in my albums and the hours of pleasure derived in organizing and studying my stamp collection.  I was passionate about that hobby in those younger days.  But then, I eventually put my stamps away into a box labeled "Stamp Collection" and it has remained stowed away with my other life stuff until it found its way into the closet where it now resides--next to another box labeled "Writing".  

        That probably pretty well sums up my writing life these days.  Stuff stored away in boxes or recesses of memory.  Hopefully this is a temporary state of affairs.  Just like the COVID restrictions.  I'd like to think that this too shall pass.

          Everything does eventually...

Battle of the Bands Results

    Lithium

      My most recent Battle featured two versions of the Nirvana song "Lithium" and it did not go over too well with my visitors.  Firstly, I was surprised how many of the commenters didn't seem to know the song.   I've heard that song so often even though I was never a big Nirvana fan.  I guess it wasn't as memorable a tune as I thought it was.

      And once again, my eclectic tastes and predilection for the weird was apparently a bit off putting to those who did vote.  Not many cared for the song nor either version that I presented in my Battle.  Maybe I should stick to more known entities, but I like to go off into the woods sometimes--well, maybe a lot of the time.

       I liked both versions a great deal (that's why I used these versions).  Since I was a kid I've liked Middle Eastern music.  My favorite Led Zep song?  "Kashmir" of course.  I've long enjoyed exotic sounds from around the world and when you add the modern touch of rock and pop, for me it can be very engaging.  

        When it comes to jazz music I am especially fond of jazz trios--primarily with instrumentation in the mode of The Bad Plus.  Crazy improvisation with sharp percussion grooves cool with me.  Then with the somewhat psycho sounding vocals added on top of it all I was understanding the crave for lithium.  That version was out of sight and over the moon to use vernacular of another age.

        It was a tough choice for me because I could have gone in either direction (Middle East or Far West?).  In the final analysis I had to go with The Bad Plus.  I have to admit I didn't expect so much dislike or ambivalence to these versions, but in the end whatever preference there was turned out pretty equal.  

       I'll call this Battle a good outcome with an asterisk*

Final Vote Tally

Shefita                       6 votes

The Bad Plus             5 votes

Next Battle of the Bands on Thursday October 15th

           I plan to be here then.  Will you join me?

So That Answers That Question! ( #IWSG )

If you haven't voted on my Battle of the Bands for December 1st then you can go here and cast a vote for your favorite song version of "Angels Among Us".  




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 December 5 posting of the IWSG are J.H. Moncrieff, Tonja Drecker , Patsy Collins, and Chrys Fey--Stop by their blogs to say "thank you!"  

December 5 question - What are five objects we'd find in your writing space?

     Was that "5" or "500"?   One might wonder looking at the above photo of my writing space.  Actually I've cleaned up the space since that picture was taken some months ago, but still it's pretty bad.  I tend to accumulate stuff since my writing space is also a multi-use area where I do all sorts of things. 

       So what are five objects that would always tend to be found in my writing space?  

       1)  My house phone:  If it rings then I don't want to be going to another room to answer it.  Though it might not be a bad idea to have to get up since that would provide some much needed exercise.

        2)  Pens and paper:   I don't often use pens and paper for writing these days, but sometimes I do feel an urge to scribble something down.

        3)  Miscellaneous office supplies:  Stapler, paper clips, scissors, and so on--after all, this space is my "office" so I should have office supplies even if I rarely use any of them.

       4)  Sound entertainment system:   I don't know if these are still called "boom boxes", but I do have a combo with radio/CD/cassette tape just in case I want to listen to music or talk radio.  I don't listen to these like I used to, but it's there if I need some background sounds. 

         5) My Computer:   This is the most important item since this is how I do most of my writing as well as research.   What did people do before there were computers anyway?  Well, I do know, but I don't think I want to go back to that time.

         So that also partially answers the question as to why I don't get much writing done.  Maybe I'd be better off taking a notebook and a pen to sit beside a secluded waterfall or upon a mountain top to write without distractions.  Are you kidding?  Then I'd be watching the water or looking at the view instead of writing.  I can always find an excuse not to do things I probably should be doing.

 

         Do you tend to accumulate clutter on your desk?  Do you have a desk?  Do you prefer to write at home or some other place?

My Theory of Evolution ( #IWSG & #BOTB Results)

       I didn't start out my writing life as one of a million monkeys with a typewriter, but as a regular ol' kid with a number 2 pencil and some lined notebook paper.  No monkeys in my family tree as far as I'm concerned though a few of us have been known to monkey around...

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. 

Co-hosts for the November 7 posting of the IWSG are Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor, Ann V. Friend, JQ Rose, and Elizabeth Seckman--be sure to stop by their blogs to thank them.

November 7 question - How has your creativity in life evolved since you began writing?

      Since I've been writing as far back as the third grade, my creative life has grown along with my life in general.   I began thinking in musical terms as I began writing poetry and songs.  I played violin in the school orchestra.   I learned to juggle and joined our family juggling act.  Experience has been my greatest teacher.  A curiosity about life and the world around me evolved into a quest to create

       Writing certainly did not set off my creative life, however writing became an integral part of my creative life.  The ability to express myself through written word opened up a whole new world of imagination, communication, and analysis.  I welcomed most writing projects in school when others dreaded the idea.  In my spare off-school time I would often turn to writing as well as reading. I imagined myself as a writer early on.

        Maybe it would be more accurate to say that my writing evolved in tandem with my creative life.  Writing has just been one part of the creative side of me.  It has been but one of the many things that I am.  

Battle of the Bands Results

        This most recent Battle put Michael Jackson against Willie Nelson with the old ballad "All the Things You Are".   From the outset I figured that Willie would pretty well out-distance Michael in the final vote count, but I wasn't concerned about a shut-out for this match because I was sure there would be a few who don't care much for Willie Nelson's vocals.  I was right.  No shut-out and actually not a horrible outcome for the late King of Pop.

        Since "All the Things You Are" is one of those songs that I like a great deal, I had been planning on using it for quite some time.  Finding the unique disco take by Michael Jackson cinched that choice as one for me to use since it was new to me and I quite frankly liked it.   Still Willie does the song the way I think it should be done and does it exquisitely.  I've got to join in with the majority and cast my vote for Willie.

Final Vote Tally

Michael Jackson       5

Willie Nelson           16

Next Battle of the Bands on Thursday November 15th

          I'm doing a special NANO tribute post for my upcoming Battle of the Bands face-off.   This one will be a bit quirky and a Battle that I think you'll have some fun with.

         

      Did you enjoy writing when you were in school?   Which of your talents have you honed the most in your life?   What would you most want to be known for at the end of your days in this world?  

Devoting Time (#IWSG) (#AtoZChallenge)

       Success depends partly on the time we are willing to devote to an endeavor.  Talent is important but if no effort is expended and no time invested then that talent will likely lie fallow.

 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. 


Days to Decades

        Each day was an adventure and the days seemed to last for weeks.  Childhood was like that.  I had the time and the world was mine if was willing to take advantage of it.  But those days turned into decades as first my college years passed, then living to work and working to live life to the fullest. I had time to write, and often did, but there was no particular aim to it all.  Writing was mostly relegated to something of the nature of a hobby.

          Eventually life was mostly work and family. I was fortunate to be working jobs that I enjoyed doing and that allowed me to still be very involved with my kids.  Sometimes there was writing involved, but mostly that was when some nagging idea insisted that I write it down.  So I did.  I wrote in spiral composition books at night after the kids were in bed or during a spare moment at work.  When the compulsion subsided, my writing books were tucked away for some later use.

          Writing has always been in the background of my life--rarely taking center stage.  I probably spent more time thinking about what I might write someday than actually writing.   But sometimes I did write.   And now I need to continue to write.  I need to consider devoting more time to writing.  Thankfully I have blogging as one outlet and writing blog posts has been a bit of writing salvation to me.

          Days fly by quickly as what I had planned on writing today has been postponed until tomorrow. Or someday.  Yes, the days are flying by faster than I would have ever imagined when I was that kid with all the time in the world on his hands.  Then I could wait.  Now I'm not sure waiting is what I should be doing.  After all, the days are turning into decades and one day those decades will amount to a lifetime.  When I was a kid a lifetime was forever.   Now I know the truth.

           Are you fulfilling your writing dreams?   What is your current favorite way to release your inner creative self?   Do you devote time to writing as much as you'd like to?  

If You've Got Something to Say, Should You Say It? (#IWSG)

Should I have said it?  (photo by Betty)

       If you really thought that I wouldn't be posting on my birthday then maybe you didn't get your wish when you blew out your last birthday cake candles.  For some of you, my blog posts might be like the proverbial bad nickel (it used to be a penny, but, you know, inflation and all).   Hard to keep a blowhard blogger quiet when there's always something to say even if it is my birthday.   And if you're wondering about my age then I'll just say it's a palindromic number that is one numeral shy of being the favorite number of those who don't particularly like the Christian ideology.

       And that is the lead-in for the topic of not only my next Battle of the Bands post coming on Wednesday, but also my topic for my February edition of...

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. 

     

       This month I'll address the same question that others of you will be discussing along with some expanded thoughts:

How has being a writer changed your experience as a reader?

          About the same time I became a more serious reader back in the mid-sixties when I was in middle school, I also began to experiment more with writing.  As the years of schooling progressed, more writing was required in many of the classes I took and more reading was required as well.  The curriculum required the reading and study of certain classics and we were encouraged to read according to our interests.  Book reports, essay writing, and research for required projects entailed reading and more writing, none of which bothered me much since I enjoyed doing both.   For me, reading good writing makes me want to write, maybe something as good as what I've read, or maybe just write whatever fulfills me the most written in the best way I can manage writing it.

        Certainly, reading is a means of escape for me, however I want to read things that I would like to have written.  Fantasy as well as fantastical science fiction is not where my writing interests lie any longer so therefore I don't read much in those genres.  Most of my fiction writing throughout the years has been feet-on-the-ground types of stories to which I can relate.  More often than not, the reading that inspires me most is in non-fiction genres.  My reading experiences now will be escapes into the realities that others have experienced which in turn adds to my own life experience.   

         Good fiction can also do this for me, but I want to believe what I read while at the same time to not be distracted by such nonsense as explicitly written sex scenes or profuse profanity.  Sure, those things are part of real life experience, but rarely does elaborating on any of this actually enhance the value of a story being told.  This is not what I would write and likewise not something I care to read any more than I'd want to read intensely accurate descriptions of any bodily functions or extended passages of small talk that goes far beyond character development or whatever literary device is being attempted.

         Call me a prude or whatever, unnecessary description or dialog of a prurient nature is offensively distracting to me.  If I'm going to be offended then I want to be offended with ideas that rouse my mind to work in higher levels of reasoning and counterargument.  Light reading has its place for any of us, but profanity for me is not lighthearted fun or escapism.   The vilest and most frightening characters in literature scare us more with their intellect than their stupidity and their baseness.  Reading my favorite authors like Flannery O'Connor or Cormac McCarthy has introduced me to some of the creepiest folks around and they spoke nary a profane word.  

         Writing profanity or explicit sex scenes is not something with which I feel comfortable and this attitude goes hand in hand with my reading.  If I'm out to offend people--and this is not something that I necessarily strive to do--then I can write about topical political themes that upset readers or discuss religious and ideological concepts that can absolutely rile those who bitterly reject such things. Of late, I've apparently been doing this as I see certain of my posts with a decline in the number of comments. I do have a consolation in more thoughtful comments and some lengthier ongoing discussion so there is a trade off in that respect.    Should I ever consider writing fiction along these thematic lines?   I have, but then also nothing I have written has been published nor have I tried to get them published--at least not since the short stories that I submitted to publications in my college days many years ago which all got rejected.  Must have been at least partly something I said.

         Truth is that just like I don't particularly read content that offends or distracts me to no good purpose, certain readers may not want to read many of the things I want to say.  I know my writing does have an audience, but it also will have its detractors.  The question arises of how can I get a point across effectively if I'm only preaching to the choir while arguing with the rear ends of horses as they run away from me.

           Okay, so I posted this Insecure Writer's Support Group post a couple days early.  It's my birthday and it's my blog so I can kind of do what I want.  Besides, I didn't want my next post on Wednesday to be overly long because it probably will be so anyway.  I'll continue in a sense with this current post as I present a Battle of the Bands song that will be so offensive to some that I won't even name it in my post's title like I normally would.  After all, a lot of people these days are mighty touchy--irrationally touchy even.   

           If you want to hear more about what I'm talking about then be sure to come back for Wednesday's post.   And if not, I hope you at least come back to listen with an open mind to a song with a style that some of you probably won't like much and about a topic that might be a turn off to others.  After a lot of my recent posts the song was just something that came to my mind so I felt like maybe I should say it.

           Besides bad writing, what are some things that will make you less likely to finish a book that you've started reading?    Can you think of any superior quality up-lifting or mind enriching literature that relies heavily on profanity or explicit sex scenes?   How old do you think I am based on my clue provided in the opening statement?

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Finding Time to Write (#IWSG) & #BOTB winner

   Are you feeling a bit insecure?  Want to talk about it?


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. 







How do you find the time to write in your busy day?

      I've got to admit that I've grown pretty lax about writing over the past couple of years. When it comes to writing I haven't been finding the time to do it.  It's not that the time isn't available, but I've been using my time to do other things.  Still, I have some advice on finding more time to write.

• Keep the television off
• Forget household chores
• Don't get caught up in conversations and activities with other people
• Stay home and focus on the writing
• Stop blogging!
• Avoid surfing the internet
• Skip naps and don't sleep much at night
• If it's not writing then don't do it

     Okay, so maybe that's going overboard, but it might work.  Or it might not.  In fact, probably not in the end.  If I had to give all these things up then I guess I'd give up writing.   As with all things, moderation is the secret of successful living.

Battle of the Bands Results

      My most recent Battle of the Bands contest featured the song "El Listón de Tu Pelo" with versions by Julieta Venegas and Denise Gutiérrez (with backing by Los Angeles Azules).   My concern that the hip-hop style intro of the Venegas version might be a turn-off to voters proved to be unfounded with that version turning out to be the runaway favorite.  

      While I did like the Julieta Venegas version a great deal, my preference was the eclectic mash-up of orchestra, cumbia band, and alt rock vocals from Denise Gutiérrez.  There are a number of these collaborative videos available on YouTube so it's likely that I be using more of them in the future.  Maybe next time the collaboration will pull off a win.  This time not so much.

Final Vote Tally

Julieta Venegas        20 votes 

Denise Gutiérrez      10 votes


Next Battle of the Bands on Thursday September 15th

         My next Battle of the Bands post will be a bit ironic considering my thoughts about this last one.  You'll see what I mean when that battle comes, but I'll also explain myself then.  The songs I'll be using--there will be two different songs--will tell stories relating to similar concepts.   In a way this upcoming battle will be kind of a writer's battle to make up for my own lack of writing of late.  Maybe I'll get inspired to write something between then and now.

          To close out this post I leave you with an English language song by Denise Gutiérrez with her alt rock group Hello Seahorse!.  The first 12 seconds are silent so hang in there.   I guess they're dealing with some irony in the beginning of the video.  Hope you enjoy it.

       How's your own writing been going?   Have you ever gotten mired down in distracted ennui that keeps you from doing what you probably should be doing?   If you listened to the Hello Seahorse! video, what did you think?

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Type Is Not My Type : #IWSG

Image via Wikipedia

       Our A to Z co-host Damyanti Biswas who has the blog Daily (w)rite was recently talking about Word programs as opposed to typewriters.  This got me to thinking about my own experiences.  I disliked typewriters immensely when I had to deal with them.   Being able to use Word programs was like a dream come true.

        Technology is exciting, but it also scares me.  Electric typewriters were better than the manuals, but still it was a hassle when you made a mistake.  Correction ribbons and white-out kind of helped but I would still end up with a messy looking manuscript.   I wrote a lot by long hand in my notebook with my Bic pen and I liked that just fine.  But nevertheless I was deterred from being a professional writer and just doodled for myself and anyone who cared to take a peek.

        I once bought a Sears Type-O-Graph.  This was in the late 1980s.  This novel little machine was like a typewriter that instead of making impressions with type heads it had little pen tips that wrote whatever it was that you were keyboarding.   It also made really cool graphs and did a few other tricks.

       The store demonstration sold me on the Type-O-Graph, but after I started using it I realized that it was too complex for me to want to learn about.  Besides that, the little pen tips ran out of ink pretty quickly if you used them a lot and those things were expensive.  The machine was not very effective and not economically practical.  Besides, even though the graphs and diagrams that the machine could create were kind of cool, when would I need to use this?   My whole point in getting the Type-O-Graph was to make writing easier and truth be told it did not do that.

        When I finally started using computers I discovered true facility in writing.  No more erasures and an easy view of what was going to be put on paper before it was printed.   I could easily edit.  My fingers were able to fly faster across the keyboard.  And I could look at the internet when I wasn't keyboarding.

         However, I was also now head to head with advanced technology.  There is so much that I don't get about computers.  There is too much to learn and new things keep coming.  Just when I think I've got something down they change it.  New versions of Word, new operating systems, new software, new hardware.   When does it all end!!!   I can't keep up.
       

          I'm kind of concerned how things keep changing.  Google, Blogger, Facebook--I get used to something and they make it different.  Sure it's supposed to be improvements that they're making, but I liked the old ways.   I can't keep up Twitter, video on YouTube, or all of the other things that are so abundant that I can't even name them all.

          Someday I just know a computer virus is going to eat everything I've ever created, steal all that I have including my identity, and then infect me and my wife with some brain eating disease that will turn us into zombies. Then some stupid zombie author will turn me into a damn story about zombies and instead of writing a book, I'll be a book. 

           Of course, I suppose there's an upside to that.  I like to see the up side to things, but I'm not thinking of it right at this moment.

           Let's leave it at this:  I'm kind of happy with the way things are right now and I don't want things to keep changing so fast.  I'm glad we don't have typewriters anymore and I like computers.  Leave my Windows and Word the way it is now because I'm used to it.  Stop messing with Blogger, Google, and Facebook.  All this change makes me feel so insecure.

            To hear from other insecure writers go here.

           

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Where Am I Now Anyway?

Image by xcode via Flickr

      I'm not sure if the following is insecure or plain wacky, but to find more post from the Insecure Writer's Support Group go to Alex J Cavanaugh's site for the complete list.

          Right now I'm sitting in my chair at my desk in my home office.  It's getting late in the evening and I'm about ready to go to bed.  It's been raining all day.  It's a little cold in the house.  I feel like I'm wearing snow shoes--and by that I mean shoes that are made out of snow.  Thank goodness I have socks on or my feet would be really cold.

           However, what I just said is an illusion.  Not a lie, because it was true.  Right now I'm writing this post three weeks ago.  At this moment in your time I have no idea what will have transpired between this particular point in my time in the past and the time when this will be posted to the internet or the time when you the reader will be reading it.  This piece of writing is my illusion of communication to readers who are different now from the point in time when I was writing this.  I too have changed in subtle ways, though it's possible my change could be drastic.  I don't know since I cannot foresee the future.  I am the writer writing to the reader of the future.

          If this is not confusing enough, consider that this paragraph--the one you are now reading-- is being started ten hours after the previous two paragraphs were written and my feet are still cold and I'm still tired because I didn't get enough sleep.  However you the reader will be reading this three weeks in the future and what was written over the course of several hours for me will be read in a matter of minutes for you, that is if I haven't totally confused you and made you throw up your hands in exasperation and stop reading.

          My point is--if indeed there is any discernible point--my point is that we don't always know what we are really reading and when we write we don't always know who exactly will be reading it later and under what conditions and it what state of mind.   Misunderstanding and misinterpretation is often easy.  You may have meant something for humor and I may have taken it for upsetting.  I may be writing from the left, but you may have a right-handed interpretation of life and see your point of view in what you are reading.

           Clarity helps.  Writing from ones own mind does not guarantee another mind will grasp what you're saying as they perceive it from their perspective.  Unlike my post today that was written many days ago, our writing should avoid the embellishment of language if it abolishes ability of comprehension.  Obfuscation can lead to alienation of the reader.   But that is all beside my point if indeed I even had one.

           The point is that I may be in Texas or I may be home or I be somewhere in between on this fourth day of this new year of 2012, and since this was written last year to be posted this year things may not be absolutely clear to me or you now or back then in a previous year that was only three weeks ago.  Lack of planning you might say, but I might say it too or I might not.  I've probably said all that I've needed to say.

           This might be one of the craziest things I've written, but keep in mind that this is not me now as you read this, but the writer I was three weeks ago when I was writing this.  And that's what can happen when you schedule posts ahead of time and start thinking about it too much.

           Where are you now in this new year?   Where are you going?    Were you where you wanted to be this past year?

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