"H" Is For Heroes

Choose your heroes wisely, their influence can be pervasive.  Justine Musk, a Big Kahuna in the blosphere, suggests that bloggers chose just three bloggers to follow when they're starting out and want to see how it's done. More than three and confusion sets in.  I came across her advice long after I'd realized my own need for the clarity of three driving forces in my life.  It's always seemed to me that there was something mystical in the number three. It's the first prime number, and the sum total of the Golden Mean, which can be found in everything.

As a writer, I'm very careful who my heroes are.  Family is the soil that keeps me rooted, and friends are the golden streaks that run through my days.  Heroes are the raw materials from which I build my dreams.

I have just three, and they are:

1. Bill Moyers.  I look up to him because of his unapologetic curiosity, and his child-like manner of debating issues that genuinely seeks to understand before being understood.  He's not afraid of his naivete and seeks to cure it with layers of questions and a quick mind working on overdrive to take in what he hears, integrating one answer with another.  When he comes across a belief that is not his own, he's fascinated rather than defensive.  
2. John Steinbeck.  He's fallen out of fashion lately, but I think he might be staging a comeback.  His body is no longer living, but his voice is still as strong as ever, perhaps a voice we want to hear again.  The man loved language, and language was my love long before I understood it as an instrument of writing.  Steinbeck never swore because he considered it a sign of a lazy mind, instead training himself to instantaneously come up with emphatic language as strong and bold and clean as the raw emotion he was feeling.  I'm a little cautious of this hero because of his ruthlessness.  As a woman, it feels traitorous having him as a hero because of how he used his first wife, Carol, then threw her and her butchered uterus aside once his writing found its readers.  Perhaps I don't like one of my heroes because I can be just as ruthless as him. Perhaps I flatter myself too much.
3. Dorothy Parker.  A whip sharp wit bigger than her fragile, often-broken heart.  She, unlike me, was never paralyzed under the grip of wanting to be liked, wanting to please, needing friendship more than mastery, desperate to please others.  Damnit!  Others were supposed to please her, and when they failed, that wit came out like a sword and slashed them across the face, making others laugh as the damage was done.  Her words cut so deep she could almost be forgiven for her brutality, which was so wickedly fast and sharp it seemed like a joke about a joke.  Could twitter survive if she were still around?

If there's any one quality these three have in common, it's that they are all their own unique creation.  Something strong and clean and bold kept them on that "road less traveled by," which is, if the poem is carefully read, very confusing.  The narrator states he came to a fork in the road with two paths, both equally worn.  How can they both be equally worn if one is "less traveled by"?

Because those who take the path the majority pass, wander back and forth and up three steps then back down two, before finding what belongs to only them.

"E" Is For eBook

Physics tells us that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. One kid pumps her knees on the end of a teeter-totter, and the kid on the other end is sent falling back to earth. She then plants her feet, pumps her knees and it's the other little girl's turn for an earthbound journey, if, that is, both girls are of equal weight. None of this would happen without a fulcrum in the middle, balancing the two girl. In the world of writing, the fulcrum is technology, and the equal but opposite forces are the mega-stars of the publishing world and the mass of writers tired of the same old game of publishing, with the same old gatekeepers determining who will be read and who won't. This all adds up to the brave new world of eBooks, and the opportunity for any and all to self-publish their work.

Just as the two girls of equal weight create a tummy-tickling ride of ups and downs on the teeter-totter's fulcrum, the world of writing, and the people who practice the game, are now in for a tummy-tickling, sense dazzling, ride of ups and downs. Thank you technology for smashing down the gates. And who knows? It could turn out that the tag-along of self-publishing, readers ratings on web sites, could turn into the most effective global critique group ever known. This critique group has a public and powerful impact that sends the faint of heart running to other creative outlets, and the doggedly determined into a sweat for excellence.

Watch out world, there are new writers emerging with a writing style that will rock the written word, and they'll shape their punch with the input of people, not Suits in their Ivory Towers.

Let's give a cheer for the democratization of writing! Let's give an extra cheer for the freedom of writers writing for readers, instead of shriveled dinosaurs guarding crumbling gates!

Done cheering, now? Good, because that pump of the knees Free Agent writers have is calling on a whole new set of muscles, and the ride cycles though ups and downs at a tummy-hurling speed.  This isn't just my personal culture shock, it's a culture shock for all of us.

Old mazes of navigation from imagination of the writer's mind to the reader's have been shattered and new ones put in place. The old rules, such as keep turning left in a maze and you'll eventually get out, have changed, and those rules have yet to be understood. And instead of old dinosaurs threatening the creative lives of those who write, there are scam artists aplenty with a new set of deadly teeth we can't yet recognize. An over-eager writer can go bankrupt in a few click of their keyboards.

So what's a writer to do?

Exactly what we've always done—rely on each other. Network with other writers, share experiences and pitfalls. Lucky for us there are trailblazers, and they blog. Some excellent sources for information on ePublishing your eBook can be found   epublishbook.com and The Creative Penn which was voted one of the top blogs for writers 2010-11. There are links to services on these blogs for everything from copy editors to eBook designers (we're judging books by their covers more than ever as we continue shifting to an image-driven culture). And we share on our own blogs what we've learned along the way.

But the most important thing we can do in this new world of eBooks is keep writing. Keep having fun. Keep following our dreams and let our dreams grow ever bigger. The rest will fall into place.

"C" Is For Catching Up And Character

Photo Courtesy Of StockXchang.com

I could be more original than using "catching up" as this post's contribution to the letter "C," but  I'm awfully busy catching up and that saps energy.  In my little world, sapped energy always eats a bowl of creativity for breakfast, leaving me with dumb stuff like "C" is for Catching Up.  It sends me racing away with nothing but the finish line in mind, turning everything else into a formless blur.  There's important stuff in the blur that's missed, and that's not good.

The key for leaving the dreaded sport of Catching Up behind is staying organized, focused, aware, and disciplined.

Let's look at these above mentioned character actions as they apply to writing.

• Organization.  Every writer needs some sort of organization in their writing life if they're going to have any success with words, unless they're content forever spinning in place. Many are, it's a hobby or an abstract idea that sounds good but ends up too hard putting into practice.  That's not enough for me.  Organization really is easy, yet books keep blossoming about the art and craft of getting your stuff together.  I've read them all and ended up with a tangled mess of conflicting theories and practices in my head.  Years ago, in one of Tony Robbins's tapes, he stated that the human mind is only capable of thinking in terms of one, two, three, many.  Stay away from many, and the rest is fairly easy.  That's the anchor I use.  Here's a small example of how I keep things down to three things in my head at any given time.

• Morning.  
• Spike the day's writing task (determined the night before) by firing up the computer and opening software and files relating to that task.
• Walk the dogs.  This removes all worries about them relieving themselves on the carpet or driving me nuts because they haven't had exercise.  It also gives my mind free time away from the writing task, letting my Smarter Me play with the day's work and how to best meet my goals.  I also get a whiff of fresh air and blood circulating to my brain.
• Feed the dogs.  Again, it takes care of the animals that mean a lot to me, erasing any guilt of ignoring them for the sake of my craft, as well as giving me more time for relaxing and just enjoying their company--it feeds my soul. 

That's it.  My day is off to a great start, and it continues clipping along because I'm organized,      keeping everything reduced to no more than three things in my head at any one time.  Of course there's a lot more to be done during the day, but I keep on slicing the day into sections, such as mid-morning, lunch break, early afternoon, four o'clock slump and so on, determining which three tasks pertaining to life, art, and love are exercised, relaxed, and addressed in each chunk.  Notice I feature "relaxed" as a necessary part of every day.  If I'm not relaxed, I'm blocked.  I go for it every chance I can throughout the day.  And I don't let this streamlined system of organization turn into micro-management and a straightjacket because I never stop working on:

• Focus.  A long time ago I realized nobody leaves this life without regrets, so it's best to choose our regrets wisely.  I've had to chose on which I'd regret more--saying goodbye to a bunch of stuff that's become clutter, or a living a life of clean, bold lines.  I chose clean, bold lines, and this is reflected in everything from my wardrobe to my home decor and my computer filing system.  Some people work well in the midst of clutter.  I don't, so I took action.  It wasn't easy, it's taken years to accomplish, but it's been worth it because I can focus on what's important.  Again, I've whittled down what's important in my life to just three things, which I call driving forces.  They are:

1. Family
2. Writing
3. Physical and mental stimulation

• Because I know my driving forces, it's less difficult avoiding the trap of micromanagement. I can let my days flow with a "mind like water."  If a mini-chunk of the day clashes with focus on any of my three driving forces, it gets the boot.  I don't need it (despite what the pretty commercials tell me), I'm the boss of me, so out it goes.  I also practice focus as much as possible in every thing I do.  For instance, I just took a break from writing this because I was feeling tense and pressured.  That's not focus, that's grunting grunt work, so my morning coffee and I went outside to my beautiful Southern country backyard to "become one with each other." All thoughts of this writing were released as I tuned in to that little piece of paradise I have outside my back door, first taking in the feel of the breeze on my skin, then breathing deep and noticing the smell of the wet grass and trees, and continuing on in this manner until all of my senses where in one place at the same time.  Focus isn't a teeth-bared act of will, it's a release into the moment.  There's nothing better.  Nothing more simple and full of pleasure.  And all of this is made possible because of:

• Awareness.  Gut feelings.  Pay attention.  Nobody is smarter than the human mind-body, and only a fool doesn't spend time learning its language.  For a long time I couldn't buckle down with my writing, so I spent hundreds of hours reading everything I could about fear of failure, fear of success, writers block, and every other thing related to writers not writing.  I kept reading until a tipping point had been reached, and for me that point was still not writing.  I'd filled myself up with the words and wisdom of others, but I hadn't cultivated anything that came from the language of my own body, my own mind. Would you believe my avoidance of writing was as simple as a pesky bad back?  It was. When I listened to my body, felt the knot in my stomach as I approached a day of writing, I felt that stomach knot extend all the way into my spine and heard it saying, "No, please, don't make me do it. You get so caught up in your writing that you ignore me and I hurt.  I hurt a lot.  And I get mad so I make it difficult for you to sleep, and if you think that's bad, just wait and see what I've got planned for your sex life!"  I now sit in a different chair in a different place when I write, and I keep a cheapie kitchen timer set for 45 minutes so I'll get up and stretch my back.  I'm now writing more than I ever have and finding it easier to stay focused on that writing so it amounts to something and not just a tangle of words.

And here we are with the last character trait a writer needs:  Discipline.  But you know what?  I'm giving that one the boot for the day (I'm giving lots of stuff the boot lately).  In fact, I may never dally with it again.  It's important, but in putting my thoughts in order through the practice of writing for this challenge, I think it's best to leave this one alone for a time and let it stew.  There's a conversation going on between my body and mind about discipline, and I'd like to hear/feel/taste/touch what's being said in that communication.  I'm familiar with the stirrings of a riddle coming undone in my mind, and I'm going with the feeling.

My gut tells me I've already written out my prescription for discipline in the character traits of organization, focus, and attention.  Or maybe discipline is one more than three, and three is all I can handle with competence at a time.  

Whatever it is, I'm focused and aware enough to know when it's time to stop, and this is the time.