Betwixt the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea...

It is so strange to finish a story or a lengthy piece of writing. It is, on the one hand, very gratifying. Out of an idea, a tale has been formed, characters brought to life on the page, a small world created!

 On the other hand, there is the pressure of the next idea, the next cast of characters, the next piece! And with this pressure come the questions:

Will it be good?

Will it be better than anything I've written previously?

 If it's not, does it matter terribly?

If it is, how big of a project is it going to be, and will I have the stamina to see it through?

And the worries: Worry that inspiration will dry up, worry that I've said all I can say... And I know that none of those worries are true. If inspiration doesn't strike, I will carry on writing until it does!

 

I wonder at various painters, writers, and musicians, prior to their respective masterpieces, if they had the same doubts and worries...

 

In between projects, a bit at loose ends, and sharing some of my inner dialog. (Which, I suspect is common to nearly every artist, regardless of creative medium).

The Sea and Knowing Oneself

As I surveyed my body of work a few days ago, (my short stories, at least), I noticed that the majority of them feature the sea in a major way. A flat calm, storms, pounding surf, tide in, tide out, thundering waves, all of her different colors and moods...

 

I live in California, and spend quite a lot of time on the coast. I'm also a scuba diver, so I guess it stands to reason...

 

It's still interesting that, through writing, and entirely subconsciously, certain themes, places, characters, or settings can crop up with an uncanny frequency. It's like a big red sign: ACHTUNG! Attention!

 

It is exciting. I have been very creative, lately. It's interesting that the less time I spend on social media, the more creative inspiration seems to happen. And it's not because social media is a time-sink. (although it certainly can be!)  I haven't quite figured it out yet, but I think that it's like passively watching television: Hours pass, information is spoon-fed, and when it's time for bed, I can't remember a thing. I've spent hours on something that becomes so much mental junk-food.

And all of this is only my opinion. I know that for many people, social media is their only means of interaction, especially in the post-pandemic world. So believe me, this is no sweeping indictment of social media. Greater minds than mine have bandied this issue about ad infinitum. No, the only thing I can truly vouch for are my own opinions, experiences, observations, and perspectives.

I am simply seeing that, for my own creative process, the majority of social media is deleterious. If I'm browsing social media, I'm not painting, I'm not writing, and I'm not blogging. All of this isn't to say that social media is entirely bad. As I said, this isn't a wholesale indictment. Social media does have a place and purpose. The challenge then, is to engage, limit the time, and then disengage before falling down any one of a thousand different rabbit holes.

Just feeling a little introspective, this morning. As ever, questions, comments, and shares are always welcome. Thank you for joining me.

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Of Zeppelins and Mermaids and Insiration!

Hello, Faithful Readers. I just realized that my last blog post was on the 1st of April, so I'm coming up for air!

First, the news:

1. I've been a writing demon, lately! I've written a rather lengthy new short story entitled, "The Whale Queen." I originally wrote this story back in the early 00's, but it ended up being environmentally preachy, and that's definitely where I did not want to go with this story! I really like the latest version much better. It is now 3,636 words, and 13 pages long. The expression, "coming up for air," is a funny idiom, considering the content of the story. What's interesting, is that it doesn't feel finished--It's like there's more left to say... I don't know. If there was a soundtrack to this story, it would Sven Vath, "Caravan of Emotions." (The song itself is very long, but worth the listen... Very mellow.)

2.  I'm toying with a new story idea: A German WWI crew member on a Zeppelin, heading for a bombing raid of London toward the end of the war. No one is under any illusions--Zeppelins have been shot down with increasing frequency, and the tide of the war has shifted against Germany. The crew member decides to defect. I don't have all the details worked out yet, but I've been doing a ton of research on Zeppelins, crews, etc. (For my Bachelor's, I did a research paper on the Zeppelin raids on London).

3. I am working hard to produce my first collection of short stories by August of 2021. This is my personal deadline - (The Dead Line - Sounds like a cool idea for a story!), so we'll see what happens. There are some stories I've shared, and others that have never been released.

4. Had my second Covid shot on the 21st. The 22nd, I was feverish, sore, and my body was not happy! I was flat on my back for a couple of days. Back to normal, now. (At least, what constitutes normal for me...)

Inspiration

I've finally come to a conclusion about how I am most often inspired. Some people are inspired by the vision of a particularly colorful character, (which was what inspired my story, "Punch.") while other people are inspired by snippets of conversation, a headline, or they'll search out a writing prompt.

Personally, I've always found music to be my biggest inspiration. When I close my eyes while listening, my imagination kicks into overdrive, and it has actually generated at least five of my short stories. With music, my tastes are all over the place: Classical, metal, ambient-trance, rock, folk, etc.

And people close to me are likely to say, "Well, hell, Frank! I coulda' told you that!" 

But no one did, and it's taken me this long to figure it out. But that's okay, and everything is perfectly in place and unfolding just as it should.


I will soon be adding more content, doing book reviews, and I seriously mean to be here more often. Sometimes, life just gets in the way! Of course, it's good to be alive. (The alternative, after all, is rather grim!)

As ever, questions, comments, and shares are appreciated! :-) Thank you!!