Giving Thanks

Whether or not you are eating turkey today, you might enjoy the following story:

“When Turkeys Give Thanks”

In no particular order of importance, I’m grateful for:

The turkeys, deer, rabbits, groundhogs, and other animals who visit my back yard

My family, whether biological or adopted, and especially to Joyce.

Long-time friends in my writing group, Artistic License: Marilyn, Faye, June, Julie, and Sharon. I just celebrated my 12th anniversary in this group.

Indie Writers Unite! This group has made all the difference in the world to me as a writer.

My readers. I may never meet you in person, but I so appreciate your support. You help me to fulfill my dream.

Special thanks to my imagination, without which life would be boring.

And thanks to you who are reading this blog. If you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope your life is full of reasons for gratitude. And the same goes for those of you who don’t.

Returning to BlogWorld

I wish I could say I took a long summer vacation. The truth is that I had dental surgery, I’m fine, and I’m not going to say one descriptive word about it. If you’re at all like me, you may have an imagination that can supply painful details, and I wouldn’t inflict that on anyone but myself.

Instead, I’m passing this message by George Carlin. It’s been around the Internet a lot, but I think that in this election year, it’s especially timely.

After the 2008 election, Irish standup comedian Dylan Moran, while doing a show in Australia, noted that after being elected, Obama spoke seriously about working together and being realistic about what could be accomplished, and people looked at him and said, “No, you do it.”

The message below, by another comedian who knew how to be serious, reminds us that so many of the biggest issues today, not only in the U.S., but worldwide, will remain no matter who gets elected.

When I think of the vast amount of untapped creativity in this world, when I contemplate what a brilliant environment we can make for ourselves if we use the full resources of our hearts and minds, I know it’s not up to whoever we elect anywhere. It’s up to us.

A Message by George Carlin

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways ,but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life not life to years. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We’ve done larger things, but not better things.

We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete…

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn’t cost a cent.

Remember, to say, ‘I love you’ to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

If you don’t send this to at least 8 people….Who cares?

George Carlin

Life is Fiction

Since way before the beginning of this blog, I have considered it important to make the point that everyone is creative. For those who doubt, just look at this major literary work called your life. When we realize we’re the authors, it gets easier to write.

The article below, from The New Yorker magazine, transmits the message with far more elegance than I could.

Everything is Fiction

I hope you enjoy it and go on to write some scenes in which you, the hero/heroine, triumph.

Circles of Friends: Maeve Binchy

On July 30, 2012, Irish author Maeve Binchy died at the age of 72. Her books, translated into 37 languages, sold more than 40 million copies. More importantly, she was probably Ireland’s best-loved author. She was certainly one of my best-loved authors.

Her first novel, Light a Penny Candle, was published in 1982, which happened to be the year of my first visit to Ireland. I bought that book in an Irish bookstore. I was discovering the thrill of buying books unavailable in the U.S., and this wasn’t the first one I read. Only when I got home did I open it.

Though much of the novel takes place in England, it has plenty of Irish scenes, particularly set in the Dublin area. In my visit to Dublin, I had seen Dean Swift’s church to the birthplaces of Yeats, Wilde, and countless settings for Ulysses. Dublin seems to live and breathe great literature.

In reading Binchy’s novel, I discovered a different Dublin and a different Ireland, the home of people, who, while they had a lot of problems, cared about each other and came to solutions. In many ways, her novel Circle of Friends, which was made into a movie, was her breakthrough work. In a greater sense, though, all of her books are about circles of friends who help each other through the rough patches of life.

This quote from her describes her far better than I could:

“The happiest moments of my life are connected with family and friends. There is a great comfort about being with people who knew you way back when. There is a mental shorthand, an easy-going feeling that life doesn’t have to be explained or defined; we are all in more or less the same boat. To have a community around you in a changing and unstable world is invaluable and nothing can beat the feeling that there will always be people out for our good.”

Though I never personally met her, I will miss her greatly.

Don’t Insist on Perfection

As I write this, I’m in the process of revising a novel I thought was finished. Recent events in my personal life caused me to take a new look at the psychological makeup of one of the main characters. I realized that her attitudes and behavior at a critical point in the story no longer worked for me. Instead, I saw them as rigid, blameful, and, for the purposes of the story, a real plot-killer.

This realization didn’t discourage me. I’d known something wasn’t gelling in the story, and I was delighted by this discovery. I’ve learned that unless I’m starting an entirely new project, creation doesn’t occur without some destruction. I was eager to tear the story apart and reconstruct it.

I was somewhat less eager once I began. Destruction can be really messy, whether you’re revising a manuscript, changing your immediate physical environment, or altering your life. It creates piles of debris. Things may look much worse before they begin to look better.

This has been happening to my story. Having decided that I needed to make certain changes, I discovered that these called for additional changes elsewhere in the manuscript. The process seemed to be spiraling out of control. My file for the book began to fill with notes like “HAVE TO CHANGE THIS” and “????” The novel that had once resembled a well-paved highway was turning into a cratered country road that wound and twisted through a wilderness.

It wasn’t perfect, and this pained me. It was like being pained by the sight of boards, nails, and drop cloths in the once immaculate room you decide to renovate. It’s like deciding you need to make some changes in a primary relationship, and the other person keeps on demanding, “Well, what DO you want?”, and you don’t know, because it’s a process of reconstruction, and you’re still tripping over the debris of what was.

There’s only one way to make this chaos endurable, and that’s to live with imperfection. And that isn’t always easy.

Here’s how I’m learning to do it.

1. I remind myself that just because the manuscript is imperfect, it doesn’t mean that I share its flaws.

2. I tell myself that not getting it perfect in the first run doesn’t mean I’m lazy or indifferent.

3. I say to myself that it’s so exciting to watch the story transform, that this is a thrilling, organic process.

4. Apropos of point 3, I repeat that over-said but never outworn saying that the journey matters more than the destination.

5. I realize that the pursuit of perfection constricts (if it doesn’t totally block) the flow of creativity.

6. I decide to choose excellence, a flexible word that allows much room for growth, instead.

Then I write, staying open to opportunity and inspiration, seeing the debris as part of the work in progress, each day finding creative solutions, moving towards excellence and leaving perfection far behind.

Let Go, and Enjoy the Ride

Neil Gaiman, multidimensional author, is a genius and a very funny one. While what he says in an address to college graduates applies specifically to those who want to make a living as artists, his advice can benefit all of us who want to live more creatively.

“If you don’t know it’s impossible it’s easier to do. And because nobody’s done it before, they haven’t made up rules to stop anyone doing that again, yet.”

“Something that worked for me was imagining that where I wanted to be – an author, primarily of fiction, making good books, making good comics and supporting myself through my words – was a mountain. A distant mountain. My goal. And I knew that as long as I kept walking towards the mountain I would be all right.”

“. . .it’s true that nothing I did where the only reason for doing it was the money was ever worth it, except as bitter experience.”

“The moment that you feel that, just possibly, you’re walking down the street naked, exposing too much of your heart and your mind and what exists on the inside, showing too much of yourself. That’s the moment you may be starting to get it right.”

Here’s the link for the video of the address.

Neil Gaiman addresses the university of the arts class of 2012.

If you want to also/or read the address, here’s the link.

Transcript of Neil Gaiman’s address

How to Crush Your Creativity: Be Rigid

This is one of the best ways to crush, squash, and generally straight-jacket your creativity. It’s also one of the easiest methods to practice. All you have to do is tell yourself, “It has to be done this way.”

You can find lots of ways to say this, such as:

“This is how my parents did it.”

“This is how I’ve always done it.”

“If it’s a good idea, how come no one ever thought of it before?”

“If I don’t follow the rules, I’ll get into trouble.”

“If I don’t follow a strict routine, I won’t accomplish anything.”

We are usually well trained in following the rules and routines. I knew someone who in kindergarten tried to paint a green pumpkin. He got into a lot of trouble.

Another way to get your little creative hand smacked is to color outside the lines.

Underlying rigidity is usually fear. “They’ll laugh at me, reject me, ignore me, lock me up.”

Solution

Creativity lives outside the lines. If you really want to express yourself and be true to yourself, that has to be more important than what “they” might say or do.

I didn’t name this blog “Dragonfire: The Creative Spark” by accident. The urge to create is a fire that burns away all considerations about what others might think.

To use a real-life and contemporary example: Many indie authors chose this route because they had a certain pattern of rejection from the established publishing world. They would get rejections that went like this, “I really like your book. It’s original and imaginative, and you write very well. The problem is, I don’t think I could sell it.” Translation: this doesn’t fit into any of the slots and categories that the big publishing houses believe can safely sell.

That’s why you’ll find some of the most creative writers around, those who are transcending traditional boundaries and exploring new worlds among the independent authors.

Rigidity isn’t always a chronic condition. Sometimes it shows up in creative blockages where one finds oneself recycling the same old tired ideas.

Challenge

Dare to think and do something new.

How To Crush Your Creativity: Envy

When you want to identify a negative emotion that’s crushing creativity, it helps to be as specific as possible. That’s why envy is on this list.

Envy bridges resentment and anger. Like resentment, it has a strong charge of “it isn’t fair.” It’s more like anger in being active.
Here are some specific differences between envy, anger, and resentment.
If you and another person have both applied for a position in your company, and the other one gets it, you are more likely to be angry. You will tell people that you deserved it. Under very unfortunate circumstances, you may ever tell your boss.
If someone else gets a raise, and you didn’t, you are more likely to envy them. You probably don’t consider them undeserving of the raise (although sometimes envy can escalate to anger at the person who got what you didn’t), but you wish you had gotten one, too. You may wish you were them. You may wish you were anyone but you.

If you think the other person didn’t deserve the raise and you did, but you don’t want to make a big deal out of it (except to all your friends), and you would never think of complaining about your boss, you will most likely feel resentful.

You don’t need to know a person to envy them. Maybe you read about an author who sells several thousand books a month. Why doesn’t that happen for you? This can apply to any area of creativity.
Solution
The basic error that leads to envy is the belief that there isn’t enough to go around, i.e., a belief in scarcity. If someone else gets what you want, you won’t.

Believing in scarcity is totally normal. This is probably the predominant belief in the world. That doesn’t mean it’s correct. If you consider it more deeply, you’ll see that this belief tends to keep people at each other’s throats.

Do we really know that scarcity is real? There used to be a belief in the publishing world that people would only buy so many books, and that number was dropping steadily. Then the ebook revolution was launched, and everything changed. Senior citizens who had been reading less found that they could increase the type size of their books on an ereading device. Books by independent authors sold at a lower price than traditional books.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.” The best way to free oneself of envy is to find a creative way to get your share of resources that are unlimited, once you find a way to attract them to your door.

My Latest Book is Published


Gone to Flowers, available at http://www.amazon.com/Gone-to-Flowers-ebook/dp/B00714A7Z6

In Gone to Flowers, young people leave New York City in 1968 to live together on a rural commune.

Eli, hoping to conquer his fear of intimacy by moving in with seven other people, finds peace in the communal garden but can’t make love blossom.

Mary casts off casual sex and avoids the potential prison of marriage and motherhood until her feelings for a bisexual man make vows of celibacy look like the worst idea since Selective Service.

Though Amethyst’s parents tell her she can only be safe among Jewish people, she is determined to free herself of their fears. A master chef, she discovers some dangerous ingredients in her recipe for romance when her parents disown her.

Michael, a former junkie, envisions communal life as a permanent party with himself as host. He shakes his addiction to control others, but when he loses control of his libido, he risks his marriage.

Against the background of Vietnam, the Chicago Democratic Convention, Woodstock, My Lai, and Kent State, they pursue their visions. The snake in this fragile Eden, a seductive and disturbed teenager, brings their individual and collective vulnerabilities to the surface and thwarts their efforts to be true to themselves and each other.

Gone to Flowers will be free at Amazon on Wednesday, February 1.

Hypnocat (Master of Melissa Smith) Speaks


Many writers have cat companions. Notable authors include T. S. Eliot, Ernest Hemingway, and Mark Twain, who wrote, “Of all God’s creatures there is only one that cannot be made the slave of the lash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat.”

Today, I speak with Sammie, aka Hypnocat, who shares his expertise in managing his writer companion, Melissa Smith.

Would you tell us something about your history and how you ended up with Melissa?

Well as a newborn kitten, my mother had died and as a result, I hadnt been weaned yet. I ended up in an animal shelter with five of my brothers and sistes where Melissa and her family found me.

(Melissa says: We found Sam when he was about 4 weeks old and brought him home.)

I’m going to assume you chose them, since that’s what any self-respecting cat would do.

Of course I did. Inside the cage I was sharing, I jumped up to the top shelf and stuck my paw out, reaching for some attention. It was love at first sight

I imagine that you have special responsibilities, living with a writer. How do you encourage her to keep on writing, and what other disciplines do you find necessary?

Well, she has to take time for me of course. And when i want some love, I have to intervene. My favorite way to get her undivided attentions is to simply lay on her computer. And of course, she’s taken pictures. you can find them on her FB thingie under mobile uploads

Does Melissa have cats as characters in her books? If not, do you have any plans to change this?

Well, naturally I managed to convince her I had to be in her last work. I even pawed at her until she used my real name and even some of the things I usually do to get attention. I like getting my way

Of course, you do, you’re a cat. Would you describe Melissa’s books from a cat’s-eye point of view?

Well, since I cant really read, I just like the way the words move across the screen. I really like it when she bounces the the pointy thing across the bright window she’s forever pawing at.

I have heard her talk about her book though, and I guess it sounds interesting…to a human. But its about these things called gods and these other things called evils that these hulking men in her book have to capture.

Not quite as easy as catching a mouse. Do you think it benefits a writer to live with a cat? More importantly, does it benefit a cat to live with a writer?

Well, every writer needs a cat companion. We provide the necessary diversions they need when they start grumbling under their breaths about something not going to plan. I like being her diversion. I like being able to play for a bit then laying down to a nice long nap.

You may know that you have many fans on IWU (Indie Writers Unite!). Would you like to give a message to your devotees?

GIVE ME SALMON FLAVORED TREATS!

Wait! theres a bird at the window! BRB!

Thank you, Hypnocat. Would you like to add anything to conclude this interview, either about Melissa’s books or about yourself?

My most favored human would love it if you checked out all of her books, but I would highly recommend Jealousy’s Rage, since I’m in it of course.

I’ll do that, Hypnocat. It’s been a pleasure chatting with you.

Of course you liked chatting with me. Everyone does.

Learn more about Melissa Smith’s books.

Melissa’s Amazon Author’s page.
The Sony store.
ITunes
Barnes & Noble
FB Authors Page
Blog