The journey has already begun

You're late.

Not every story starts at the beginning. No doubt there is a beginning, which is a benefit one gets as a reader, but as a writer or a storyteller the journey did not begin there. The beginning came later, the story came together and words poured, a cacophony, perhaps tamed by the writer...perhaps not so much, only to be delivered to the reader in the order and tone in which it was meant to be felt.

It is truly cruel to burden a writer with a title. That would be like asking an artist, "so what do you call this one?" and point to a blank canvas. I found myself in the same predicament. What do I call what I do? I just want to write. Share my thoughts and feelings. Sprinkle in some stories or parts of stories that have yet to be told...in my words. Make you feel...feel something, anything.

I mean, if you're going to write about frogs, then by god there's your title. Maybe you get a little crazy and call it something like, if you're feeling froggy...or play off Twain's celebrated frog, but what of a simple writer? Maybe get cute playing the Right/Write angle...but that didn't feel quite right (or write) either way everything seemed to be taken already in this venue, even if it appeared as though some of them dropped off the planet in 2003, but to make a long story short (too late,) we are here now.

We're both here, late, though I could hardly blame you, I just got here myself and that's the whole reason that you came so, guess it's my fault. Sorry. I promise I'll try to make up for it.

What's in a name?

Despite the fact that which we call a rose would indeed smell as sweet, the name is the thing, after all. We learn as infants that calling objects by their correct name is important. It identifies what we want, how we feel, what we see, let's leave semantics alone (for now), but it IS important to identify what we are experiencing. So, I, am the incomplete writer.

How could I possibly be anything else? I'm not done yet. But there are parts that are clearly over for me and I feel very strongly about sharing those days and nights and stories. And yet, I will never be complete. Even after I take my last breath the thoughts and ideas I have shared will carry on. My children, my family, my friends, the people who I have touched with my words, those words will live on through them. Even the words on this page will stand, without me. We make our mark. Boldly or timidly we leave a piece of ourselves in everything we do. That's life. The journey shapes who we are, who we will become. Every day is new with endless possibilities, but as I sit here typing this, and you sit there some day reading this, we are, as yet, incomplete. Welcome to my world.

More Shakespeare, good grief

"All the world's a stage. And all the men and women merely players..." - William Shakespeare.

I didn't really want to reference more Shakespeare, but it's a great line. Am I boring thee? Toughen up.

Every story has characters. Art imitates life (or is it the other way around?) Anyway, there is no story without believable characters. Engaging the reader to believe in those characters is essential to the very existence of the tale itself. Why is that important? The reader must care about those characters. Love 'em or hate 'em, the reader has to feel for those characters, or lose interest, and the story dies. So here I am, a character, in progress, reaching out to you. Living on this page and hopefully many more, sharing my story with you. But, if we're going to take this journey together, you must know a few things about me (as a writer.)

1. Don't feed me after midnight
2. Never get me wet.

Wait. Wrong rules. OK. Here we go. This list isn't numbered. But I feel it needs a subheading.

Know what you're getting into

•  I write what I feel and you are free to feel how you wish. If the spirit moves you to share back to me, please don't be rude. I am sharing, not asking for your opinions. Constructive criticism is appreciated, with the operative word being "constructive." "You suck," is not helpful feedback. I've heard it before and it didn't help then either.
• I have had a great love affair over the years with punctuation. Don't freak out. I'm particularly fond of the ellipsis (...) and commas. They make me feel good. Why?
• I'm prone to a more conversational writing style. If I want you to pause when you're reading, I will make you, just like you were hearing me speak the words directly to your ear. That's how I use punctuation. It's a tool, not a rule.
• My grammar died a few years ago. So, sometimes my sentences are not complete. I will occasionally run-on as well. If complete sentences were necessary everyone would use them. They don't and you know who you are.
• I will use the words "and" and "or" a lot. No really. A LOT. I'm fond of words and I try to use as many as I can to get you to where I'm coming from.
• I have no problems ending a sentence with a preposition. Get over it.
• I can ramble. A LOT. I'll try not to. But, I make no promises. Some of the world's greatest discoveries stemmed from mistakes, unintended consequences, or downright failures. That's the excuse I'll go with here.

So, it's after 4 am and I think that I've finally got it all out of my system. Now I can go to bed. You could come with me, but we just met and I'm not comfortable enough at this point. Oh, I guess I should introduce myself.

I'm Jon and I'm the Incomplete Writer.