Finding some perspective

What a long, strange trip it's been

It has taken me a long time to get here, both at this point in my life andwhere I created this blog as a way to develop my writing and as a writer with stories to tell. My muse has been absent for a couple of weeks now. Between my schedule and my editor's, I haven't had much guidance there lately either. And with my muse nowhere to be found and my editor on a cruise (I guess everyone needs a break - even if it's just from me, am I right, girls?) I have carte blanche to go in whatever direction I deem fit. So let's recap my last post.

Every now and then I'm going to stray off the path. The title came from thinking I had more substance in some writing I had done years ago. Memories can make us fools. We remember the good and discard the rotten apples, but it's doesn't reveal the true, complete story. Life is full of crap. Ever read Facebook? I found a lot of crap in my old writings. But there were good things too. I found a book I purchased a few years ago, The Pocket Muse by Monica Wood (http://www.monicawood.com) She also has tips for writers on her website that are very helpful. Some of you reading this out there are writers too. We really should get together some time.

Her introduction struck a chord with me as her story has some similarities to my own. At any rate, The Pocket Muse is filled with some great idea starters, inspirational quotes and black and white photographs to spark writers to do what they do best, write. Some of the exercises are simple, much like my parking lot story from "Time for a little warm up," (which my wife is convinced really happened - which is supposed to be the reaction, right?)

All in black and white

I started flipping through her book, hoping for a page to speak to me. Every page has something to offer, but one jumped out first, regarding critics. She writes that every writer needs two critics - one to shower praise, the other to deliver the truth and respects you enough to tell you when something is not working. Any skill development requires encouragement combined with constructive criticism.

I struggled with this over the years. Quite simply, I've had a lifetime of people telling me that I've been doing such-and-such wrong (or that I just suck) and despite constant rejection, a thick skin isn't something I have fully developed. But I'm getting better. My wife loves everything I write. I have a few friends that have been very helpful in encouraging the little bits I have been brave enough to share as well. I didn't want that second critic.

My stories are personal. To dismantle them, was to dismantle everything I am. I needed to suppress that emotional response and become more pragmatic, be something I have not been to date. Let's just say that I'm good now. I have no positions immediately available for either critic, but I will continue to accept applications. Thank you for your interest.

You can't get there from here

Every story has its twists and turns, whether it's your own or that of a fictional character. The path isn't a perfectly straight line, even for those who tend to plan everything to the most minute detail. I started to look at what gets people through those critical junctures in their life. What helps them survive? It all comes down to perspective, broken down into four categories.

1. Crazy. You know some crazy people. They manage to come out on top no matter what is going on around them. No one can tell them what to do, especially that something can't be done, despite the odds. They fly in the face of convention and dare you to stop them.
2. Pragmatic. They're methodical, logical and sometimes stubborn. Kings and Queens of rationale. They're the kind of people that I would have liked to have had around me when I took that Introduction to Ethics course in college (which, incidentally has much more to do with being logical than being nice.)
3. Naive. They just don't know any better. Typically they're younger and lack the sort of experiences us old folks have had which make us jaded.
4. Lucky (Stupid.) They're like the cat dropped off a four-story building, always landing on their feet. They have no plan, sometimes no idea what is going on, but they come through every catastrophe unscathed. And they have no concept of how they did it.

I have been all of these at one time or another in my life, with the pragmatic portion being conspicuously absent more often than not. All of this was born from a situation I encountered in my life three years ago...but that's a story best saved for the next installment of the Incomplete Writer.