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Dialogue with my muse |
| I have been carrying on a dialogue for almost a year. During this time we have discussed the progress of my writing, editing, and publishing efforts. Join in to listen to our conversation about my daily writing life and add your comments if you think of anything Calliope and I miss. |
| JOE: Good afternoon Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good afternoon Joe. I thought I might not see you today. JOE: Never fear. I got involved in a movie this morning and then a floor project in the utility room. CALLIOPE: There's always something. JOE: No doubt about it. CALLIOPE: What did you do yesterday? JOE: Mostly worked on Marital Property. I am in the process of reading it aloud to see how it sounds. CALLIOPE: Then what? JOE: I'll decide whether it needs more work. CALLIOPE: What kind of work? JOE: I need to decided if it's interesting enough for me and then get some feedback. CALLIOPE: What kind of feedback? JOE: Another point of view. I will take a chapter or two to my writers' meeting on Tuesday and then have Carol, Bob and possibly others read it. CALLIOPE: Sounds like you're on the right track. What about the publicity videos. JOE: I'll get back to them on Monday and continue recording until I feel ready to post. Talk with you then. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: Doing well. I have been busy already. CALLIOPE: Doing what? JOE: Planning our cellar party for a couple weeks for now, doing AM Yoga with Rodney Yee and my journal. Now I'm here with you. CALLIOPE: Glad you could fit me in. What did you accomplish yesterday? JOE: I finished reviewing Gerry's annotated comments on my Marital Property manuscript. I also worked on the videos. CALLIOPE: What's next on the manuscript? JOE: I have Gerry's general comments to review again and then go through the manuscript to see how it reads out loud. CALLIOPE: And the videos? JOE: I recorded them and reviewed them for style and content. I could see ways where they could be improved. CALLIOPE: Do you still think you can do them yourself? JOE: I'm inclined to think so but will reserve judgment for a few more takes. CALLIOPE: Keep up the good work. JOE: Thanks for the encouragement. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. What have you been up to? JOE: I was in Batavia all day yesterday getting my car fixed and helping my son set up a print show as well as photographing his most recent prints. CALLIOPE: Does that mean you had no time for literary pursuits? JOE: Unfortunately it does. I guess I can't count on having every day available for writing. CALLIOPE: I guess you're right. What about today? JOE: A different story. I plan to get back to work. CALLIOPE: Doing what specifically? JOE: Further takes on my promotional videos for one thing. CALLIOPE: Do you think you can produce acceptable ones on your own? JOE: Good question. I was just thinking about that. I don't think they need to be highly professional for YouTube or MySpace. If I'm not satisfied I am considering looking for a communications student at Genesee Community College who might be in need of a project. CALLIOPE: Good thought. Anything else planned? JOE: I plan to get back to revision of Marital Property and consideration of my friend Gerry's comments which he sent some time ago. CALLIOPE: How come you have not looked at them yet? JOE: I wanted to finish my first person oriented draft first. Now it is ready. On with the show. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. What news? JOE: Progress on the marketing videos. I found the activation key for my editing software and got that working. CALLIOPE: And then? JOE: I recorded a video clip with my Kodak still camera and was able to edit it with Movavi Movie Suite and Windows Movie Maker. CALLIOPE: Are you satisfied with the results? JOE: Not yet. I plan to work on takes until I am satisfied with the results. Then I will move on to posting them on MySpace and YouTube. CALLIOPE: Sounds like good progress. JOE: So far so good. CALLIOPE: Keep at it. I hope you're patient. JOE: I usually am but sometimes I get frustrated. CALLIOPE: Any other progress yesterday? JOE: I started looking on the Internet for teen writings to use in Commonsense Wisdom for Teens. CALLIOPE: How's that coming? JOE: I'm just getting started but at least I'm on the move. One step at a time. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: Fine. I was a little surprised to reach the end of my revision of Marital Property yesterday. CALLIOPE: Why were you surprised? JOE: I have been working on it a little at a time but had many interruptions during my move. I can finally sit down for some sustained work and reached the end. CALLIOPE: Great. What's next? JOE: I want to review comments my friend Gerry sent me. I was waiting to consider them until I had finished this revision. CALLIOPE: Glad to hear you are making progress. How about the promotional videos? JOE: I recorded a couple practice runs. One version is easy to edit. The other version with the better video and sound seems to need some editing with a program I bought but need an access code which eludes me. CALLIOPE: Do you have the code? JOE: Somewhere. I think I just need to find it. CALLIOPE: At least you are making progress on that front as well. JOE: I am beginning to feel I am getting back into the groove. I also looked up some references for teen stories to include in Commonsense Wisdom for Teens. CALLIOPE: Great. Keep it up. JOE: I plan to. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How was your weekend? JOE: I enjoyed it. I spent more time with people than usual. On Saturday I traveled to Wyoming (NY) for the Apple Umpkin Festival. Yesterday I went to church and visited friends with Carol. Now I'm back at the computer. CALLIOPE: Did you have a chance to work on your marketing tasks? JOE: Yes. I completed outlines for both sets of videos. I also fiddled further with my video camera to no avail. CALLIOPE: Sorry to hear it. How will you record them? JOE: I will use either my still camera which has fairly good video and audio capacity or my webcam which has lower capacity but is at least in working order. CALLIOPE: I'm glad you are making some progress. When do you plan to make the recordings? JOE: Today or tomorrow I will try some samples to see what I like. If I am satisfied, I will try for a final take in the next couple of days and get working on editing and posting them. CALLIOPE: It seems like it has been a long time getting to this point. JOE: It has. I think my concentration was thrown off by my move and all the mental energy not to mention physical work it entailed. CALLIOPE: I imagine you are glad it's over. JOE: I am happy to be settled in and adjusting to my new routine. CALLIOPE: Good luck with your writing pursuits. JOE: Thanks, I'll keep you posted. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| (Reflections of Hula Dancers) JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: Fine. I was up early. I can't say with the sun since it has not shown its face today and doesn't seem likely to. CALLIOPE: How did you do with marketing yesterday? JOE: I told you I planned to work on my marketing videos. I realized I am still somewhat disorganized after my move. I couldn't find my notes on either video. CALLIOPE: Were you ultimately successful? JOE: I was and am happy to report that I finished my outline for the first video, Are You Afraid of this Book. CALLIOPE: Remind me what it is about. JOE: Potential readers seem to approach The Pastor's Inferno much as the wolf did in the movie Dancing with Wolves, skittish for quiet a while but approaching gradually. My observations of this phenomenon served as the basis of a promotional video. CALLIOPE: Then what? JOE: At the end I suggest viewing the next two videos, Ten Reasons to Read The Pastor's Inferno and Ten Reasons Not to Read The Pastor's Inferno. CALLIOPE: What's your plan for completing them. JOE: They are my goal for the next week. I plan to have all three videos recorded and posted by next Friday. CALLIOPE: Good luck. JOE: Thanks. I fully expect you will be there providing inspiration. On to the next adventure. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: Fine. I'm ready to get going on my writing. CALLIOPE: What did you accomplish yesterday? JOE: Less than I hoped. I wrote my journal entry, posted our blog and finished my newspaper column for Saturday. I was ready to get going on marketing but decided to check my calendar first to see if I missed anything. I almost did. I had fifteen minutes to get to Rochester for an arthritis study appointment. Needless to say I was a bit late. CALLIOPE: When you got back did you get to work? JOE: Sort of. I had some shopping to do in Batavia and decided a bedroom wall needed to be painted before our new bed was delivered. CALLIOPE: Sounds like distractions. JOE: I suppose so. But I at least took a little time to think about writing priorities even though I did not make any concrete progress. CALLIOPE: And your plans for today? JOE: Fortunately I have nothing on my schedule. My first task will be to develop a list of tasks, priorities and time lines for my marketing activities (once again.) CALLIOPE: Do you have any general plans. JOE: Yes. My marketing efforts have been sorely neglected with the exception of sprucing up my web site. I plan to lay out specific marketing videos and get them recorded and posted by the end of next week on My Space and You Tube at a minimum. I am also thinking of posting them on my Sliding Otter website. I would like them available but don't want to slow down my Commonsense Wisdom website. That's my current plan. CALLIOPE: Sounds good. Keep me posted. JOE: I will. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| (My new work space) JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. I've missed you. JOE: I've missed talking with you as well. CALLIOPE: Is your move finally completed? JOE: It is. Yesterday I finished cleaning my old apartment and handed in the keys. CALLIOPE: And your new space? JOE: Also fully functional. Tuesday the cable people people came to hook me up to the Internet, VOIP phone as well as television, such as it is. CALLIOPE: So, back to work? JOE: Yes. I'm ready and have been a little restless during my hiatus. CALLIOPE: Where do you plan to start? JOE: By getting specific. I know the general commitments I have made to myself- blog, newspaper columns, marketing and working on Marital Property as well as Commonsense Wisdom for Teens. CALLIOPE: How do you plan to get specific? JOE: By laying out objectives, tasks and time lines. CALLIOPE: Do you feel that is necessary? JOE: Yes. Lately I have felt like I have been spinning my wheels with all the balls I'm trying to keep in the air. I often don't know what to do next. I need to get organized. That's one of my goals for today. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good afternoon Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good afternoon Joe. Are you back with me now? JOE: Not quite. The move is coming along well. I plan to finish on Sunday with a truckload of big stuff. CALLIOPE: What about being online. JOE: I will be off for a few days during the move. I hope to be back in regular touch with you on Wednesday, September 24. CALLIOPE: I'll be looking forward to talking again. Good luck with the rest of the move. JOE: Thanks. I am not expecting any difficulty. I'm looking forward to being back with you on the 24th. |
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Hope they like snow! 
I just tell them to go get a life...
It's a sunshiny 24 here at the moment; 19 in Buffalo.