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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 morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today. JOE: Focused. I have been quite busy already today. CALLIOPE: Impressive. Doing what? JOE: I was puzzled about the sound level on the video I recorded yesterday. Then I discovered my computer sound was low. I adjusted it this morning and now it seems fine. CALLIOPE: So you finally produced a video. JOE: Yes. I have a little more fine tuning to do but it is close to being ready for broadcast. I decided to start with a general video on The Pastor's Inferno and now will move on to the ten reasons. CALLIOPE: You are starting to make some progress. Has the construction noise upstairs settled down? JOE: Finally. It is now quiet enough to record. CALLIOPE: What else are you working on. JOE: A good friend suggested I read Danielle Steele to see what there is about popular writing that makes people buy it. CALLIOPE: And did you? JOE: I plan to go to the library today to review a number of styles including Steele's. I also did some research this morning on the difference between literary and popular fiction. CALLIOPE: What did you discover? JOE: Popular fiction concentrates more on character, hook, situations and story while literary fiction concentrates more on emphasis, tone, theme, strategies and moves. I think my goal would be to write challenging fiction which is also accessible. My challenge, should I choose to accept it. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: Quite well, thank you. CALLIOPE: Tell me about your weekend. JOE: The construction upstairs finally settled down, at least for Saturday. I finally got to work taping my videos. I decided to begin with a brief general video on The Pastor's Inferno and then move on to Ten Reasons to read The Pastor's Inferno and Ten Reasons Not To. CALLIOPE: Why did you decide on the general one first? JOE: I thought it might be easier to do and I could also refer to Ten Reasons at the end. CALLIOPE: I see. How did it go? JOE: I'm getting there. The process is working. I was able to record a video, transfer it to a usable format and edit it without difficulty. CALLIOPE: Any difficulties? JOE: A few things to work on. The sound level was quite low which I can fix by moving the camera closer to where I sit or using an external microphone. I have a few annoying mannerisms I will need to limit. I also rock in my chair while talking which I found distracting and think my viewers will too. CALLIOPE: So now what? JOE: More takes. Any video I know of goes through a series of takes much like a movie scene until it is acceptable or even exceptional. The hardest part for me will be remaining patient rather than rushing to get something posted for the sake of having it done. I thought people got more patient as the got older. I have in some ways, but in certain areas I have the same impulsive drive I always have had. CALLIOPE: Good that you at least recognize this. JOE: I agree. Holding my horses remains a major challenge. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. I have been expecting you for a while. JOE: I was feeling rather languorous this morning. CALLIOPE: Still not back in gear after yesterday? JOE: Correct. I spent most of the day in service to others. The whole morning was at the police training telling my mental health story as a parent and listening to others' stories. CALLIOPE: And the afternoon? JOE: I had planned to relax which I did for about fifteen minutes. Then my daughter asked me to go with her to look at a car. CALLIOPE: Which you did? JOE: Of course. What kind of father do you take me for? CALLIOPE: And the evening? JOE: I went to the first Jackson Square concert of the summer in Batavia for a Frank Sinatra tribute. It was a chance to relax and interact socially with others. CALLIOPE: So you spent your whole day with others instead of by yourself? JOE: I hadn't thought of it that way, but yes I did. CALLIOPE: And today? JOE: I found a book on the Craft and Business of Writing, a Writer's Digest book, and might spend some time reading it. CALLIOPE: What about the recordings? JOE: Ill fated. The construction continues upstairs. Either today or Monday I will get to them. Now I need to post my column on my website and get going for the day. Talk with you Monday. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. What's on your mind today? JOE: Antici----pation. CALLIOPE: Sounds like an interesting story. JOE: Perhaps. Several days ago my daughter asked me to sit on a panel today of people touched by mental illness. The audience consists of law enforcement personnel who will deal with mental illness in their work. CALLIOPE: Are you prepared? JOE: I didn't write anything out but I do have a general idea what I want to say. I will talk about wrestling with the idea of presenting, my background as a psychologist and some of my interactions with the police when various family members were beset by acute mental illness. CALLIOPE: Sounds like you have a lot to say. Have you ever thought of writing about it? JOE: I have written a couple columns and pieces for the Mental Health Association. I am afraid that going further would embarrass my family members. I guess it is up to them to tell their stories when they are ready? CALLIOPE: Wise move. I hope it goes well today. JOE: It's about time to leave. I will pause here and finish our conversation when I get back. CALLIOPE: Good luck. --- JOE: Hi. I'm back. CALLIOPE: How did it go. JOE: Quite well. Once I got started I managed to dispel my anxiety completely. This was the first time I ever talked without notes. I decided to trust myself and it went fine. Now to catch up on everything else. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: Excited and full of energy. CALLIOPE: I take it you had a productive day yesterday. JOE: I did. One comment from Authornation, a new site I am trying out, suggested that the fonts were confusing in the current draft of my short story Child Bride. I wasn't sure what she meant and went back to read it. More than half of the story is internal reflection which I showed by using italics. It is confusing. CALLIOPE: So what did you do about it? JOE: I changed the voice and wrote the whole story in the first person eliminating the need for italics completely. CALLIOPE: Interesting approach. How do you think it worked? JOE: Too soon to tell. I have only received one comment so far suggesting the change made the story much clearer. Nice to know my efforts paid off. CALLIOPE: Did you get anything else done yesterday? JOE: I wrote my column for Saturday on walking out of a concert. CALLIOPE: Which I can find on your website Saturday? JOE: You're learning. It will be there. CALLIOPE: What's up for today? JOE: I think I'm finally ready to start recording the Ten Reasons video, barring any untoward construction noises from upstairs. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you this morning? JOE: A little slow getting in gear. CALLIOPE: How so? JOE: Last night Carol and I attended our second concert of the Rochester International Jazz Festival, this time Gillespiana, a tribute to Dizzy Gillespie. I am still savoring the experience. CALLIOPE: Glad you enjoyed it. You said you wanted to be more involved in activities outside yourself. JOE: I did. I also made another discovery. CALLIOPE: Which is? JOE: I had suspected a relationship between various forms of creativity. I just finished my lighthouse project, taking my time to produces a polished work. CALLIOPE: That's nice. What did you learn? JOE: Developing patience with my painting translated into a more polished short story as well. I spent quite a bit of time yesterday revising Child Bride. I think it came out well. CALLIOPE: Would you like my opinion? JOE: Sure. It's posted on www.authorsden.com. Look up Child Bride or my name. CALLIOPE: I'll do that and let you know what I think tomorrow. JOE: I'd appreciate it. Today I plan to continue working on creativity, starting a new lighthouse painting and using what I have learned about myself and my writing to revise my other recent story, Or Not To Be. I also have a column to write. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are how this morning? JOE: Excited. CALLIOPE: How so? JOE: As you know I have been wrestling with creativity, my value, and other related anxieties. CALLIOPE: I heard. Have you reached any conclusions? JOE: I have decided to follow Guy Finley's advice and stop worrying about what I am missing and focus more on what I do have to offer as I am right now. CALLIOPE: You said as much yesterday. How did you spend the rest of the day? JOE: I finished my painting of the Block Island Lighthouse and was quite pleased with my ability to remain patient, completing it over the course of a week or so. I also spent some time yesterday looking up sites where teens posted to get a better sense of how they write and how I could write to appeal to them. CALLIOPE: Any great discoveries? JOE: Not yesterday. I found quite a few sites and noted them for future reference. I think they will be helpful in regaining my "teen voice." CALLIOPE: Is that what made you excited? JOE: No. I still had many of the questions which have been in my mind about how to obtain teen writing for my book and how to get permission to use it without alienating teens. This morning as I reviewed some of what I had discovered, I realized that there was already a wealth of teen writing available on the Internet. All I have to do is to distill what would be useful for my book and obtain teens' permission to use their writing. CALLIOPE: It sounds like there is still quite a bit of work to do but now it seems more possible. JOE: Exactly. I am looking forward to the challenge and adventure. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: Feeling better in general and more optimistic. CALLIOPE: To what do you credit these developments? JOE: Mostly to Guy Finley's book, The Essential Laws of Fearless Living, which I read this weekend. CALLIOPE: What did you discover reading it? JOE: I tend to live in my thoughts. I came to realize that I become lost in them and let them distract me. CALLIOPE: Distract you from what? JOE: From living in awareness of myself, my experiences and life rather than thinking and evaluating it. CALLIOPE: How does awareness improve your state of wellbeing? JOE: By stepping back from what consumes me and being aware of what I am thinking, I can free myself from the anxieties which were beginning to cripple me. CALLIOPE: What anxieties have you identified? JOE: Worry about whether my writing is good enough, whether I have anything worthwhile to say and whether I can write in a way which makes my writing accessible to others. In sum, I worry whether I am good enough. CALLIOPE: Sounds like a waste of time. JOE: It is. Worrying about what might be has never led me anywhere positive. I remember seeing my father worry about just about every possible tragedy. I saw how it crippled him and kept him from enjoying life. CALLIOPE: It's always easier to see what others are doing wrong. JOE: Right. I have also come to an awareness that the things we criticize in others are usually what bog us down the most in our own lives. This process is something I will work on today and let you know of my progress tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. Did you just get up? JOE: I think you know me better than that. I was up before five, read the paper, walked with Carol, served her breakfast on the porch, watered my plants, did some painting, wrote today's journal entry and now here I am. CALLIOPE: Impressive. And I thought you were loafing. JOE: I must admit the thought did occur to me. I thought you could survive for a day by yourself. Once I got painting, I felt more enervated and ready to do some writing, at least with you. CALLIOPE: I'm flattered. Is that all you plan to do today? JOE: No. My story, Child Bride was posted a few days ago in Critique Circle (www.critiquecircle.com.) I plan to read the critiques posted and take them to heart. I am trying to be more observant, especially of myself and my inner workings. CALLIOPE: What prompted that? JOE: To some extent, reading Eckhart Tolle's Power of New and The New Earth. Yesterday I received a copy of Guy Finley's book, The Essential Laws of Fearless Living and started reading it last night. CALLIOPE: What have you discovered so far? JOE: The message is similar to Tolle's but to me the writing is more accessible. His essential point is how to stop worrying about all the things you think about yourself and concentrate on just being who you are without worrying about it. CALLIOPE: Sounds good if you can do it. JOE: I hope to. I think my recent funk came from fear that I wasn't a good enough writer. If I'm hopeless I might as well give up writing. Finley points out that entertaining such thoughts gives them life and lets them take over who I otherwise could be. CALLIOPE: Interesting point. JOE: I plan to read more of his book over the weekend and will let you know what I discover on Monday. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: A little more optimistic than I have been lately. CALLIOPE: To what do we owe the honor? JOE: I was just wondering that myself. Maybe taking a little time out to regroup has helped. I also found some marketing links in Writer's Digest, inspirational writing and a writing contest, all of which piqued my interest. CALLIOPE: I hope they all help. How are you coming with the videos? JOE: I have been ready to start. Unfortunately, construction hammers, saws and vacuums buzz upstairs and it has been too noisy to record my videos. I think they will have to wait until it is quieter. CALLIOPE: There's always something, as Gilda would say. So what are your plans in the mean time? JOE: I'm trying not to plan too much at the moment. My lighthouse painting continues to take shape. I am working on it a little at a time trying to pay close attention to detail. I am doing better in this regard than I have in the past. CALLIOPE: Do you see any connection between your painting and writing? JOE: Both involve creative ideas for inspiration, however in painting I usually work from a model or photo, whereas in writing inspiration comes from within. I am beginning to discover that with both pursuits, putting any old thing down on paper results in an amateur product. Although inspiration forms the start, the polished product, at least for me, results from going back and paying close attention to details which bring my writing and painting to life. CALLIOPE: Have you discovered this while painting? JOE: You guessed it. During the painting class I took a while ago, I struggled with concentration on detail. However, when I was finished, I had produced paintings of which I could be proud. CALLIOPE: Do you think you can apply this to your writing as well? JOE: I think so. I have been questioning my writing ability lately. Now I am wondering whether I am using all my inner resources to produce a polished and interesting piece. I will work on this. Talk with you tomorrow. |
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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.