For
as long as I can remember, let’s say about seventy years, I’ve been curious
about the whole creative process. At some point in my youth I became aware of
the fact that someone, somewhere, somehow had written those wonderful pop songs
that accompanied me on my paper route each morning and afternoon. Somebody
peered into my soul and understood what I was feeling even if I didn’t know how
they did it at the time.
How
did they do that? Where did their inspiration come from? What motivated them to
sit down and come up with all those wonderful lyrics, ideas, scenes, melodies,
storylines and emotionally charged feelings that I was experiencing?
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| Me and the Gang -Photo Courtesy of Jerry Hoffman |
It
was a reflective period for me. At some subconscious level I was acquiring,
accumulating, assessing and actuating bits and pieces of storylines that would
all come bubbling up to the surface as I got older. Those thoughts began to
morph into crudely-sketched comic books, scribbles of poetry, eight millimeter films
and short stories all born and nurtured throughout my younger years.
A
career in television and video services became the clay that formed my writing
foundation. Then at age thirty-something I wrote my first two novels.
Fast-forward forty more years and a real career in writing slowly took shape.
Many
folks my age proudly see themselves as seniors and they do so without apology.
They’re getting older, past their prime but still keeping busy. It’s that
golden period in their lives when they don’t have to fight 9-5 traffic, satisfy
a grumpy boss and be so prim and proper all the time. Frankly, I’m too busy to
notice or care about such trivial matters. I’m happily sailing my new career on
the River De Nial and loving every minute of it. Yet it hasn’t come without
some cautionary comments.
The
question that has arisen is when is too much too much? Many of us were raised
in an environment where we were told to focus and concentrate on one thing at a
time. To get one task finished before starting a second one. We were told to
pay attention to our parents, our teachers, our coaches and any other
authoritarian figure in our lives. Do as they say, not as they (necessarily) do
themselves.
As
a writer, I’ve been cautioned not to be too scattered and to focus on one genre
at a time. The idea is to build up a collection of
stories that define me as a certain type of writer. Westerns, for example,
might be my storyline of choice.
I’ve
written four westerns thus far. I have a fifth treatment in the wings that is a
civil war drama. There seems to be an audience for my western stories in Great
Britain and Australia. I’m told that both India and Japan also have a small hard-core
group of western readers.
So
should I try to best Zane Grey or Louie L’Amour? More to my liking, do I want
to be the next Will Henry or Clay Fisher or Larry McMurty? One of my newer
novels is called ‘Follow the Cobbler.’ It’s a suspense thriller that was a lot of
fun to write. I’d like to write more stories in that genre. Yet if I remain
just a western writer, I can’t do that. And that is not who I am.
As
I’ve mentioned in past blogs, I have trouble concentrating on any one subject
for any length of time. Call it attention deficit, unfocused or scattered, I
just can’t hold my attention on anything for an extended period of time. The
solution for me is multi-pronged approach that works on any number of different
subjects for varying periods of time. And it works for me.
Here
is a list of current projects of mine in various stages of development.
1. Sending
out press releases for my new YA novel ‘Chasing Ophelia.’
2. Refining
and fine-tuning my new play ‘Polly’s Amorous Adventure.’
3. Promoting
my new play ‘Polly’s Amorous Adventure’ for a December performance.
4. Working
on a second draft of my new play ‘PTV.’
5. Trying
to find a venue to perform my new play ‘The Last Sentinel.’
6. Beginning
to write one of two new novels: ‘Presidio Adieu’ or ‘The Trades.’
7. Scheduling
more writing workshops.
8. Continuing
to write my weekly blogs (usually with 3-5 in the cue at any one time.)
9. Marketing
myself as author and playwright.
10. Marketing
my plays and novels.
Since
2007 I‘ve focused (in bits and pieces) on multiple areas of writing and
completed:
400
plus blogs
10
self-published novels
1
self-published investment guide
6
plays; three of which have been produced thus far
4
screenplays
Over
50 treatments in various stages of completion.
There
is a rational for my seemingly scattered, shotgun approach to writing. Turns
out it is the best way I can capture those fleeting moments of inspiration that
seem to creep into my brain on a daily basis. It’s like mixing up a wild,
scattered batch of ingredients and turning out a mildly entertaining piece of
something after hours in the oven of my mind.
Writing
a weekly blog has improved my writing. It had to. I work on the same pieces day
after day until a deadline is reached and I have to post them on BlogSpot for
publication later on.
My
writing has covered a number of different genres. I let my interest carry me in
many different directions and formats. My solution to eventually complete my
work is to prioritize what to do, pace
myself and make sure every day is spent on writing.
Oh,
and have a life at the same time. I’ve already won this game of life. Whether I
write another word or not I am ahead of the game.
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