Break Out

 

Most everyone writes like most everyone walks. But we don't all strut like Carole Channing in Thoroughly Modern Millie (Movie 1967).

 Don't you sometimes want to break free and feel that free abandon with work and life? 

They say that every kid is an artist. But we're adults, and we have built up some self-consciousness. Or we're in the gap between where we are and where we want to be. 

We have good taste. We can tell when a story doesn't ring true. We have a good idea, but we ask ourselves, why do I sound like a freshman when I want to have graduated with a Ph.D.?

It's the skill we need before applying what's in our hearts.

Skills can be learned.

But before we study grammar, story structure, plot, The Journey of the Hero, or the mechanics of the Screenplay, we must still the voice that screams in our ears that we can't have the thing we want. 

We hesitate to play full-out in most endeavors. We want to dance while scrubbing the floor but scowl instead. A slight change of attitude would have made our time joyful instead of burning sunshine.

(I used to work in an office where the receptionist, when totally frustrated, would clean the office. It worked for all of us.)

We hear about doing what we love and getting paid to do it, and we try. We hear that life is supposed to be fun but feel we have little of it.

It's break-out time.

It might not happen all at once. It might come in spurts, but it will come. We are writers. We have declared ourselves to be, and so we are. 

Now, we want to be good writers.

That's called learning our craft.

Once, at a writer's workshop, an author/presenter asked: "Who wants to be a writer?"

Everyone in the room raised their hands.

"Then what in the hell are you doing here?' he boomed. "Go home and write."

Here's where I have a problem: if you keep putting out the same old, you won't advance. Some input is necessary.

Let's investigate…

Art is Expressed in Many Ways

 

"It is the inner commitment to be true to ourselves and follow our dreams that triggers the support of the universe."—Julia Cameron.

I have written this blog for years, and I have another blog, https://wishonwhitehorses, that I have written for even longer. For a time, I was using the same material on both blogs for I thought I had two different audiences.  I am keeping this one for writing, blogging, and supporting artists.

We need a place for happy thoughts, at least uplifting thoughts. I spent the weekend with a lady, an old friend with whom I have been out of touch for years. She was the daughter of my mother's best friend—since they were in Junior High school. She has her own business and works out of her house. Now she is single, and with her kids gone, she says she will go for days, maybe weeks, without talking to someone except over the phone or via email.

Come on folks, we need some human contact. Although here we will stick with our internet connection.

I once took a workshop where an editor would critique one page of the participant's work. She called it a "No blood on the floor critique." It takes someone with the confidence of Johan Travolta to counter a "Blood on the floor critique." When an agent told him he would never be an actor, he walked away saying, "They're nuts."

Many never recover from such a put-down.

Yet artists grow. They mature, they learn their craft, and if a person keeps on, they will improve. (Unless, of course, they keep repeating the same old tired ways of doing things.) Artists need some fresh blood in there from time to time to push them to the next level.

Many writers use Beta readers (or sensitivity readers) to review their manuscripts. For many, such readers are a friend or spouse. We can offer such a service, but only one page please. We can be fresh eyes on your page, and offer non-professional opinions, Hey, we’re readers. We know what we like.

Or tell us about your desire to express yourself creatively. Even if it is throwing ingredients into a pot to make a superb spaghetti sauce. It’s fun to cook with no recipes, that’s creative.

If you would like to submit a page of your writing, I will offer an opinion, but I am not an editor, nor do I claim to be a writing expert. And we will offer it to our readers for comment—that can be private if you prefer.

If you have been reading my memoir Your Story Matters, we are up to Chapter 46 and 47.  It is available to read at https://www.wishonwhitehorses.com

 P.S. None of my material is A.I. I heard over the weekend that someone (who is that person?) is writing small books selling like half-priced hamburgers at McDonalds, which are AI-generated. That drives me crazy!

P.S.P.S.  In honor of an artist:

Two moments ago, I looked up James Earl Jones and was saddened to learn he passed away on Sept 9, 2024. 

James Earl Jones—that baritone velvet-voiced guy did not speak for eight years because of a severe stutter.

This story is from Michael Moore recapturing the voice of James Earl Jones:

“Somehow Professor Crouch, to his surprise and pleasure, discovered that I wrote poetry. The boy who had written the poems was the same mute boy who had fought with uncontrolled fury. Both fury and poetry poured out of my silence.

"I'm impressed with your poem, James Earl," Professor Crouch told me after he read my ode to grapefruit. "I know how hard it is for you to talk, and I don't require you to do that… [But I think it’s best] for you to say it aloud to the class," he told me.

"It would be a trauma to open my mouth in front of my classmates, who would probably laugh at my poem and my stuttering….

"I was shaking as I stood up, cursing myself. I strained to get the words out, pushing from the bottom of my soul. I opened my mouth — and to my astonishment, the words flowed out smoothly, every one of them. There was no stutter. All of us were amazed, not so much by the poem as by the performance….

"Aha!" my professor exclaimed as I sat down, vindicated. "We will now use this as a way to recapture your ability to speak."

 

The voice of Darth Vader did good.