Lowering Your Expectations

Some of the best advice I've been given concerning disappointments is this: lower your expectations. And there is probably no better advice for someone who wants to take on the mantle--or bear the cross, you choose the metaphor--of the writing life.

If for a second you believe that writers have good hours or that there's plenty of fame and fortune to throw around, you might consider going back for your CPA designation. While there is always a chance for fame and fortune, you'd better have a back up plan.

But really, advice such as this isn't really necessary. If you are a writer, it doesn't matter what anybody else says...you're going to write. It doesn't matter if it doesn't pay the bills, you're going to write. It doesn't matter if fame and fortune never come your way, you're going to write. There may be exceptions, but writers--as a whole--are always writers...no matter what else they have to do to survive.

For me, writing is like breathing: sometimes it's easy and sometimes it's labored...but anything is ALWAYS better than nothing at all. And while picking up the pen (I use this metaphorically...I use a keyboard attached to my PC) isn't always easy, it is ALWAYS rewarding. Even when I have a bad writing day, I feel better than not having had a writing day at all.

For me, it's sacred. In the beginning was the WORD. Enough said, but of course I'll say more. Whether it's fiction or poetry or blogging, writing is the one place where I can lay it all on the line. I can say exactly what is on my mind at the time. It is my TRUTH with a capital T. At least for that moment. And it always takes me where I need to be. I am always in the present when I am creating; it's impossible to be anywhere else. And that's enough.

The Big Dump

While they're not exactly State Secrets, I've recently been dumping my unpublished (mostly) fiction and poetry faster than Hillary Clinton can utter the words "Julian Assange."

As I wrote on my other blog, I've been writing for a good while, and I'm not getting any younger. I've had an agent for the last five years and have still not had the privilege of seeing my novels in print. So what did I do? I started a little blog called "Random & Entirely Coincidental and posted stories and poetry that I have accumulated over the past 10 years or so. 15 stories and 15 poems...and I'm just getting started.

And don't think I don't understand the consequences. Some magazines and websites who publish literary fiction (and otherwise) consider posting your stuff online as "publishing" and very few publications consider fiction and poetry that has been published elsewhere. You get the drift. These stories and poems will never see the light of day...outside of their debut on my little blog.

Leaving Corporate America for a Higher Calling

To my wife's horror, I left Corporate America (coming up on 2 years) with little more than the shirt on my back--and I was lucky to keep that--to pursue the Writer's Life full-time.

Needless to say, life has been interesting; it has not been boring.

While it wasn't exactly reckless and without a plan, one could argue that I wasn't prepared for the road ahead. One day after leaving C.A., I landed a ghostwriting gig and haven't looked back since. Not to say I haven't been scrambling to keep food on the table...I just know that I did what I had to do. And as long as it is "writing" related, I'll do whatever it takes to keep us afloat.

What I don't want to do (while pursuing ghostwriting, teaching etc.,) is lose track of my own writing. So you might say that my recent re-entry into the world of blogging is to keep my eyes on what really matters.

And my recent journey has convinced me that the "writing life" is a sacred calling and one must never lose sight of that fact. William Stafford referred to writing as his "vocation." Different language, same idea.

If any of this rings true, stay with me...there is more to explore. 

The Why and the What and the How

I've been posting a crapload of unpublished (mostly) fiction and poetry to another blog and I have the urge to write about "writing" in general and don't want to mix the two. And not just "writing," but the "writing life" if you will. A bit about the process...but not in any kind of formal way. While I think a writer's commentary on "process" should be kept separate from the writing itself, I'm one of those who enjoys dissecting the "why" and the "what" and the "how" of it all. Hence this blog.

I'm sure I'll throw in bits and pieces of my life with Bella. If anything, it will entertain me...and keep my hand moving.

And oh yes...it's all sacred.