This from a ‘writing prompt’

Only it wasn’t intended to be one, I am certain.

Just sometimes I get to reading someone else’s point of view, and my mind goes Zoomms-zowieeees over the horizon with the muse.

Creativity is IT. I create on a daily basis. I have to, or I start going stir crazy. It may only be making a small jig to make my life easier at the welding table. It may be making a Kayak on my front porch in the dead of winter. I may be sketching out an idea for a tattoo, or that next jig I need to make my next whatchamacallit. I even made jigs for making my kayaks so that all those little holes that needed drilled could be done uniformly and I not destroy a rather pricey piece of wood.

Like Sarah, much of my creativity is sourced from a scarcity background. We didn’t have much, but when it came down to it, we had EVERYTHING we needed and the rest was stuff we ‘created’ to fill the voids. If we wanted something, the options were to work our tails off to earn the money to buy it, or work out tails off creating it. Most of the furniture in our house was stuff that my dad made in the shed out back, using cast off lumber from where he worked. Everything laminated up to make larger wider boards for table tops, or thicker legs to support he gargantuan “built to withstand a truck accident” furniture he preferred making. Some of it was really fantastic as well, like his end tables made from the trunks of Cedar trees. Split a trunk in half and it may become a bench seat, or crosscut the trunk for a ‘rounder’ shape with wild edges and mount that to a thinner trunk, inverted to use the branches as legs, for the base.

I learned how to cast metals to make things in need of longevity or higher wear functions. I learned to work metals so that I could utilize those skills of casting even further. I picked up a touch of blacksmithing so that I could shape metal without need of the machines to turn or cut it, and that led me to learning more about welding, and improved my Arc type welding even more. Before I started mixing sound full time, I worked as (many things,,,) a mechanic, and one of the guys I worked with and myself would critique each others welds. That improved my welds even more.

I’ve even made jewelry (SHOCK!!!!) but I tend to be more pragmatic in my creativity and prefer utilitarian stuff. (I may wear a wedding band, when/if I marry, but thats about it. No ‘glitz’ in my world, not even a watch.)

And that leads me to my writing. One of the commenters over there mentions how he found out that writing is WORK, and that his notion that his first book would have him sleeping on a bed of gold was shattered quite quickly.

As for the work thing? Oh yes, its work. Skull work. Marketing work, research work. You name it, there is WORK to be had in this field. And just like the entertainment field, there are 300000 writers to every 100 Best sellers. In live music, I have seen some truly incredible talents, but they missed one key element. WORK. They didn’t push the envelope of the work things and while they could play circles around other well known artists, they didn’t have the drive to push there.
Now, I am not saying I am exceptional, Hell, my current history says that I am of that same caliber; talented, but no drive. And it may be that this is the case. I didn’t write Wings for the money (though I won’t deny that money was a factor.). I wrote wings because something said, If I didn’t it would eat at my very soul until my mind folded like a wet noodle. And since I went so far as to actually write the danged thing, why NOT publish it too.

The fact that I had no clue what I was getting into is obvious to anyone that sees the end result. The fact that I had no clue about marketing or advertising, or promotion of written word (I can ‘produce’ entertainment and do all the marketing and advertising for live shows and HAVE, but books are a whole new world to me.)

Yeah, that stuff is obviously missing from that book. And I may end up re-editing it later for better layout, and when I do, promotions and marketing will be better laid out as well. And of course, the sequel is still stewing: half in my head, and half on my external hard drive. (Patience Bruce, it’s coming. And your persistence gets you dibs as a proofreader!! Mwahahaha!!!!). And I am no where near done writing. Wings opened up a pandoras box of creativity that had been stifled by time and misperceptions. Mostly my own, but some.external (Friggin high school counselors need filleted, baked and served to pigs, in my opinion.) My learning curve is still on the low left side of the bell curve, climbing towards center, and I have no illusions that I need mentorship. I am also quite aware that current situations in my life have a priority, and what I can squeeze in will have to suffice. I read,,,, Oh lord how much I read. If one of my vicarious mentors suggest a book about writing books, I make the purchase and dive in. If someone suggests a different program to assist the writer, (Vellum is one, Scrivener another, etc etc). I check ‘em out and start another aspect of the learning process. Scrivener was the program that helped me finalize Wings to the point where I felt comfortable hitting that publish button. And it works even better in the Mac.

What hangs me up is that marketing thing. I DESPISE crowds (funny coming from a guy that used to mix live music for Tens of thousands.)(note that FOH “front of house’ is usually smack dab in the middle of the room and has a whole lot of floor space and only a a couple of peeps in it. AND, I was usually the monitor guy, behind the curtains, on stage left usually, full view of the band but not of the crowds.).And this is where I really need the mentoring (and no, I am not going through the get rich quick scammers that promise you’ll be a best selling author in 90 days if you pay them $XXX and subscribe to their program. Maybe they do handle a ton of promotion for you, but the whole thing stinks to high heaven as scam to me. )

So, I learn the ropes the hard way, and maybe thats for the best. Rougher on the knuckles, but then, I have a couple of Degrees from the School of Hard Knocks and University of Bloody Knuckles.

And I continue to create, every day, SOMETHING, and it matters not what. A paragraph for a book here, a jig for making a rudder assembly there, or a blog post three times a day (if I can). There will be something created by my hands and mind and the day they cease to happen, its a good bet my heart has ceased as well.