Your voice is dim
Your words break up
As if your call
Is from years past
And not across
Mere miles
k
Posted in Writing | Tagged creative writing, Poetry, Writing | Leave a Comment »
One day my mother came home with a slogan from her workplace. “Lower Your Expectations,” it read. Not really the gung-ho mentality of today but hey, it was the ’70s. Anyway, my father saw it, found it somewhat ludicrous, and came back with the flip side: “Up Your Aspirations!” He even had it printed up on a t-shirt.
This probably tells you more about my father than it does my mother.
The point of this (and I have one) is that, as writers, we must manage both our expectations and our aspirations. This came home to because my wife has recently begun to ply her hand at writing, and tonight we had a discussion about what aspirations she might have, as a writer. Sensibly (I thought) she said that, at this point, she doesn’t have aspirations of writing for a living or even for profit. Right now she just wants to play with it and to learn how to be a better writer. I know I’ve harped on this before, but I believe it’s important; writing is a lonely business, and publishing is a cutthroat business. Writing for profit ain’t for the faint.
Posted in Writing | Tagged blogging, creative writing, Writing, writing techniques, writing tips | Leave a Comment »
To those of you who left comments and sent me notes of condolence, my thanks. They were very much appreciated in a particularly difficult time.
Upon news of my mother’s passing, my wife and I immediately left for the Bay Area. My father did not think there was much we could do to help, but I felt a strong urge to be with him and the others of our family who could make it through the weather. To grieve alone, to mourn without the consolation (and, to be frank, the distraction) of others, is a risky thing. Contrary to the old adage, Misery actually hates Company; Misery abates with each retelling of the tale, but when we are alone, Misery multiplies.
There were hopeful moments–the day-long communal effort that went into the making of our family’s traditional Xmas Eve Cioppino is a story unto itself–and there were moments of anguished heartache about which I will never tell a soul. I watched my father vacillate between anger, despair, resignation, and gratitude. Each phone call became a chore as he heard the warm words of kindness and had his own sadness renewed, his grief relived.
My father lost his first wife, my mother, almost fifty years ago after thirteen years of marriage. Now, he has lost a second wife, after forty-seven years together. The one recalls the other, and all our mourning is compounded. Continue Reading »
Posted in Culture, Low Tech | Tagged mourning a loss, simplification | 4 Comments »
Unfortunately, our discussion on common writing errors will have to wait for a bit. My mother passed last evening, after a brief bout with spinal, lung, and brain cancer. Three months ago, she was fine. It came on like a juggernaut. But she was at peace at the end, surrounded by family and friends.
Born into an agnostic household, baptized Roman Catholic at age 8, converted to Judaism at age 19, now an avowed atheist, I still have to say that sitting Shiva is a good idea. I shall be doing so, and thus, will leave you all for a while.
Enjoy your families, your friends, and your holidays. Hug your loved ones. Smile at the sun.
k
Posted in Culture | 3 Comments »
I’ve been trolling the blogs, the last few days, reading fiction from new/unpublished writers. I see the same thing, over and over, the same mistakes, repeated.
I don’t know why writers continue to make these mistakes. Read any article or book on modern writing and you’ll see these problems called out. Perhaps it’s that some new writers don’t read books about writing, don’t analyze their own work. I don’t know.
What I do know, is that there are some new writers who read this blog (we’re up to 80+ followers, now, with slow but steady growth), so I thought I’d go over these basic problem areas in a series of posts. I hope it starts a conversation with some of the apprentice writers out there. Continue Reading »
Posted in Writing | Tagged blogging, creative writing, editing, short stories, Writing, writing techniques, writing tips | 6 Comments »
I have been a “Stratfordian” all my life…so far, anyway.
A Stratfordian—for those of you not “up” on the nerdier side of All Things Literary—is someone who believes that the plays and poems of William Shakespeare were written by, well, by William Shakespeare. Of Stratford, that is. As in “Stratford-on-Avon”. Hence: Stratfordian.
I have been a Stratfordian all my life.
So far, anyway.
Posted in Books, Culture, Writing | Tagged authorship question, conspiracy theory, Oxfordian, Shakespeare, Shakespeare authorship, Stratfordian, writers, Writing | 5 Comments »
These days, with so much on my mind, my natural inclination is to retreat, pull the blanket over my head, and hide. I want to shut out the world, shut off my brain, and think of nothing nothing nothing.
And some days I do just that. Returning from my mother’s bedside, I binged on the DVR’s stacked up episodes of “Storage Wars” (both versions) and immersed myself in the mindless violence of “Borderlands 2” and “Call of Duty: Black Ops II”. Through the judicious application of Islay whisky and long bouts on the elliptical and treadmill, I’ve kept my body tired enough to sleep through the night (as long as I have to get up at 5am, that is). I’ve read nothing but posts on Facebook and emails.
In short, nothing of substance has entered my brain. I haven’t had a decent thought in days.
Enough of that.
Simplicity doesn’t come on its own. There isn’t a back-alley entrance to serenity. Peace comes from acceptance and understanding.
I must think, to accept. I must think, to understand.
k
Posted in Culture, Low Tech | Tagged quiet living, simple living, simplification | Leave a Comment »
Kurt R.A. Giambastiani 