I Believe

I believe that the system is broken. I believe there is no “easy” fix that people seem to think will happen virtually overnight. It will take time. No one wants to take the time to make the changes. Why? Because we live in the here and now. Everything is instantaneous. Anticipation is gone, replaced by the demand of instant gratification. Why plants seeds and cultivate the ground? Why put in effort when results are demanded today?

I believe, in a lot of ways, we have become a lazy nation. For that, there is no drug, no Band-Aid, no alcohol that can magically make things right.

I believe it is wrong for banks and mortgage companies to lend money to those who obviously cannot afford to pay it back. I believe it is bad now, but it’s going to get worse. Much, much worse. It always does. Murphy’s Law, to some extent. Anything that can go wrong will. It just hasn’t yet.

I believe there is a problem – all for me and screw you. I believe there is hope. There is always hope. It exists in the most polluted and degenerative of places. I believe that hope is good. I believe that cynicism is necessary.

I believe that the so-called “American Dream” is a lie – it has been for a long, long time. This is not a land of opportunity, of milk and honey. We send aid to foreign countries (they need it, no doubt about that) while our citizens lose their homes and starve out on the streets.

What do you believe?

Read, Read, and Read Again

After reading a post on the RiverRun Bookstore blog entitled “A Big Muggle Hug For HP7,” I was struck by something. Here is a man who has a huge list of books to read so he believes rereading can actually be a waste of time. Amazing! Yes, there are many books out there that invite reading, but is it any reason to ignore the old friends on your shelves?

I have a rather large collection of books. It’s gotten to the point where my family has told me that I should not buy books if I don’t have room for them. Well, I don’t have room, but I still buy books. However, I have curbed my book buying to only the essentials, meaning the books I know I will read more than once. So, it makes me a little disenheartend to read that rereading is a waste of time.

The author says he has forgotten how good it’s been to reread a favorite. Well, isn’t that why it’s a favorite? A book that’s seen you through hard times, good times, that is battered and dog-eared, that still surprises you at times. Truthfully, the books on my list to read have ended up disappointing me more often than not, so I have been spending my time rereading. Mainly, I have been rereading Austen. Who doesn’t like her work? I finally managed to acquire all of her finished novels, so I decided to read (and reread) the books. They only get better upon further acquaintance.

So what to do? I say don’t neglect your favorites on the shelf, floor, box (any available surface really) in favor of new books. That is not to say to ignore new books, but try to spend some quality time with the oldies as well as the newbies, otherwise, why buy the books if you have no intention of reading them again?

Silence Golden for Writers?

A recent article stated that given the choice, most writers prefer silence while they write. A quote, I believe, was something like “My music is silence” or something like that.

Now, I understand that music can be distracting when trying to concentrate on certain things, but it is a must when I write. Hell, my first book was written while I played the soundtrack to Daredevil, over and over again. I don’t really think that affects my writing. I crave the added noise. I don’t know why, but I find silence can be more distracting than some other constant background noise. And certain music can help put me in the mood to write a particularly challenging scene.

Although, truthfully, I usually become absorbed in the writing so that I don’t even hear the music anymore. It’s just a noise in the background that I do not focus on. It is there, but generally tends not to pull my attention. Music was more distracting when I was trying to do my homework more so than when I try to write.

Really, I am sure, it comes down to the individual. Some people are more comfortable with silence, while silence just creeps other people out. I fall into the latter category.

Love Song - A Quandry

I want to write a love song, but I do not know the melody. And if I do not have a tune, then how can I find the right words? Each attempt ends in utter failure and a discordant harmony. The piano refuses to sing for me, apparently I am tickling the wrong keys. And all the violin does is screech as if the bow hurts its delicate strings. With this conflagration of musical mayhem, there is no chance for poetry, for dulcimer strains sweet as a nightingale's song.

Why won't the notes flow, the words come? Why does every blessed thing go wrong? Why can't I write a blasted love song? I have paper and pens and a thousand good intentions. Also, there is my open heart and affectionate nature, so what is missing? What is needed?

Could it possibly be that the missing key to that ever-elusive song is love? For what is a love song without honest emotion? A lie to look live love, but made with empty sounds, like empty promises from a pretend lover.

Quip of the Day

"I write in fragments to put together because I know the final picture, I just have to find the order that makes it."

It's true, isn't it? Although I am sure there are writers who don't know the ending. But I know the beginning, I know the ending. I just have to figure out the snapshots in between. Those little things that when sewn together will make a tightly woven tapestry that takes you from point A to point B.