Category Archives: Blogging

Five AM should not exist

I awakened at 5AM this morning, a few hours before I normally have to (and on my day off, to boot!) so I can drive a ways past the village to get blood drawn and urine collected for testing. Had to switch to a new doctor for a few resentful reasons that won’t be explicated here. So the bleedin’ and the peein’ was requested at my physical a few weeks ago.

Five ante meridian does not exist on my homeworld. Denizens of my planet need sunlight to awaken, otherwise we are foggy of brain and need mass quantities of coffee later. So foggy was I that I almost opened MS Word instead of LibreOffice to write this post’s draft.

The world looks almost post-apocalyptic that early in the morning, when all is dark and sentients are missing. There are all these buildings standing about, but few humans anywhere. Those that are about, all look, well… as if they have agendas that differ from the norm.

I’m back home after a nap, and as I’m too blurry-brained to be able to do my Morning Prayers (not even the Rosary) all I’ve been capable of is to fly through StumbleUpon sites. I picked my “Fantasy Books” and “Fantasy Art” categories as I’ve reading “The Lord of the Rings” again.

This post is an attempt to get over my typical “blogger’s block;” that feeling that if I haven’t blogged in quite some time, I can’t again, ever. It’s usually cured by forcing myself to write about something, anything, and then the block is broken.

I sincerely wish to blog most every day, across my three blogs (see feed links in the sidebar). But I’ve been saying that since I started blogging in 2007. {{{sigh}}} Perhaps someday.

Off to pray.

Are you a creative Catholic? ""Building a Civilization of Love: A Call to Creative Catholics," is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!

Know someone who is an alcoholic or addict? "The Sober Catholic Way" helps Catholics by describing the many ways in which their faith can assist in maintaining sobriety, and is a basic handbook on how anyone can live a sober life. . (Thank you!!)

The Artistic Temperament is a Disease

“The artistic temperament is a disease that afflicts amateurs. It is a disease which arises from men not having sufficient power of expression to utter and get rid of the element of art in their being. It is healthful to every sane man to utter the art within him; it is essential to every sane man to get rid of the art within him at all costs. Artists of a large and wholesome vitality get rid of their art easily, as they breathe easily, or perspire easily. But in artists of less force, the thing becomes a pressure, and produces a definite pain, which is called the artistic temperament. Thus, the very great artists are able to be ordinary men – men like Shakespeare or Browning. There are many real tragedies of the artistic temperament, tragedies of vanity or violence or fear. But the great tragedy of the artistic temperament is that it cannot produce any art.” ~GK Chesterton, Heretics, 1905

A Facebook friend (and one from whom I learn much) posted this Chesterton quote in a debate thread.

It explains a lot (the quote, not the debate). I find it healthful to “utter the art from within;” however I fail to utter more often than I do utter. I aspire to write, and do so, but I don’t write more often than I do write. Such is the tired refrain of many so-called and self-referenced “aspiring writers.” We want to write, but don’t, and perhaps from that comes this “artistic temperament,” one of “vanity or violence or fear?” Vanity: the desire for the “writing life;” violence: the resulting self-loathing and esteem-reduction from failing to do what you’re supposed to; fear: fear of failure, that of discovering that you are horrible at writing, and maybe fear of success?

The funny thing is that I find writing to be therapeutic. I feel better after having done so and thus become the “sane man” when I “utter the art from within.” This partly stems from a feeling of accomplishment. “Hey, I wrote today!” Partly it comes from just the emotional and psychological release.

Perhaps this is a successor to my alcoholism. I knew I should stop drinking and why, but I feared doing so. I also lacked the strength or will to stop. I only did so because no other choice was offered. I was unable to physically go and replenish my stock and thus found myself in the hospital with DT’s. If I continued, I would die. So maybe the choice was helped along.

The parallel to writing? “No other choice but to write.” I have to develop the “sufficient power of expression to utter and get rid of the element of art in” my “being.” And I have to associate this need with sanity and survival.

I am a writer, it is what I (should) do, and to not do it is a type of death.

Interesting notion; now let’s see me put it to use.

From Isaac Asimov:

“I write for the same reason I breathe … because if I didn’t, I would die.”

“If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn’t brood. I’d type a little faster.”

Are you a creative Catholic? ""Building a Civilization of Love: A Call to Creative Catholics," is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!

Know someone who is an alcoholic or addict? "The Sober Catholic Way" helps Catholics by describing the many ways in which their faith can assist in maintaining sobriety, and is a basic handbook on how anyone can live a sober life. . (Thank you!!)

Happy New Year!!! Plus some odds and ends…

Today is the First Sunday of Advent, the beginning of the new Liturgical Year in the Catholic Church. A day of new beginnings and preparing for the Lord’s coming! Also, with the secular New Year a month away, an opportunity to “warm up” for whatever changes in life one has planned com January.

New Years are just a artificial temporal construct, I mean, one day is much like any other along the calendar. Seasonal changes aside, when we actually start marking a new journey about the Sun is arbitrary.

But, it serves a useful psychological purpose. Like new starts and such. For example, my oft-repeated plans to “blog more.” 😛

The short fiction I mentioned in For the first time in about a quarter century… was rejected. I think I got a form-letter rejection email. I will submit it elsewhere, perhaps after reviewing it again. If it gets rejected again (I am unsure as to how many more times I’l try) I may self-publish the piece through Smashwords and Amazon for $.99, even though I said in a comment to that post that I wouldn’t.

The awesome writing website, Writing-World.com! has The Writer’s Year Datebook & Planner for 2014 as well as a submission tracker. They offer free spreadsheet versions to download. Don’t let the word “spreadsheet” be intimidating, it’s easy to write in and to keep to-do lists/journals/notes and keep track of story and article submissions.

Are you a creative Catholic? ""Building a Civilization of Love: A Call to Creative Catholics," is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!

Know someone who is an alcoholic or addict? "The Sober Catholic Way" helps Catholics by describing the many ways in which their faith can assist in maintaining sobriety, and is a basic handbook on how anyone can live a sober life. . (Thank you!!)

Meat and potatoes writing and other stuff

Some other rambling thoughts I’ve developed since starting Listening to the Lost Voices is the interrelationships between the various forms of writing I care about, namely fiction, blogging and posting.

I have the idea that fiction writing is the “meat and potatoes” of original writing. It is the oldest and most traditional of the three crafts. And probably the one easiest to earn money with (although if you can earn money posting to social networks, I’d be a member of the 1%.)

Blogging is dessert. It is an indulgence for the most part. Not much money, unless you’ve figured out that “pro blogging” stuff and also post enough to draw sufficient traffic and so hundreds of thousands of people can click on your ads. (Although my pride and joy, Sober Catholic is more a service.)

Posting to social networks is snacking. Unless you’re writing to certain Groups or Communities, and thus attract attention and possibly business offers and opportunities, there’s hardly any way to earn money. Indulgent too, but unlike blogging, no easy way to archive your posts. Google’s Blogger service does integrate well with Google+, so there is that… But otherwise what is said today is essentially lost and forgotten in several weeks by most. Snacking.

Setting aside any value towards profundity that this revelation may have, I am hoping my recently discovered dedication to fiction writing helps my blogging efforts. I don’t blog enough. Perhaps with enough good, solid, nutritional stuff being eaten, I can indulge in some dessert now and then. This is where the “interrelationships” part comes in from the first paragraph. Things feed on each other. You write a novel or short story. You blog about it and post about it to Facebook or Google+ while you’re writing it. Audience building, in part. If your blog is a lifestyle kinda thing, stuff from it may work its way into some fiction.

It should be easier to be a writer today. So many tools at your fingertips that were unavailable decades ago, especially in interacting with readers and potential readers.

Are you a creative Catholic? ""Building a Civilization of Love: A Call to Creative Catholics," is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!

Know someone who is an alcoholic or addict? "The Sober Catholic Way" helps Catholics by describing the many ways in which their faith can assist in maintaining sobriety, and is a basic handbook on how anyone can live a sober life. . (Thank you!!)

Blogging and writing

I have been blogging since January 5, 2007. Not here, but at Sober Catholic and later also at The Four Last Things.

I have always aspired to blogging daily. It has never happened longer than 6 weeks (Lent, I forget what year.) I am consistent, inasmuch as over ‘x’ weeks I’ll blog ‘y’ times, but quite often that consistency fluctuates somewhat. That may sound contradictory, “consistency fluctuates somewhat,” but I mean that I have never given it up and never for months on end to the point that you might think I stopped.

I come up with various schemes. Lent worked for one year, but that got tiring and I was grateful for Lent finally being over. I had chosen Lent as that is of importance at Sober Catholic, what with penance and conversion being main themes. I also concocted the idea of something called the “Wisdom Dose,” in which I’d blog every day on one of the passages in the Bible’s Books of Wisdom. That got intimidating and I stopped.

And I do beat myself up over it, I go through periods when I haven’t blogged, and I feel as if I am a poser, a dabbler, a dilettante, and a fraud. I’d write a few posts and feel cured and move on and re-establish a consistency, and then slack off again. {{{sigh}}}

And so forget it. I’ll blog when I can, not worry about it, and accept the fact that I will probably never be a really high-powered prolific blogger. That may change, as I will never give up the aspiration to being a daily blogger, but I’ll just accept what I do, when I do it, and not worry. What happens, happens.

All righty, then!

My newest scheme is to pick 3PM for a time to blog daily. Why 3PM? Because that is the “Hour of Divine Mercy” Jesus died on the Cross at 3PM and that is a time of importance for some Catholics. As best as my schedule permits, I will say The Chaplet of Divine Mercy at 3PM, and then do a blog post. I may only get a draft in and not published, but that’s OK. God in His infinite mercy decided to pluck me from the wastes of alcoholism, and so perhaps during the Hour of Mercy I can get and maintain the inspiration to blog.

Yeah! 🙂

Are you a creative Catholic? ""Building a Civilization of Love: A Call to Creative Catholics," is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!

Know someone who is an alcoholic or addict? "The Sober Catholic Way" helps Catholics by describing the many ways in which their faith can assist in maintaining sobriety, and is a basic handbook on how anyone can live a sober life. . (Thank you!!)

November Writing (Nanowrimo)

This is November, and among those who aspire or perspire to be writers, that means one thing: Nanowrimo. Nanowrimo is “NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth.” It is an exercise in writing insanity dating back to the late 1990s in which participants attempt to write a 50,000 word novel during November’s 30 days. Obviously this novel would be a very rough draft, only the ignorant or seriously delusional would think the completed project would be anything other than garbage.

 

I tried it in 2006 and failed miserably. I think I started something, made it to 1,500 words, didn’t like that switched to something else, made it to 1,700 words, and finally decided that there was no chance I’d succeed.

 

I had planned on doing it this year, even signed up at the site: My Nanowrimo profile. But in the end I decided to bow out before beginning…

 

…and then I was driving home today from an impromptu Holy Hour at my parish. I was mulling over my backlog of blog posts and decided that a variant of Nanwrimo can assist me in clearing it out. And so I will attempt to utilize the spirit of Nanowrimo and if not write 50,000 words across my 3 blogs, at least get to somewhere in the 5 figure range.

 

It may not be completely impossible. This is November, the “Month of the Dead,” and one of my blogs, The Four Last Things is typically due for some major work during it.

 

Add that I can use this blog for daily musing and filler, and my first blog Sober Catholic is where the bulk of the backlog is, and I can get to somewhere in the 5 figure range!

 

I can also work on the novel I had planned on using for Nanowrimo, albeit in a more traditional method (100’s of words, maybe daily.)

OK, so that’s it. I’m gonna try it. On to the Nanowrimo site and update my profile and join the rebel group. (Nanowrimo rebels are, from what I can see, a bunch of Nanowrimo’s who break the simple rules of the organization (which are basically that you have to write and original novel, and that you cannot begin the prose work on it until midnight of November 1st. You can do research, write backstories, character sketches and outline, but no actual novel writing until the stroke of November begins.)

 

So now I will run off to the Nanowrimo site and update my profile and join the rebels!! (I will be an honest rebel, though. I will only claim “Participant” status should I actually blog 50,000 words, or come reasonably close to blogging daily and get that 5-figure word count. I’ll also admit that I didn’t actually write any novel.)

Are you a creative Catholic? ""Building a Civilization of Love: A Call to Creative Catholics," is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!

Know someone who is an alcoholic or addict? "The Sober Catholic Way" helps Catholics by describing the many ways in which their faith can assist in maintaining sobriety, and is a basic handbook on how anyone can live a sober life. . (Thank you!!)