Amongst this and that i enjoy spending time writing a short story or 2 - like listening to certain music - writing aligns ones mind - whether one is good at it or not is irrelevant to the need to achieve this alignment.
outcome although important is secondary to the process. if one writes for others then im sure that one is called a brilliant writer - however to write solely for oneself - then one is just someone who writes. then its not so important how good the work is - just that the creative work is now set outside of oneself. my latest NDCP short story is an interesting loop.
i write what i feel - the last few weeks have been really tough - what with hectic external happenings i have no major power to help with. huge violent protests close to where i live, escalation of murders between people i dont know across the world. world leaders shaking with this hand, punching with the other. if one is a sensitive sort , then these things effect one immensely. couple ones personal work stress to this and things can get out of your control quickly. you now have a perfect storm to write within.
my sum of short stories is 8 , with a man is a virus essay in between
www.qjdstory.blogspot.com
for me when im doing anything creative i feel im stealing time from something more important. an ideal scenario for me would be to get an old barn in the karoo - a big space with high volumes. then i would build a massive stone fire place within its confines. i would attach a bungy cord to the centre of the barns ceiling inside. around me in a circle from the center i would set up 8 complete creative work stations. 2 for artistic painting , 1 for creative sketching, 1 for comic writing, 1 for architectural designs, 1 for creative writing, 1 CAD station and then a dreamer station.
obviously a full carpentry / model building workshop for building stuff would be part of the periphery - not part of the creative circle. i so want to build a model of wildetecture coral city. time , time , time.
i would plug myself in to the bungy cord with my custom built harness. then i would start for the day. the cord allows me to jump / fly between stations. - oh a good coffee station would be within the flight path. so as soon as my synaptic thought process wants to do something , i jump to that station. every station would be fully set up, fully loaded for each task. so no need to break the process. i reckon 1 day a week just doing that I would fuel incredible alignment. i would be doing this for me - not for anyone else - the pure enjoyment of being able to flit between creative stations is the goal. the outcome of thought - the skeletons of endeavor - well that will be a the personal journey of making sense of the bigger picture.
just remember one doesn't have to be brilliant at anything to try - you just need a small spark - this tiny little spark deep within your own mind - ignites an inferno of creative thought - many depressives dont have an outlet for this inferno and it consumes one. many sensitive to this worlds utter brutality dont get respite. a small part of dealing with stress is to just get ones creative process outside of oneself - on paper, on canvas. dont do it for others - thats the biggest mistake - do it for yourself.
i love music and i would love to write a symphony - do i have any experience in this field yet - no i dont - but i feel if i could just concentrate on the building blocks of an array of small sounds. approach this from a direction never before conceived. my own direction. i can create something that you will never hear - but for me the process would be incredible - this notion of perfection stifles the process. just do creative endeavour for oneself - listen to what you have put together and afterwards get rid of it and then start again. one must sometimes simply be captivated by the creative process, not always this outcome based idea of all things creative. learn from the process - enjoy the process.
remember when one places ones heart at cold foul feet - the soft warmth will simply get squished between gnarled filthy toes. always be selective of where you showcase your creative work. and if the time is not correct - rather keep it close to yourself and enjoy the process - make the outcome secondary. but never ever stop, no matter how much rome burns.
