Friday, June 14, 2019

Putting It Out There

Hi, friends. Sorry to not be blogging as I used to. Each of us has a finite amount of creative matter, and I'm getting to the point that I have to be careful not to expend mine without care. When I blog often, I write less elsewhere. And I need to write.

Adam is so very excited about all he's learning in connection with his new enterprise, Book Chats -- all about how to navigate the self-publishing/publishing world. It's a steep learning curve, and no wonder that so many writers never attempt the climb, and their books remain tucked away in notebooks, never to be enjoyed by the world.
Adam's new work area for doing Book Chats

That's kind of the purpose of this blog post -- putting your writing out there. Do you have writings (books, short stories, poems, even just ideas for them?) that you don't share with the world? If so, why don't you?  Because the world needs stories. People are reading more than ever, and most of them prefer not to reread a book. A bottomless appetite for reading is out there, and the publishers desperately want to find good books

In the interest of continuing "putting it out there," here's a poem I wrote last month in my journal, which is the place where my poems go to hide.

There's a safety that the soul
and its body, its child,
know is right.

In the trauma of the bombs,
The ripping claws of friends,
The starvation of loneliness,

We know a quiet green place
must be there,
Where we may sleep.

Adam is now busy resurrecting my old children's book Three Against the Dark. It's an experiment. He's said for years that it's a good book, a story that should be more "out there" and read. So he's throwing all the skills he's learning about marketing a book, at this endeavor. He wants to see what happens when you take a book that you know is a good story, and put knowledgeable muscle and a little cash behind it -- can it become more successful? Not a best-seller, obviously, but can it generate an ongoing income? I wrote that book so long ago, when my kids were little, that it feels a bit like taking the old grandma out of her rocking chair, putting running shoes on her, and telling her to go do a half-marathon.

Right now, he wants me to be the writing machine, so to speak. And I am writing again, which is exciting! But to do so I must be careful how I expend the creative resources -- the subdermal  aquifers of words -- and save them for things that we might try to publish in the future. 

I need some photos in this blog post, so here are a few watercolors I've done recently:
 Sorry about the smudgy reflection of the plastic sleeve on the one below.
 Can you tell what season I'm eager for ...?





Thanks, dear friends! I'm still trying to visit each of your blogs a bit when I have the chance. Carry on!!

8 comments:

Gumbo Lily said...

Good for you to keep on writing. And watercolor painting. I love your last one in the vase. Sweet.

Retired Knitter said...

And sometimes it is just good to take a break from blogging - re-stoke the fire so to speak with a rest. I do it myself - without even intending to -

Lisa Richards said...

Since my extended family moved in with all the challenges of helping my son in whatever way I can to take care of his family, I'm pretty much drained of creative energy. My new version of creativity is forcing myself outside to play a little baseball with my grandson (though I have no love of tossing balls around). I'm not sure if I'll ever get back to my little notebook of notes for a YA novel, but I think right now God would rather that I expended my energies helping my son since his wife is unable to be of much help. I'm on a steep learning curve, too. Best of luck to Adam! I know it can be challenging to get people's attention in online communities. That first painting is my fave! :)

M.K. said...

Thank you, Jody!

M.K. said...

That's usually how I do it also, RK - I don't mean to stop, but I slowly do so. I'll pick back up later, probably after the grandbaby comes. :)

M.K. said...

Ah, Lisa, you are doing real, daily ministry, and that supersedes all else! But creative days will come again for you. I'm so glad you are there to help them.

Una said...

My husband wrote a book about his early life and self-published it. I wouldn't have the patience. I do, however, volunteer for a great charity called Seeing Ear. We take new and old books and convert them to formats that can be used by people not able to read in the usual way due to various disabilities. I have worked on a couple of hundred books so far. That will be my legacy in the book world.

Caitlin @ Naughts Cross Stitches said...

Good luck with all your writing and I wish you the best with it. Your watercolours are just beautiful.