If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as from your own.~Henry Ford
An art whose medium is language will always show a high degree of critical creativeness, for speech is itself a critique of life: it names, it characterizes, it passes judgment, in that it creates. ~Thomas Mann
I enjoy writing, but hate editing. I’ll do it, but it is a painful experience. From what I’ve read, a good number of you agree. Recently, I wrote two longer stories for submissions as opposed to the shorter/flash fiction I put up on Tale Spinning. For those tales I knew that if I was to have any chance of success they would have to be edited.
Luckily, I had a number of people I could call on to give my work an editorial eye. What I found enlightening was, through five different POV’s (points of views), that all who responded to my call saw something different. Grammatical changes pretty much were the same, with punctuation styles varying from one to the other.
What changed was how they approached the work: solely as Editor; solely as a reader of the genre; or a combination of the two. This allowed me to take what was offered, evaluate what I wrote through others eyes, and then edit myself to the point I felt I produced the best work possible.
To see the results of this: Nyctophilia (entered for the Figment/HarperCollins YA Defy the Dark contest). If the link does not work for you (and I think it only works in the US): go to Figment and type in the name of the story in the search box. I’d be interested in your comments, as I do think this story is publishable. The other story has been submitted, and only time will tell (both submissions had a September 1, 2012 cut off).
I want to thank the following for their time and effort: Golden Eagle; Allan Douglas; Roy A. Ackerman;Lisa Vooght;and someone who wishes to remain anonymous. The links are to their blogs. They are all well written, all interesting, and all very different POVs. Check them out.
Writers:
How do you edit your work?
Do you hate editing your own work?
Do you have Beta Readers/Critique Partners?
Are you part of a writing group?
If you have an editor that you work with consistently, how did you find her/him?
As of May 5th, 2012, over $419,000,000 (that is 419 MILLION US dollars) has been contributed to all candidates to run for the position of the President of the USA. Combined, not just one party, so I am not playing favorites here.
$419,000,000
Instead of bombarding us with ads and campaigning, wouldn’t it be lovely if that amount of money went somewhere else…oh, like say create or keep 8,038 teaching jobs (at $50,000 for the school year) for one year, or over 11,000 jobs paying as low as $35,000 a year?
Yeah, drop in the bucket, one may say…but to those 8,000 to 11,000? No, it would be a big deal.
Hard to judge who should get it, where it should go, etc etc etc…yes, it is, especially with so many out of work: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Household Survey Data
Both the number of unemployed persons (12.5 million) and the unemployment rate (8.1 percent) changed little in April
Splitting all that money amongst all unemployed would only garner a check for $35.52. Not much of a help for anyone (well, for someone starving…).
I would rather see that money at least go to something good, something that would be helping others.
I would rather the President’s $191,000.000 fund education, or the Arts (yes, my personal bias: those in the arts need to live too), medical/health care, anti-violence/hate crime programs, the elderly, or something that would help other people. Better that then take up advertising time, spin negative ads against Romney, and such.
THAT would be the person I want running this country. Raise money from those who are fighting being taxed fairly and use that money for the common good.
No religious, political or personal agenda: just helping others.
Dancing around a maypole at Barwick-in-Elmet, Yorkshire
A man’s work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened.
~Albert Camus
All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
May Day is related to the Celtic festival of Beltane and the Germanic festival of Walpurgis Night. May Day falls exactly half a year from November 1, another cross-quarter day which is also associated with various northern European pagan and the year in the Northern hemisphere, and it has traditionally been an occasion for popular and often raucous celebrations.
Coincidences on international workers day:
2011: President Obama announces the death of Bin Laden
Why were we subjected to a long wait of TV news time before he came out to announce it?
2007: President Bush announces “Mission Accomplished” re: the “major conflict in Iraq has ended.”
Announced on the USS Lincoln warship: Honest Abe…ahem
1945: the death of Adolph Hitler is announced
1707: Great Britain is formed, merging England, Wales and Scotland.
There are a lot of “big” events on May 1st (and I am sure you can find more on other days: that is not the point here); I just did not list them all. You can do some of the research yourself HERE. I just find it bizarre that three major events in less than 100 years occurred.
My feeling, and all it is is a feeling, no facts (so, yeah, kindly refrain from nasty comments: I’m allowed my feeling on this matter):
Starting in 1945, it feels like something Winston Churchill would have put forward, using a people’s day holiday to make a huge political announcement. It adds gravitas to the whole thing, big an event as it was unto itself. Someone savvy in PR in Bush’s cabinet could have taken notice of this and used that date to push the (erroneous) message out, bolstering the president’s “history” for future generations. Using the ship he did was overkill, imho. Lastly, with all the Bush bashing, what better day to upstage the 2007 announcement but to bring forward the death of another monster, and then make us wait with bated breath, probably smoking a cigarette and biding time to heighten the effect once announced.
Makes me wonder what the next “big announcement” on a May 1st will be.
Hi All…I’ve been away since mid March for a variety of reasons. In April, I spent the majority of my time writing everyday for my Tale Spinning blog, creating an interrelated anthology series. Please take a look HERE.
I’ll be back with BornStoryteller The Creative Series (still have guest posts that I never got around to sharing with you) and one or two other series ideas. That will all start soon, and I’ll do my best to keep a schedule going.
Thanks for sticking around, and thank you all for reading (and commenting) on BornStoryteller.
You’ve reached a certain level of achievements in your life, professionally and personally. Awards, schooling, life work, great reviews…and you still find yourself out of a job, for a variety of reasons: many of them not your fault.
Now add to all that some great, if not excellent, recommendation letters. Resume is up to date, all the relevant material is there. You know you have to adjust your resume to job requirements, and writing that cover letter that has all the right buzz words and terms from the job posting…
…and still no job. Many times, not even an interview, let alone even an acknowledgment they received your material. Follow ups are often met with the same silence.
I have heard too many times that I am over qualified for jobs I have applied for, the few times I am able to actually communicate with someone. We see things differently: obviously, I am looking to work, and my I feel my experience will only enable me to be great at the job, not just having to learn things but can bring my talents and skills for the benefit of all concerned; their viewpoint is (verbally told this) that I’ll be bored doing this work, or the ultimate fear of my just biding my time until I find the “right” job.I was told by one person that the job was so far “beneath someone of my caliber.”
I’d rather work in my field, in a “lesser” position, then not work at all. THAT is something they (human resources people) don’t seem to get.
I have two MAs and a ton of experience. Dumbing down my resume, to even just get that foot in the door, has come up a lot lately. I’m off to an interview for a job I am overqualified later this afternoon. It’s slightly to the side of what I’ve done for so many years. It’s definitely in the realm of “beneath my caliber.”
After this, I’m going to try the resume editing gambit: I’ll remove both Masters for a start. Then, we’ll pare it down even more, if that doesn’t work. I could take it all the way back to my first job: Chinese Restaurant buffet staff (I filled the smorgasbord dinner table after school and on weekends in High School).
Taking a short hiatus from things can be good, now and then. I’ve wondered what to do with this blog: the guest posts have given me a wonderful respite, allowing me time to get better as well as well lend time to write when I felt like it, as opposed to just churning out something to post.
So…a huge thank you to all who have already guest blogged here, and to the ones that I still have in wait. I’m going to set up that schedule soon.
As to right now, I again find myself questioning directions for the next segment of my life. I am tired of all the negative chatter that surrounds us; doing something, anything, is preferable than sitting in a corner (to me). I am not sure if this is the proper forum for achieving any goals.
Is blogging just another Tower of Babel?
I took on the mantle of blogging just a wee bit more than a year ago: “get an internet presence!” was what my (then, hopeful) agent said to me, as well as others. In that year time, I am still not sure what greater good this has done for me or anyone else. So…
Now that I have that down, I need to take another step back, post the guest posts I have in hand, and figure out “What Comes Next.”
One thing: I commented on Bonnie Copeland’s (My Rivendell) The Foundations of Character post about what I feel breaks down character. I do think we are lacking in character, overall, and bend to who shouts the loudest. I called it a “non-community of yellers”, the age we’re living in.
Listen—really listen to someone’s POV. Place your own concerns aside for the moments it takes to really click with where someone is coming from. Communicate back: don’t condemn, place judgement (moral or religious or political) and LISTEN. Ask questions “Why?” or ask for clarification.
Does it take time? Sure, a bit more. But…we’d all be better off if we agreed to really hear what someone else has to say, really try to care why they feel that way.
Thanks for all of your support. It DOES mean a lot.
There are numerous Blogfests running on any given day. Some are ongoing and others are one shots. With all that run, I do tend to pick around the lot, finding the ones that really interest me…and, hopefully, you.
To find the other blogs participating in this blogfest, click HERE or the Origins logo. There are close to 200 writers participating. Check them out.
I’ve also written a Flash Fiction piece Origins: Entitled on my creative fiction blog, Tale Spinning. I hope you enjoy the story.
I can’t really pinpoint an exact time when writing became one of my dreams. It feels like it’s always been there, at the back of everything I’ve done in my life. I don’t feel I’ve ever been tied down to wanting to “be” just one thing, ever. When I have done that, I find that I tend to get bored: especially the times when I’ve played the money game (read: non-creative pursuits).
As a kid, I read comics, watched TV and went to the movies. Outside of school projects, I would create little things for myself. Mini-comics were a way to pass time when I was bored in class. I’d take paper and fold it down, and then again, creating a sequential booklet for myself to draw in (lots of stick figures) and write short pieces. These would get passed around to friends later. I don’t remember ever getting caught.
There were stories I wrote for sleep-away camp newspapers, mainly mash-ups (yes, plagiarisms) of others work, combining different elements into one piece. While never criticized for that, I was often praised for “imaginative writing” and writing skills. I knew the truth, and just shrugged my shoulders.
High school changed that. I worked on the DeWitt Clinton newspaper for a year, writing articles, learning the craft of setting up the newspaper from scratch. I was really involved, and was going to be promoted to an editor’s slot when my parents told me we were moving to Westchester County. While my dreams of the paper were shot at that point (the new HS paper was not very open to someone new coming in), I did continue to write.
Off and on, I would write poetry, short stories, begin ideas for novels…and more times than not they would languish, first just as a pile of legal pad paper and then committed electronically and saved. All through this, I was always hoping I’d have my name on a book (or comic book) as a writer. It was a passing dream that wove itself throughout most of my life, a goal I always hoped I’d achieve.
2011 saw a new stage of writing for me. I created my second blog, Tale Spinning, for experiments in creative writing. Starting only in February of that year, I wound up writing close to 200 short pieces of fiction. I’ve now had two short stories published in anthologies, have my own eStory published, received a number of blogging/writing awards, been asked to write a number of guest blogs, and have won a few online writing contests.
Still to come: holding that physical book with my name on the cover in my hands.
Eleanor Kleiner is a one of those people you are just glad comes into your life. We worked together for a short while and became friends. I got to know her as a very creative spirit in both her music and her art. She left for London, met her (now) husband, formed a new band…and is just someone YOU should know.
About a year ago I mentioned to Stu that I was learning web design. What that really meant was haphazardly playing around on Photoshop at a VERY leisurely pace. So, when Stu asked me to design him a website I hesitantly agreed to try, actually having no idea if this was something I could pull off.
Luckily, I did pull it off and it turned out to be a far more creative process than I had previously imagined (of course, building a site for a creative person who used phrases like “flight of fancy” and adjectives like “swirly” to describe want he wants, definitely helps). I also found that having a real world project to complete made learning a lot faster.
Being a musician and creative person, before I began this undertaking I had found the idea of web design to be, at most, a palatable way to make money, but still pretty dull…and Photoshop was a completely daunting obstacle. But as soon as I started speaking with Stu about what he envisioned for his website, ideas started flowing to me. It was a really exciting experience, to be inspired about something which had previously been a complete unknown.
I started seeing people’s websites as extensions of themselves in the virtual landscape of the internet. It’s like a whole new(ish) dimension in which people can present themselves in any way they wish, and my job is to listen and really get a feel for what they want, and then translate that into a site which reflects their vision and is also easy to navigate.
Finding ways to meld the client’s desires and the constraints of the medium into an aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly site is a creative challenge, and it allows me to be creative in a completely different way than songwriting does. With songwriting, I’ve always taken a relatively passive approach, waiting for inspiration to hit and then following it until it runs out.
With web design, I’m finding that having specific projects with various deadlines is allowing me to take a more proactive approach, and I find that the inspiration comes eventually – it just takes some coaxing. When writing a song, I tend to become emotionally invested in the result, which hugely hinders my creativity. The idea that I’m helping someone else create a website, rather than creating something from scratch, takes my ego out of the equation and seems to make being creative a whole lot easier.
So far, the experience has made me aware that trying new creative endeavors is vital for me as an artist. I think that the more creative avenues we explore, the more we grow.
It’s also served as proof for me that no matter how daunting something may seem, if you just jump in and put one foot in front of the other, you’ll get where you’ve wanted to go!
Biography Over the past six years, classically trained vocalist Eleanor Kleiner and French bassist Elie Brangbour have traveled the world on an adventure that began when the two met at music school in London. With a shared passion for music and travel, they took their unique brand of folk/rock across continents, logging enough frequent flier miles to make any avid traveler jealous.
Full of imagery and stories of the human condition, The Whispering Tree‘s songwriting is the backbone of their sound and has been heavily influenced by their travels abroad, which have taken them from South America to China.
Following a seven month gig in Macau and the release of their self-titled EP, The Whispering Tree returned to New York City, where they released their full-length album, Go Call The Captain, in 2010. The Big Takeover calls their latest release “one of the year’s most luminous albums” and Deli Magazine named them “one of the most talented duos to take stage in NYC.”
It has been a pleasure being a Writer Warrior on Triberr. I’ve connected with a number of really wonderful people. Many in the group responded to my call for articles or interviews about Creativity.
Here, In this Q & A, British freelance writer and editor Nick Daws reveals why creativity is important to him both personally and professionally…
The Creativity Series: Nick Daws on Creativity
Q. What do you do that is creative?
A. As I am a full-time freelance writer and editor, some would say that everything I do is creative. Personally, however, I feel that some of my work is more creative than others.
Sometimes I’m hired for my creativity – this applies especially with copywriting work. At other times, such as when I’m editing a book, the scope for creativity is less.
Even so, there are often many possible ways to edit a text, and creativity still plays an important role in achieving the best possible outcome for all concerned.
Q. How do you use your creativity?
A. I use my creativity in my work, as mentioned above, and also for coming up with ideas for new projects of my own. Although I write for clients to pay the bills, I enjoy fiction writing when the time permits, and always have a few short stories and other projects on the go.
Another area where I have to be creative is in marketing myself and seeking out new outlets and opportunities. Being a freelance writer is a tough gig at times. You have to be creative in how you present and market yourself. And sometimes you may have to reinvent yourself entirely!
Q. Why is creativity important to you?
A. Creativity is essential to me partly because, as I said above, it’s one aspect of what my clients pay me for (and sometimes the main thing).
Beyond that, though, creativity is what keeps me excited and motivated by my work, and always trying to do better. I’d hate to have a job that offered no scope for creativity. I’d soon go mad from boredom!
Q. Who or what has been a creative influence on you?
A. There are numerous brilliant creative writers whose example has inspired me – just a few examples would include the British poet and novelist Laurie Lee, science-fiction author Roger Zelazny, thriller writers Stephen King and Dean Koontz, and fantasy author Robin Hobb.
There are also some brilliant bloggers whose creativity (and productivity) never cease to amaze me: Darren Rowse of Problogger, for example, and Joanna Penn, of The Creative Penn.
More generally, the Internet itself has been a huge creative influence on me. It’s an endless source of creative ideas and inspiration.
Q. What do you feel your creativity does for others?
A. For my clients, I hope my creativity helps them to produce the very best work they can – be it a book, a website, a blog, an advertisement, or whatever. And I hope that, through my work, my creativity inspires readers to try new challenges, to take on projects they might not otherwise have considered, and to find new sources of fulfillment and creative satisfaction.
Byline: Nick Daws is a professional freelance writer and editor, living in the English county of Staffordshire. He has a blog at www.mywritingblog.com and a homepage at www.nickdaws.co.uk. His publications for writers include the CD-based Write Any Book in Under 28 Days and Kindle Kash, a downloadable guide for writers who want to publish their work for profit on the Amazon Kindle platform.
In this changing economy, and as we get older, it becomes more important to stay flexible and find other outlets and sources to maintain a creative life. This is very true for those without a fixed/steady income, like myself. I see “possibilities” for the future, and strive to work on a positive today. It’s not always easy, but…as the quote I used the other day:
“I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy, I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.”
I would like to make 2012 a positive year:
The Year of Learning and Creativity.
For me, things are starting to move in that direction; slowly but (hopefully) surely:
I will be working with OPERA America on a four month project, creating an operetta with composer Zach Redler for a group of Manhattan seniors. I’ll be co-directing and writing the book and libretto from stories from the seniors.
Jeff Wirth (Interactive Acting) has opened the door to something new for me: possibly being a member of his NYC iTeam. I met Jeff a number of years ago and had the pleasure to also work with him. This starts soon and I have fingers crossed, as this sounds to be an exciting project.
My book of collected stories and poetry, The Path From Love, will be published soon by Trestle Press (eBook for now; possible print later in the year). Article by me on their website: Crossing Genres
Re-writes of my play, ...everywhere I look, and getting it back out on the road.
A number of already booked storytelling gigs.
May 2012: The Rule of Three Blogfest-The Return to Renaissance
and…some more things that are too soon to mention.
I want to thank Misha Gericke for giving me the title for this blog post (unwittingly, maybe, but it fits a lot of things); ALL the guest bloggers who helped me out in the latter part of 2011 when I got sick; a certain very special someone who has entered my life and has only enriched it, in so many ways; and all of you, the readers of BornStoryteller (and hopefully Tale Spinning too).
“Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.” ~Albert Einstein
A very good friend of mine is a minister. I have known her since High School, so, yes, a few years. She is one of the many that I had asked for guest posts while my hands were not working properly (still not 100%, but that’s a whole nuther thing). We talked a bit on FB, and she voiced her concern: she didn’t feel that what she does is creative.
the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination: the need for creativity in modern industry; creativity in the performing arts.
3.
the process by which one utilizes creative ability: Extensive reading stimulated his creativity.
I see that everyone, in someway, does something creative in their lives. Creativity is not just producing art, or music, or theater, or writing, or crafty little things. We think in creative ways, problem solving our way out of troubles or blockades.
As a minister, she has to be creative in writing 52 sermons a year that will engage her congregation (well, 52 minus vacations); writing the newsletter; hearing and helping to solve problems from her flock; she has to think on her feet when illnesses and deaths happen, when roadblocks are presented to her that need bypassing. That’s just what she does on the job. What about her life outside of the church? Family, friends, budgets, etc… all take at times a creative touch.
We all do creative thinking and things, even if we are not in The Arts. Einstein was creative: yes, a big example, but, think about how you’ve dealt with an interruption in your daily life, how you’ve had to improvise something on the spot, how you’ve had to brainstorm something new because what you were doing just wasn’t enough…
Unless you’ve life is so scripted that you have no chance to alter anything, then you’ve had creative moments.
If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as from your own. ~Henry Ford
She is one of the many that I had asked for guest posts while my hands were not working properly (still not 100%, but that’s a whole nuther thing). We talked a bit on FB, and she voiced her concern: she didn’t feel that what she does is creative.
