These past few days have been very reflective, and not much has been said on here. I know I excitedly discussed the options I had over the last weekend, but Sunday brought a certain withdrawal of such claims. There is a lot to be said about The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, and I’m not entirely sure it could be done justice with a blog post. To say that Americans are in a better position financially now than 100 years ago is truthful. A person of my station at that time would not be able to afford a house or possessions without the use of graft or other crime. On the flip side of the coin, there has been a deep sacrifice in family to procure such things today. Sacrifice. Something tossed about these days, as if it were a foreign war. As it stands right now, I am staring down the barrel of acquiring a second job. It’s nothing new for a guy like me, as I have been there before, but it does make me wonder if others aren’t fully recognizing the damage done to this country. This is the point in my life that I fully understand the honest man isn’t the common man. The honest man is the uncommon man, which is only paid lip service by those who “know better.”
Naïve? Yes. I will not argue the naïveté of such. What should it matter, at this point, to anyone anyway? Being frank is a part of who I am. Should anyone hold it against me that I try to make it work? It was that hope which made this all naïve.
There are brighter notes to this, and I’m willing to move on to them. Tuesday night brought me an acquaintance for a chat. He learnt I wrote, and was very enthusiastic about the idea. He’s a potter, painter, and teacher. In the middle of discussing motivation and inspiration, he recommended the documentary PressPausePlay. Having a deep respect for Eliseo, I watched it the following afternoon piecemeal between projects. They key for this particular movie is to take it all in without expressing an opinion until afterward. It touches on many aspects of what the artist has to grapple today.
My take had multiple thoughts, but initially there was only one. It takes time for me to sit and think for the rest to come to light. Regardless, I wrote a note to myself which eventually found its way to my home office wall. It reads:
Nate,
You cannot spend your life worrying about the ends. The only true end is death. It’s the process of making [creating] that means more than death.”
I found something personally useful this week, and with a bit of spirit, I won’t forget it.
Corvidae in the Fields 
I hope things get better, Nate. You’re in a pretty bleak place at the moment and i don’t envy you. All my best wishes.
Thanks, Roger. I really, really, really want to be accomplished enough 15-20 years down the road to say “I’ve come so far.”
I’m not sure if I told you this before, but I got my first freelance job from my blog (which I no longer maintain because I lost interest in it). Two years later I was able to build a career from writing, and it began with the right person reading my work. I’m very grateful for her, and she’s still my favorite project manager to work with. I’m confident that the same will happen for you (if it’s what you desire, that is).
It would be a great honor, if someone thought that highly of my work. I often wonder if that person exists, or if I even have the chops for it. It’s probably more the latter than the former I’m thinking. That becomes a great concern of mine. This is a fairly dark corner of my world. There are plenty of times when I’m lost, and unsure of how to make a go of anything. I’ve resolved to write for myself and that’s the best I can offer myself at this time.
What a wonderful quote to hang on the wall. I’m stealing it. okay okay I’m borrowing it. In my position it means a lot. What about finding a writing partner? Doesn’t having a partner give a little bit more focus to what you write. That’s what I’ve heard. I am in the final throes of trying to finish my stupid retarded asinine moronic book. I am trying to do it justice which that last comment didn’t. I often think that if I had a partner I would have avoided some of the pitfalls I’ve stumbled into, not knowing the first thing about the ‘hows’ and ‘avoids’ of writing. You have so many great ideas Nate! Time…yeah. That sucks, especially needing a second job. I know the feeling. But you can do it Nate. I know you can. And hasn’t Andra given us some good ideas on promoting self published books?! Dang! Chin up and maybe read something lighter than The Jungle. God, stay away from Theodore Dreiser for the next month or two as well. Great writer but…I’m reading the Mystery of Edwin Drood right now. Dickens is always good for a laugh -not so much this one though.
Steal it with impunity, Laura. It is truly better to give than receive. It’s the way we improve life around us all.
I’ve spoken with a friend of mine, and he has directed my attention to a special sub-forum in Reddit. There random people throw out one sentence as a subject for a book. In turn they ask the audience to “write me a story.” While not completely “my precious” to hold and enjoy, it’s a great way to take in another look on things. I’m writing a piece of flash as we speak which came from the first request I saw. Reddit’s huge, and legit celebrities are indeed lurking in the shadows. Anonymously, of course, because they don’t want to be inundated with traffic.
Maybe, in turn, people will be inspired with what I’ve created? What have I got to lose from refining my craft, save a few internet trolls?
Trolls! I love trolls…I mean the ones in Norway of course…internet trolls are sad, deflated objects of scorn. I am currently writing (as well as trying to finish the other book which I am mad at right now) a book to pitch to SwoonWorthy. They are looking for submissions. Young adult mostly and I think you could write the BEST sci fi young adult novel going! Go check out their website. I’m going to look at Reddit.
It’s http://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/
Reddit is massive, so it’s real easy to get lost on your way there. I’ll check out SwoonWorthy soon. Thank you for the info!
That is a great quote. I will have to check out that movie.
I think everyone would benefit from watching it at least once.
[…] can I argue with that? It dovetails into my quote from watching Press.Pause.Play. The arts aren’t about money, anyway. Really. Sure, we’d all like to roll around on a […]