Specialism and Versatility 14/02/2005 I have been struck today by the versatility of all involved in our little circle of bloggers. Consider what we have done so far:Hannah Owl: Wonderful stories of her experiences, her very special brand of haiku, deep personal revelations.Way: Crystal clear recollections of a colorful past, fragrant stories of today, clever little puzzles in verse, observations of people and behavior, humor that never fails to give us a warm glow (oh, and high coos).Ned: Poetry that ranges from emotions so deep that they touch us all to thoughts on daily life and its mysteries, elegant stories from the past and the present, wry and self effacing humor.Harvey: Discipline and thought in considering how we should live, finely constructed tales that point out reason so gently yet clearly, wisdom in seeing through to the core of meaning.Me: Well, Way has already mentioned that he never knows what's coming next on my blog.In addition, Mad and Josh give us fresh insights from a different point of view. Mad is good at pointing out where his father is not quite right and Josh always has interesting things to say from his own experience.To me, this is a good thing; I love diversity and variety. But, in thinking of the ways of the world, I wonder if this is where "success" is at. I recall a time in the distant past when I submitted some drawings to Zimbabwe's annual exhibition of local artists' work. My drawings were rejected and a friend, who happened to know one of the judges, found out from him the reasons why. It seems that they were too diverse. I was criticized for not yet having found my "voice". In looking at those works which were accepted, I came to understand what this meant. In particular, I noticed the drawings of an artist the same age as I was. He drew pictures of shoes; in fact, he was more specialized than that: he drew shoes of the raised platform sort that were popular at the time. And that was all he drew, nothing else. Apparently, he had found his "voice".Turning to the world of literature, I look at the work of those writers who can be said to be successful. We might take John Grisham as an example (mainly because I've read most of his books and enjoy them). I think I read the first of Mr Grisham's books very soon after it was published and I was taken with it immediately. He is the master of the legal thriller, drawing one into the story until one really cares about what happens to the characters. After that first book, I read everything of his that I could get my hands on. And he never fails to deliver.In time, however, I began to notice that Mr Grisham had become a formula writer; he had found something that worked and he was sticking with it (quite sensibly, since it was earning him pots of money). Mr Grisham has become, as I said, the master of the legal thriller. But he has also stopped being my automatic choice when buying books because I know what I'll find in them. I might still buy one just because he is so good at what he does, but it is more of a coin toss these days.Having said that, I must give Mr Grisham his due. A while back he wrote a book called A Painted House which is totally different from everything else he has written. It was like a breath of fresh air and demonstrated just how well he can write in other fields than the law. But his best sellers are the legal thrillers.So. I am asking these questions: Are we losing out by not concentrating on one thing until it becomes our specialty? Are we dissipating our energies in a body of work without central theme or purpose? Does this matter if we're really not interested in the chance of publication?Personally, I feel that this group has given me so much that has affected and improved my writing beyond measure. To Way I owe the ability to write of things in my own past with the knowledge (astounding as it remains to me) that others might find such things interesting. To Ned I owe the experience of poetry and prose so elegant that I can only look at my own work and try that much harder. To Hannah I owe the understanding that deep personal things are riveting for the reader and that we should dare what has always seemed impossible to us. And to Harvey I owe the experience of a teaching style so light and unforced that the matter of learning becomes the more enjoyable.So my answer to the questions is basically that I cannot afford to ignore the lessons I am learning merely to embark upon a quest for a specialism that might offer success, but includes the proviso that I lose everything else.But what do you think?
Clive
Mad I too am a generalist, I've never become that guy who just does shoes. I'd get bored very quickly I know that. Variety is the spice of life I say... Date Added: 14/02/2005
Gone Away I agree Mad but I can't help thinking that it's the specialists who make all the money... Date Added: 14/02/2005
Ned Isn't this just because our society has become very formula-oriented? Look at television (I never do but if you can stand it, do so). There is really no such thing as a"new" show, just another show following the formula that made money the last time out. And until the public raises its standards that is all we will get. The same goes for writing, the market is driven by what the publishers assume the public has an appetite for and will spend money for. They are not always wrong in making these assumptions. To some extent they are correct. But PBS thrives because there is enough of an audience that demands more and is willing to experience more. They are supported by that public, who are under no obligation to expend money to watch and yet, still do. Lowering your standards only reinforces the trend to lower standards and ultimately, chokes your potential. Date Added: 14/02/2005
Gone Away So is there another law in force here? If we strive towards quality rather than marketability, will we find that our product becomes less saleable as it gets better? I pray that it is not so, although the marketing specialists (grin) would tell us that it is. Surely there is a randomness in play as well, for we have all seen things that seemed far too good for the general public take off and achieve huge sales. Am I being too optimistic in hoping that we can achieve that kind of breakthrough? I should point out that, although I am using the language of marketing here, it is not just sales that I am thinking of. As writers, it matters to us that what we produce gets read and it may be that we don't care whether we get paid or not in that process. Date Added: 14/02/2005
Harvey Young Your idea is thought provoking and frightening all at once. When I started writing my blog my intent was to work out my thoughts related exclusively to V.O.I.C.E. From there I thought at times that I had strayed. I even worried over these past few days. While it is sometimes fun to write about something different, focus and discipline require that I stay the course. < br /> Being the newest to this circle, perhaps my insight will be helpful. This group has stimulated my thoughts in a way I never conceived possible. Yes, at times we can stray but I love the variety. I think that we collectively avoid that writer's snobbery that I imagine is all to common. The cross pollination of this group is what spurs me on and provides ongoing and much needed encouragement. Even the occasional straying is for me quite useful. As one that desires to publish someday, and to continue speaking about V.O.I.C.E., this group let's me freely try my ideas. I believe that the caring yet discerning eyes of its members help me to gain focus. My answer to your question is this. I need this group for a number of reasons. For me the variety, diversity, and frequent laughs and friendship make all the difference to an otherwise lonely venture. Thanks for raising the point. Date Added: 14/02/2005
Ned I actually was trying to point out that although the market wizards try to follow formula, the public often chooses something else, such as the reference to PBS. I am not worried about marketability, I already know my destiny is to work until I die so I have no aspirations, and until recently it didn't matter if anyone ever read anything I wrote. But, once you have readers, the tendency is to try to improve, you have created expectations and now you must live up to them. It is really an exercise in self-discipline. Ugggh, I hate that. Date Added: 14/02/2005
Harvey Young I agree with you Ned. This circle creates the discipline that makes us all better with out regard to whether we have expectations or not. Date Added: 14/02/2005
Gone Away Actually, it was you that started me on this train of thought, Harvey. I know that you make a living as a consultant and that V.O.I.C.E. is very important to you. When I saw you straying into other areas, I worried that we might be deflecting you from what must remain your primary task. I have this inherited tendency towards guilt, you see. ;) You have put my mind at ease about that, however; I should have realized that, having set up in business on your own, you would be well aware of the need to be disciplined in how you spend your time. But the point is valid for us all; it does no harm to think about what we do and what priorities we have. In a way, it's an academic point for me because I don't think I could change now. I tried to be a hack writer once and just couldn't manage it - it mattered too much to me that anything I wrote be as good as I can make it. Perfectionist tendencies, I suppose... Date Added: 14/02/2005
Gone Away Well, you give me a new goal, Ned: to prove the maketing guys wrong! Wouldn't that be nice? :D I could get all didactic here, wag my finger and tell you how good self discipline is for us. Trouble is, I hate self discipline too... :> Date Added: 14/02/2005
Harvey Young I know that you were worried about me, and that is what makes this group special. Just so that you know, even when I stray I am building material. As an example, I will be speaking on next Tuesday to a group where one of my duties will be to introduce the honoree. While I did not know of this engagement when I wrote my Laysbian piece, the honoree is the fellow Laysbian of whom I spoke. Even diversions have value. Date Added: 14/02/2005
Gone Away I agree with Harvey that this form of communication is very good for our own productivity. In the last three months I've written more than I did in the previous three years. Okay, I could say that was because I didn't have the time to write, but this blogging business doesn't care whether you've got time or not; it just insists and nags that you have a responsibility now that you're part of what has become a community. The blog must go out! Am I right, Hannah? ;) Date Added: 14/02/2005
Gone Away I'll be honest with you, Harvey; when I started reading your piece on french fries, I thought immediately, "Oh no, what have we done? We've sent poor Harvey off at a tangent and we're all to blame if he doesn't bring home the bacon this month." But, as I read on, I began to see how you were bringing it all into line with your primary purpose. And, by the time I'd finished, I just had to applaud. You wrote a brilliant piece there, Harvey, with wonderful humor and humanity, and you never strayed from your goal at all. You demonstrated how creative writing can achieve an educational end even more than something clearly intended to instruct and nothing more. Bravo! Date Added: 14/02/2005
Harvey Young *blushing* which is not visible to the naked eye, but I can feel the flush in my face. Thank you, but that is my point. Without the comments made previously by you and Way, that story would not have come back to me and I would not have been able to create that piece which I now see as having tremendous value. This circle, and the comments of its contributors, cause great ideas to flow. I for one owe a thank you to you for hosting this forum. Date Added: 14/02/2005
Gone Away Thanks Harvey although I must protest that I'm not really the host; we're all equally important to this. And, if truth were known, it's Way that holds us together. ;) Date Added: 14/02/2005
Hannah I have no comment. I'll just sit here hiding my face in my wings from embarrassment. Date Added: 14/02/2005
Gone Away Not allowed. We want the words of the wise Owl. :) Date Added: 14/02/2005
Way Sorry, I was busy off in a corner of the cave, and from the looks of it, I missed my grand entrance. Half-filled cups are scattered everywhere, the floor hasn't been swept, it appears, and someone ran up a tab on the jukebox, and it's playing a lot of country music. And it feels just like home. Now I read Painted House, but only because Ali insisted. But knowing me, and knowing I never follow crowds (I'd refused to read the popular stuff he'd written prior), she got me a copy. It's the best thing I'd read in a long time, too. I have never seen The Color Purple, and still dont care to. Nor Titanic. Nor The Passion movie. I don't watch popular TV shows, just to remain odd and out of the loop of loopies. The only reason I even use this comp is that our pencil shapener makes a hell of a racket, and that bugs me, so here I sit. So. Here I submit my never-to-be-humble opinion, and with a fine I-don't-give-a-rip attitude. I do what I like. If others like it as well, that's a pretty good deal; if not, then tough. I had fun doing it, and to me, that is what counts. I said early on that I have the heart of a thief. That was partly in jest, and partly true. And if anyone steals and idea, I have to applaude, cuz listen people - they ain't nothing new under the sun except history we don't know, and like Garrison sez, we love to hear about the misfortunes of others. So yall go break a leg, and then come and blog on it. Do it with style, too, and you earn extra points. haha. Date Added: 14/02/2005
Gone Away Good ole Way, always there to keep us on the straight and narrow. :) I'm glad you liked A Painted House, I did too. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if Mr Grisham thinks it's his best book; it is. But he has to keep churning out the legal books because that's where he's making the money; I doubt he made anything out of the House book. Sorry about the state of the place, Way. Just can't get the help these days, ya know. Date Added: 14/02/2005
Way Na, it's cozy here, so no worries. And I've not seen a shitsnake anywhere about. Date Added: 14/02/2005
Gone Away LOL Date Added: 14/02/2005
Ned I agree with you Way, you have to do what you like. If you enjoy it, it will be infused with life. The blogs I dislike most are those which are merely exercises in writing. The blogs into which the authors have put something of themselves, things that are meaningful or funny or touching to them, those are the ones that make it worth the trip. Date Added: 15/02/2005
Gone Away Well, the consesnsus seems to be that we must do what we do, without thought of its marketability. I like that and agree totally with Ned and Way, that to write from the heart produces good stuff. And, if the world doesn't want it, stuff 'em. :D Date Added: 15/02/2005
Harvey Young Looks like I missed the conclusion of this discussion, but I like where it ended up. And so, we just proceed doing what we do. Date Added: 15/02/2005
Gone Away Discussions always remain open, Harvey, but I think I always knew where this one was going to end up. ;) Date Added: 15/02/2005
Hannah It appears to have ended, once again, at the chameleon's doorstoop. How very odd that is, that a chameleon should have a doorstoop. Date Added: 15/02/2005
Gone Away .oO(Not half as odd as a blogging owl...) Date Added: 15/02/2005
Ned It's amazing what the man will stoop to. ;) Has the chameleon changed to match his environment or has he changed the environment to more closely match himself? Will the blogosphere ever be the same? Date Added: 15/02/2005
Gone Away He stoops but to pick up conkers. The rest, I leave unsaid. Date Added: 15/02/2005
Way Hmpf. I have been know to conk out some, and have admitted as much on a slow day. Now, whom does badger Owl (hoo is really not so fowl)? And let's not claim the lizard stooped, and thrown in his towel. An apology to Ned (see the tears in my two eyes?), but do excuse me twice; I'm just here for exercise. The Harvey has a voice with his dots precisely put, and he sings in different keys; I think I like his fancy foot. Glen must be occupied, tidying and packing. She rarely comes around much. Struth! We gits are lacking. She has a sense of humour and it keeps me on me toes. But so does Ned and Clive and K and Harvey. So it goes. Mad is enigmatic; Josh is bona fide; Keef, so continental as he offers us a ride. The lady with the counter, now she's the sneaky one. Is adding up her numbers her way of having fun? The rest of us are left to imagine what we will. As long as God allows it, we can only have our fill. Date Added: 15/02/2005
Mad *Inscrutes* Date Added: 15/02/2005
Gone Away Two men wanted to cross the desert. They had the necessary equipment, several water skins, a sunshade and a camel, but they did not know the best route so they went in search of a map. They tried every map store in town but it seemed that there had been a rush on maps lately and there were no maps of the desert to be found. At last, in the last little map store they went to, the proprietor, after apologizing for his lack of maps, made an alternative suggestion. "You could take Way", he said. "He knows the desert like the back of his back and could be your guide." At first, our two friends were overjoyed and asked to meet this Way. Introductions were made and agreement arrived at but then, just as they were about to sign the contract (which had been contracted so as not to be too long), a possible problem occurred to them. "We have only one camel," cried one of the travelers, "will it be able to carry all three of us and the equipment?" Well, you can imagine the consternation this caused. Research was entered into and it was found that their camel could carry a maximum payload of a certain amount (we won't go into the math - it was very complicated). The two intrepid voyagers knew their own weights and added these together to arrive at a figure beyond which Way must not weigh. It then turned out that Way did not know how much he weighed so it became necessary to weigh him. This, of course, required that they find some way of doing so and, as you can imagine, this presented a minor hitch until suddenly the proprietor smacked his brow and proclaimed: "I nearly forgot. There is a weighing machine in my office out back." Accordingly, the machine was dragged from its resting place and prepared for the task. It was a curious contraption, all levers and springs and balances, and our heroic adventurers regarded it with some trepidation. "How does it work?" they asked. The shop keeper explained. "It is a very clever machine. There are two methods for accomplishing the weighing process. Way can either sit in this little seat here..." He pointed at a circular flat piece of metal. "Or he can grasp this handle," a bar near the top of the machine was indicated, "and lift himself off the ground. You see, sirs, it is a 2-way way to weigh Way!" Date Added: 15/02/2005
Gone Away *Outscrutes* Date Added: 15/02/2005
Mad That's it! I'm shutting you down. Date Added: 15/02/2005
Gone Away No, no, please Mad. It won't happen again, I promise! Date Added: 15/02/2005
Mad Ok, but you've been warned. No more "Abcesse makes the fart go Honda" gags. ;) Date Added: 15/02/2005
Gone Away .oO(Spoilsport) Date Added: 15/02/2005
Gone Away Towards the end of the 19th century, a matter arose that was extremely complicated and threatened to cause war to break out in Europe. This was the Schleswig-Holstein Question and its complexities baffled the best brains everywhere. I think it was Disraeli who had this to say on the problem: "The Schleswig-Holstein Question is so complicated that only three men in Europe understand it. The first is dead. The second has gone mad. And the third is me, but I have forgotten it." Date Added: 15/02/2005
Harvey Young And so it goes. Date Added: 15/02/2005
Gone Away It seems that little hit counters are the thing of the moment (all except Way, of course, who has to be different by having a delightful young Malay lass counting heads as they come and go). Now, Mad and I have a different system. Because the site is hosted by a fully fledged service provider, we have access to something called Matrix Stats and our figures (voluptuous as they are) are not out there for all the world to see. These are far more detailed than web counters (which count hits only) and I wondered if anyone would like a short blog on how we're doing so far. Of course, before you answer the question, you have to think about two connected matters: firstly, by answering, you are increasing the comments score on this particular blog. It's unlikely to break the record, however, so maybe that doesn't matter. Secondly and very obviously, I wouldn't be offering this unless it was a chance to parade our stats before you and go "nyah nahnah nah nah," so you must decide whether or not you wish to grin and bear that. Let me know, won't you? Date Added: 15/02/2005
Harvey Young Actually I would like to see the stats. Also, writing a blog about this will increase my understanding site traffic. When I started doing this I had a lot of questions about site traffic. So, blog away and we will be waiting. Date Added: 15/02/2005
Gone Away okay, Harvey. Will do. Date Added: 15/02/2005
Way Oh, this is good. This is very good. But, typically, it seems I forgot to bring a pen or a pencil along, so I rushed back to the cave. Then something came up there. It could have been a lion, or a dog, or a springbok, but whatever it was, I got distracted and forgot. Oh, yeah - I remember now…it was the Malay girl. I was trying to teach her how to sit, and she is one slow learner. Date Added: 15/02/2005
Gone Away LOL Way. Just about to blog it now. I only hope the images come out as they're intended... Date Added: 15/02/2005
Way ack. I thought I saw another blog...wut happened to it? Date Added: 15/02/2005
Gone Away It's there now, Way. And the images worked! Date Added: 15/02/2005
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