I’ve been asked if my work with visual art and graphic design affects how I write or edit. My answer: undoubtedly. It isn’t just my work with art; it’s my work as a poet. Both result in a preponderance with white space and details.
Work Life
Creativity and Process
Creativity isn’t a process. Advertising is a process. Creativity is a manic construction of absurd, unlikely irreverent thoughts and feelings that somehow, when put together, change the way we see things. That’s why it’s magic. If you want to be ordinary, then, yes, use a process. – John Hegarty
You Can’t Pay Bills with Publicity
Here’s the deal: I don’t work for free. I don’t work for publicity. I don’t work for exposure. I don’t work for promises and pipe dreams. The price tag for any of my work, be it writing, editing, or the occasional drawing, has a price tag attached to it. Hint: it doesn’t say “free.” I work for real, solid money even if it’s the digital sort deposited into my PayPal account. Unless I’m volunteering my time and talents, which I do, I expect to be paid with the sort of revenue that can be used to pay bills and purchase essential items like diabetes supplies and groceries.
Hubris and Humility
hubris n : exaggerated pride or self-confidence often resulting in retribution
A well-known proverb says that pride goes before a fall. Perhaps the proverb was thinking of the problem of hubris, that is, an inflated sense of self that results in punishment. Why? Hubris seems to have, at least in one of its aims, the goal of belittling others. It’s also entirely false, meaning that a person with the problem of hubris might take on a project for which he or she is not ready. It is, after all, an “exaggerated” sense of self. It is not a correct reflection upon one’s character and abilities.
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Good Writing is like a Bowl of Ice Cream
I like ice cream a lot. I take it back. When I say I like ice cream, I mean that I really, really like chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. I like it so much that I haven’t had it in over a year. If I buy it, I want to eat it all the time. It’s best left as a rare treat so that our amiable relationship can continue.
From There to Here: Be Courageous
If you strike out on your own, if you decide to hit the trail, you’re going to be afraid at times. You know this because you know trails often are deserted and filled with things like bandits and wild animals. If you still decide to continue down that path – your first, courageous step – you’ll see belongings left along the trail and wonder what happened to the owners of said belongings. You’ll contemplate if you could be one of those owners, and you realize, yes, that could be you. You could leave everything, desert this path, and return to safety. You don’t for one reason and one reason alone: you know what the cost of desertion would be. Your body might be safe, but your heart and mind would always wonder “what if.”