Re-ignition
Today, despite being tired, sore and mildly miserable I have a remarkable spark of creativity and a re-ignited ambition to write. I have been reading up on some of my favorite authors (how they got their start, the lives they lived, their personal struggles with becoming writers) and I feel that I owe it to myself to try harder to achieve this dream of being published. I know there are plenty of markets out there for the type of literature I plan on producing so now there is nothing left but to get started. At the very least I should get a first manuscript going.
The only real problem I face lies in which direction I will choose to go. I have several good ideas and a couple great ones but each lies in a different genre. In some cases I feel that I could meld a couple of ideas into one, but I fear that with this being my first attempt at a manuscript it may all get confused too easily. The genres (or sub-genres) that I am interested in are creative non-fiction (likely an autobiography of sorts), a coming of age fiction, a spy/ thriller fiction, a western, and an apocalyptic/ sci-fiction. I have a couple good plots written down for each (I keep a journal of ideas, phrases, thoughts and sometimes paragraphs or conversations between characters for later use) but I am unsure of which direction to go in first. I am thinking I may just start doing outlines and see which one results in a more complete sounding story.
The bottom line is that I am tired of putting it off or not devoting the necessary amount of time and effort to this. I want to do it so it is time to get it done. Who knows, maybe something good will come of it.
The Aging Punk
For my birthday a couple friends and myself went to the final show for a local punk rock band that has been together for about 10 years (give or take). It was a strange experience. The whole thing brought back a lot of memories of high school. Sneaking out to shows, sneaking into shows, and generally wondering aimlessly around Richmond at all hours of the night. It brought to mind all the shows I’d been to and my friends and I discussed these at length. The environment, as it turns out, remained the same after all these years. The kids at this show were the kids that were the “older kids” when we started going to shows. There were some obvious noobs (newbies, uninitiated) present and of course, as happens every time in Richmond, someone overstepped an unspoken boundary and trouble ensued. In this particular case the pit opened up and some older guys started dancing. The dancing got pretty ridiculous and one guy hit a larger, newer guy (honestly, it didn’t even look like it hurt). Of course, the new guy wants to start shit because he’s mad someone hit him and didn’t immediately apologize and so he goes looking for trouble. He immediately finds it. As he confronts the man who hit him, the man’s four or five friends start to circle in… ah, just like high school shows. Then the bouncers rush in to save the day (and the new guy’s neck). There was no actual fight and the older guys seemed content to let it go. Not so much with the new guy, but he kept his distance. Other than that, the show went off without a hitch.
Despite the show being a total blast and an overall good time, there was an air of nostalgia and a slighter sense of loss. Not only for the passing of one of my favorite bands, but for an era of my life that I just can’t go back to. My friend Chris seemed to share the sentiment. I spent the next few days in a funk sort of caught between where I was, where I am and where I want to be. I think it’s time I work a bit harder and buckle down and do whatever it takes to get through this final year of school and get my degree and get the hell out of this town. Maybe once I achieve some financial security I could do something I have always wanted to do like open a punk rock coffee shop or bar in some place that could use the stimulation.
Tuesday.
Once again I find myself too embroiled in my own going-ons to make time to read the handful of books I purchased at the onset of summer with the intention of finishing before fall. Well, That plan has certainly failed. Despite the gross miscalculation I had made at the start of the summer, I did get well into Henry Miller’s The Air Conditioned Nightmare which has thus far been an intriguing read. Mind you there is very little that could be considered intriguing about the story itself. Interesting, certainly, but not intriguing. The intrigue lies in how the story holds up over time. Many if not most of Miller’s complaints about modern American society still stand true today. We still live life at break-neck speed and we still have a misunderstood concept of patriotism among other things. I’m hoping to have some more time to finish this book in the near future before fall classes start.
In other news, my birthday rapidly approaches. This Friday, actually. I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, birthdays are usually pretty fun and I doubt this will be an exception, but on the other hand it leaves me feeling as though I should have accomplished more and basically serves as a reminder of how far behind my contemporaries I really am. It is less than comforting. However, at this point there is little else I can do but continue forward and do the best with what I have.
Currently I am at work listening to M. Ward, writing this blog and only working when someone is actually near my office which is pretty rare. I even brought my gameboy today so I can play some pokemon after lunch. I really can’t wait to have a job that keeps me busy (and pays better). Speaking of which, I have an interview with the state police for a phone-answering position. That could be… interesting.
As I am sitting here, I am getting a compelling creative urge to write or draw or paint or something. I was reading some book reviews and they seem to have gotten my brain working. I really would love to have time to devote to seriously writing the novel I have wanted to write for some time. I’d give some details or even the idea, but this being the internet and people being quick to take what isn’t theirs… I will have to pass. It will be fiction, but it could be true as well. Let’s leave it at that since I am going to need a writing partner to get all the loose ends tied.
I think that is all that’s on my mind right now. I am slowly going brain dead here. I’m thinking I’m gonna cut out early and maybe work on my story outline. That or take a nap.
Rocket Train Supercult
So, friday night a friend and myself came up with a great idea. We are going to start a cult. Yes, a cult. It’s so simple it has to work. I mean, hell… look how well Scientology is doing.
Here’s how this is going to work. First we are going to make and post on the internet a promotional video highlighting all the great reasons to be a part of this cult as well as filling in some gaps and generally educating people about what has been dubbed the “Rocketcult”.
The goal of the RocketCult is to build a rocket train which will transport cult members into the past and to the sun where they will live for two eternities with the wavy ghost of Bizzarro Patrick Stuart. Upon contributing to the Rocketcult members will be issued a rainbow colored sun-retardant Lycra jumpsuit.
As for the rocket train itself, we aren’t at liberty to reveal the blueprints. However, lets just say you were to place a steam locomotive on the rocket and gas tank system that the space shuttle utilizes. You might then have a good concept of what this bad boy is gonna look like. Goodbye rat race… Hello Wavy Bizzarro Patrick Stuart of the past and future eternities!
Filming may start this week for the promotional video. Stay tuned for updates.
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday
Well, it’s another wonderful Sunday morning. It is amazing outside and I have a bag of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. Yeah… Seriously. So needless to say I am on cloud 9. In addition, one of my favorite new bands has just released a new 5 song ep that rocks my face off, plus a few older bands that I like have came out with new material this week. New tunes is ALWAYS a plus. Oh! Since we are on the subject of new tunes… Can I just say that I was very disappointed in Matt Pryor, Conor Oberst and the Faint’s respective new albums? They weren’t bad, but they were sub par for these artists. Pryor and Oberst’s albums sounded like b-sides or leftovers. I’ll stop complaining. Moving on.
Not sure what I plan on doing with my day. I feel the need to do something awesome since I know this week is gonna suck. (Until friday anyways.. BIRTHDAY PUNK ROCK PARTY! WOOOOO!!!!). I don’t particularly feel like hanging out with most of my friends. I am still a little bit tired from the inadequate sleep I got last night. Still, something needs to be done. It is only 10:30am here so I guess there is time to think of something. Oh to live in a place that had more outdoor social events. Perhaps then life wouldn’t feel as stale.
I have some calls to make today, so I guess I’ll do that. A lot of people I’ve not heard from in a while will be getting calls. I think I may start planning my September beach trip today too. Gonna have to lock in a reservation before its too late. Question is, which beach?
