Still Figurin' Out Who I Think I Am

This one's about a muse, wandering, and engagement.

"I have a muse, I never asked for one or wanted one, but then one day my muse showed up and has been hanging around here ever since. My muse is Andre the Blog Monkey, who most of you know. Do you have a muse? Tell us about your muse. How does he/she/it help you write and create? If you don't have a muse, try and generate one. You may need your muse to help you out down the road in this competition."

Hey everyone! Day three of Brother Nature 's too-many-letters fundraiser for the 30DBC, the teams have been set, and Elle - on hiatus has already started talkin' smack. That didn't take long. This should be fun.

Of the lord knows how many blogging prompts I've seen over the years, I've probably been asked about a muse several times...and I don't think I've ever really answered the question or gave it much thought, to be honest. Why? Because I'm self-admittedly prompt-dependent. I find it really hard to open up the composing of a new entry without having something to riff off of...which makes me wonder how I ever functioned before I joined blogging groups or competitions.

That's not to say I don't have a muse; I just haven't discovered it yet. Blogging isn't exactly writing love letters or infomercials, although sometimes it seems like it. Those forms have intended recipients that you're trying to specifically cater to. My blog audience? While I know who most of you are, let's not kid ourselves...I'm writing for me first and you guys, well, ummm, the 1A to my 1. I don't expect you to buy what I'm sellin', nor do I think I can convert you into something you're not.

Beyond that, I have motivating factors. Mainly, I don't wanna suck. If I suck, you don't read this, and if you don't read this I'm basically typing to see my words put out in front of me. If I wanted to do that I'd just sit on Facebook all day spouting random nothings hoping no one's paying attention. I want to entertain and be entertaining. Hopefully engaging. Once in a while, maybe even inspiring. But I just want you to feel like this wasn't a waste of your time. That's what failure feels like, and I don't want us to have to go through that.

Not all of us possess a blog monkey...some of us are stuck with just using what we know to keep snappin' off these things. And that's alright by me...it means there's one less monkey to clean up after.

"James Patterson says he 'pretends that I'm sitting across from somebody and I am telling a story. I don't want to get up until it's finished. He swears this is a recipe for monumental success.' Think about what keeps you involved in the books you read. Do you agree with Patterson? What are the elements that engage you? Do you feel the stories you write will keep an imaginary listener across from you entertained?"

Wow...good question. I'll get this much out of the way...this is the first time I've seen this Patterson quote, but I've always tried to write these entries like we're having a conversation. What you're reading is pretty close to what I'd be saying if we're sittin' at a restaurant crushin' a pot of coffee, catching up and reminiscing. It's authentic, and hopefully relatable. It's a lot more comfortable than being with the person who thinks he's the smartest guy in the room, spittin' big words just to sound all educated. From my experiences, no one likes that guy.

And here's where I kinda tie in the first part of this entry about having a muse...if I can't make this entertaining enough for you to read, then what's the point? Write like you're talking to someone casually. It comes off better than reading an encyclopedia. But I trust most of y'all know that already.

I'd like to think I'm fairly adequate at doing this. I'm happy with it. And it's not like no one knows about this. People read it, and that's cool and I'm very thankful for that. But far be it from me to say what works for me is definitely gonna work for you. Sure, James Patterson's sold umpteen million books, so he's got some cache...when he speaks, he probably knows what he's talking about. It makes sense to listen not only to his advice, but that of other people who are confident in their writing without publishing bestsellers as well. Learn as much as you can, do some trial and error, and see what works out best for you. Join groups and participate. Get feedback. You're not the same person you were a year ago, or ten years ago, and you won't be the same this time next year.

And wow, have I started getting off track. That happens. The point is, there are many ways to be successful, just as there are many different levels of success. Know where you want to go first, and then work about getting there.

"Why does a mind wander from the task at hand? Does your mind wander at times? How do you re-focus?"

My mind? Among other things, it definitely wanders. I get distracted pretty easily. And I have no idea why...if I did, I'd probably try to stop it from happening. I probably have adult attention deficit disorder...great, something else to talk to my shrink about.

I'm sure there are good reasons...like, the things you have to do usually aren't as interesting as the things you'd rather be doing, so maybe you're thinking about that than the tasks at hand. Or there's some sort of urgent thing going on in another aspect of your life that is taking control of your thoughts even though there's nothing at the present you can do about it. It happens. Some people are just more naturally gifted with an ability to block out distractions. Me? Not so much. Some days I can barely do one thing at a time, let alone two or more.

Regaining focus takes understanding...knowing that you've fallen off whatever you're doing. For me, it's like I need an extra second to remind myself sometimes. It's amazing I've never been hit by a car when crossing the street or been in a serious accident involving the loss of a finger . I swear, I'm not totally absent-minded! I just tend to get lost in my head at times.

But yeah, like I was saying, sometimes ya just gotta hit the reset button on what you're doing to get back on track. Otherwise, it sucks having to go back and clean up your mistakes when you're not paying attention. There's a quote or something about doing things right the first time, and whoever coined it wasn't playin'.

Today's also Day Three in "The Soundtrack of Your Life" , and I'm going with "Blister" by Jimmy Eat World. Sure, everyone knows their big massive radio hits, but my friends and I listened to them before they got big (doesn't everyone say that?).

The actual meaning of this song is probably miles from what I get out of it, but interpretation is one of the many beauties of music. For me, it's about missing someone who's far away and wanting to experience whatever you're both going through together in the moment. Anyone who's been in a long-distance relationship knows what I'm talkin' about, and that's what the lovelorn part of me hears. There have been a few people over time I've managed to get close enough to that have made me feel that way...glad that they're there in spirit, yet helpless to be able to do anything about it. And, it's just a kickass song.

"How long would it take me to walk across the United States,
all alone?
The west coast has been traumatized and I think I'm the only one still alive."
Lyrics.  

What do you know about this? Harper Lee is coming out with a sequel to her classic, To Kill A Mockingbird   this summer...it's one of my favorite books, but there's a healthy amount of skepticism surrounding it from a few other articles I've read about it today. Supposedly this book was finished before TKAM, and it wasn't supposed to be published. But Lee found the manuscript, and after the death of her sister, who lived with her and used to handle her inquiries, has agreed to it being published. Rumors are that she's being taken advantage of in her advanced age along with the notion that her sister is no longer around to speak for her, and if that's the case that's a pretty shitty thing for a company to do. I'm sure we'll hear more during the run-up to its release, so I don't know exactly how I feel about this yet.

Speaking of literary comebacks, how about my twinner Julie D - PUBLISHED! rejoining us for this month's 30DBC after almost three years of being away from WDC? That's pretty amazing! I'll just have to try and keep her away from Lyn's a sly fox during hockey season, so the two of them aren't gangin' up on me with their Philadelphia Flyers smacktalk . Seriously though, it's great to have Julie back, and she's certainly been missed.

And isn't this a little effed up? New York's attorney general is going after stores selling nutritional supplements that don't contain what they're said to contain  . Having once been in a semi-management position at one of these stores, I can't help but feel a little more betrayed that a giant corporation has once again resorted to lying to the general public just to make a buck. It's disgusting, and I hope these stores aren't allowed to get off without facing serious consequences...but you know they're big enough that the buck will get passed, ignorance will be claimed, and somehow us little guys will end up paying for it.

Anyway, that's all I've got for today...peace, you can't stop me, and GOODNIGHT NOW!!