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Dialogue with my muse |
| I have been carrying on a dialogue for almost a year. During this time we have discussed the progress of my writing, editing, and publishing efforts. Join in to listen to our conversation about my daily writing life and add your comments if you think of anything Calliope and I miss. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. Ready for another week? JOE: I am. CALLIOPE: What have you been up to over the weekend? JOE: I started reading Oliver Sacks' book Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain. CALLIOPE: What did you discover? JOE: A provocative line toward the beginning raising a question about what use music is and why does it exist and enchant us. Then I spent Saturday evening enchanted by the Dady Brothers, Roxanne Ziegler and Irish Dancers. CALLIOPE: To what end? JOE: I reached the conclusion that sometimes words fail us and we must think and communicate in other ways. CALLIOPE: As a champion of epic poetry, I must remind you that the arts were originally ways of relating our heritage, ideas and culture. JOE: No doubt. But there is something else too. Even writing does not just convey information. It touches our souls and hearts and brings us together. CALLIOPE: So you see the arts, including literature as a way for our minds and souls to communicate? JOE: I do. I'm not sure I can explain it any further. Maybe it is something to contemplate without words. CALLIOPE: Perhaps so. Let's both meditate on it. JOE: Agreed. Talk with you tomorrow. |
JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: Quite good. CALLIOPE: What have you been up to? JOE: My major accomplishment yesterday was completing a critique of a friend's new book. I also posted my Sliding Otter News newsletter to my mailing list although I still need to post it to my website. CALLIOPE: Sounds like you have been busy. JOE: I have. I also found some good information in Internet marketing and development of keywords. Steve Weber also sent me a very useful link for small business resources at http://www.monstersmallbusiness.com. CALLIOPE: So you social networking is paying off. JOE: It is. Also Writers Digest recently opened a site for writers at http://writersdigest.ning.com. It is already quite active and appears to be a very promising on-line community. I'm excited about it. CALLIOPE: It's about time you got excited. JOE: I agree. Sometimes I seem to just plod along. It's nice to have some enthusiasm. CALLIOPE: Use it to good advantage. JOE: I will. Talk with you on Monday. |
JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: Fine. Everything seems in order and I have no distractions facing me today. CALLIOPE: Glad to hear it. What do you have planned? JOE: Getting back to work. CALLIOPE: Specifics please. JOE: I have been gathering materials about search engine optimization and plan to start using them to my advantage. CALLIOPE: Anything that still puzzles you? JOE: I received a post from E-zine which listed search terms which their visitors used to find my articles. CALLIOPE: Interesting. JOE: I thought so. If I could find such a listing for terms visitors to my web site use, I would be quite grateful. CALLIOPE: Where could you find such a list? JOE: I'm not sure I could. So far I don't know how to look other than using a trial and error keyword program through Google keywords. CALLIOPE: Something to explore. JOE: There's always something. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. What are you thinking about today? JOE: Distractions. I have been reading what Julia Cameron has to say about necessary surroundings for writing. CALLIOPE: What does she have to say? JOE: Among other things that there is no ideal writing environment. Even if there were, it would not guarantee that our writing would be any better than in the midst of distractions. CALLIOPE: What do you think? JOE: I think she's right. I sometimes dream of an ideal writing environment. Before you ask, it would be a seaside villa in the Caribbean with a breeze strong enough to rustle but not rumple the pages I am working on. CALLIOPE: Have you ever had that experience? JOE: I've been in such an environment, but found it too peaceful to bother writing. There's something about the bustle of everyday life which stirs me to action. CALLIOPE: How so? JOE: Everyday events give me topics for my columns and also a context for other writing. CALLIOPE: Don't they distract you as well? JOE: They do but the also keep me from getting bored with long hours of writing. CALLIOPE: I guess there is no ideal context for writing. JOE: Not that I know of, but I keep plugging along. Talk with you tomorrow. |
JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. What's on your mind today? JOE: Suffering? CALLIOPE: Please elaborate. JOE: I'd be glad to. As I attended Laney's wake and funeral, I kept thinking of all the suffering he endured over the last few months in particular. CALLIOPE: Did you have any particular questions? JOE: I wondered about the point of all his suffering. Was it for any particular purpose? CALLIOPE: You're not the first person who has puzzled about this issue? JOE: I know. I have heard quite a bit about it over the years but nothing which adequately explains it. CALLIOPE: You know that pain signals that something is wrong and needs corrective action. JOE: I do. Where I get stuck is if nothing can be done. CALLIOPE: Maybe the answers are just not evident yet and pain is an invitation to the medical community to keep searching. JOE: That makes some sense. But it doesn't seem to be much benefit to the person suffering. CALLIOPE: I can't argue there. Somethings are beyond our understanding. JOE: I realize that. I guess it's just one of life's mysteries at least for now. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good afternoon Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good afternoon Joe. I wondered where you where. JOE: I was attending the aforementioned funeral. CALLIOPE: How did it go? JOE: As well as can be expected for a funeral. Nothing I didn't expect. CALLIOPE: Did you finish your article about weddings and funerals? JOE: I finished it this morning. I wasn't quite sure what I would say but woke up this morning and found the title as well as the gist of it on the tips of my fingers. All I had to do was type it. CALLIOPE: Strange how that just happens sometimes. JOE: Don't be coy. I know about you muses and your ways. CALLIOPE: Glad you appreciate us. JOE: I do. I try to keep paying attention but sometimes my mind wanders. CALLIOPE: Keep doing your best. JOE: Another interesting thought. Sometimes I wonder how good I am but then I recall what Julia Cameron said about doing your best regardless of what you think about yourself. CALLIOPE: Authenticity usually comes through somehow. JOE: So I have come to understand. Talk with you tomorrow. |
JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. That seems like an odd title for you entry. JOE: I suppose it is But those are the two events which kept me busy this weekend. CALLIOPE: Tell me more. JOE: Families get together quite often for marriages and funerals. Sometimes they are the only places I have seen some of the people I know. CALLIOPE: What else do they have in common. JOE: I was just thinking about that for my Saturday column. CALLIOPE: What did you come up with? JOE: Both are significant way stations in life. Birth is the other major one but I didn't have one to celebrate this weekend. CALLIOPE: Anything else. JOE: The ideas is still percolating. Let me think a moment. CALLIOPE: Not too long. You have work to do. JOE: Right. Marriage is an occasion for a couple to join their lives and for their community of friends to join in support of their union. CALLIOPE: And death? JOE: Death and funerals provide families with a chance to remember the life of their loved one, say goodbye and comfort each other. I guess that's my theme. Talk with you tomorrow. |
JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. I hope you are doing better than you were yesterday. JOE: I must admit I was discouraged and frustrated with my technology but I got it figured out. CALLIOPE: How? JOE: Strange you should ask. In trying to use various FTP programs, I kept seeing a troubleshooting question asking whether my web hosting had expired. I thought that was ridiculous. CALLIOPE: But? JOE: Well, I called my Internet service provider who checked and discovered that my web hosting had expired since I had not paid my bill. CALLIOPE: On purpose? JOE: Of course not. I just forgot it and like everything else, the service stopped when I stopped paying for it. CALLIOPE: How was it resolved? JOE: I paid it and had my services turned back on. I was then able to update my websites and was back in business. CALLIOPE: You have to be more careful. JOE: It would save me some trouble. But I tend to be more the artistic than business type. CALLIOPE: At least you realize it. JOE: I do. Talk with you on Monday. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How's your organizational plan going? JOE: I got through one day and started yesterday on some changes to my website. CALLIOPE: And? JOE: Technology tripped me up again. My FTP program updated and then I was unable to log into my server. CALLIOPE: Did you get it fixed? JOE: No. I'm still stuck and will ask for some help from my Internet service provider. CALLIOPE: Sounds frustrating. JOE: It is. I worked on that and a problem with one of my e-mail accounts. Neither problem is resolved yet. CALLIOPE: I take it that means you didn't get to work on your writing yesterday. JOE: You take it correctly. So much for that plan. CALLIOPE: You sound frustrated. JOE: I am. Just when I start taking technology for granted it rears its ugly head and reminds me who's in charge. CALLIOPE: I hope you get some answers and get back to work today. JOE: I hope so too. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How's the writing coming? JOE: I'm working on getting organized. CALLIOPE: How are you going about it? JOE: I am trying to keep up with marketing and writing and find myself flopping around like a fish on the shore. CALLIOPE: How will you unflop. JOE: Organization. I decided to split my day. In the morning I will work on correspondence and marketing as well as related activities. CALLIOPE: And the afternoon? JOE: I will devote it to working on my writing and reading. CALLIOPE: Have you started yet? JOE: I tried it yesterday and it worked fairly well. But I think it will take practice to get in the habit. CALLIOPE: Everything does. JOE: I can't argue with you there. Today I will work on plans for revising my websites in the morning. This afternoon I will continue working on my audio recordings and later read to restore my spirit. CALLIOPE: Best of luck with your plan. JOE: Thanks. I'll report back tomorrow. |
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Hope they like snow! 
I just tell them to go get a life...
It's a sunshiny 24 here at the moment; 19 in Buffalo.