Writing as work.
Whenever I sit down to write something intended for sale, I get the same unpleasant feeling: this really is work, and work is no fun. Work is twice as un-fun when it’s done, as writing usually is, for no money up front. Those authors with multi-book deals are growing fewer and further between, leaving the vast majority (including me) putting fingers to keyboard without ever knowing if the effort will be worth a dime.
I’m not saying writing can’t be fun or worthwhile without a paycheck attached. I’ll leave that kind of argument to the unfortunately large number of hacks for whom payment is the be all, end all of the writing game. These are the kind of douchebags who scoff at any writing, especially fan-writing, unless it’s done with payment in mind. I’m not one of these, and what I’m saying is that the character of writing changes when the likely end turns toward business.
If I write something just for the hell of it, with no expectations save that it be done, I’m a lot happier. The pressure is off. The words come more easily because I feel freed to take risks I wouldn’t in a piece of commercial fiction. It’s the difference between a live jam session and recording an album.
For example, I have no problem putting together 1,000 words for a blog entry, but it’ll be like self-extracting my own molars to do the same on some manuscript. Hell, I’m avoiding work on a manuscript right now by tapping out this little missive. I suppose that’s why some people find blogging a dangerous pastime for a writer: it’s a regular reminder that writing needn’t be painful to execute.
Billy Mays: Icon
I never fail to be impressed by those folks who have mastered the art of 100×100-pixel images for use on LiveJournal and now Dreamwidth. Since I apparently lack the gene that allows me to learn how to do more than crop, scale and/or color correct with my image software of choice, I have to satisfy myself with some very basic icons of my own design.
A few weeks ago I thought I ought to do a series on Billy Mays, given my respect and attachment to him. Yesterday after I learned he was gone, I scoured Google for some useful images and did what little I could do get them into useful size and shape for DW.
Hopefully you can find one you like.
But wait! There’s more!
Billy Mays is not here.
Every month since I rebooted this blog, I have posted at least one commercial featuring the inimitable Billy Mays. I did this not, as some might, because I wanted to make fun of him, but because I loved the way he did his work.
I use the past tense here because Billy is no longer with us.
I spent the day yesterday mostly away from my computer, so I didn’t hear the news of Billy’s death. I even watched an episode of Pitchmen without knowing what had happened. My son did, as he’s been doing lately, his interpretation of Billy’s commercial for the HandySwitch. We all loved Billy Mays around this house.
As I wrote last year, I once did sales work and though I was pretty good at it, I never had the raw talent for the pitch that Billy had. I was in awe of his ability to draw people’s attention through the sheer power of his personality, so that even those people who claimed they couldn’t stand him still knew at least one of the products he pitched, if not owned it.
I used to have dreams about Billy Mays sometimes, like when I dreamed I was smuggling medical supplies into Cuba with Billy’s cigarette boat. And, no, I don’t know if he really owned a cigarette boat — a “go fast boat” in the parlance — but it worked out that way in the dream.
Pilgrimage
I love to travel, but I’ve done very little of it over the past decade for one reason or the other. That’s something I hope to change in my forties, so we’ll see.
Everyone likes the usual vacation spots, like Walt Disney World or the beaches along the Gulf of Mexico. I’m just as fond of them myself. For this entry, though, I’d like to talk about those places on my list of sights to see before I die that have a spiritual and/or religious connection. Those who know me are well aware of my religious struggle over the years, but likewise know I take issues surrounding God and holiness very seriously. I identify as a Christian, but when forced to be more specific I’d say I’m of the Unitarian variety.
At any rate, here are the top five religious/spiritual sites I’d love to visit:
- The Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It’s pictured at the top of my post and lands right at the top of my list. Now, we could argue all day about whether the Church actually stands on the site of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, but like most things religious I don’t think it really matters. The symbol is as important as the truth, and anyone who takes their Christian identity truly to heart ought to consider making pilgrimage to Jerusalem in general and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in particular a priority.
- The Sacred Mountains. After what you’ve already read, you might be surprised to find these mountains so high on my list. Four of them are associated with Buddhism and five with Taoism, both considered alien faiths by some. And I’ll admit there’s a little self interest involved here. For one, the mountains provide an excuse to tour large chunks of China, a country I’ve wanted to visit for years. For another, it is said that one who climbs the Five Great Mountains (the Taoist ones) will live forever. I could go for that.
