Month: June 2018

All right, I admit to being a little facetious here with the title.    That being said, though, I would vote for Mike Rowe should he ever decide to run for any office in any area where my vote would count.

Please read the article penned by Mike at:

http://smallestminority.blogspot.com/2018/05/another-round-of-organized-violence-and.html

Whether you agree with his conclusions or not, I think you must agree that he is thoughtful and articulate, not to mention well-written.

He does not respond to the query immediately with truisms or tripe, with platitudes or deflections.   Instead, it is obvious that he considers the question carefully and thinks through the cause and effect scenarios to find what he believes is the root.

Then, he carefully explains through examples and ‘train of thought’ exercises which are easy to follow and clear.   He uses metaphor and simile with clarity to drive his points without being overbearing or melodramatic.

Frankly, I am jealous of that written piece and wish I could claim it as my own work.   Whoever wrote it, whether it was Mike himself, or it was some ghost-writer either on staff or contract, the article itself is a gem.

Beyond that, though, the memories and thoughts provided are from Mike, and it is his thinking and conclusions which are pertinent beyond the quality of writing.

This is what every writer should strive for, ache for, and emulate. The world would be a far better place if everyone could think through the first and second levels of cause and effect to get to the third level, or beyond.

Ask yourself, how many of us are actually taught critical thinking?   I was not.   Not in grade school, high school or in college classes.   I heard the phrase, and I saw examples of it, but was never actually taught how to do it, or given exercises for practice. Hopefully, most of us in that position will eventually learn how to do it on our own, through our own life-exercises.   I am not that good at it, thus my jealousy.

Like most people, I tend to respond to that which is ‘in my face’, addressing the symptom rather than the cause.

As writers, sharing our thoughts with whoever will read them, I think we have a responsibility to do as Mike has demonstrated, and think it through to the root cause before responding to the big questions of life.

Early 1900’s author, G.K. Chesterton said: “I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite.”

I don’t know much about GK Chesterton, except that he was fairly prolific and quite religious in the Christian (Anglican) church and later converting to Catholicism. He wrote numerous Apologies for the church and religion, and George Bernard Shaw said Chesterton was a colossal intellect.

So, smart guy, well-educated, with devout core beliefs and well-thought out principles. And he says he listens to advice then does the opposite.

Does this mean that Mr. Chesterton felt he was simply smarter than everyone else? I somehow doubt it. Otherwise, he would not place himself in the position of “listening respectfully” to other people’s advice in the first place.

Could it mean that Chesterton thought other people offered only platitudes, or the “advice du jour” and what was popular thinking of the moment?   Or, maybe he simply thought it was best to stay out of the ‘mainstream’ and therefore be perceived as a man who stood for something. I mean, on the one hand he seems respectful and a product of his times concerning religion and such. Yet on the other hand he gives the definite impression of a man going against the tide.

Read some of his stuff. You may be surprised.

I am not going to try to tell what he meant. That’s for you to figure out, and each and every one of you who read his words will probably have a slightly different take.

For me, what I think the advice means for me, is that one should always listen to the advice of persons you respect and of persons who are ‘more seasoned’ than yourself. And, you should listen to your heart and your conscience.

When it comes to a choice, like follow the advice or follow the heart, I would love to say that I always follow my heart. I don’t, and it would be a lie. I try to, I really do, but the polite and societal, civil man within me often leads me on paths away from my heart’s desire.

The one thing I can tell you for sure, is that the general public likes a person who stands for certain basic principles, regardless of whether they agree with those principles or not. We can all cite many examples of ‘men who stood apart’, often with very controversial stances, yet were devoutly respected because of their willingness to take a stand and not waffle.

At the same time, each of these persons also suffered the consequences of their stances, with detractors attempting to tear them down.   Yet, they had the fortitude to remain true to their stance, their beliefs.

So, when it comes to choosing between the advice and the heart, listen to the advice and listen to the heart. Then, weigh the foreseeable consequences and make a decision based on whether or not you are willing to face up to the consequences of your decision. Regardless of the choices in front of you, each of the decisions you make about those choices is going to be based on what you want out of life.

 

 

I like to collect quotes from famous authors on the subject of writing. The quote in the title of this post is from Elmore Leonard.

So, what I thought I might do, since blogging is something the experts say should be something one is passionate about, is to take one quote from a famous person every so often and post it along with my thoughts on what it means – that is, what it means to me.

“If it sounds like writing, rewrite it.” Wait a minute. Doesn’t all writing sound like writing?

No, not really. Try this exercise. Get yourself a small recording device, like a smart phone or other voice recorder, or even use your PC or laptop, then record yourself reading a book – without practicing first. Read it cold, as if you were a normal John or Jane Q. Public picking up a book to check it out and consider for purchase or whatever.

When you listen back, you might be surprised to hear your own voice as it changes cadence and timing due to normal “thought processes” as your brain translates what your eyes see to what your mouth speaks. You see, your brain is applying huge amounts of stored memory as filters and comparisons to bring personal meaning to what you read. Plus, it is reacting with new thoughts and considering future actions based on this same reading.

So, sometimes your reading voice speeds up, and sometimes it slows down, and sometimes it stumbles noticeably when your brain encounters something it doesn’t perceive as normal, or, normal within your range of experiences.

Perhaps a word seems out of place, or a phrase doesn’t instantly make sense. Perhaps a clause in the middle of a sentence is recognized by your experience as it should be at the front of the sentence, or at the end, not the middle.

Perhaps the language being used is unusually flowery. Or, perhaps the author used metaphors or similes which initially did not make sense. Maybe the sentences are far too long, with numerous conjunctions making them hard to parse into normal sense.

Good writing should flow effortlessly from one sentence to the next like a brook or river. Each scene change should be like a little waterfall, ending one level and beginning a next level, but still within the same flowing river. Sure, waterfalls can be a little jarring, or even huge, but they should still flow along with the same river.

In other words, the reader should never consciously realize they are being take for a ride along the river. Instead, they should be so captivated by the traveling, and what they see and hear as they flow along that they just enjoy the journey.

The reader does not want to know they are inside the Matrix. They simply want to enjoy the experience.

Really good writers can craft sentences and paragraphs and scenes which just flow, so smoothly. Compare Dean Koontz and Stephen King, two authors who have completely different styles and voices, yet both are unarguably masters of their craft. Koontz uses unusual words and flowery sentences which swirl the imagination with color and sound and scent as he dissects human intentions and describes actions scenes. King uses normal words either as hammers to brutalize our senses or as a warm, gentle breeze to caress our skin and urge us to a direction. Yet, with either of these gentlemen’s works the reader rarely, if ever, realizes they are in the King or Koontz Matrix.

Sit down with your own writing creations and record yourself reading them. If you do it right, with the intent of learning new things and of discovery, you could be surprised.

And, if it sounds like writing, rewrite it.