Does an angel hold a sign with directions for everyone?
Working on the page... working working oh so very hard on the page. I've developed an idea for an archive layout, and hope to integrate it soon... I am finding out the hard way how few hours there are in a day for ambitious people, and understand why business folk are constantly in a rush-- though my adage still is that the majority of people are in a rush to get nowhere.
I sent a short piece off to the cbc literary awards. It hopefully addresses the issue that has been on my mind lately, namely how storytelling can aide in the humanitarian efforts needed to shape our society into a more foreign-friendly and inner-friendly society, rather than the 'ignorance is bliss both here and afar' mentality of the masses. This is, I think, an important aspect of storytelling-- the aspect of storytelling, as it is by definition a fight against ignorance. To tell a story is to tell something someone never previously knew, or at least never knew that anyone else new.
So hopefully that will garner some attention, though I don't know... the ending was a bit rushed and I had a tough time meeting the deadline. But it feels good knowing that my stories are out there, at least trying to make me some success. And only time will tell.
I also am working on a short story themed around 'leviathan' for OnSpec, a canadian literary magazine. The 'leviathan' metaphor in my story is one of power relations amongst fantasy and reality, against dreamers and realists, and I hope it is an interesting dynamic. Again, the story is getting a bit rushed, but is benefiting I think from the few extra days that it is getting over the CBC awards.
So I'm working. And I firmly believe that hard work is at the essence of all success. They say that 80% of new businesses fail, but I say that means that 80% of new businesses either run their resources into the ground or give up-- both not necessarily mutually exclusive. Solving problems by throwing money at it will never work (*cough* Hollywood *cough*), nor will merely giving up, as there is no greater guarantee of failure than giving up. If you do not try, you will always fail.
It is exhausting, but I am not alone. I know there is a community of people at my stage, trying to find their niche, and I hope to attract them to the site. I already have on board a very talented artist who I am hoping to encourage to contribute to the site; artists are a self-doubting lot who are very secretive about their work when it isn't "just right", and I hope to at once stop being that type of artist myself, finally giving out work that needs circulation (art should not and cannot be smothered, like a child that never leaves home), and I also hope to encourage other artists holding onto their 40 year old sons and daughters (a bad metaphor for art that has been babied and kept too close to the artist for too long) to finally loosen the reigns and let their art, at whatever stage it might be, speak for itself.
At some point, Davinci stopped scrapping his paper and said "see my work!" It is at this point that he became a true artist, rather than a personal artist, a public figure rather than a hobbit. It is at this point that he became successful, and gave his art the success it deserved.
Is it easy? Hell no. I understand the self-doubt and worry that any artist has over his or her art. "Is it good enough? Will it be mocked? Did I get 'x' right?" But, the same can be said of parenting. "Did I teach him to cover his finances? Did I teach her to avoid 'bad' men?"
At some point, the production must step away from the producer and live its own life. This is the act of growth that is the western dynamic of success, and without it, there can only be uncertain identity. I am not uncertain. I know what I am: a storyteller, and I have faith enough in my stories to see them spread out; and if they are ridiculed, they will only grow from the ridicule, and like the phoenix, a greater beast will rise from their ashes.
Do I know what I am doing? Not really. Do I know what I want? Most certainly. And all the steps in between will be filled in as I go. The most successful people in history had no idea what they were doing, only where they wanted to go. Hence Harley and Davidson blowing up their parents' garage-- they had to try, and fail, and then try again in order to succeed.
It may be true that 80% of businesses fail. Harley Davidson failed in its early inception. The point is that failure can be overcome, and the only true failure, the only "this business is dead" failure is giving up.
I will not give up on my dream. It will be a reality, even if I am not always certain how it will be so.
I sent a short piece off to the cbc literary awards. It hopefully addresses the issue that has been on my mind lately, namely how storytelling can aide in the humanitarian efforts needed to shape our society into a more foreign-friendly and inner-friendly society, rather than the 'ignorance is bliss both here and afar' mentality of the masses. This is, I think, an important aspect of storytelling-- the aspect of storytelling, as it is by definition a fight against ignorance. To tell a story is to tell something someone never previously knew, or at least never knew that anyone else new.
So hopefully that will garner some attention, though I don't know... the ending was a bit rushed and I had a tough time meeting the deadline. But it feels good knowing that my stories are out there, at least trying to make me some success. And only time will tell.
I also am working on a short story themed around 'leviathan' for OnSpec, a canadian literary magazine. The 'leviathan' metaphor in my story is one of power relations amongst fantasy and reality, against dreamers and realists, and I hope it is an interesting dynamic. Again, the story is getting a bit rushed, but is benefiting I think from the few extra days that it is getting over the CBC awards.
So I'm working. And I firmly believe that hard work is at the essence of all success. They say that 80% of new businesses fail, but I say that means that 80% of new businesses either run their resources into the ground or give up-- both not necessarily mutually exclusive. Solving problems by throwing money at it will never work (*cough* Hollywood *cough*), nor will merely giving up, as there is no greater guarantee of failure than giving up. If you do not try, you will always fail.
It is exhausting, but I am not alone. I know there is a community of people at my stage, trying to find their niche, and I hope to attract them to the site. I already have on board a very talented artist who I am hoping to encourage to contribute to the site; artists are a self-doubting lot who are very secretive about their work when it isn't "just right", and I hope to at once stop being that type of artist myself, finally giving out work that needs circulation (art should not and cannot be smothered, like a child that never leaves home), and I also hope to encourage other artists holding onto their 40 year old sons and daughters (a bad metaphor for art that has been babied and kept too close to the artist for too long) to finally loosen the reigns and let their art, at whatever stage it might be, speak for itself.
At some point, Davinci stopped scrapping his paper and said "see my work!" It is at this point that he became a true artist, rather than a personal artist, a public figure rather than a hobbit. It is at this point that he became successful, and gave his art the success it deserved.
Is it easy? Hell no. I understand the self-doubt and worry that any artist has over his or her art. "Is it good enough? Will it be mocked? Did I get 'x' right?" But, the same can be said of parenting. "Did I teach him to cover his finances? Did I teach her to avoid 'bad' men?"
At some point, the production must step away from the producer and live its own life. This is the act of growth that is the western dynamic of success, and without it, there can only be uncertain identity. I am not uncertain. I know what I am: a storyteller, and I have faith enough in my stories to see them spread out; and if they are ridiculed, they will only grow from the ridicule, and like the phoenix, a greater beast will rise from their ashes.
Do I know what I am doing? Not really. Do I know what I want? Most certainly. And all the steps in between will be filled in as I go. The most successful people in history had no idea what they were doing, only where they wanted to go. Hence Harley and Davidson blowing up their parents' garage-- they had to try, and fail, and then try again in order to succeed.
It may be true that 80% of businesses fail. Harley Davidson failed in its early inception. The point is that failure can be overcome, and the only true failure, the only "this business is dead" failure is giving up.
I will not give up on my dream. It will be a reality, even if I am not always certain how it will be so.
posted by Shannon | 4:41 AM
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