It's a Living

Inspirational song: Too Much Heaven (The Bee Gees)

I hit that same brick wall today. It took the shape of a blank page of paper on the computer screen. I promised myself I would start working on more fiction again, but oddly, it hasn't started flowing like the non-fiction has. I got two excellent short stories out a week ago, and then I stumbled. Today I had to force myself to write the opening couple paragraphs of a story I have had simmering for almost fifteen years. I think it is time to get that one (or three, actually, all connected) out. It's just a matter of trying until it becomes easy.

I started investigating what it would take to self-publish in the Kindle store, until I get a more impressive resume. It seems like it would be fairly easy, and the percentage left for me after Amazon gets its commission actually sounds reasonable. I am not sure what to do about cover art, but that's a bridge I can cross once I actually have something to publish. I feel like I have simultaneously moved closer to my goal of being a professional writer, and infinitely farther away from ever having a finished product that is worth paying money to read. The more I want to take it to the next level, the harder that leap feels to me.

It's not easy facing the starving artist mindset, and expecting to beat it. I don't know whether I will ever win. My stepfather has been running up against that same challenge for his whole life, and it's an ugly battle to fight. He is an incredibly talented painter, and he is as prolific as he is creative. He had an opening to a one-man show this evening, and he has been invited to display his art in several new galleries and spaces this last year and the next. But sales have been traditionally difficult to come by, and even the increased exposure isn't making that problem disappear. Social media has gotten his name out far better than before. How do you convince the world that not everything on the internet is actually free?

(To that end, seriously, y'all, consider original art for your Christmas presents, or for your own home. The man is a national treasure. www.gaarart.com. Your loved ones will thank you.)