Posts Tagged ‘writing’
A Troubled Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste

By Jonathan Joseph Bondhus (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons
–Barry
Kindle Publishing: A Forray
So, recently, I’ve had a lot of people I know direct publish short stories and novels to the Kindle. So, I decided that I would try something, too. So, I found a story that I have been working on for quite a while and am currently testing the waters on Amazon.com. So, if you would like to read some of my stuff on your Kindle, I might recommend either downloading my short story “Why? A Ghost Story” or getting my blog sent directly to your device. As always, good luck and happy reading!
Buy my Short Story for only $0.99 : http://www.amazon.com/Why-A-Ghost-Story-ebook/dp/B004RPS86M
Hi, I’m Barry, and I’m a Procrastinating Perfectionist
Being in Graduate school now, I’m realizing that some of my old ways will not fly simply because of the amount of work that I’m having to do for school in tandem with teaching time and preparation. I am having to break some of the habits that I have acquired in my undergrad and that I’ve developed as of being out of school for the past couple of years…*sigh*….however, the biggest one of these is my procrastinating perfectionism.
It’s a terrible thing to be actually…if I didn’t give a shit it would all be okay. However, I do care about the quality of my work and will stay up late the night before an assignment is due trying to bang it out and bring it up to my standards at the same time. Now, I will not say that I have ever been a “great” writer because believe me I can improve. Yet, recently, I’ve realized that with the amount of reading that I do for classes in a weeks time teamed with this is likely the recipe for disaster. So, I’m trying to do a few things to help me keep focused and moving forward.
1) Having a schedule. At least mentally, I want to have my days nailed down so I know exactly what I need to do to get my work accomplished and still have some time for Barry. I know some people might say that I need a planner, and maybe I do. However, they have never worked for me in the past. I can’t see them working for me now…
2) Try to finish drafts of paper in advance of the final due date. This may seem like a no brainer to some people out there, but to me, it seems practically foreign. My mind says that I will do better if I work under pressure. Still, a part of me knows that it would be a great relief to have the stress removed from my mind earlier, and then, I could polish the drafts to make them better, rather than turning in a first draft. Doing so could also help me get people to look over my work and check for those dreaded grammatical errors…people are much more willing if you do it in advance…
3) Try to remain organized. Now, I won’t say that I’ve ever won an award for being the most organized person in the world, but I do try to stay on top of things. My theory is if I keep things were they are accessible and evident that I might not lose something…which is the worst feeling in the world (I’m actually looking for a copy of Microsoft Office right now that I have misplaced…it’s old, but I need it for a new PC).
Maybe with a little determination and force of will, I can keep up with these few guidelines that I’ve set for myself and won’t be freaking out at the time of finals wondering how in the hell I’m going to finish everything that I’ve let pile up around me. They say the first step in fixing a problem is to admit it…so, yeah….that one is out of the way.
Poetry and Writing
If you have visited my blog, follow it, or are just seeing it for the first time, it will be very evident that I like to write poetry. I don’t know what it is exactly, but poetry fascinates me. I mean honestly think about any poem you like. Poems take us to places that prose cannot. Why do I say this? It is because poetry taps into the raw inner being that is our unconscious, purely human side. I know it might sound silly; however, think about it. What prose has ever made you feel in a few sentences what a poem does?
–Poetry has a need to be concise. If it isnt’, generally, the poet will lose their audience fairly quickly. When dealing with a not linear form of writing (as I think poetry is due to the fact that it does not necessarily follow a set pattern of word placement or have a definite placement on the page), it is easy for a reader to meander off the beaten path and be totally unaware of what is going on. This is why in my own personal poetry I avoid flowery language a lot of times. This is why I have very specific word choice. This is to create vivid images/thoughts directly in the minds of those reading (at least that is my aim).
–Poetry is a writing of emotions. If you don’t have some feeling behind your words in a poem, most assuredly, the poem will be dry and stagnant. Poetry is a wonderful because it connects with us on that emotional level. Whereas, other literary forms can leave us feeling very detached and on the outside looking in.
–Songs are poetry. This may be another reason why poetry connects with people (including myself) so well. I am a person who loves music. I’ll listen to anything from Lady Gaga to The Phantom of the Opera to classic rock and most everything in between. I am musically eclectic. The lyrics of these songs are poetry in their own right. Each word is chosen specifically to convey some emotion in the song (which the actual music also helps too). Think about any song. If you took the lyrics away from the music, the words themselves would be a stand alone poem in its own right.
Why do I write poetry? It’s simply because it allows me to get out ideas and thoughts that any other medium would have trouble conveying. Now, I’m not saying that I’m an Emo kid writing poems about death and pain (however, I do have poems about death and pain…I just don’t think they’re emo-rific. They’re classier than that). My poems are inspired by life and the world around me…some are silly (like one about a piece of lemon floating in a glass), some are creepy (like another about an angel [Satan] sitting on a hill watching soldiers die), some of them are commentary on the world (like “Stardom”)…I write poetry because it frees me and allows me to connect with others in a way only poetry can.