Hello everyone, I’ve decided to take this week off, catch a little summer fun while I can, and recharge my brain. Although, in all honesty, my brain never seems to want to shut down. It’s actively plotting a new novel idea, a quirky character I can write about, or some pithy dialogue. My brain even keeps me awake at nights thinking these things when I just want to sleep. I’m not alone in this. I know many writers who struggle, or encourage the same from their mastermind brain. But I believe there’s merit in stepping away for a bit to see things differently, to experience new sights, sounds, and smells.
I will say, The Standard Weakly Standard is a story that came to me without planning or forethought. Typically, I’m a hybrid-type writer. Meaning, I have a somewhat loose outline of my story’s beginning, middle, and end. In other words, I know how to drive efficiently from New York City to Los Angeles.
But with this novel, I’m writing as I go. Writing without a roadmap. I’ve decided to experiment with this approach and let my characters tell me what this story is about. The characters, the people, I’m creating here have in a magical way, come to life for me. They speak to me, they fight me, they disobey me, and they lead me and not always besides still waters. Sounds a little like real life, eh?
We have a few chapters to go, so hang in there with me and we’ll both find out how this mystery ends.
Even though, I’m taking the week off, I wanted to leave you with something to read and/or inspire you in whatever it is that turns your clock.
I’ll be back next week with more adventures from Standard, Kansas where nothing seems standard anymore. Enjoy the remaining days of summer, and as always, I truly and sincerely appreciate your reading my stories.
Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890). Self portrait, oil on canvas, September 1889.
Van Gogh has always been my favorite artist. His impressionistic style, whether in his self portraits, paintings of sunflowers, starry nights, or lonely landscapes, drip with emotion. Whether it was from his maladies, or mental health, which we really don't understand, but we do know that he worked fast with quick strokes applying his colors to canvas. And we also know he wrote beautiful letters to his brother Theo.
One of van Gogh's famous quotes is: "I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart."
For years I have gravitated to that quote and try my best to embody those words as a writer.
SEEKING: If you want to be great, at whatever it is you do, then we must seek out all we can about our art, our music, our work, our call to life. We must know who we are, what our limitations are, and how to overcome them. Greatness doesn't happen sitting on the couch.
STRIVING: You know the old saying, "You can't hit a homerun unless you step up to the plate." Or, "You'll never win the lotto unless you buy a ticket." Gotta get into the game and, most importantly, want to win, want to be great, want to achieve your goals, whatever they may be.
Striving comes from the Old French word estriver, meaning to quarrel or dispute. It also means to endeavor, or try. Van Gogh endeavered everyday to paint a masterpiece, and hoped his art would open the world's eyes to the world's beauty and to the striving of the poor people he painted. Unfortunately, he only sold one painting in his lifetime. And yet, he continued to paint, to strive.
IN IT WITH ALL MY HEART: Yes, he was. He never held back in his paintings.
In seeking, he sought out other painters and learned from them. They exchanged ideas. He strived to know himself and his art, and he gave it his all. A little known fact is he didn't paint himself because he was vain. He did so because he was poor and couldn't afford to hire models. So he painted himself as a way to learn about painting. And even when he painted the two self portaits of his bandaged ear, he wasn't trying to evoke pity from others, he hoped the portraits would help him heal.
Van Gogh painted 35 self portraits and once said, "People say – and I’m quite willing to believe it – that it’s difficult to know oneself – but it’s not easy to paint oneself either."
I've learned a lot from van Gogh's life and his paintings and Don McLean's song "Vincent," always chokes me up. Here's a great version with lyrics.
Thanks for reading.
ZJ
Enjoy!
Sigh. You write so beautifully. I totally agree with the need to step away from our work once in a while in order to see the flaws, so we can correct them with new eyes.