Posted by nightphoenix on Sep 1, 2010 in
Creative,
Novels,
Visual arts,
Writing I’ve observed something about myself. I do my best writing when I write for myself, but I do my best art when it’s for other people.
Not that I don’t want other people to read my writing…I do. Eventually. And it’s not that I don’t have readers in mind while I write. I’m always thinking, “Okay, is this going to interest anyone other than me?” and “This is going to bore people” and things like that. But ultimately I write these stories because I want to see them on paper. I suppose I’m writing the sort of book I’d like to read. Even if everyone else thinks the book stinks, I’ll still want to read it. Bit narcissistic, I guess. My point is, I’m not really doing this FOR anyone else. I want people to be interested, but I’m not going to write stories just to please them.
Now art, on the other hand, is a whole different thing with me. And when I say “my art”, let me clarify that I’m talking about the art I do that doesn’t have anything to do with what I’m writing. If I’m drawing book stuff, I’m still technically in writer mode. Other than story-related pieces, I really don’t make art for myself. I’m not one to make stuff that I’d hang on the wall…unless I was creating the piece specifically TO hang on the wall. I think my wands even fall into this category. I like making them, but I’m not so much making them for me as I am making them for Someone Else.
And when I do make art for a specific purpose, or for a specific person, I work much faster. What would probably take me a week doing it for myself, I can create in a day for someone else. The whole process just becomes easier. I don’t know why that is…I’ve only recently observed THAT it is, for me. I don’t do art for its own sake. I don’t just draw because I “feel” like it. I have to have a purpose in mind.
And on the other hand, when I try to write something for someone else? The process bogs down. I hate writing essays, for instance, and how-to’s. Even if it’s a subject that interests me, it’s just never as satisfying as working on my novel. Have anyone else noticed that book and movie reviews on this blog are few and far between? I don’t enjoy writing them. Because it’s the sort of writing one does more for other people than for yourself (after all, you’ve read the book or seen the movie…you don’t have to tell yourself what you thought about it). It’s difficult, and the result is not satisfying. I have to write for its own sake; trying to squeeze an objective in there is hard.
So I have two creative outlets which I enjoy and am fairly skilled at: writing and visual art. My writing belongs to me. My art belongs to the world, I guess. I wonder if I was always like this, or if choosing to pursue writing over art caused my brain to wire itself this way. If I’d chosen to concentrate on art instead, would it be the other way around?
Has anyone else with multiple creative interests noticed something like this about themselves?
Tags: artwork, business of writing, the real world
Posted by nightphoenix on Aug 27, 2010 in
Creative Found this gem on the inside of Hanson’s Live & Electric album. I’m going to reproduce it here, because it could just as easily apply to writing, or art, or any other creative endeavor.
“For some, music is not just a pastime.
It’s an undeniable fact of living.
A blissful slavery of mind, body and soul.
To rise above the ashes of mediocrity is rare,
Yet the gift of song is freely handed out to anyone who cares to receive it,
Instantly shattering our daily drudgery.
“The path to pursue more than the usual,
More than what is safe and known,
Is wrought with time-sharpened jagged blades that cut deep,
Blocking many from the road to something greater,
Beyond the stunted imagination of their peers.
“Within the veins of the few,
Passion fills every sinew with a sweet unquenchable purpose,
Calming the fear of those treacherous paths.
Though each slice burns and bleeds,
Still they take each cut
And wear the scars with pride to signal their choice,
That undying pursuit of greater joy within every chord.
“And so they say – Watch Me Bleed”
By Hanson. Of course.
Tags: Hanson, inspiration
Posted by nightphoenix on Aug 16, 2010 in
Art,
News,
Wands I have observed, through my mysterious webmistress powers, that “wands” and “artwork” are two very popular categories, always among the most looked at, and yet they probably have the least content. I’ve begun working on fixing that.
As you may notice, I’ve added a page on top with pictures of all the wands and such that I’ve made. Like the Projects page, I will be updating it from time to time as I finish new pieces.
I’m also going to add an Artwork page, but I haven’t quite decided whether to restrict it to art that’s related to my writing, or have it just be anything and everything. What would people like to see?
Tags: artwork
Posted by nightphoenix on Jul 12, 2010 in
Creative So the hubby and I went to see Despicable Me on Saturday. It was an entertaining movie…solid story, solid character arcs, lots of funny moments that weren’t over-the-top. In fact, a lot of the humor was surprisingly smart for a movie of this genre, even the fart jokes and such.
But I was especially struck by the three girls. They were perfect for the role they had in the story, and they really called something to my attention that I hadn’t thought about before: how children are portrayed in movies now, versus how they are portrayed in much older movies, like Pinocchio and Peter Pan. Despicable Me had a tight soundtrack, one where you notice the music because the action in the movie is moving right with it (as opposed to just background ambiance). The three girls’ theme exemplified them perfectly: it kept the hip-hopish rhythm and beat that ran through the whole movie, but it had this very innocent, upbeat flute melody floating on top.
Read more…
Tags: movies, musings, Reviews
Posted by nightphoenix on Jun 26, 2010 in
Creative Last weekend, the hubby and I took Eli to see Toy Story 3 with my mom…and later that night, we saw The Karate Kid (minus Eli and my mom!).
Toy Story 3 was good, but surprisingly…well, dark. I mean, some of stuff those toys were doing, some of the scenes, whew. Just the fact that these are children’s toys makes it all the more disturbing when they imprison and hurt each other, you know? It reminded me of one of the interesting aspects of faery lore: the grotesque is hidden within the enchanting and innocent. Everything seems fine and beautiful, but there’s something…off…that you just can’t put your finger on. Until it’s too late.
But they wrapped up the Toy Story saga quite well. Yes, I cried.
The Karate Kid was a different beast altogether.
Read more…
Tags: business of writing, movies, Reviews, the real world
Posted by nightphoenix on May 30, 2010 in
Creative I’ve been tossing an idea around in my head these last few weeks, and it was brought to the forefront yet again the other night after seeing the Prince of Persia.
Which is, by the way, not a bad movie, and I quite enjoyed it. It wasn’t on par with Pirates, and I decided that a lot of that was because it didn’t have a Jack Sparrow to carry it. The actors in Prince of Persia weren’t bad, but they weren’t great either…imagine Pirates without Jack Sparrow or Elizabeth Swan. I honestly don’t know why a lot of the critics were saying that the plot of Prince of Persia didn’t make sense, because I didn’t have any trouble following what was going on. No, it’s not realistic…you’ve got a dagger that can turn back time, for pity’s sake. The whole premise is unbelievable, but at least it’s internally consistent and the story works. I’ll admit that I spent a great deal of the movie admiring Dastan’s arms. And thinking that his particular brand of crazy “I’ll handle the impossible gate” bravado is a lot like Raphel’s.
Read more…
Tags: books, ideas, movies
Posted by nightphoenix on Apr 25, 2010 in
Creative,
Novels,
Writing I think my subconscious is trying to get me to finish Shades, too. It keeps spouting new story ideas at me! Here’s the dream I had:
There was this kingdom, which bordered another kingdom that had been swallowed in evil and darkness; trees weighed down by noxious moss, poisoned water, goblins that killed and ate people, trees that ate people, always dark.
There was a princess, looking for a cure for her country. She has limited magic, but most of it was corrupted along with her land. She has brought some of her nobles into the neighboring kingdom, where they have been disrupting things, trying to take over, though they really aren’t trying to do anything *bad*. (Nobody really knows what they want, actually). The princess herself is rarely seen, and her nobles seem arrogant and dangerous to everyone.
There was a soldier, a knight of this neighboring kingdom who is mistrustful of these new “nobles”. He makes a plan to expose their hidden activities. The plan fails, and he and his cohorts get themselves thrown into the forbidden kingdom to die. In a twist of happenstance, the populace turns against the princess and she is thrown in with them. The soldier is inclined to hate her at first, but he ends up befriending her and learning the truth about the hellhole they’re in. He decides that the only way they’ll all survive is by lifting the curse on the corrupted kingdom.
Read more…
Tags: ideas
Posted by nightphoenix on Apr 17, 2010 in
Creative “Dude, I think my pastor’s here.”
Coordinator: “I just talked to the officer here…apparently they got four 911 calls!”
Zombie: “What would that sound like? ‘Hello, 911, I just saw a horde of zombies walking down the street’?”
Survivor: “Zombie bodies sure generate a lot of heat for being undead.”
Zombie: “Eat the ninja!!”
“Well, we must be in the right place. A car full of zombies just pulled up next to us.”
Waitress at Steak n’ Shake: “Even zombies need forks.”
Waitress at Steak n’ Shake: “You better find you a ride pretty soon, hun, because nobody’s going to pick up up on the side of the road looking like that.” (this one was directed at me personally)
Posted by nightphoenix on Apr 11, 2010 in
Creative,
Daily,
Novels,
Writing I have been feeling inordinately uninspired lately. Working on Shades feels like slogging through mud. In fact, anything that requires me to be creative feels like slogging through mud. Next week will be a little busy, as I’ll be preparing for next weekend.
Read more…
Tags: process, Shades, the real world, worldbuilding
Posted by nightphoenix on Apr 6, 2010 in
Creative,
Novels,
Writing Well, it has been a ridiculously long white since I’ve updated here, but I guess maybe I can blame Easter. And Eli being sick…and me being sick…and, and…oh well. The visit to family for Easter went well; Eli got to play with family that doesn’t get to see him that often, and Jon and I got to relax a bit. On Saturday afternoon, I took a small nap…which of course, is an almost guaranteed way for me to have strange dreams.
This one was about vampires. Well, sort of.
Read more…
Tags: brainstorming, characters, ideas, vampires
Like!