I get excited about at least one thing a day, I won’t lie. I’m basically a big kid at heart. But the thing I want to mention here is one of the coolest thing that has happened to me in regards to my social media/writing presence. I was at Lowe’s with my wife and sister-in-law grabbing a few things for a household project and I heard someone behind me ask if I was the guy from Youtube. I asked if I’d heard them right and they said my name and asked if I was me. And I am. We spoke for a minute and they told me they’re a fan. It was a short interaction, less than a whole minute probably, but it was one of the coolest. To be recognized for my work, my content, and to have someone tell me they’re a fan. Simply awesome!!
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What Motivates You?
What truly motivates me is the idea that I can be of help to someone. I fully believe I have been placed where I am in life, in my job, online and elsewhere because I have a purpose. God gave me talents and gifts as an author and an educator and I do my bet to maximize that potential each and every day. I hope that my writing and my place in the world can be of some inspiration or help to someone, even if it’s just that they get a smile from a line I wrote or something. Just to know I made a difference.
Spared No Expense
Name the most expensive personal item you’ve ever purchased (not your home or car).
Aside from my wife’s engagement ring, I’d have to say this would probably be my leather tophat with the sterling silver skull band. The largest skull, centered in the middle, is inlaid with rubies in the eyes, and is absolutely perfect for me.
What are you most proud of in your life?
Honestly, that I have never given up. I have struggled throughout my life with some very difficult times, as anyone has, and as a young man it truly hit me hard. I grew up with a mostly absentee father, so my grandfather was my rock. As a man who took care of his own family from the age of 14 and carried the Mathews name across multiple states he was a source of strength for me. He passed when I was 12 and I was completely lost. I struggled for years to find my place, my heart, but it was always beyond me.
As many young people do, I began seeing the world as something not to survive, but to escape from. I considered everything from leaving my home to live in the mountains like a pioneer, all the way up to taking my own life. As a high schooler in a household with an over-worked single parent I fell hard. There was a day I literally held a knife to my throat. That was when it hit me. A story idea. I became so distracted by this impossibly intense idea I put the weapon down and started writing.
I have always loved reading and had started writing a few stories in the past, but this one was different. It opened the floodgates for me. The passion for writing was awakened that day, with ideas hitting me left and right. God showed me the light of my own future when I was barely 16 years old and it gave me the strength to keep moving forward. I have now published 8 books and have countless others started or forming in my head, with no plans to stop writing. I have shared my story before, but I will do so again and again until I know others have found their reason for staying alive. It is not worth losing the good times to give in to the bad.
Researching Like a Lit Scholar
In the last month or so, I have had an absolute mental and scholarly reawakening as I’ve returned to the arena of scholarly research. Entering a Master’s program has been an incredibly enriching experience, and it has reminded me much about why I enjoy studying literature as a whole – whether some people say it shouldn’t be fun or not! One of the most enjoyable and challenging parts of putting my head back into this business has been the element of scholarly research. This is one of the most important parts of looking into the history of literature itself, and I think it bears a lot of interest and deserves some explanation. I will proceed by offering a simple guide on how a literary scholar can use resources to conduct a study on a literary topic of their choosing.
Knowing What to Research
This can be one of the most crucial parts of the process in and of itself. There is honestly no end to what sort of information can be discovered with some proper key word searching on your topic. For the purpose of this example we will behave as if you are looking for something within the scope of Colonial American literature. Those keywords right there can offer you a wealth of scholarly research, which could take days to sift through, unfortunately.
Rather than boiling down the ample research offered by such a general search, it is good to have an idea of some limiting ideas as well. Say, for instance, you have a particular interest in the Puritan writing of early settlers. By simply throwing the words “Puritan” and “Colonial American Writing” into the search parameters of your study your options will include some more succinct bits of information that you can look at with a critical lens.
Finding Resources
I mentioned typing some keywords into your search parameters for what could be a very interesting project, but just what does that mean? Well, there are a number of helpful research tools that can offer you anything from blog posts to scholarly research papers on your given subject. If you are studying through an institution of higher education one of the first place you can go is the library (either physical or digital) and search for information that way. Often this will lead you to a research database such as EbscoHost, ProjectMuse or something similar. These databases are notorious at providing information that is either as general or as specific as you need it to be based on the research keywords you put in the search bars. An excellent thing to remember for these or any online database is the “advanced search” option, whcih will often allow you to pinpoint key words within the text, the title, and even limit your search to peer reviewed articles, which brings me to another crucial point.
Credible or Laughable
When conducting this type of research one thing that you always want to be on the lookout for is whether or not the resources you find are credible In this day and age literally anyone with data or internet access (so, virtually anyone with access to electricity in most places) has the ability to post their thoughts online. While that can be an incredibly freeing state of accomplishment, it is also can lead to the spread of misinformation.
If you are using scholarly databases like the ones I have mentioned, you often have the option to choose whether or not the material that shows up in your searches is peer reviewed or not. A peer reviewed article is one that is going to hold a wealth of information that pertains to your topic, and has been published in credible academic publications. Peer reviewed articles are often written by a professional in the field and hold exactly the sort of professional quality research that will help you in your study. In general, for a literary study of this kind, most of the articles found in professional publications in your field will contain scholarly and peer reviewed articles.
What Do I Do After I Find It?
Once you have found enough information to develop, support, or even negate your idea based on your topic of study, it is time to begin working on your paper, article, or project. While, throughout the fields of study we could consider, there are countless ways to include your research in your work, literature offers very simple chances. One of the most commonly used is by quoting the work itself. In a standard study of English work the typical format for research papers is MLA style, which offers a tidy and succinct way to present your research both within the work and after, in a Works Cited page. While presenting your research it is a good format to first begin explaining a bit about the material found in one of your sources, affirming your research with a quote and an in-text citation when necessary. It is always a helpful practice to continue your research even after organizing your ideas in na essay or project.
For Further Study
When looking at the possibility of studying literary history, there are no shortage of options for where to start. For instance, Wendell V. Harris offers an interesting look at the way in which the phrase literary history is used. He says that writing about literary history could be “clearer if critics and theorists explicitly recognized the number of different ways” the phrase itself is used (Harris). Similarly, another scholar, G. Giovannini, studies the relation between literature and the other arts. Giovannini states “Literary study has strongly tended to detail
the historical context” of literature rather than the elements of creation therein (Giovannini). These are but two pieces of study that can be used to further your understanding of literary study and literary history itself. For the full details on how to find these pieces of study, see the Works Cited below.
These are but a few of the ways in which a scholar can look into furthering their knowledge and understanding of the topics they wish to learn about in regards to literature.
Works Cited
Giovannini, G. “Method in the Study of Literature in Its Relation to the Other Fine Arts.” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, vol. 8, no. 3, 1950, pp. 185–95. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/426697. Accessed 18 June 2023.
Harris, Wendell V. “What Is Literary ‘History’?” College English, vol. 56, no. 4, 1994, pp. 434–51. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/378337. Accessed 18 June 2023.
Do you have a quote you live your life by or think of often?
“Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.” – James Dean
Experience the Fullness
Good morning, everyone! We are fast approaching June and, hopefully, another full month of Summer fun. Between hot days, starry nights, and the wide world of creativity and inspiration, the world is ours for the taking. I have been doing my best to take advantage of that creative potential floating around during while awaiting a new year of teaching and students to come flowing back into my classroom. I’ve been working on getting myself in shape – mentally as well as physically – and I’ve been writing and reading like mad. I actually got a novel completed, with a proof en route to me as I type this. On top of that, I’ve been working on several short pieces and other novels. Needless to say, it has been a busy month.
In the midst of the bustle of the every day, I have been trying to reach myself at a more peaceful mindset as well. Just last night I went out back and built a fire in our firepit, turning on some background music and relaxing. The night was immensely peaceful, with mostly clear skies, a cool breeze, synchronous fireflies dancing amid the leaves of the trees around me, and frogs serenading me. I found particular moments of near transcendant peace when, while staring at the stars and absorbing the wonder of the night, Pink Floyd began playing in the background. From Floyd, to Leonard Cohen, David Bowie, Third Day, Jeffrey Munks and more, my brain floated on heightened frequencies until story ideas started flowing .
I took turns staring into the night sky, watching the heavens unfold above me, and looking deep into the flames of the fire, where the very fabric of reality was being torn asunder and sent skyward to join the particles of times past and future. It was a mesmerizing and humbling experience, and it brings me to the overall point I want to make here. During those moments, I wasn’t looking for creativity. I wasn’t bent over a keyboard or notebook hammering out ideas for my next story or novel. I wasn’t considering that part of things. They just came to me, because that’s who I am. Those stories flow from the universe right into me, making me their medium, their liason with reality. That is my purpose in this world, and it finds me in peace.
Too often we push ourselves so hard trying to accomplish goals, and while that is noble and fantastic, it should not be every second of our lives. Goals and dreams are of the utmost importance, but just as important is whether or not you are enjoying the journey. There are times I focus too much on my writing, and times I focus too little on it. I typically can recognize both, but my experience last night reminded me how important equilbrium can be. During an experience of true inner and outer peace, story ideas came to me from the world around me. I didn’t have to seek them, push myself to create something from nothing, pound my head against the wall to make the ideas flow. I didn’t have to.
How many times have you found yourself pushing yourself so hard in your work or craft – whether it be professional or creative – and just come up blank? You try and try to make something happen, to crack that next egg or break down that wall where you’re sure the next great idea lies, but nothing works. You are drained, exhausted, perhaps even find yourself disliking the journey you are on. It’s easy to do, but not always easy to admit. We tend to be single-minded as a species, to a fault. But I recommend breaking that habit.
Create for yourself an equilibrium, a balance between work and play. A set time for you to not only live in this world, but enjoy it. It is so important that we not lose sight of the fact that we are not solely put here to work. There are so many amazing facets of this world that we can use to entertainment as a crutch rather than a freedom. On top of the dreams and goals that help you set a path for yourself, you also have a varied list of interests that help you form your own individual self. Why would you ever ignore them?
That is the important thing to take away from this post, in my opinion. You are given passions and talents, as well as hopes and dreams, but overall forcing any one of these things while ignoring the others is not good. You must take life in your own hands and find the balance. By diving into the freedom of the world of interests at your fingertips, your brain might take the chance to relax and those ideas might flow through on their own, riding waves of peace and calm. Next time you feel bogged down and stressed by your journey, take some time to relax with peace. Or, if you really want to push the boundaries, relax every day and don’t let yourself get overburdened. What possibilities, eh?
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!
Merry Christmas, everyone!! I know this year has been difficult, and the holidays can sometimes be stressful, but I hope you will all take the time to cherish the good things today and every day for the rest of this year – no matter what holidays you celebrate (or don’t).
Personally, I have had an excellent Christmas with my wife here in our snowy mountain home. I am beyond ecstatic that our first Christmas as husband and wife has been a white one and a happy one. All things considered, the blessings we have been able to enjoy this year have given me so much to be thankful for.
Our Christmas adventure has shown us a lot of excitement, a lot of smiles, and a lot of joy- and it isn’t over yet! Tomorrow will be yet another happy day of celebration for us. I know a lot of people haven’t been able to celebrate with their loved ones this year, and many traditions have been put on hold or altered to meet the current state of affairs, but I hope everyone has been able to draw a bit of joy from the holiday. With luck next year will bring a return to the things we have enjoyed in the past, hopefully with an added sense of appreciation and love for those traditions.
Whatever your holiday brought to you, however you were able to celebrate, I sincerely hope love and peace met each and every one of you. Do your best to enjoy the rest of this day and this last week of 2020!
Be True
It’s January 10, everyone. Have you stuck to your resolutions so far? If so, you’re doing better than a lot of people. Personally I’ve been doing a moderate job of keeping up with some, not so well at keeping up with others. It’s so easy to let life flow without a thought for what you’re doing, following the ‘norm’ and letting yourself fall into a bit of a rut. That’s a bit of what this post is going to be about. I do think it may end up being a two-parter, too, because I’ve seen a lot today that has motivated me to write my little heart out, but the basic message behind every word I’m going to say here is the same. You have to be true to yourself.
Going back to what I was saying at the start of this post, New Year’s Resolutions are notorious for being set on or around January 1st, and many are lucky if they make it out of the month. But I recently saw a very important question that stuck with me and made me think hard. Why is it that New Year’s Resolutions are such a big thing? Why should we focus so much on the beginning of the year – more importantly, why should we only set aside one time throughout the year to make changes? It’s a doozy of a question, and I honestly don’t have an answer for it. We are all (at least in theory) strong, free-willed human beings with the ability to make decisions to better ourselves at any time. So why do we place so much focus on the whole “new year, new me” fad?
I’ve seen people in March decide something about their lives is unsatisfactory and decide to make it a New Year’s Resolution and live with the unhappiness for 9 months rather than take a stand right then and there. Why? This life is so precious, so fleeting, and so important. How can any of us afford to live even one second being untrue to ourselves? You wouldn’t wake up hungry and say “oh, I’ll eat next month.” Or break your arm and say “oh, I’ll get it fixed eventually.” No. You’d stand up and take charge. Why, then, would anyone choose to wait to make themselves better, happier? Why would anyone decide to allow time to choose when they can make a change that may improve their lives infinitely?
We were placed on this earth with a certain amount of time, a certain purpose, and a sure freedom. God gave us the free will to make choices for ourselves – if he didn’t, there would obviously be no sin, because He just wouldn’t allow it to happen. That’s the surest way to know He wants us to choose for ourselves. I’ve often heard the old saying “if you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans.” As much as I think the phrase has been misconstrued to mean something else at times, I do agree. God wants us to dream big. He wants us to take the life and the world He has given us and make it bigger and better than ever before.
If you’ve ever needed proof of that, examine the parable Jesus gave his disciples of the three slaves with talents (Matthew 25:14). Of course, there are multiple ways to interpret this, but I take it quite literally. Three slaves were given talents by their master. Two of them used their talents to make more, to create, to better themselves and their situation. When their master returned and asked about the talents, each had doubled what they were given for their master and because of this they were rewarded. But one of the three servants buried his talent where it would never be seen, but never be lost. When his master returned the man could only dig up and return what already belonged to his master, with no return and no use being made of the talent, and thus he was punished.
God has given us all a talent. He has given us all life, love, a desire for something and a way to get what we want. When we put that talent to use in whatever way we can, it will grow. Just like a muscle that is used and worked it will get stronger and bigger, more useful and worthwhile. Soon others will take notice. We can put our talents out there and have them return to us even bigger. We can take each and every day of this life and inject ourselves, our dreams, our desires and our strengths into it, and when all is said and done, each day will have been bigger and better than the last.
I think that’s what we’re here for. It’s not about New Year’s Resolutions that often fail, leaving us to fall right back into the same routine. Obviously if we’re setting a resolution to change it, some part of us is tired of letting it happen, right? So why wait for a new year? Why wait until the world tells you it’s OK to make a change? Do it now. If you want that haircut, go get it. If you want to lose weight, do it. If you want to publish a book, write it and push it out there. None of us are given a promise that we will wake up tomorrow, or that there will even be a tomorrow. So why wait? Why let the man-made constructs of conformity and waste ruin the time we have left? Get out there and climb that mountain, lift those weights, write that book, go for that management position, travel the world. Will you be like the servant who hid his talent from the world and had nothing to show for it, or will you get out there and make the most of what you’ve been given and make your mark on the world? Be true to yourself, people. We have so little time here. None of us want to be on our death bed and realize we didn’t live to our fullest potential. I challenge each of you, before the week is over, to do something that your heart desires.
Find something that you have been wanting to do that you know will make you happy, break out of a routine that has been holding you back. Make a difference in your own life, and see just how much happier it makes you. It can be something as huge as getting a new car, or something as small as trying a new route to work. But do it. Break free. Find a way to take the life God has given you and truly be thankful for it. Dare to live a little, eh? That’s the end of this post. In the next couple of days I’m going to come back with another similar message regarding things that have been bugging me in this regard – namely suggestions that we have to base our lives on the lives of others.
In the meantime, get out there and showcase your talents. Bring yourself to a new level and take your life in your own hands. In the end, you’ll have something to show for it. Be true to yourselves, guys.
Damean Mathews 