Hey guys, I just wanted to give you all a reminder about UpLive. The site has been up and running strong since Sunday and has gotten a lot of positive feedback, but there are countless people out there who could use the type of inspirational messages we are trying to send. It’s going to take all of us working together to get it going strong and spread far and wide, so please make the effort. Go to the site, read the posts, share it with everyone you know. Share this post if you don’t want to do that. Just make sure that you help spread the message. There might be someone out there whose life really could be saved by the type of inspiration this site can give. It only takes a second to share, so come on guys, help us all out. In the meantime, whether you draw inspiration from it or not, I hope you will take the time to read the posts and appreciate the feeling behind them and the talent of those who have written them. If you like them, let the writers know. Feel free to comment and share. This is more for the public and those who need it than it is for us, either way. We don’t need gratification. We just want to help those who need it or could use it. Anyway, I hope you all had a great Memorial Day and a great first half of the week! The link to UpLive is below, please share and enjoy.
Life
Your Work, Your Audience, Your Knowledge
I know I’ve written on and touched on this subject a number of times, but it has once more surfaced in my mind and in my work. For any artist there is a very specific thing, or a number of things about which you are going to be most passionate and in turn, most knowledgeable about. This is what your subject matter should be. It seems a bit obvious, but the amount of people out there who try to write on something about which they are completely clueless is surprising and disturbing. You should never betray what you know and love. You know what you love, and more importantly you KNOW what you love. The things that you are inspired to write about are often going to be things which you have an outstanding knowledge of, because you already love them. Granted, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re not going to have to do research on anything by any means. Just as much as you can have outstanding knowledge of or passion for such things as the specific laws of your hometown, you can also have a passion for a general subject, such as life on the beaches of North Carolina that you’ll have to do some research on for specifics. Whatever it is that you’re passionate about, that is what you need to write about. Don’t listen to anyone who says that your desired subject matter is not going to sell. That’s complete crap. If you love, someone else out there is going to love it too, and even if it isn’t their favorite subject your passion will bleed into the work if you do it right, and they will feel that. Don’t think for a second your audience isn’t going to feel your love. If you are truly loving your work, no matter the subject matter, your audience will feel your passion in their hands and their very hearts while they read it. That is the mark of a truly great writer; make your audience FEEL. But that’s another post entirely. I just felt the need to remind all of my readers here that no matter what else you do, you HAVE to write your passion. A very dear friend of mine, and extreme supporter of my writing has given me some flack about my subject matter on a number of occasions, but afterwards he always stops me with a very serious piece of advice that I would like to share here before I go. Coming from a professional, published author (myself) and an even more successful likewise published author and member of one of the most prestigious writing guilds in the country here it is in my own words.
Don’t listen to others. Don’t write what others write just because they write it. You know what you want to write. You know what is in your heart, soul and mind. That’s what you have to write. You know it best. You carry it with you all of the time and you know it at a depth that others can only wonder at, but no matter how obscure the subject matter might seem you the world it’s yours. You know it and you love it, and if you put that onto the pages and into the work, the audience will feel it and then THEY’LL know and love it too. Don’t think for a second they won’t. That’s their job after all. You’re the story teller and they’re the receivers.
That is the best advice I can give anyone I think. I’m going to wrap up with a few more pieces of advice from my own mind and experience. Don’t forget these statement; they’ll get you far. Feel free to comment and contact me with anything you have to say and remember these pieces of advice. If you can’t provide them (your audience) with something to feel then there is no proper exchange. You have to feel it first and put those feelings into your work- put your blood, sweat and tears into the work, so the audience can feel them as well. Only then can there truly be an exchange of literature. If you don’t believe that, go back and read works from the Romantic Period. Those authors had true feelings that they spilled into their work, and no matter how much or how little you know about the subject, you’re enthralled because you can FEEL the piece itself. Feelings bring work to life. You have to remember that. So please, I ask everyone who has any sort of artistic passion, DO NOT work on something you aren’t passionate about. Don’t try to pass off dead work. You HAVE to give it life, you have to give it feeling and passion. That is the only way to bring literature, or any sort of art, to life and make it worthwhile for you and for the audience. Don’t ignore that passion that’s in your heart, no matter how much you’re afraid someone won’t like it or will criticize it. It’s your passion, and someone else WILL love it too, if only because they feel your own love within it. So don’t keep that from the world. It’s your job, your calling, your duty even to share this passion with a slowly dying and passionless world. We are the lifesavers, and we can’t let the world die with us. Remember that. Thank you all for reading.
Life Can Hinder Us, If We Let It
I have a lot of experience in the field of writing, as I’ve said. It gets really difficult at times trying to keep everything sorted out and on track, I know, but the rewards are like nothing you can imagine. Once you finish a novel, or even just a short story, you have this overwhelming sense of accomplishment that makes you realize that all of the struggle and all the work you put into the piece was more than worth it. One of the hardest parts of writing, though, is keeping your mind wrapped around the task when life is going on as quickly as ever all around you. Many things can break our focus, which is why it is extremely beneficial to take notes and attempt to outline the future of your work so that when these things do come up and break your focus you have at least an idea of where to take things.
Another very important thing that can be the saving ground of an author is making time every day to write. No matter what is going on, it is important that you make time to put down at least a couple of ideas every day. Your work is something that needs consistent attention. You can’t (most can’t anyway) just write every now and then and expect the work to be as strong as it would be if you gave it daily attention. Think of it like caring for a plant of sorts; that plant is going to need daily watering and sunlight if it is going to reach its full potential. I believe it may have been Hemingway who said that he made himself sit down and write at least two pages a day. Granted I know many people also say you can’t force the story, you need to coax it as much you can. Like I suggested; throw down a few ideas, go back and read what you already have of it, develop some things you’ve been vague about. Do what it takes in order to stay connected with your work and make sure it has a future. One of the saddest things in the world is an unfinished story; and even sadder, an abandoned one.
Life can throw a huge monkey wrench in our plans, yes. That’s a given. But it doesn’t have to ruin our work. We, as writers, must be able to entertain and work around any hindrance imaginable in order to keep writing. It is our calling, after all. So you have to find what works for you. If forcing the words out gives you what you need, then that’s your solution. Just as no two works are exactly alike, neither are any two authors going to be identical. It is for that very reason that I can’t express enough (even though I’ve certainly tried) that no two methods of writing, inspiration, or achievement can be expected to be the same. It just doesn’t work that way. Everyone is different, and every result is going to be different. And we have to realize that and make sure we never give up. No matter what. Only you can give your story to the world, and I am here to assure you that no matter what that story is, it deserves to be released and shared.
Damean Mathews 