yourwords

Most of my posts are probably going to have something to do with music, I can’t lie. I should have included that in my introduction post, but I suppose I didn’t think about it since music is such a big part of my daily life. It doesn’t occur to me that a lot of music would be absurd in my blogs, but I was wondering today is a writing blog really should have so much to do with music just because my inspiration is based in it. So under that presumption, this blog is also about creativity, so any form of creative expression is allowed. :) there. I like my reasoning.

Now that I’ve paved the road, I have some music to talk about. :)

At the San Diego County Fair this evening, I saw a laser light show set to the music of Pink Floyd. Trippy stuff. Trippy and GREAT. If you ever have the chance to see this show, I recommend you jump on it, and don’t neglect to buy the 3-D glasses. It helps if you know the Wall, but if you don’t know it very well *ehem* it’s still mind blowing.

When this song came on, I realized that some of the best creative minds have the most dark issues. It gives them an edge that calls out to other hurt souls who need expression to sort themselves out (requiem post much?) I wondered, though, does one have to be dark to be a creative genius? That varies depending on who you talk to. The past four decades have been spotted with troubled creative souls that make such an impact on the public. Like Janice Joplin, for example. Or Kurt Cobain. Would they have been as brilliant or memorable if they hadn’t been driven to an early death by a deep understanding of hopelessness and despair? I’m sure we’d like to think that we’d still think fondly of people like Jimi Hendrix or John Lennon if their lives hadn’t been cut short. Maybe it’s true, but we wouldn’t hold the same kind of respect for them. Die young- live forever. Virginia Woolf (semi young), John Keats, Motzart, Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickinson. All these poor tragic figures that were very clearly brilliant yet also disturbed and morose.

But then again, to be deep doesn’t necessarily men one has to put a negative spin on things. John Lennon had messages of peace. Jane Austen wrote fascinating social commentaries with happy endings. J.K. Rowling gave her character’s hell and heaven all fumbled together, just like in everyday life, with happiness ultimately winning out. Same with J.R.R. Tolkein. These people haven’t died tragically, nor were their works depressing and dark. These people are famous too.

So, like in all things, there is no black and white ultimate answers for whats good and what’s bad. Remember, then, that as a writer you exist in a shade of gray. Now make that shade your own without worrying about what might be selling better.

prompt #6

Look over your creative projects. Are they expressive of an in-the-moment emotion? Do you tend to go epic and mix in some good and some bad? Poetry and lyrics, as well as short stories, paintings, and sketches, tend to be more centered on specific moments in time, but this isn’t always the case, just as all novels don’t show the ‘getting over it’ part of life. When you’ve discovered which way you lean, try going in the opposite direction. For example, I wrote a long novel like piece that documented three years and many changes for a girl. There’s a very tough breakup for her that she has to learn to deal with. To push that in the opposite direction, I would write a spin off where I concentrate solely on the emptiness and doubt that she felt during the breakup, without explaining what she does to move on. Vice-a-versa, you could take a breakup poem and write another three verses about how the lover after that one made you so much happier. Learning to switch up what you normally do is good excercise and will ultimately give your writing more depth.

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