Creative Block

December 1, 2011

I'm having a hard time writing lately. I have all kinds of ideas, but the ink in my pen is clogged - needs a laxative. My kitten Isis is staring at me right now...wonder what she thinks about?
Wondering what i'm thinking about?

On the bus ride home I finally understood something that has gradually been a reality for many years now - the talent and skills responsible for arts have slowly been de-emphasized. Everyone is an artist. Being an "artist" is a dying art. What good is it developing the art of "method acting" when "reality shows" and You Tube lazily showcase the "everyday" insanity of imbalanced people? A musician need not go to music school when electronic software can mimic the sound of a live instrument, autotone can mechanize the voice of a bad singer, and the enormous honor it used to be to go to a recording studio to have a reel-to-reel recording that later is pressed to vinyl, is lost on "do-it-yourself" gadgets. The existing actors, musicians and recording artists are being remixed, mimicked and exploited by wannabe artists and the media.

Writers are even a mockery. Everyone has a blog, an autobiography, a point of view. Rogue journalists, photographers, graphic artists, editorialists, and comedians are starting up their own franchises, and are running them off the steam of their own popularity, not the merit of their skills. It seems the era of Entertainment Renaissance is now over and has been swiftly replaced with hype men and hype women desperate for their fifteen months of fame, oversaturating a market that is now the "free-market" free-for-all. Too many chefs and not enough short-order line cooks. That is why this blog will go largely unnoticed, and why my motivation has been choked out of me.

Am I sour? Of course I am! I am one of those dinosaurs caught in a generational divide between already established artists who got their name out there when it meant something, and narcissistic exhibitionists masquerading as artists, who have gotten by on their charm and good looks. Artists had an "American Dream", too. And we're all sitting back, aghast, watching it turn into a hellish nightmare. The Mighty Land of Capitalism; where if you believe in yourself enough, and have a talent for your craft, and work tirelessly for your dream no matter how poor or socially awkward according to the current conventions or difficult on the eyes; promises that you, too, could pull yourself up by your boot straps and achieve success in your area of expertise...that, my dear friends, simply isn't true anymore. Now, I can delude myself by continuing to vy for the attention of a generation I don't fully understand, but I would be wasting my time.

I appreciate a good philosophical debate over an idea. A back and forth dialogue among my peers, so to speak, but no one cares to weigh in. The unfortunate aspect about all this is: I am not a recluse. So today, I am truly at a loss. If you are reading this now, don't get me wrong, I thoroughly appreciate your support, and in no way am trying to have a pity party-temper tantrum-"i am such a victim"-fest (so please don't marginalize my sobering observations with your pity or consolation), I am concerned that the number of viewers of this blog is so tiny I could group you all up in a mailing list and e-mail out a weekly newsletter and accomplish the same end...(to be continued...)

LATER...

Okay, switching gears now, I was wondering...if I were to write a short story, where would I send the drafts? With technology being the way it is, do I email a file? No one uses snail mail anymore. I ask because I am seriously considering writing a book - and finishing it - about a person who gets abducted by an alien, only to find it is their great-to the tenth power-granddaughter from the future who evolved over time into an almost unrecognizable species, and traveled back in time on an archaelogical field trip, or maybe perhaps to conduct a family tree of sorts for a class in school. Or something along those lines. Any suggestions? The time for a back and forth dialogue is now. If you would like to post a response elsewhere just post something to one of my facebook pages. Thanks for all your support!