Monday, January 30, 2012

Reminiscing


There IS a reason I haven't blogged for a while. Really, I'm not lying. I've written a screenplay. There's a saying that every writer has a million bad words in him or her, and that once those million bad words are out on the page, he or she can write something worth reading. Given my screenplay of approximately 20,000 words took me three months to write, that means I'll write something worthwhile in about 15 years... That's not all too bad, I'll be 48 years old; our eldest, Angie, will be nearing her 21st birthday and No. 2 Talia will probably be off on the back of some bikers' Harley Davidson raising hell. I'll most likely be jaded and cynical; my hands no good anymore from beating the hell out of circus artists and 65-year old arthritic knees. Let's hope my hands can still type by then.

I would have probably given all of myself from 20 years+ of treating, my soul dried and spirit gone. Maybe it would be time for myself then, when I can do those things I want to do - some tai chi in the morning for meditation and centering myself; some yoga following my light nap after breakfast and gym time in the afternoon, finishing with a leisurely stroll with my beautiful wife on the beach. Or maybe I'll just want a bottle and a place to write my novel (thanks to The Roots for that gem..). I hope my novel will be written by then, I'll have something finished and accomplished instead of just talking/blogging about it. Seth Godin talks about the age of the novel being dead, the publishing game now a washed up landscape of wannabees and has-beens, the future lying in the electronic age of Nooks and Kindles, iPads and tablet readers.

What will publishing ACTUALLY be like in 15 years? Will paperbacks be a relic of the past like beta video and cassette recorders, our children's children visiting libraries as they would a museum and marvel at the dusty tomes? Maybe things will take more than a generation to change. But don't we all remember (showing my 'maturity') the times when we had to use a pencil to reel in the tape that was 'chewed' by our tape cassette player? I know Angie wouldn't have the foggiest if I handed her a pencil and cassette tape (what is THIS daddy?). She knows how to wipe the streaks off the backside of a DVD, as does Talia, but will that too be a thing of the past with streaming video and TV? Time will tell.

Godin also talks about building a 'tribe' - if you have something to say then your 'tribe' are the people who are listening. Guess my tribe is you, if you are reading this. Come with me. I'll edit my screenplay (by end of Feb hopefully!) and you can read it if you are so inclined. Tell me it sucks - I can take it. I need to; no-one ever gets better at something if you pat them, just telling me it's great for the sake of. Fantastic, that's another 500 words of palaver. 989,500 words to go...