208 Words

I read an article the other day about how the most lucrative song ever written is “Margaritaville” by Jimmy Buffett. Quoting from the Bloomberg Businessweek, “To think that all of this poured forth from a goofy, three-chord song—a mere 208 words, roughly half the length of this article—written about being lazy and getting drunk.”

This “most lucrative” title doesn’t stem from the royalties of the song or Buffett’s concerts alone. Margaritaville Enterprises franchises tourist entertainment complexes, sells beachwear, furniture, alcohol, blenders, and more.
While an interesting article, the fact that it all started from 208 words fascinates me. Somehow, the way he put those words together with the melody hooked people and started a financial empire. Was it luck? Or the ability to make listeners feel a certain way. In this case, carefree, relaxed, happy! How many of you can sing a few lines? I can.

BTW, the song’s popular ranking isn’t even in the top 10 richest songs. The two highest-ranking pop songs are You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling, by the Righteous Brothers, and Yesterday, by the Beatles. (No. 1 was Happy Birthday to You.) However, as a branding and a lifestyle having most total impact, Margaritaville wins with a couple hundred million dollars.

Another thing adding to this culture happened when Buffett dubbed his diehard fans Parrotheads in 1989. Parrotheads travel to Buffett’s concerts and party, party, party. These fans support the Margaritaville culture. It’s worth noting the Grateful Dead had Deadheads in the ‘70’s and young Justin Bieber has Beliebers, which was started around 2008 by his YouTube fans.

When we write, we spend agonizing days looking for the right words to communicate our work to the readers. It’s not the number of words, it’s how they are on the page and what they convey.

Sometimes, we think we’ll never get it right. Ah, but when we do…it’s worth it.

208 Words

 

Perseverance

As I walked in the door of Patty’s Parlor of Pain, better known as Aarstadt’s Fitness Center, I saw a saying framed, hanging on the wall. It said:

That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us; not that the nature of the thing itself is changed, but that our power to do it is increased–Perseverance

Perseverance: The dictionary definition is–steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.

Because of painful arthritis, an eighty year old farmer’s wife in Virginia could no longer hold her needle to embroider. A small paintbrush was much easier to hold, so she tried painting. She decided to show her farm and country scenes at the county fair, but only won prizes for her jams and canned fruit. There were no blue ribbons for her art.

Later, an art collector from New York City was traveling through the village and noticed several of her paintings for sale in a local drug store. When he showed them to his friends in the art circles of Manhattan, they loved them. Soon, ‘Grandma Moses’ gained an international reputation.

Walt Disney was turned down 302 times before he got financing for his dream of creating the “Happiest Place on Earth”. Today, due to his persistence, millions of people have shared the joy of Disney.

Colonel Sanders spent two years driving across the United States looking for restaurants to buy his chicken recipe. He was turned down 1,009 times. Can you believe it, over a thousand times? Because of his perseverance, Kentucky Fried Chicken is still a successful business today.

This quote is from Kathryn Stockett’s website, talking about her best-selling novel, The Help. “It has been an incredible ride since I started writing The Help in September 2001. After more than sixty rejections from agents, I am still surprised to see The Help on a shelf in a bookstore.”

We are what we repeatedly do.

If we repeatedly write, we are authors.

Perseverance is also about rewriting. Not just once or twice, but many times. If you’ve received 20 rejections for a story, maybe it needs another major revision, or maybe you need to put it away. Then write another story, or two, or three.

Perseverance is not conditional, it’s enduring. It’s grinding away at a novel, even when you don’t feel inspired. It’s finishing the novel and revising. It’s sending out your work, over and over and over and, learning more about writing so you can continually improve.

Perseverance is hanging in there when all you want to do is hide under the bed.

I’d like to assure you that as I did power squats and leg lifts yesterday, my power to do them increased, but… Maybe next week.

Has perseverance helped you in your writing career or your life?

 

Poetry Slam

Poetry Slam. The term even sounds intriguing.

Last month I attended my first poetry slam at the Women of Steel Gallery in Garden City. A slam is not a typical poetry reading. It’s competitive, performed poetry. It’s loud. It’s ruckus. It’s a whole lot of fun.

Marc Smith, a construction worker from Chicago, is credited with the origination of the poetry slam. A construction worker—how cool is that?

The M.C. of the slam I attended was highly entertaining, and he started things off by serving as the “sacrificial poet.” He read his poem to the audience with Shakespearean theatrics, and the five judges, selected from the audience, gave him a score. The intent of this “sacrificial” reading was to help the judges calibrate their rating system, which consisted of a wooden paddle with numbers.

After this introduction the actual competition began. Each poet had three minutes to present his or her original work of poetry. The audience cheered, hooted, and hollered at the end of each reading.

If the poet were to exceed the time limit, the jeering audience would yell, “You rat bastard, you’re ruining it for everyone.”

After each reading, the five judges held up their individual scores, awarded for the quality and delivery of the poem. Again, the audience cheered, hooted, hollered, and, in some cases, booed and harassed the judges (it’s not bad behavior, it’s part of the fun). The highest and lowest scores were dropped, and the remaining three were tallied.

The event I attended was upbeat and exciting. The poetry was good. The energy was high.

Give it a try. You might even be moved to perform. It is, I should note, a free speech event. Poems are not censored, so poetry slams are not for the easily bristled.

Slams are held at the Ladies of Steel Gallery in Garden City and at the Neurolux Lounge in Boise. There’s $5 fee ($1 for students). A workshop is held prior to the Ladies of Steel slam, which tends to draw a college-age crowd. For the slam held at the lounge, participates must be 21.

Here’s a website for Big Tree Arts where you can find more information on Poetry Slams: http://www.boisepoetry.com.

 

Passion for Perfection

The world learned of Steven Jobs’ (SJ) death last week. I have no intention of entering the debate about his impact, large or small, on the world. Those discussions are for people who have nothing better to do.

Reading about SJ’s passion for perfection struck a chord with me I did not expect. His passion to put beautifully designed, easy-to-use personal computing devices into the hands of the world drove his every waking hour.  He had the vision and he recruited people who could bring his vision to life. He never wanted to produce low cost commodities that weren’t designed for the easy operation of the user. He never sacrificed quality for the bottom line. Stories are all over the ‘net about the products he held back until they “just worked.” That was Steve Jobs’ passion.

SJ never lost his passion. His body wore out before his passion for perfection. Michael Graves, in an article Special to CNN, October 07, 2011 wrote:

“One imagines that Jobs, given how much he loved doing what he did, wanted to leave this world exhausted from his passion for his life’s work, for that’s all that would give him rest.”

Writers are passionate about the written word, but it is hard to maintain through the entire process. Original idea, plotting, first draft, subsequent drafts, beta reads, final revision, submissions, rejections, sales. Then, start over with a new WIP. It’s also hard not to get just a little (or a lot) tired of your characters after a while, IMO. The WIP isn’t as bright and shiny after everything you go through to prepare a novel for publication. Passion is tiring, people!

But, when I think of Steve Jobs, I want that passion for perfection. That drive. That absolute certainty and dedication to a vision. I’ll work harder to maintain it throughout my writing process. I’ll honor what I’m writing. I’ll honor me.

 

Defining an Artist

A friend once asked me if I thought photographers were artists. I answered with a resounding yes. She didn’t agree. “After all,” she said, “photographers just aim the camera and click.”

You can say something similar about most of the arts. Almost anyone can slap some paint on a canvas, write a few sentences down on paper, or draw a rosined bow screeching across a few strings, just as anyone can aim a camera and click.

An artist is something more, though. Artists make us see, feel, or hear the world a little differently, if only for that moment. Artists create things that cause us to stop and take notice, consider what is being presented. Art entices us. Love it or hate it, art elicits a response. An artist can be a painter, musician, writer, photographer, cartoonist, dancer, actor, glassblower, cinematographer, weaver, sculptor, or potter, just to name a few.

Nature is the ultimate artist, as you can see by this photo of Idaho’s Balanced Rock.

I might even argue that the comedian that painted these street lines is an artist. It’s original, and it elicited a response from me. (Do you suppose it was his last day on the job?)

An artist is also the woodworker who creates a piece of furniture, cutting the wood so that a certain grain is highlighted, turning a table leg to create a unique design, staining the wood to intensify its natural beauty. Suddenly it’s no longer just a piece of furniture.

A gardener may be an artist. Those who design a back yard in such a way that it makes you want to be a part of it, to sit down and enjoy the kaleidoscope of colors, the sound of a waterfall, and the scent of jasmine.

As a writer, you are an artist. You put words on paper that are rhythmic and enticing. You decide which scenes to include and which to edit so that you weave a tale that lures the reader into the world you’ve created, seduces the reader into committing hours to the story you have to tell.

One of my favorite quotes is by Friedrich Nietzsche. He said:

“We have art in order not to die of the truth.”

I love that. Try to imagine a world with no art — no music, no stained glass, no stories, no textile designs. Talk about bland. Conversely, art IS the truth. It records our history. It celebrates what’s important to each era by the buildings we erect, the music that dominates, the paintings we create. As a writer, you are a part of this history. Celebrate that. Celebrate the artist in you.

I’m always fascinated by the types of art people make. Please, hit the comment button, and tell us what types of art you create.