Intermission

It's premature for me to do an intermission in much detail. I have not populated this blog with much material yet. I also have not collected enough of an obvious following to assume that anybody is reading. Still, while I am dredging up material to post, it is good discipline to write a certain amount of copy every day just to keep up interest. Maybe I will say something that provokes a comment that in turn provokes an idea for a piece to write.

So, a bit of Q&A:

Q: Visually, this is a stark blog. No pictures, no links to videos, no music. Will it stay that way?

A: I don't know. Multi-media blogs have the potential to be great because they are incredibly entertaining. But my fondest memories of reading go back to a childhood where, when it was time to read, everything else went off except maybe some instrumental background music. That let you put your entire brain to work on the words. Maybe at some point I'll realize that I'm just another shop in a massive mall and I need bells and whistles and displays to get you to come in and browse the shelves. But for now, I'm offering you a quiet corner of a sunlit library. Feel free to bring your own coffee.

Q: How old is this material?

A: Thus far what I have put up is between six months and seven years old. I write slowly because I have other things I have to do to make money. That's not an excuse, it's an acknowledgment that I am still learning to treat writing as a tool to stay sane and not an obligation to be resented. Maybe the reason for this blog is to force me to produce copy until I am ready to (sorry, can't resist) Keep Calm and Carry On.

Q: How much of the material is autobiographical and how much of it is fiction?

A: I think when someone is beginning to write, the first narratives chosen are the ones easiest to remember, the writer's own history. At some point the writer graduates to being able to construct the story, characters, conflict etc. from any and all sources. I think I am in the middle. From time to time it will be raw. I'll try to remember that as therapeutic it might feel to put up, my first obligation is keep you entertained.