When it comes to writing, my creative energies shifted after I met my wife.  I think this started largely in part to being in a happier state of mind however a larger component was due to becoming a more disciplined worker in my day jobs.  I had someone more than myself to think of so I threw myself into taking on more and more responsibilities trying to build an established career.  If looked at in a micro scale I’ve had a pretty balanced win/loss ratio over the last ten years when it comes to employment.  Sure I’ve had some great opportunities, playing in some pretty cool technical sandboxes but I’ve also endured plenty of long hours and sleepless nights while mentally taking on way too much extra work for not enough compensation or credit.  The mental and physical toll these were taking on me were not helping me or my family.

Things began to shift after joining Toastmasters.

Before that I had stopped doing any kind of meaningful writing.  The last poem I wrote was almost ten years old.  I was blogging for awhile, the evidence of which is on this very blog going back to 2004 but if you look at the dates you’ll see them slowly drop off.  Any self-contemplation I experienced was during long daily commutes and the occasional sanity break when I would go for a short walk…all stuck within my head and unable to get out. 

My goal when I joined Toastmasters was to learn to be a better speaker and leader.  However I now realize it had a more important influence.  I was forced to sit down and write again.  Many of my earlier speeches were mostly improvised, however even those small sections of notes and writing that I pushed myself into started to loosen the jumble of noise in my head.  I realized that though I had matured physically and perhaps was a lot stronger socially than I had been back in my high school and college days, I still had a long way to go before I was truly happy with myself.  Writing was helping me get there.

As my writing has progressed, I’ve changed my outlooks and my commitments.  I’ve slowed down my pace to see situations and people in different lights.  I am still a dedicated employee but I’m an even more dedicated father and husband.  I’ve pretty much decided that I don’t care as much about how long I live on this earth, I’m more concerned with enjoying and learning from as many moments as I can in the time I have.  The scenic route is always more fun.

When I decided to re-ignite the blog, it was in a time of positivity.  My wife was working hard to tranform the energies in our house to remain positive all the time and so I decided to do my part to maintain that.

So, The Acting Artist v2, which kicked off at the end of September with the poem Recreate is my answer, and I expect it to grow.  My plan is to write at least five posts a week.  I’m creating schedules and developing a new discipline to see that happen. 

So far I have Distraction Thursday, which is where I will write a bit (either blog or story) about a picture.
Friday Poetry is, well…about poetry.  ’nuff said.
I am also planning on a dedicated story night, and a dedicated night where I take one song and write from the inspiration it offers.

More importantly though, I will be writing stuff you won’t see.  I am excited to say I have three major writing projects that are in draft phase right now.  I’ve been inspired by authors like Scott Sigler who have a project management mentality around their books.  They don’t try cramming a bunch in all at once…they focus on them one at a time, and are unafraid to tell you that a potential sequel you may be looking for isn’t coming out for a couple years.  I have a whole world of teachers out there who are giving me new inspiration every day….and I’m loving every minute of it.

I can high-five my inner-child now…that eight year old who knew he wanted to be a writer.  He got lost out in the cold wilderness for awhile but then in a shocking change of metaphors passed the baton on to his older self.  It’s my time to run with it.

11:41pm

Podcast of the day: Scott Sigler – The MVP#2
Music playing while I wrote this: Ulrich Schnauss – Far Away Trains Passing By