It is more a case that writers, like Captain Beefheart and many other musicians, complained that they have “Too Much Time”. They either complain that they have a writer’s block, that they lack inspiration or that they can’t get anybody interested in their pitches or getting to write copy or turn themselves into ‘the dreaded’ ghostwriters. But what about a situation when they have all the opportunities in the world, the inspiration is there and the writer’s block is busted to pieces? What happens when they find themselves in a situation they have an abundance of work, inspiration, ideas, possibilities? It is a situation they have craved for and “Too Much Time”, the Beefheart song or any other of the numerous ones with that name can be buried deep into their record collection? Well, then it is just a question of balancing your time. No excuses there, you cannot resort to that easy way out called ‘I’m not an expert in that subject’, or ‘ there’s too much research to be done ’ . Ok, so there are things you know less about, and yes, there are situations when as a writer you have to learn something about rocket science. And, of course, even if you are writing your memoir you have to do extensive research unless you have a more extensive memory than the hard disc on the computer you’re working on (or iPad/tablet, makes no difference). But then, there is one thing you are ( or are supposed to be) an expert in — and that is an expert with words, which also includes understanding numbers. So when the list of excuses runs out, there is one thing to do — keep on writing, tackling those tasks one by one, and with enjoyment. Then “Too Much Time” will be a song that gets yet another meaning for you. Merriam-Webster says inanimate stands for “a thing that is not alive, such as a rock, a chair, a book, etc .”. Dictionary.com goes further with its definition in linguistics: “belonging to a syntactic category or having a semantic feature characteristic of words denoting objects, concepts, and beings regarded as lacking perception and volition” . Sure, but with writers, things rarely stick strictly do dictionary or general definitions. And they shouldn’t. Not always, anyway. Writers often use inanimate objects, concepts and beings as a starting point to transpose them and give them a ‘live’ human meaning, defining us, them, anybody, or some form of human relations. There is always a human element, anyway when we write about inanimate objects. When he came up with “Famous Blue Raincoat”, one of his best and most celebrated songs/poems, Leonard Cohen through that coat gave all he felt about a failed relationship, treachery, love, and at least a dozen sense of other human feelings: “Oh, the last time we saw you you looked so much older Your famous blue raincoat was torn at the shoulder You’d been to the station to meet every train But then you came home without Lili Marlene…” Nothing inanimate there. The raincoat has taken all the shapes and forms of a person wearing it and how Cohen perceived that person and their relations and relations with others involved. That is why a writer can (and often should) see all things inanimate as something that can give them inspiration for their writing. Past, present, future, it can all be ‘seen ’ and viewed from that object, whether it is just a starting point or something that permeates the writing throughout. Basically, a writer could give life to things that are seemingly not alive. Comes a time… so goes a song from the album of the same name Neil Young came up with a few decades ago. Still a great song, but its context for quite a number of writers could be that the harsh writing times demand some serious compromises, and that could be joining one of the ever-growing numbers of writer farms. Actually, they used to call them content farms and more often these days content mills. Allena Tapia wrote on www.thebalancesmb.com, that “A content mill or writers mill is a slang term used by freelance writers and given to a company, website, or organization designed to provide cheap website content, usually at a significant profit to themselves, and usually by paying very low rates to writers.” The farm connotation was changed I guess, since it reminded of peaceful cows grazing some (relatively cheap) grass as a reward for their writing, while the mill connotation has probably more to do with those heavy stones that grind the flower, or every ounce of writing strength. The rewards are still the same as on the farm. So, if you can swallow Allena’s definition, you’re in need, you may want to dip your writing (hands and feet) into content mill waters. It may sound like a simple proposition — you check out the organizations and find the ones that pay better, you apply, sign in, start writing, get paid for your writing. Well, not so fast. Most of this writing is business -oriented, and in this day and age, it means it has to abide by the rules of being as visible as possible online, which means you have to be quite a bit informing with ever-present or search engine optimization, better known as SEO. Often you have to pass a test, sometimes more than one, and most often that science fiction trilogy you got rave reviews a few years back won’t do you much good here. If you do get through, you have to get acquainted with usually a strict set of rules that look like a cross-country hurdle race, since everything has to be more or less uniform. But then, wasn’t the hurdles and uniformity the reason you got into writing in the first place? Of course, that’s not all. When you get done with your article(s) you get to encounter the editors — the mill’s or the customer’s, it could depend, but possible surprises will at least keep you on your toes if by chance you encounter an editor that is not exactly keen on what you have done. Oh, and you get graded. Usually, you start somewhere in the middle and often go down before you start getting up. As you might suspect, going down on the list, means getting paid less for your work. If you get it, that is… At some point, you get financially rewarded (more or less, depends), you get a byline or (more often) you don’t, but then Neil Young is always there to remind you that … comes a time… |
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February 2020
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