How This Critter Crits
Viewing comments for Chapter 13 "I Love You SPRINGTIME...Now Buh-Bye"GROWTH? ADULATION? HURRY -- CHOOSE!
45 total reviews
Comment from I am Cat
Hi Jay,
I started reading this, and I thought... 'one part perspiration... one part interrogation... another is empower(ation?) , and another part INSPIRATION.'.. what was that other part?... AHA! Salesman... That's what it was, and I looked to the words under your profile photo... and smiled. Ah yes, I've seen this, in Salesmanship class... very effective, i might add.
I loved the gentle, yet knowledgeable prodding... (could you just channel a speaker into my home every day and talk me into it?) ;)
Some parts I really liked:
'Time is only abstract until you use it (I said that, not Zig Ziglar)! We live in, and through, time.'
(I really like this, and I especially like that it's like the sort of thing that Dale Carnegie might say. (which I suppose is the old Zig Ziglar?) lol
I, for one, happen to like abstracts.
'So new! So fresh! So clean! NOT! I choose to have the gestation period end and the Birthing begin where it should ... with labor!'
(Noooooo! Not again? But... But... i'm having a hysterectomy on Monday morning... I don't WANT another baby! :(
'But there's something niggling at your complacency
The nigglings are two minutes apart.'
(great lines! Like the contractions of labor... I absolutely loved this. (especially since i'm not really in labor)
'Part of you--you don't consider it the irrational part--wants it to stay right where it is: What could you do better? It's perfection ....
First things first, you need to get an agent, then buy stamps and a manila envelope. But wait! You suddenly feel an overwhelming pressure trying to get you to push ... push ... PUSH! You realize you don't have any choice. Not if you want a healthy, viable novel. What were you thinking? You must go through labor.
And so you do.
And so do we all.'
Beautiful metaphor to bring us from intercourse, gestation, labor and birth... well, i suppose we still are on the labor and birth part? Well, actually, i suppose each person is at different parts of this journey...
I, myself, have thousands of FINISHED poems (which are not in collections), dozens of shorts (finished) several shorts (which need work), half a dozen children's stories (i've lost confidence in), canvases (started, finished, needing work, needing a shredder), pottery (broken, poorly made), drawings (sketches, fully drawn, needing to be paintings, needed to be trashed) and tons more ideas constantly churning through my head...
Journals upon journals which just have WORDS... and lines, verses, no place to 'be'... but they just need to germinate somewhere.
And every day, I pull out a piece of something, and create a new piece of something out... or a FULL piece, and I post it. LOL
Yeah, and then, the next day rolls around.
But i'm still no closer to having those collections put together.
DAmn, I need that agent. LOL
I loved this, well done.
Cat
reply by the author on 15-Aug-2015
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Hi Jay,
I started reading this, and I thought... 'one part perspiration... one part interrogation... another is empower(ation?) , and another part INSPIRATION.'.. what was that other part?... AHA! Salesman... That's what it was, and I looked to the words under your profile photo... and smiled. Ah yes, I've seen this, in Salesmanship class... very effective, i might add.
I loved the gentle, yet knowledgeable prodding... (could you just channel a speaker into my home every day and talk me into it?) ;)
Some parts I really liked:
'Time is only abstract until you use it (I said that, not Zig Ziglar)! We live in, and through, time.'
(I really like this, and I especially like that it's like the sort of thing that Dale Carnegie might say. (which I suppose is the old Zig Ziglar?) lol
I, for one, happen to like abstracts.
'So new! So fresh! So clean! NOT! I choose to have the gestation period end and the Birthing begin where it should ... with labor!'
(Noooooo! Not again? But... But... i'm having a hysterectomy on Monday morning... I don't WANT another baby! :(
'But there's something niggling at your complacency
The nigglings are two minutes apart.'
(great lines! Like the contractions of labor... I absolutely loved this. (especially since i'm not really in labor)
'Part of you--you don't consider it the irrational part--wants it to stay right where it is: What could you do better? It's perfection ....
First things first, you need to get an agent, then buy stamps and a manila envelope. But wait! You suddenly feel an overwhelming pressure trying to get you to push ... push ... PUSH! You realize you don't have any choice. Not if you want a healthy, viable novel. What were you thinking? You must go through labor.
And so you do.
And so do we all.'
Beautiful metaphor to bring us from intercourse, gestation, labor and birth... well, i suppose we still are on the labor and birth part? Well, actually, i suppose each person is at different parts of this journey...
I, myself, have thousands of FINISHED poems (which are not in collections), dozens of shorts (finished) several shorts (which need work), half a dozen children's stories (i've lost confidence in), canvases (started, finished, needing work, needing a shredder), pottery (broken, poorly made), drawings (sketches, fully drawn, needing to be paintings, needed to be trashed) and tons more ideas constantly churning through my head...
Journals upon journals which just have WORDS... and lines, verses, no place to 'be'... but they just need to germinate somewhere.
And every day, I pull out a piece of something, and create a new piece of something out... or a FULL piece, and I post it. LOL
Yeah, and then, the next day rolls around.
But i'm still no closer to having those collections put together.
DAmn, I need that agent. LOL
I loved this, well done.
Cat
Comment Written 14-Aug-2015
reply by the author on 15-Aug-2015
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With all that going on, Cat, You are already in the throes of creation. Get a good grip on the mane, keep your feet in the stirrup and butt in the saddle and let it take you wherever it will. Bless you. You're doing everything if not right then often enough that before long it will be right.
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LOL, well, i do hope you are right... However, at my age, I might die before I get it right, eh? LOL
Thanks Jay! ;)
Comment from Kareau
Thanks for mentioning this other writing in my comment of your library story, this is the kick in the butt I need! I did write my novel in 2012during NANOWRIMO I'll pull that out and start revising. I started the first chapter over last year, I'm guessing maybe I don't like that direction and that's why I'm stalled.
reply by the author on 15-Aug-2015
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Thanks for mentioning this other writing in my comment of your library story, this is the kick in the butt I need! I did write my novel in 2012during NANOWRIMO I'll pull that out and start revising. I started the first chapter over last year, I'm guessing maybe I don't like that direction and that's why I'm stalled.
Comment Written 14-Aug-2015
reply by the author on 15-Aug-2015
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So happy that helped you Kareau. Don't underestimate that calendar. It's free and it's saved my butt.
Comment from Sis Cat
Excellent essay with helpful suggestions on how to disinter and perform a necropsy on "pre-term-stillborn" projects. Formula is simple to understand and apply:
"VISION + SUSTAINED DESIRE + TIME (GESTATION) = BIRTH"
I appreciate your emphasis on editing because the birthing process is not finished until the project is edited. I also enjoy your nod to Faulkner as I am currently reading his "A Light in August."
Your essay is clear, well argued, and instructive. Thank you for sharing.
reply by the author on 13-Aug-2015
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Excellent essay with helpful suggestions on how to disinter and perform a necropsy on "pre-term-stillborn" projects. Formula is simple to understand and apply:
"VISION + SUSTAINED DESIRE + TIME (GESTATION) = BIRTH"
I appreciate your emphasis on editing because the birthing process is not finished until the project is edited. I also enjoy your nod to Faulkner as I am currently reading his "A Light in August."
Your essay is clear, well argued, and instructive. Thank you for sharing.
Comment Written 12-Aug-2015
reply by the author on 13-Aug-2015
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Thank YOU, Andre! Not just for the six (which I love) but for your "necropsy on "pre-term-stillborn" projects". Love your "necropsy"! I coulda used that word!
Comment from Gypsy Blue Rose
I Love You SPRINGTIME...Now Buh-Bye
by Jay Squires
~internalized springtime for the creative mind- all artists have three things in common: A vision, a desire, and a completion. We also need time. Good job!
reply by the author on 11-Aug-2015
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I Love You SPRINGTIME...Now Buh-Bye
by Jay Squires
~internalized springtime for the creative mind- all artists have three things in common: A vision, a desire, and a completion. We also need time. Good job!
Comment Written 11-Aug-2015
reply by the author on 11-Aug-2015
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Thank you,Gypsy Blue Rose. So happy you read this and liked it.
Comment from marion
Hi Jay
I really, really enjoyed this post, the detailed, interesting thought line of going through 'the process'. The writing is good, the ending befitting.
My most favourite line (there are a few):
To try something new .... And that, dear reader is the lure--the siren--of springtime!
I think you summed 'the process' (labour and birth) well, because, and I should know, as I wrote and completed my first novel only six weeks ago. It's sitting at three publishers under consideration. Wish me luck!
Marion.
reply by the author on 11-Aug-2015
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Hi Jay
I really, really enjoyed this post, the detailed, interesting thought line of going through 'the process'. The writing is good, the ending befitting.
My most favourite line (there are a few):
To try something new .... And that, dear reader is the lure--the siren--of springtime!
I think you summed 'the process' (labour and birth) well, because, and I should know, as I wrote and completed my first novel only six weeks ago. It's sitting at three publishers under consideration. Wish me luck!
Marion.
Comment Written 11-Aug-2015
reply by the author on 11-Aug-2015
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I don't think you need the likes of me to wish you luck. You make your own. But I'll try to put a little English on the mojo ball. I hope all three get into a helluva brawl over who's gonna represent you.
Meanwhile, thanks for reading this post and for the lovely 6er. I'm glad you found it worthy of one.
Comment from Green Lake Girl
It's always interesting to hear from another author, their "process." Thanks for sharing this, Jay.
I actually enjoy the editing process. I go over my writing many, many times before submitting a post. I'm sure you do the same.
Unfinished projects? I have one. I'd love to have LOTS more time to write, but then I'd have to sweep all the people out of my house. :)
reply by the author on 11-Aug-2015
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It's always interesting to hear from another author, their "process." Thanks for sharing this, Jay.
I actually enjoy the editing process. I go over my writing many, many times before submitting a post. I'm sure you do the same.
Unfinished projects? I have one. I'd love to have LOTS more time to write, but then I'd have to sweep all the people out of my house. :)
Comment Written 11-Aug-2015
reply by the author on 11-Aug-2015
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Very good, Marietta. Sweeping out the people. Thanks for reading and enjoying my post. Glad you enjoyed it.
Comment from Spitfire
This hit home with me. I've started three novels, got a third of the way through, then lost interest. Of course, teaching at the same time didn't help. I couldn't keep to a regular schedule and still get sleep. LOL
I like the terms you use: a vision and a desire. I'll bookmark this for use as a motivation tool!
reply by the author on 11-Aug-2015
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This hit home with me. I've started three novels, got a third of the way through, then lost interest. Of course, teaching at the same time didn't help. I couldn't keep to a regular schedule and still get sleep. LOL
I like the terms you use: a vision and a desire. I'll bookmark this for use as a motivation tool!
Comment Written 10-Aug-2015
reply by the author on 11-Aug-2015
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You couldn't please me more than to use this post as a motivation tool! Thanks you, Shari.
Comment from happykat4
Jay, I found so much truth in this writing. As I begin to put thoughts and feelings on paper, the question came up, do I want to publish or just leave my poems, short stories, etc. The desire is there, but when faced with the "work" of finding an editor, agent, I had no idea how to start...that was the excuse. It really is wondering if what I write is worth the paper it is written on and what if no one else thinks its good. I wasn't sure my ego would take it. When people, other than family and friends, review and encourage you, a light comes on an I thought maybe it isn't half bad. I am going to look at the calendar because I did let family get in the middle of my writing. It was difficult to get back to it. I read a book recently that agrees with your statements and it says you must sit down daily and write, review a "dusty" piece off and see if it is worth it. Maybe, I think about a novelette for my first go at it. Thank you again. I get so much out of these chapters. I am in you debt. Kathy
reply by the author on 10-Aug-2015
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Jay, I found so much truth in this writing. As I begin to put thoughts and feelings on paper, the question came up, do I want to publish or just leave my poems, short stories, etc. The desire is there, but when faced with the "work" of finding an editor, agent, I had no idea how to start...that was the excuse. It really is wondering if what I write is worth the paper it is written on and what if no one else thinks its good. I wasn't sure my ego would take it. When people, other than family and friends, review and encourage you, a light comes on an I thought maybe it isn't half bad. I am going to look at the calendar because I did let family get in the middle of my writing. It was difficult to get back to it. I read a book recently that agrees with your statements and it says you must sit down daily and write, review a "dusty" piece off and see if it is worth it. Maybe, I think about a novelette for my first go at it. Thank you again. I get so much out of these chapters. I am in you debt. Kathy
Comment Written 10-Aug-2015
reply by the author on 10-Aug-2015
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Kathy, your words are so gratifying. I'm really happy you have found something useful in what I wrote. Thanks for the 6 star.
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You don't know how gratifying it is to me to have you say this chapter motivated you to do something to further your writing. I'm so happy for you and humbled. Thanks for the six star, Kathy.
Comment from XGoneX
Hi Jay,
Loved reading this, and it had me thinking so much about my Journey with Beckoning since it started. It started about sixteen years ago! I was in my early teens. I dreamed about a yellow flower, lol. Over the years life got in the way, my ex then did not want me to write, and I left the project aside, although I always felt there was something missing in my life. Two years ago, I worked on it again after my relationship ended. I found myself again. But the story was completely different than it is today, and I always felt there was something not quite right in the book. Eventually I found out what it was, took the story into a different direction, created more characters and changed the genre, etc. But since 2013 that I write 12 hours a day and read 1 or 2 hours a day. I had nights I just could not sleep because I was enthralled with the writing and the story so alive in my head. I have too many books in my mind to write, but I am committed to finish the whole trilogy of Beckoning before moving to another story.
This was a nice post I enjoyed reading.
reply by the author on 10-Aug-2015
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Hi Jay,
Loved reading this, and it had me thinking so much about my Journey with Beckoning since it started. It started about sixteen years ago! I was in my early teens. I dreamed about a yellow flower, lol. Over the years life got in the way, my ex then did not want me to write, and I left the project aside, although I always felt there was something missing in my life. Two years ago, I worked on it again after my relationship ended. I found myself again. But the story was completely different than it is today, and I always felt there was something not quite right in the book. Eventually I found out what it was, took the story into a different direction, created more characters and changed the genre, etc. But since 2013 that I write 12 hours a day and read 1 or 2 hours a day. I had nights I just could not sleep because I was enthralled with the writing and the story so alive in my head. I have too many books in my mind to write, but I am committed to finish the whole trilogy of Beckoning before moving to another story.
This was a nice post I enjoyed reading.
Comment Written 10-Aug-2015
reply by the author on 10-Aug-2015
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THank you for sharing your bio, Jade. I'm glad it seems to validate what you are doing. You are a gifted writer, and my God! 12 hours a day! I can only eke out 2 hours a day, with about 12 hours of FS reading. But thanks to the Calendar, I don't let anything stand in the way of those 2 hours. Continued success.
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Thank you for the kind words. Yes, I do write a lot of hours. I used to write even more. People used to tell me that I was crazy writing a book in english when it was not my first language. Maybe, because of that, I had to read more, write more, discipline myself more. I used to be here in 2013. I had a great readership (my writing was still crap, though, but people seemed to enjoy my imagination). I managed to be the 5th highest ranked novelist in that year. But God, I have children, and I stop having personal life. I am back now, but I only review a few and I am not looking for a great readership either because I know I can't follow everyone's work back. I actually admire those who manage to review a lot and write a lot at the same time. I just can't. So I can write, I only review a few. Maybe it's my ADD :)
Comment from --Turtle.
Hi Jay, I read through this How this critter crits post. I really like the equating springtime with a drive to try new things, but more than that, its about forgetting to finish Last springtime's: summer, winter, and fall first. And then a baby metaphor shows up and I love baby metaphors. : )
pre-term(preterm)-stillborn when challenged by
How about you painters reading this? Or songwriters? You other writers?
(Good method of engaging the reader thinking process across the artistic spectrum)
Chances are the reason is going to take you right back to the vision.
(I thought to myself here: I never lost my vision, just my time... and about 10% of my brain functionality. I found it impossible to write while pregnant. (Ha, literally, not like pregnant with a new project) I thought, Oh, better finish this novel now, before that baby comes, and then my brain betrayed me. As well as my body. Invasion of the body snatcher.)
This may seem like vague gobbledygook, but if you examine it carefully it takes into account the many types of writers, some, but not all of them successful, and their methods. (I paused on this sentence... started tripping by the second 'it'. This idea/ sentence may need some attention/ reconsideration/ clarifying or smoothing.
remembering what moved you in the original vision(.)
(You probably already fixed that missing period typo by now, if not... I noticed a missing period here.)
That it will take time to bring your project to a natural birth[,] is a given.
(maybe? Not sure on deleting this comma, it might be fine.)
If you don't want the re-marriage to go dry on you(,) don't wait for inspiration to
(suggesting the If/then implied statement comma)
I think this crit post will resonate with people, because this blog post touches on a very human flaw for a desire for new and shiny, start freshes. There's nothing that has more possibilities than a blank slate. And Labor with bringing a creation into the world... I loved the comparison and separation of gestation and true birth. The flow of thought was well paced. Labor is hard, editing is too... being forced to stay in one spot, sweating and crying and worrying and it's never going to be over... Yep, easy to relate too. Though, I'd go so far to say that sometimes, I think Labor is easier than editing.
reply by the author on 10-Aug-2015
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Hi Jay, I read through this How this critter crits post. I really like the equating springtime with a drive to try new things, but more than that, its about forgetting to finish Last springtime's: summer, winter, and fall first. And then a baby metaphor shows up and I love baby metaphors. : )
pre-term(preterm)-stillborn when challenged by
How about you painters reading this? Or songwriters? You other writers?
(Good method of engaging the reader thinking process across the artistic spectrum)
Chances are the reason is going to take you right back to the vision.
(I thought to myself here: I never lost my vision, just my time... and about 10% of my brain functionality. I found it impossible to write while pregnant. (Ha, literally, not like pregnant with a new project) I thought, Oh, better finish this novel now, before that baby comes, and then my brain betrayed me. As well as my body. Invasion of the body snatcher.)
This may seem like vague gobbledygook, but if you examine it carefully it takes into account the many types of writers, some, but not all of them successful, and their methods. (I paused on this sentence... started tripping by the second 'it'. This idea/ sentence may need some attention/ reconsideration/ clarifying or smoothing.
remembering what moved you in the original vision(.)
(You probably already fixed that missing period typo by now, if not... I noticed a missing period here.)
That it will take time to bring your project to a natural birth[,] is a given.
(maybe? Not sure on deleting this comma, it might be fine.)
If you don't want the re-marriage to go dry on you(,) don't wait for inspiration to
(suggesting the If/then implied statement comma)
I think this crit post will resonate with people, because this blog post touches on a very human flaw for a desire for new and shiny, start freshes. There's nothing that has more possibilities than a blank slate. And Labor with bringing a creation into the world... I loved the comparison and separation of gestation and true birth. The flow of thought was well paced. Labor is hard, editing is too... being forced to stay in one spot, sweating and crying and worrying and it's never going to be over... Yep, easy to relate too. Though, I'd go so far to say that sometimes, I think Labor is easier than editing.
Comment Written 10-Aug-2015
reply by the author on 10-Aug-2015
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Turtle, you are so complete in your comments. I so appreciate that. I will look for the missing period and some of the clunky areas. Thanks again for reading it so closely.