In this second installment annually produced I delve into what i have been doing as a writer, especially in this particularly challenging time of Covid, and try to make it relatable on the show to others who might be working or dealing with similiar issues.
In perhaps my most personal voyage into a writer I explore all that was social and creative in the astounding teleplay, screenplay writer Rod Serling.
We cover in this episode: depression, twilight zone, creativity, planet of the apes and the meaning of prejudice as a root of global calamity.
In the final mailbag episode in a rough and uncertain year, 2020, we go through some of the email about show and about the journal, Ariel Chart.
Covered are the following topics:
Fantasy in Writing
Keeping a Journal
Dark Side of Guilt
Covid
Bukowski
Truth
Evil Words
Creativity and Mental Illness
In one of the most unique episode STBH explores Mark Antony Rossi's innovation micro-writing style (fiction & nonfiction) "Concrete Minimalism."
Intro to Innovation
Fiction Passages
Philosophy of Rent
https://www.arielchart.com/2017/07/philosophy-of-rent.html?m=1
Waiting Room Madness
https://madswirl.com/short-stories/2015/07/waiting-room-madness/
Tampa Bay Tantrum
https://www.scarletleafreview.com/short-stories1/category/mark-antony-rossi
I Will Melt the Robots the First Chance I Get
https://www.blakejonesreview.com/flash-fiction/i-will-melt-robots/
Kind
https://underwoodpress.com/ruescribe/2018/10/04/kind-by-mark-antony-rossi/
Nonfiction Passages
World Peace Through Intimacy
Modern Forces and the Meaningful Metaphor
Book Review -- Sun and Moon -- Michel Weatherall
https://booksmugglersden.com/2019/09/18/sun-moon-by-michel-weatherall/
Book Review -- Wonderful Wasteland and other natural disasters --
Elido La Torre Lagares
https://www.arielchart.com/2020/10/book-review-wonderful-wasteland-and.html?m=1
In this episode we briefly examine the good and bad of spoken word poetry.
Light Side -- test run one's material before an audience
Dark Side -- forget about print and then get forgotten -- yourself
Notes: post-covid world might have less eating establishments, no movie theatres and folks less willing to be community-oriented, spoken word might need to learn to adapt to a new reality
In our 2nd conversation I speak with Canada's, Michel Weatherall, novelist, poet and publisher about his projects, his press, his marketing and his interesting take on anthologies and promoting literary projects in the age of Covid.
In the final episode for September 2020 we delve into the meat and marrow of what constitutes identity, how it is lost, how it is gained, how it is maintained and how large a role it plays in the creative life of an artist.
STBH brings another facet of creativity by encouraging the practice of journaling. In this episode we cover:
1. Informal Journaling (collected note-taking)
2. Formal Journaling (in actual journal with extensive commentary)
3. Notes on Notes
The last in the series takes us to Fantasy, in this episode we will talk about some of the greats and classics in fantasy novelization:
JRR Tolkien -- The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings
C.S. Lewis -- Chronicles of Narnia
Ursula K. Le Guin --- Tales of Earthsea, The Left Hand of Darkness
By outlining and speaking to some of the major contributing factors to a writer's creative funk we seek to lessen the negative impact and therefore help restore productivity and a sense of belonging once more.
Guilt -- parental, martial, sexual, racial
Pride -- the insistence of living off resume, geography or culture instead of hard work and good faith. This path often steers towards arrogance.
Perfection: really more of a fantasy that insists on control but actually becomes less secure and more paranoid.
How much is too much of a subject matter for writing? Well, you guessed it, traveling and trying to incorporate the experience can be a test of writing skills or of one of patience. In this show we cover three subtopics:
1. Shading: travel locale sprinkling through writing
2. Detail: Full blown detail oriented writing on a event, locale, geography etc, that merits more substance.
3. Overblown: when we attempt to fill all we write with foreign names, locales, events, cute phrase, unknown sayings and start losing focus on the writing and disconnecting from the reader.
In perhaps one of the most controversial of podcasts on word usage we delve deeply into hateful words that have no place in our writing or lives.
Gender --- B-word
Sexuality -- lesbian --- lesbo, dyke
gay --- fairy, queer, faggot, homo, pansy, sissy
transgender -- tranny, he/she
Disability --- retard, gimp
Race -- N-Word
intro -- evil word should not be used by anyone
n-word rap music, authentic theories, taking back word theories
mark twain, dick gregory, luke cage, remember the titans, atlanta
Lately this form of creative instruction, due to Covid, has migrated more than ever to online, Skype and even Zoom. Less in class personal instruction is taking place but in this episode I will address both Coaches & Courses.
Pros & Cons (individually & comparison modeling)
seeking references, understanding impact of assignments
creative goals, writing exercises and "homework"
Managing Expectations --
What is self awareness, self definition and self instruction
More listeners have requested a show on Bukowski than any other literary figure in history. Even Poe. In this extended episode of plus ninety minutes I will explore in an artistic manner what Bukowski was as a person, a persona, a writer and possibly a philosopher. It should reveal some new facts, new viewpoints and help demystify a seemingly dysfunctional countercultural icon and celebrity.
In one of the more unique episodes we answer emails on how and why this podcast exists and how it may be different from other literary or artistic endeavors. In this episode we cover questions:
On how compose interesting titles
Whether show is from top of head or more structured
The sources of many of its ideas
Why show not as formally polished as others in the medium
The subject breakdown is as follows
titles
outlines
constructing the show
improvisation mixed with structured thought frame
injecting the personal to lend more humanity into topics
There's been an overwhelming feeling in the artistic community for centuries that "madness" or what we now call mental illness plays a pivotal role in the lives of creative individuals.
Drawing from the latest studies on this question from the US, UK, India and Denmark as well as anecdotal evidence and famous artistic quotes I will attempt to bring us closer to understanding what the creative experience means inside and outside of mental troubles.
introductory statement
section 1 -- known science on the subject
section 2 --- various theories on the subject
section 3 -- my thoughts on the subject
closing comments
On the heels of another military veteran suicide, I figure best to speak about the distractions and detours that can cause people to begin that long road of lost potential.
In the long overdue followup to the toying with tangents series, this episode explains the deeper significance of science fiction in writing.
We Cover:
poetry & fiction
novelization with recurring themes of ethics, humanity, artificial intelligence, philosophy and religion.
authors: asimov, bradbury, clarke, verne,
shows: star trek, babylon 5
movies: star wars, ET,
In another informative interview we discuss art therapy and writing with New Jersey-based licensed clinical social worker and writer Tammy Smith.
We cover the following topics:
Art Therapy
Writing in Medicine
Writing as Therapy
Telemedicine
In this in-depth episode we explore the facets of finding your writing voice in a complex and often contradictory society. There are three parts:
Your Voice -- the daily voice
Writer Voice -- the new language you craft through drafting
Artist Voice -- the type of writer you wish to be
This hour long show will cover the basics of how and when you should employ an agent for writing.
Literary
Novel Genre
Drama
Teleplay
Screenplay
In this lengthy episode we explore the good, non-art, and bad parts of money in the arts. Can an artist or writer make a living? Should an artist or writer want to make a living doing art? These and other questions and factors are discussed:
Submittable
Editors for Hire
Vanity Presses
Submission Fees
Contest Fees
Stage Rental Fees
This is the fourth in the series of podcasts sharing emails sent from listeners or readers in conjunction with the show or the art journal Ariel Chart.
In this episode I discuss the possibility of using guidelines as inspirational gifts to writers. Basic research and a positive outlook make a major difference for those who successfully publish versus those who blindly submit without rhyme or reason.
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Did you ever notice in your writing or writing in general that positive themes were not as well written as darker toned material? I believe there is a perceptional even emotional problem with one's worldview that causes this unhealthy imbalance.
