This week I was working on grading some papers when I remembered how challenging it can be to juggle a career that you love and are passionate about as well as writing, which you also love and are passionate about (throw in a family that you love and are passionate about and you start demanding more hours in the day!) So how does one balance these things? How do you make it work out? I can't claim to have all of the answers, but I can point out a thing or two that might help you a bit in this week's vlog.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ECoYLV14Sw]
Uhh...social what?
I'm a boring man. I came to accept that fact a long time ago. I also don't always find the point in some of the current trends of technology and social media. Sure, I have a lot of the devices and so on, but most of the social media sites confuse me as to their purpose. If I have anything to say that is limited to a certain number of characters, it probably isn't anything that anyone needs or wants to hear. Normally, my solution would be to simply not take part in any of those activities. However, since I need to be working on publicity, and I don't want to turn into a clueless old man (too late!), I need to learn how to deal with these sites. Yikes! I think that my biggest problem is figuring out what in the world to put on there. When I don't have a limit on characters (and if I'm not necessarily promoting anything) there is quite a bit I have figured out how to say or do. However, if I have to limit my words, I start to wonder what to say. No one cares what I had for lunch. No one needs a weather update from me (open a window!). Then there is picture sharing. I don't take very many pictures. How many times can I take a picture of my family, pets, house, or classroom? And even if I do take all of those pictures, who wants to see them? You can see how photogenic I am. It's just wrong on so many levels! How about sharing links? Isn't that what Google is for?
I know, I am being negative. There is a good reason for that. Not only do I have some difficulty finding the purpose for some of these things, I have a heck of a lot of trouble finding the time. Maybe I am just lazy, but by the time I am done teaching 120 students, helping my son with his homework and making sure he completes his chores, cooking dinner, eating with my wife and son, and getting my son to bed, I don't have the energy remaining to find a bunch of links to share or take a bunch of pictures or condense my day to a limited number of characters. Where are all of you people finding the time and energy for this?
I need to find a way. I will find a way. I need to do it to keep up with the times. I need to do it to promote my book. I need to do it simply because I'm having difficulty doing it. I will do it, too. I'm a stubborn old man from a long line of stubborn old men. Seriously, my grandfather was run over by a parked car and told he wouldn't walk again, but his stubbornness had him moving about within a couple of months. If he couldn't be beaten by a two-ton automobile I will not be beaten by a few websites! Of course, any hints are welcome. He at least had a physical therapist to help!
The ultimate character...
This is going to sound odd. Okay, it may sound more than odd. However, when you think about it for a while it will make a crazy sort of sense. I was speaking with my students today about story flow, characters, and sprinkling in a little storytelling when I realized after one of my stories that I had a wonderful challenge for them to undertake. This challenge would test whatever writing skills they have absorbed and push them to their limits. I told them that they had to write a story that covers the content of a single, normal day. It would be written in first person. The only problem was, it had to be written from the point of view of a cat. Think about it for a moment. If you ever want to challenge your ability to create a character, you have to delve outside of your comfort zone. Sure, its easy to create a main character that has a lot of yourself in it, but it can be so much more satisfying to write a story with a character that you have very little in common with and nail it. I think that cats are the ultimate "other" character to try to create. I love dogs. I've had a dog of one sort or another since I was young. However, their thought processes are usually pretty easy to figure out. Writing a story from a dog's perspective would center entirely around getting fed and being scratched behind the ear. Cats are a mystery. Humans have been trying to understand cats for thousands of years. We are no closer to it now than we were when we first took them as pets. They always know where you want to sit and take that spot. They randomly chase things that either do or do not exist. They have an unspoken way of ordering their humans around. If you ever wanted a challenge to creating a character that is sure to stretch your abilities, there it is. I'm not saying that it is necessarily a publishable story, but it could certainly be an entertaining exercise!
