Friday Music – The Preatures – “Girlhood”

A surprisingly good album with 80’s throwbacks. This pop rock group will have you thinking of icons from Cyndi Lauper to Sting and The Police.

The first three tracks are super and set the tone for the rest of the album – a straight rocker, a rocking ballad with country twangs and sweet chugging synth pop – all with such 80’s infusion, it’s the album equivalent of watching an episode of Stranger Things…..fewer monsters though.

The album is a burner, well worth exploration. Vocals never fail to offer fragility and strength in equal measure – the front-woman Manfredi can really sing. Lyrics and production show a mature understanding of their craft. Highs and lows make it a dynamic listen. There may be one or two too many songs on the album, but even the less arresting songs are better than most – I can see how it was a hard list to cull.

This album was offered up as a recommendation by Google Play and I am so glad it was.

Drawing lines in the sand

Imagine you got rid of all the worst things in your day-to-day job. No more commute with the masses, no more mind numbing meetings or menial tasks, no more annoying co-workers who you are forced to share a room with. No more awful boss nagging you. Imagine all of that was gone – now what would be left?

I bet the answer is that you would be alone with yourself and a blank slate in front of you to fill with….something. It’s a liberating and terrifying thought.

As human beings we crave freedom and we crave fulfillment in our work. The flip-side of our condition is we are inherently fearful beings. We don’t naturally seek to make our own rules. We like to be part of a tribe with someone to follow.

So to be free we must draw lines in the sand. If we are stuck somewhere we don’t want to be, we must define why we don’t like it and plan to eliminate the negatives from our life. If we have all the freedom in the world, but spend all our time being unproductive, then we need to draw a line in the sand and make a change. Maybe sell all your time-wasting devices. Maybe buy a new device ONLY for stuffing around.

We draw our own lines in the sand, or we follow someone else who draws them for us.

Vanity, confidence, purpose, and writing

Polly Stenham tells us that the collaborative nature of theater kills a lot of vanity in her work as a playwright. On the other hand, a quick Google search shows us that lack of confidence is a huge issue with the writing process. Somewhere in between excessive vanity and the Google search results is the right mix of confidence and humility that leads to great work and great writing (and Polly Stenham).

Maybe the secret is to do the work for something other than yourself. Work for a cause, work for a tribe. Of course, this in itself requires a story to tell others and to tell yourself to motivate the work, and to motivate others to follow your work. It also diverts attention away from the self, and towards the group you are working for. Less vanity, more confidence and purpose.

Personally, I suffer from a lack of confidence. I worry about what others think and I don’t get enough of my own work done. However, when I do create something I find myself staring at it over and over – spellbound like it is some kind of jewel or reflection in a mirror – vanity overcomes me in other words. If I am honest, I am still looking for a group to write for, and a tribe to be part of when it comes to my writing. I think it would take the pressure off of the writing process.

Writing and loyalty rewards

I have recently started to take part in a loyalty rewards program. So much so, that I am a little obsessive over the points-claiming process – it’s because if i get enough points through exercise, then I get free coffee 🙂

Gamifying a loyalty process is useful in that it can alter behaviour. What was once a chore becomes a goal and my behaviour leans towards the gaining of points. However, true loyalty still only comes from the payback meeting expectations. A free coffee a week is enough for me to go and exercise daily, along with the knowledge that I am getting fitter. If i only got a glass of water as a reward, I might not be so loyal.

When we look at writing as the process, there is no shortcut to building loyalty. As a reader I don’t know of any loyalty reward points for following one author over another, other than the promise of more material to come. As a writer, the consistent drip, drip, dripping of content will build a readership. Giving them more than expected with a purchase will build an evangelical fan.

And when in doubt, throwing in a free coffee seems to work wonders 🙂

Monday music

I have eclectic musical tastes. My father worked in the music industry for a long time in the 70’s and 80’s so I have a lot of old school rock in my collection. My mum loves classical music, and my grandma was a great pianist so I listen to some choral and baroque classical music – and my personal passion is blues and soul. Old school. I have also recently started listening to hip hop.

A look at the charts – the top ten on Google Play – is fairly meaningless to me now. Nobody is pushing the boundaries of any genre, and art is scarce when the aim is to appeal to the most number of people possible. When this is the case, inevitably the songs start to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Safe bets are placed like the countless sequels in the cinema.

That said, I like Rihanna and DJ Khaled’s song, Grateful. Also, Charlie Puth’s Attention is pretty good.

J. M. Coetzee and Moving to Cape Town

Like pulling a massive tree out of the soil, a move of country and city is especially hard once you are older and grown up. The roots are longer, the trunk less flexible. The uncertainty is greater and the relocation more scarring.

One thing I was worried about when I moved to Cape Town was leaving the culture, the art, the vibrancy of our lives in Sydney, Australia. Living in Africa can feel like living in the past and in the outback at times, with outdated technology and infrastructure. Less trendy, less options.

At least, that’s what I thought.

The truth is, South Africa is as vibrant a place you could hope for – its present and its history are full of stories. The Silicon Cape initiative is thriving.

What makes me especially happy is that great authors have written stories set just down the road from me. I love relating to art on many levels, and one of the best relationships to have with a book is an intimate understanding of the geography. Much of “Disgrace” is set in Cape Town and in areas of South Africa I have seen with my own eyes. I am a quarter of the way through and loving it so far. So far the protagonist is an unlikable man, but his predicament is fascinating.

I think I will stay in Cape Town a while longer. At least to finish this book!

Managing expectations

An often-used phrase, but I believe managing expectations is everything.

If you can do more than expected and surprise on the upside, you’re a step ahead and probably have an evangelist on your hands, ready to sing your praises or give you valuable feedback.

Surprising on the downside means you’re back to square one.

Setting a scene

I have just finished reading “The Knowledge” by Steven Pressfield. It’s a great book, from one of Seth Godin’s recommendations.

In the UK, “The Knowledge” is a test all taxi drivers need to pass. Drivers are tested on London’s maze of tiny streets in minute detail. It’s the basis for getting customers there in the quickest time possible. A map in your head, laid out and ready to go as soon as you pull out into the streets. No SatNav, no google – good to go immediately.

True to the title, Pressfield’s novel is chock full of street level detail and scenery – mainly of New York City – mapped out as background for the events to unfold. The streets, restaurants, subways, parks and buildings are support for the work he is doing. I never thought of writing in this way – leaning on the scenery so much – but it works incredibly well. In fact when I think about it, Frank Herbert does the same in Dune.

As a writer, I am learning from these books that building up a sense of place and a scene in detail creates trust with the reader. The reader is convinced that the writer knows what they are talking about and then is willing to believe the rest of the story.

Interesting tactic and worth a try.

Conscious watching of TV

When I was younger (I’m still incredibly young of course, despite my grey hair, stiff back, and penchant for listening to jazz)….but when I was younGER I used to watch TV by default. I had no decision to make, I had nothing else pressing my time. I just had myself to think about. Quite recently it has become different. Others are relying on me and TV is now something to manage – just like Music, Facebook (which I eventually quit), cell phone notifications (quit) and computer games (quitting).

I need to watch TV with a little more purpose and a little more constraint. This is probably stating the obvious, but I do find it difficult not to just consume movies and series every night – especially with today’s binge watching options. I love literature and film, and I love technology so the streaming thing would take up a lot of my time if i let it. It’s not as if I don’t let myself watch anything – Film and series are fantastic and worthy art in my life. My point is simply that it is a conscious thought now to watch these things, all with the aim of productivity and creativity. Before it was just a default setting.

If you are struggling for time to be productive, start with thinking about the things you do as a default setting. In my case it started with registering Facebook, cell phone notifications and computer games. Now it is TV. Some need to be stopped, others managed, others nothing at all needs to be done – but it’s a useful exercise.

Creativity through simplification

Some recent steps I have taken to improve my focus and save time for what matters:

No more Facebook. Account deleted completely
No more gaming – selling console
Re-finding my Kindle – purpose built for reading, this is the gadget that keeps giving. You can’t be a good writer without being a good reader
Whittling down my internet accounts. As well as Facebook, I had Twitter, Instagram, three different email addresses, other blogs, and the list goes on. I realized that the reason I wasn’t creating as much as I wanted was not a lack of accounts, connections with friends or lack of tools…rather it is a lack of focus. Fewer accounts and gadgets – focus on those you actually need.
Fixing up my house and my office – I’m not good at this but when I try to fix stuff, it helps my sense of satisfaction and consequent focus no end.

The next step is to partake more in communities of like minded people in the flesh. I’m thinking writers groups, and arty types who I don’t seem to have in my life at the moment.

Life is a journey not a destination, right?