Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Day 268 of the 365 Days of Blogging

The author, Dane F. Baylis

WHY SO MANY TYPES AND MEDIUMS?

REALLY?

THAT'S LIKE ASKING, " WHY SO MANY INSPIRATIONS?"

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Right away, I have to say, I don't have a pat answer for this. Mostly because I have been blessed with a mind that sees something that intrigues it and I immediately think, "I can do that!" This doesn't mean I can do it well right away, but I can learn how and know that, given time, my skills will inevitably improve.
 
Second, I have never viewed one style of writing, or any other art form, as altogether  unrelated. Nothing exists in a vacuum or as an entity devoid of influence from outside. The language arts are a natural development of our desire to communicate about our environment. The musical arts, whether vocal, instrumental, or notated, spring from the language arts as a way of interpreting the sounds and emotions around us and making our stories richer and easier to remember. The visual arts capture the environment we are in - and is inside us, freezes the transitory and makes it capable of communicating years down the road without the assistance of the word.
 
Each enriches the next. It is the same with literary art. Each style, genre, and type has its own structure and form, but all are constructed one on the other. To think that you don't need to concern yourself with this or that category is shorting your own development. Granted, there will be some forms that just aren't your fodder in their entirety, but there may well be something inside them that can raise what you produce a bit above the crowd.
 
Then there's the plain boredom factor. Just as I can only read one particular author, style, subject, what have you, for so long, I can also only write in one vein for a limited time. I begin to sense the staleness I've mentioned and I have to change horses before I ride that one into the ground. Better a fresh mount, and the uncertainty of mastering it as it lunges across untried territory, than a broken down nag towing a wagon load of rusted and worn goods behind it.
 
So I experiment with length, view point, voice, and dialogue. I take breaks to read, play music, visit museums, prowl libraries - all in the name of expanding my skills and quality. I can be sparse or florid, crude or refined, inquisitorial or detached. But I can never seem to get bored with the process or the breadth of what there is to learn and enjoy. How about you?
 
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Meanwhile...live, love, write.
 
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page. You can leave comments in the form below. I can be reached directly at dbaylis805@gmail.com . You can also find links to some of the sites I visit from time to time on the right. I'm also looking for submissions to the Your Work/Your Love page. Authors retain all rights.
 
Tomorrow,
 
Dane F. Baylis
Author.
 
 



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