Video Killed the Radio Star

Today was my first day on the set of my first music video. Most of the scenes were done in a bedroom, and I had to put on my makeup like I was getting ready for a date on camera. This was more challenging than I had expected! It's more difficult than you might think to put on lipstick with a camera in your face blocking a good portion of the mirror you're using to see what you're doing, while you're trying not to move out of frame.

It was really fun though. I must admit, I love being on camera. I've done a small bit of film acting, but I've never done a music video before. I'm really excited to see how it turns out. I've got another shoot or two for the rest of the scenes coming up; I don't know when the whole project will be completed, but I can't wait to see it.

My character in the video is getting stalked, so we took some paparazzi shots of me through a window and exiting my house and such. My paranoia switch has been flicked, and as I'm sitting here typing this at a coffee shop, I half expect to look out the window and catch someone creeping on me with a camera ;)

Music Makes the World Go 'Round

So...here's a little bit of what I've been listening to lately: 

The Young Veins: http://www.myspace.com/theyoungveins

These guys are really cool. The music has a nice, old-timey feel to it. Their album "Take a Vacation" came out in 2010, but it sounds like it's from the 1960's, and I like it. 

Say Anything: http://www.myspace.com/sayanything 

Max Bemis' indie-punk band is really edgy with some pretty biting, clever lyrics. Just make sure you only play these songs for people age 18 and over.... 

Fun: http://www.myspace.com/fun 

This band's music is precisely what its title promises: a lot of fun! The genre is indie-pop, but I think it has an almost electronica flavor to it. And the lead singer is Nate Ruess of The Format, another great band. 

Robert Gay: http://www.robertgaymusic.com/home 

This guy is a really talented songwriter and lyricist. His music is a little bit of Americana, a little bit of indie-pop, and a little bit of old-fashioned rock. Check out the music previews on his website from his first album "When This Goes Bad" and his upcoming album "When I Was Young." Check the website soon for the release of "When I Was Young" for purchase. 

Not So Smooth Seas

I saw this picture on pinterest today, and it made me think of some points regarding writing. Sure, this sentiment can be applied to life in general, but it's also a good tip to remember when creating plot. When writing fiction, mastering good ebb and flow in terms of plot takes a lot of time and practice. You have to play around with things like timing and emphasis. For instance, you don't want to build to your main climax too quickly, because then you probably have (a) not developed the characters enough by the point of climax for the reader to really care what happens to them, or (b) left too much space post-climax, ending the story/novel on a dull note. 

Remember the quote above when experimenting with plot. Well-developed characters must encounter enough obstacles along their paths in order for the reader to care about them. It usually works out best if all of these obstacles are not either so menial that they don't seem like such a big deal, or such fantastical barriers that the average reader cannot at all relate to them. A good example of utilization of this method is Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy: in each of her books, the heroine Katniss goes through a series of ordeals much unlike our every day occurrences (like going into man-to-man combat with twenty-three other teens). Those kind of obstacles make the story exciting, but in the face of that, Collins makes sure to include some regular sixteen-year-old-girl-stuff to Katniss' character, like the fact that she is somewhat torn between feelings for two boys, or the dynamics among her and her sister and their mother. Those more "normal" conflicts help make Katniss a relateable character for the teenagers and young adults reading the story, instead of allowing the exciting and nearly other-worldly violence complete take-over of the plot.   

Write a Little Something Every Day

For at least the past seven years, I have hated Tuesdays. 

My junior year of high school, I attended the Alabama School of Fine Arts for ballet and lived there in the dorm. My roommate and I decided pretty quickly that our worst classes/rehearsals/everything always fell on Tuesdays, and from then on every time something bad happened, we would look at each and our eyes would say: "Oh my gosh, it's Tuesday, what a correlation!" And thus, my abhorrence for Tuesdays was born. 

Today is Tuesday, but instead of resigning to the horrible state of this glum day, I'm going to make this Typing Tuesday. I'm going to distract myself from all this Tuesday-ness by adding a little something to Projects X, Y, and Z. (Project X: the new novel-in-progress I began three days ago; Project Y: the novel-in-progress I've been working on for about a year, of which I have seven chapters; Project Z: a compilation of all the stories and poems I've started over the years and haven't finished). Putting a little bit of writing out there, even if it's total crap, usually makes me feel somewhat more productive and useful in going about my day. 

Writing a little something every day is great exercise for avid writers. Just like you have to keep your body in shape to play a sport or dance or do gymnastics, you have to keep your mind in shape to be a good writer. I think writers should put out something every day, even if it's just going to be erased later. No one is in their element every single day without fail, churning out Shakespearean works of greatness before breakfast. But you should still write a little something every day, because you may have ten days...fifteen days...a year of crap that finally leads to three days of Shakespearean glory. 

Many times, I will go back ten days...fifteen days...a year later and sift through some of the crap I have saved in folders on my computer entitled "Don't Read This" or "Useless" and find something good that I hadn't thought was good before. Many times, I will take that "something good" and insert it into whatever I'm currently working on. 

Often during the creative process, we need distance to really show us where our work stands. This is always true for poetry and often true for prose. This can also apply to live performances; I rarely watch a DVD of me dancing, singing, or acting right after I am finished with the performance. I try to give it some time before watching, because usually that can prevent (or at least lessen) some of the disaster thoughts, like "Oh my gosh, I should never be allowed to step foot on a stage again, this is terrible." Giving ourselves some time between creating art and experiencing it is a must. 

So writers, write a little something every day. These somethings may not always be gold, but putting forth not-gold is better than putting forth nothing at all. Don't let fear trap your voice inside. 

The Beginning

Hello readers. Welcome to my artist spot. I recently began writing a new novel...recently as in yesterday. This does not mean I have abandoned my previous projects by any means, but it does mean that I will probably write a lot about this new project as I go along. Hopefully writing about the writing will aid me in my process and help keep me on track. We'll see.... 


I hope you enjoy this silly blog about the artistic process in a variety of forms. I also hope that this blog may be of some use to other artists out there...and if not use, then at least a source of amusement. Creative people are a rare breed and typically flock together. We are all very similar, you see. Whether you're a writer or a painter, a dancer or a singer, or all of the above and then some, at the base, artistic souls have a lot in common. 


As author Stephen King includes in the narrative of his story "Everything's Eventual": 
"Think of those fingers as abilities. A creative person may write, paint, sculpt, or think up math formulae; he or she might dance or sing or play a musical instrument. Those are the fingers, but creativity is the hand that gives them life. And just as all hands are basically the same - form follows function - all creative people are the same once you get down to the place where the fingers join." 

Enjoy :)