Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Crude But Effective


My old pal Hugh McLeod, who created the image you see here, sent me a shout out on Twitter: "Hurrah! My favorite pornographer is blogging again." Well, Hugh, it has been a couple years now. ;) Yesterday, I saw this card that he created, and I liked it a lot, so there you have it: electronic synchronicity or something like it. I like Hugh's blog because he always returns to the subject of creativity, and how to do what you want to do, and how to do what you want to do and survive at it: "It just kinda sorta happened, one random event at a time." It's a struggle, a real battle, to be a creative type: whether you're a writer, or a thinker, or a photographer. E. L. Doctorow: "Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia." Somebody who is related to my novel sent me a letter, and he included a note in it, and the note is written on very beautiful paper with his name embossed beautifully on it near the top in that way where if you run your finger across it you can feel the letters, and the paper is in the shape of a bright white rectangle, or, say, a tiny, shining gravestone, and the note reads: "Can't wait to read the rest! Here's to a ton of success in the future!" I took the other piece of paper in the envelope and tacked it to my bulletin board between two photographs: this one and this one. And I took the note, and I propped it up on my desk, so it would be right there, every time I sat down to write. So. So! So? Now it's time to write.