On Writing, Theatre and Life. Glorious, horrible life!

Photo copyright Tibor Kolley- Huffington Post

Once again, I humbly tug my forelock to you and mumble 'Mea culpa'.

When I first began this blog, I read a lot of advice about what a blogger 'should' do. Some advocated daily or at least bi-weekly posts. That seemed a bit much to me. I didn't want to become white noise in the blogosphere! The best advice I read was that it is better to post infrequently and make it count than to inundate followers with shallow and inane posts-for-the-sake-of-posts. I vowed to post only when I felt like I had something worth saying.

I was doing pretty well for a while, I thought. I aimed for a post every couple of weeks-- sometimes more, if things were worth chatting up. But real life has a way of messing with one's best social media intentions.

As it should.

We need to live it, folks. The good and the bad. Life screams for more attention like a relentlessly teething baby with colic who needs a nap/feeding/clean diaper.

This isn't meant to become my public forum for whining about my lot in life. This is meant to be a blog about writing, authors, the vagaries of publishing, and the wonders of art and the creative process. But life... glorious, horrible life... takes a lot of energy and attention sometimes, doesn't it?

The Reader's Digest version is that I've had more than my share of struggles with stress relating to financial security and ailing family members in the past few months. Facing down those demons doesn't leave much room for me to stop and think 'Gee, I should blog about the quirky and heartwarming relationships between writers and their cats'! It is more important-- far more vital, in the truest sense of the word-- to live my life and work on my novel-in-progress than strain to squeeze out a regular blog post.

One of the ongoing joys I have is to be able to glut myself on live theatre. The Stratford Festival is on my doorstep, and I am blessed to be surrounded by a community filled to the brim with talent and creativity. This past weekend I attended an invited dress rehearsal of a new play 'The Thrill' by Canadian playwright Judith Thompson. I was blown away by the script. I urge anyone who can get to Stratford to try and see a performance: http://www.stratfordfestival.ca/OnStage/productions.aspx?id=20227&prodid=47018
It asks a lot of The Big Questions: what makes one human life somehow worth less than another? Who has the right to decide? At what point does a chronic illness change from something one lives with to something one would die to escape? In the hands of four wonderful performers, this was a smart, witty and deeply visceral experience for me. In particular, there was a plot line involving an aging mother who is losing her grip on reality, and the hopeless feeling this engenders in her son. Dealing with elderly parents is an exhausting period in our lives-- one I know only too well of late. I have seen many friends around me in the past year lose a parent (in one cruel case both within months), or struggle to help their parents cope with the effects of aging and illness. And-- of course-- it has been the constant, pounding, demanding motif in my own family.

Facing down life-altering events and taking the time for inward reflection and grieving may seem like an excuse to avoid social media. Maybe it is. But it's a damned good excuse.

Life DOES go on. And so will this blog. On a more regular basis.

Visiting a Lady's Box: More Downton-Era Manners

Yes, I know... it's been well over a month. But would you rather I posted just for the sake of posting when I am muddled by fever with nothing much to say, or else am in a crappy mood and venting my misery? No one wants to read that stuff!

Since Downton Abbey's new season has everyone wailing and sobbing over the unfair loss of a young life, I thought I'd attempt to bring some period cheer to those mourning Downton fans with another short excerpt from my coveted Downton era vintage guidebook:
'Encyclopaedia of Etiquette: What To Do, What To Say, What To Write, What To Wear- A Book of Manners for Everyday Use' by the intimidatingly correct Miss Emily Holt.

I previously shared a hilarious snippet in which Miss Holt provides the great unwashed with her strict guidelines regarding proper dining behaviour. I'm sure she did not intend any of it to be the least bit funny, which is why it tickled me so... and why that post received such joyful commentary by some of my blog followers. If you missed it, you can find it here: http://ruth-barrett-spiritedwords.blogspot.ca/2012_10_01_archive.html Definitely worth a giggle.

As promised, here is a bit more from Miss Holt regarding manners at the theatre or opera-- and I for one find it unintentionally filthy.

Not all the action takes place onstage!

"A gentleman invited to enjoy the hospitality of a lady's box at the opera or theatre does not leave his hostess more than once and then only during an intermission, for but a few moments. He never remains out of her box during an act or even a part of it, and if called out, he returns before the act begins; and he must not leave her box at all, unless some other gentleman drops in to take his place for the moment he is away."

I know. I'm twelve. I have a dirty imagination, and I admit I can't help but read this like an excerpt from a Victorian pornographic novel... and envisioning the non-stop rampant servicing of ladies' boxes by a rotating mob of horny gentlemen, all while the rest of the hoi polloi attempts to enjoy the Verdi.

Lady Grantham would be outraged. But then again, when is she not?

By the way, I am all up-to-date on my Downton Abbey viewing, despite my North American location-- I subscribe to an on-line service and watch British TV live. If you thought *that* episode was sad... well, just wait and see.

Of Description and Stratford

I am still among the living!

Work has been getting more interesting lately-- for those of you who don't know what my 'day job' is, I actually *write* for money. Most folks know about closed captions for the deaf and hard of hearing (something else I used to write), but another film and television accessibility service for the blind and visually impaired is described video or audio description. That's me. Well not *just* me. I have a theatre background and tons of experience in voice over and narration, so I have recorded a few shows and films. I also live-described the Royal Wedding in 2011 as part of a two-person describer team for the CBC.

In a pouffy big CBC sweater after the ultimate royal all-nighter!

But most of the time... I write scripts.

I don't write in the normal script format, as they are rather technical: I include time codes and cues leading in and out of whatever narration I have added into the story. By way of simple explanation, I end up with something that sounds a bit like a radio play. I am meant to avoid stepping on existing dialogue or soundtrack as much as possible: I describe visuals as they unfold so that the blind can enjoy the same storytelling experience as the sighted audience. I paint pictures with words.

TV and film work is volatile. I know that from my acting days. It's feast or famine... and when it's time to feast, everything else has to go by the wayside. Work isn't as busy as I'd like it to be, but there's enough going on for me to have to set aside the WIP ('In The Bag') for a break... let things simmer on the back-burner while I earn my living.

The magical Stratford Shakespeare Festival Theatre

A fun addition to my work schedule this year is helping to launch a live theatre description service at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario. http://www.stratfordfestival.ca/ I live an easy stroll along the Avon from the main stage, and this season I am describing a couple of performances of  '42nd Street' and 'Much Ado About Nothing'. This entails my sitting in the director's booth on headset and microphone and describing the show as it runs to the sight-impaired audience members on their personal headsets. It is a very cool little gig. Not many other jobs start with a trumpet fanfare... ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ7O7KwbZZs I am chuffed to little mint-balls to be involved with a theatre company I have loved and admired for over 30 years, and to be providing this service.

The iconic main stage

So this explains my lack of posts... but it does not excuse it. I am sorry. I really am a bad blogger sometimes. I *do* have a guest post coming up in the next week or so (I promise!) so I hope you'll check that out... and some of the past posts are worth a peek-- have a boo at the archives in the right hand column and see what grabs you.

Confessions of a Writer

The Work In Progess...

I have not been blogging all that much of late.

In fact, I've pulled back on Twitter, KDP, Facebook groups and anything that smacks of the treadmill of marketing.

I confess: I sort of lost heart. For months and months, I pushed and prodded and presented my most upbeat positive self... and barely budged my sales. It was depressing. The fact that my 'day job' of descriptive video script writing has gone from slow to nil lately didn't help my mood. I figured people didn't want to hear about it if all I felt like doing was whining about crappy sales and pounding my head against the wall about the vagaries of self-promotion.

That much is true: no one wants to hear me bitch!

Things will look up. My day job work will resume this month, so at least I won't be without income for too much longer. That's a scary place to be. I don't wish it on anyone.

I'm still not in a totally fantastic mood, frankly. But I also can't ignore my blog. That doesn't accomplish much of anything! I promise to post more often moving forward into happier, more optimistic times. I have some special guests coming up soon, and I'll try to be inspiring or at least entertaining.

The other big reason I've not been spending so much time on social networking and platform building is because I've been WRITING. Remember writing? You know, that thing authors do so that we have books to market in the first place? Yep. I'm waist-deep in Book One of The Dead Drunk mystery series In The Bag.

If you are excited to get your hands on my new book, I'm grateful. But? Please don't hold your breath. I don't rush when I write. I'm not about crankin' 'em out and slappin' 'em up on Kindle. I want to work until I have the best possible version of In The Bag before I foist it upon the world of paying readers. That will mean at least a few weeks more hard work before I show this draft to my editor, and start that whole fun process of rewriting and polishing. Once that's done, there are at least three other titles in the series that have already been planned out or started.

And then will I self-publish The Dead Drunks?

Frankly, I'm not so sure. This has been liberating in a lot of ways. It's great to have total creative control and reach readers world-wide. I've loved getting to know some of the truly amazing, talented and supportive folks on the Indie scene. Overall, reviews for Base Spirits and my Kindle short story 'Family Secrets' have been outstanding. And sure: the theory of earning a whopping 70% in royalties is wonderful... but the harsh reality has been a mere trickle of money. In my case. So far.

I won't turn my back on the Indie route. There are plans to contribute to an Indie ghost story anthology later in the year with a handful of other quality authors. It's an interesting project, and I like the idea of collaboration. I still have a bunch of previously published short stories that I intend to polish and publish individually on Kindle-- with an eye to eventually bundling them into a collection.

Traditional vs. Indie. Does it have to be either/or? I don't think so. I think what authors have now more than ever is the freedom to choose. I believe in getting help in the more traditional sense with a commercial mystery series if I want things like translations and film or TV rights (and I bloody well do want those things!) I know there are some rabid/stubborn/successful Indie authors out there who will scream at me not to bother with the 'old ways', but to them I'd like to say with respect that I'd like to give it a shot. I DO know what I'm up against, believe me. Been there, done that. But I've learned a lot of lessons over the past year, and I'd just like to see what happens this time around. Maybe that's foolish or masochistic, but please humour me. I may end up Indie publishing after all. No shame in either method. Let's see what happens.

So for now, I promise I will pay more attention to my blog. I'd like to spend my energy primarily on writing, but I also know that I need to keep my platform current and active. Mea culpa. I'd also like to see what the effect of getting more good reviews has on sales and word of mouth rather than engaging in endless rounds of Tweeting and hopping and waving my virtual arms in the air. I just need a break from the marketing madness. I believe in my work. Its time will come. 

If you'd like to read and review my writing, here are my links:

For a spooky full-length chill ride, try Base Spirits: http://www.amazon.com/Base-Spirits-ebook/dp/B005L38G8E

For an unsettling short read about a family's dark side, here's 'Family Secrets': http://www.amazon.com/Family-Secrets-ebook/dp/B007D8TLP2

See? I'm done sulking. I'm back. I'll see you soon.