Restructuring

I love that word. It's such a Corporate America term. It's one of those words you learn to fear when you work for a large company because it usually means LAY-OFFS. I have decided, however, to commandeer the term for creative individuals.

For the creative individual a restructuring is the action or series of actions taken in order to align more closely with who you truly are and what you really want your life to be. It's coming to the realization that stuff doesn't make you happy but experiences, love, friendship and the pursuit of your true calling do.

I have begun a restructuring of sorts lately. I took a look at where my life was at and realized that pursuing a high paying job at all costs did not align properly with my real goals of having a creative career, more time with my wife and children and appreciating and experiencing the important things in life. I recently pulled myself out of the running for a job that might have been a darn good job opportunity. However, it involved over 2.5 hours of commuting a day and would undoubtedly have led to long hours at the office leaving me little time with my family and practically no time to pursue my creative endeavors. It was a very scary thing pulling out of the running for the position, but I did it. And, I can honestly say that, despite the lean financial situation I find myself in, I feel that I made the right decision. What feels good about it also is that my wife and kids supported me 100% on it.

So, today I started working at a local coffee house part time. In addition to that, I plan to keep teaching guitar lessons two nights a week. I've also begun writing content for a website for a few extra bucks. I'll juggle these things while I work hard at building a career as a visual writer. My current graphic novel project is progressing slowly, but surely and I do think a sequel to the forgotten is truly in the works with my writing partner Evan Young.

Corporate restructuring be damned. This is the kind of restructuring that truly brings about positive changes and success.

Three more things:

1. Recommended reading:  Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. One of the best books I've read in a long time and a far more intimate and accurate portrayal of the Battle of Thermopylae.
2. Spread the word - if you know someone involved in the visual arts that might dig reading this blog and commenting here, please send them the URL. I really want to build this thing.
3. If you are interested in posting on the blog instead of just commenting, e-mail me. I'd be happy to have some other contributors.

Trudging On

This is my first attempt in months to kickstart this blog. Later today after posting this, I plan to notify a few of my friends and associates in the creative fields of this blog's existence so I can get more posts and commentary going here.

I am finally working pretty diligently on a script for a new graphic novel. It will be illustrated by my good friend and incredibly talented artist John Forcucci. Dare I say it but it's coming together nicely. I've been enjoying the time I'm putting in and feel like it's starting to click. There's a long way to go on it, but I'm putting hours into it every week now and that feels pretty damn good.

In addition to that, I've begun brainstorming up story ideas with my writing partner on "the forgotten" for a potential sequel to that graphic novel. The creative spark is alive and well.

Today, I'm going to start a new ritual that I read about in Steven Pressfield's fantastic book The War of Art. I'm going to "invoke the muse" before I begin my creative work for the day. Don't want to get too into this topic right now, but I strongly recommend you check out Pressfield's aforementioned book, which goes into detail about the Muse and how important it is to us creatives.

A little life update here as to what I've been dealing with while trying to write:

• My father is in the hospital undergoing treatment for pneumonia, low hemoglobin count and an arachnoid cyst on the brain. My thoughts are with him every moment. He's dealing with a slew of difficult news/information about his health and as his son, I'm trying to cope with it as well. He's a tough hombre in many ways and I believe he'll make it through all this, but it's pretty damn scary.
• I have been advised by an attorney to consider filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy, which is not something I'm inclined to do. However, I'm running out of options as my search for gainful employment continues to drag on and on and on. I have now been interviewed by something like 18 different people at 5 different companies and have yet to get an offer.
  
• My grandmother has fallen victim to dementia and has been entered into a nursing home for care. Incredibly sad to see this happen to her. Physically, she's still strong and fiesty at 89 years old, but mentally...things are not firing properly. I miss her tremendously, which seems strange to say since she's still with us. If you've ever witnessed dementia, you'll understand though. The person you knew your whole life just slips away before your eyes.

I put all this stuff here only because I want to share the daily life stuff we all have to endure as we continue to work at the creative careers we want. Life can kick your ass sometimes, but you have to find a way to trudge on...thus the title of this post.

Slow start

Ok...I admit that I'm off to a very slow start getting this blog off the ground. This post is my first effort to address that particular situation.

This has been a very difficult couple of weeks for me. My unemployment benefits have been cut off due to the fact that I teach guitar lessons, which, in Pennsylvania, apparently qualifies me as "self-employed" and therefore no longer eligible for benefits. Nice, huh? So I'm entering an appeal process there. So, I have very much officially entered the struggling writer category as I now have no income other than the few guitar lessons I teach each week.

So, there's my most recent dose of trials and tribulations.

On the brighter side, I am just a few pages away from completing a script for a new graphic novel that I am very excited about. John Forcucci, a professional illustrator from the Boston area, is co-creator and will be drawing the book. His art is downright amazing. I cannot wait to showcase this new work.

My biggest shortcoming creatively is still putting in the hours. Pure and simple, I need to write more. A lot more. Especially if I ever want to have a shot at writing a book or a screenplay. I'd be interested in hearing from any other creators who find this to be an obstacle for them and how they overcome it.

Recommended reading: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

What is visual writing?

First let me welcome you and thank you for stopping by this blog. Writing Visually is my effort to share my thoughts and feelings, triumphs and tragedies, insights and observations regarding my efforts to become a successful writer in the entertainment industries. Along the way, I'll occasionally digress into some gratuitous self promotion (it is my blog after all) and welcome you to do the same while sharing some of your own stories, tips, etc.

For the purpose of this blog, visual writing is the task of writing great stories with compelling characters that, first and foremost, have to successfully communicate WITH AN ARTIST. That artist might be an illustrator, an animator, a film or television director, a graphic designer or video game developer. That artist needs to be able to clearly understand the author's vision so they can execute it on the printed page, computer screen, silver screen, etc.

Visual writers have an acute awareness that they are a partner in the creative process and not the sole creator. They know that without successful collaboration with an artist their work will likely never see the light of day and never be enjoyed by a reader or viewer.

So with that, I am kicking off this blog and welcome posts from visual writers and artists alike. Come here to discuss your successes, your failures, your insights, your frustrations. Discuss the creative process, the industries, the internal and external struggles you overcome to complete your work. Network, debate, share information, etc. etc.