Statement of Purpose August 2018
I wish to experience freedom.
Not total freedom because that means freedom from all responsibility. Not that, but the freedom of a true creative
artist who earns his crust from his own labours. Who defines his work himself and whose life
is sculpted not by the spurious notion of talent but by application, study and
constant improvement, and most of all, by the discipline of showing up each day
and doing the work. By enduring all of
it, the euphoria and the despair of art.
And all of it underpinned by the fusion of the attentive intellect
wrapped up in compassion for self and others and the non-human beings in all their glory.
I commit this to myself as a life oath for however long I have left on
this beautiful Earth.
Heart of Balance
So all of that is posted
on twitter and the blog but what about the unsexy stuff, that is, the planning,
the cunning plan.
Well this independent
social work malarkey is a joke and if you calculate the amount of time against
the pay, you might find you are working for brass rings.
So…
We will jack that in
and focus on writing. Not the writing of
high art derived from muse-induced inspiration.
This will be writing for money, for dosh. Writing for competitions. Writing to live not living to write.
So some rules are:
·
One complete weekend a month writing
·
Write 500 words minimum a day but take Sunday
off (unless that muse comes calling unexpectedly.) That is 3000 words a week. 12000 a month. 144000 a year. 1,440,000 a decade. A million and a half well aimed words and stories
is enough for any man or woman.
·
Read like a writer. Anatomically and annotating. At the very least an hour a day.
·
Be brave and bold but don’t believe your own
bullshit or anyone elses. Believe in
yourself instead.
·
Write quickly.
If you are going to be dead by draft 380 there’s no point in its
perfection. Understand ‘good enough.’
·
99.9% of everything written about the creative
arts is complete shite.
·
99% of all ‘criticism’ is written by
non-creative jealous psychopaths. Don’t
waste time on their ego-driven bullshit.
·
The internet is a stagnant yet hypnotic
pond. Drain it. Pull the plug.
·
Finish work even though it breaks your heart
·
There is no link between money and
intelligence. There may even be an
inverse correlation.
·
To be truly free means that you are not
affected.
·
There are few political facts. One is that democracy is entirely dependent
on intelligence.
·
Political activity is simply a means for nasty
people to experience community.
·
Most human beings have less intelligence than
their dogs.
·
There is nothing that is more important than the
Earth. It is already more beautiful than
anything that can be created by humans.
·
99% of what is described as original is someone
elses vomit, and likewise back to the beginning of time.
·
Nearly everything you have ever been told is a
lie.
·
Everything else you have been told is by someone
who believes the lie.
·
Religion is a ligature around the brain. See above.
·
Only a fool denies the existence of Spirit. Only a greater fool writes about it.
·
Time is completely relative but generally speeds
up.
·
Gravity is inescapable. Consider it nature’s way to declutter. Likewise Death.
- Have death on your shoulder like a pirates parrot. Get to hang out with her.
- Fast and move. Its what we are designed for.