Trying Too Hard

First, I must congratulate #SheWritesPress!  Lord, I was idly browsing email… thinking I was about to read ‘the state of Indie Authorship survey results’ (I love them surveys) …when lo and behold I came upon a headline that made me really smile!

I remember when the She Writes blog forum was created, and then when She Writes Press was formed. I believe it was Brooke (She Writes Press co-founder) I met on a book tour in Philadelphia. Yeah, I try to meet other authors I chat with online, in person...what makes it an ultra surprise…and extra treat to read how She Writes Press made a deal with Simon & Schuster to handle their print and distribution. Way to go ladies! Congratulations!

Reminds me of the time, after meeting another young man…online…and a little while later seeing his book in a Barnes & Noble bookstore. I love when stuff like that happens… because I know the difficulties navigating the book world. Unlike other industries, such as the sports industry where people like me who are not so smitten with sports, we’ll buy a jersey or tickets to a game…but then hop up on a barstool and sit there until everyone is ready go home. I could care less who won or lost, why I totally get why those not smitten with reading don't buy books… and forget holding out hope they’ll ever get around to reading one. Naw… you have to invest in some of the things I’m doing to turn that hope around.

At any rate, when I captioned the headline ‘trying too hard’ I was thinking about my father and his art creations …and mines. 😆. Disclosure up front; my father was a professional artist. He scaled technical drawings (mostly of helicopter/airplane engines) for companies like Boeing. I remember him showing me what he did and thinking... ‘wow, how boring!’

But he also painted and drew art on the side. I tried to take all kinds of pointers from him; the shading and three dimensional drawings and such, despite him not caring for this type art. Speaking of difficulties navigating the literature industry, he said there was NO money in it. Still, he illustrated cartoons for our family newsletter where OH MY GOODNESS! The sketches he came up with were hilarious!!! I still laugh about those cartoons. Once I got into a ‘not so happy’ conversation with a family member over one of them cartoons. Yeah, he had that whole Archie Bunker/Fred Sanford personality going on. 

And yet, here’s the thing.

Looking back at his art…compared to mine… I now *see* the problem. His art landed on paper so effortlessly…so natural. He could craft drawings in a wink. And my sketches? Well, it seems obvious to me. I try too damn hard!

...Just remembering good moments. Love you Daddy!

#Storytelling #JustBlogged