Cathy Maxwell's Blog, page 4

Staying Commercial: What I Learned from Monet

This week I took in the Monet exhibit at the Kimball Museum in Fort Worth.  The show covered Monet’s later years when he was established, wealthy from his art . . . and going out of style. His paintings weren’t selling. The demand was for abstract art. And this exhibit was of one unsold vibrant, bold painting after another.  How do we know they weren’t sold? Monet did not finish a painting that hadn’t sold. He would leave the corners roughed in. The center was complete and brilliant and the corners were loose brush strokes on bare canvas. He also would not sign a painting until it sold.

So here I was in a room celebrating the vibrant unsigned paintings by one of the great art masters and I found myself thinking about the challenges of creating whether it is art, stories, design, or music—

Tastes change. We want to capture the public’s imagination and yet no matter what trend is in power, something else will come along and spark new interest. Remember when every romance novel had a vampire or a duke or a secret baby?  Right now, princesses rule.  Next year–?The creators are the ones who drive change. Impressionism in art was once fresh and innovative. Then the abstractionists came along and piqued the public’s interest and impressionism goes out of fashion. However, the public didn’t demand something different. We had no idea what we wanted until an artist pushing the boundaries and following her personal vision gave it to us.Creative people must create. It is fun, and lucrative, to be everyone’s fave which often means one must stay commercial—except nothing lasts forever. The world does move on. So, to find satisfaction, there must be joy in the act of creating. Creating art, stories, film . . . it really is about the personal journey. Monet’s later paintings did have an abstract element while still be true to his vision as an artist. Does the fact they didn’t sell make him less of an artist? Of course not. The act of creating is what made him an artist, not the act of selling. Yet even Monet hedged his bets by putting the bulk of his time into what was selling.There is a balance between going forward and not being too wrapped around the outcome. I meet writers who have been writing the same three chapters for years. There are writers who can’t get started because what they try to put into words doesn’t match the vision in their head. Yes, there are those who are so sloppy, the book is unreadable—but at least they have produced. Going forward is everything. Leave the corners undone, hold on the signature, but create. Do the work and then do it again on the next canvas, the next page, the next idea.

I write commercial fiction. We love trends and we love earning a good living. For that reason, what is the next hot thing is an important question. However, in my own humble, and very fun genre, there are books that transcend the ordinary. Books that are masterpieces of excellent writing, that opened my soul, and stay fresh in my memory. Some of them are bestsellers. Many are not. For all of us, having created something from nothing is our gift to the world. It isn’t solving world peace any more than

Monet painting hundreds of waterlilies helped  the downtrodden—and yet there is magic in those stories, in those paintings, even in the desire to start in the direction of our passions.

The Joy of Blank Pages

I value words.  I have them all over my house and I do love writing them.

This Christmas, two friends have given me new journals and I find myself marveling at the sheer beauty of blank pages.  There is so much promise being offered.

One journal was purchased on a trip to England. I’m delighted that she was traipsing around the moors and thought of me.

The other is probably the most lovely piece of leather I have ever seen.  The journal is Italian. The leather embossed with flowers and the paper is so fine, I know my pen will glide over it.

I’ve tried to keep journals on my computer . . . and then it turns into work.  I throw thoughts upon the screen.  But to journal on paper?  It is as if I’m celebrating the act of thinking and I like starting my day off with words of gratitude. So, one gift will be used to reason out a new series and the other will become my gratitude journal for as long as it takes to fill it.

More importantly, I will think about the friends who gave me these gifts every time I open their pages.

Blank pages.  I can think of no better way to start off 2019.

Vote for Pedro, the dog–Because Life Happens

So, here is what is happening–August 9, this dog walked in my front door. He is very friendly, didn’t have a collar, and I put him in the back yard, assuming a neighbor lost him and would contact me soon. No contact

Yes, I am aware he is a pit bull and I would never, EVER have a pit bull.

Or so I thought.

Now utd on shots, I’m learning Texas law concerning lost dogs, and am fostering. I’ve also met this great dog lover Nita who is schooling me on how to find a loving home for this guy. It shouldn’t be hard–he is house trained, well-behaved (well, he needs to learn how to walk on a leash), and gets along with kids and other dogs. I don’t know why he came into my life that day. Maybe so that I could meet Nita, who seems to be completely on my wave-length and is crazy enough to love animal rescue. Or maybe to troll Truman one of my two dogs.

Once again, Life takes a turn I didn’t anticipate. No, I have not named him–yet. Nita calls him Petey. I might be able to call him Pedro. (Vote for Pedro, anyone?) We are co-fostering, if there is such a thing.

One thing I know, he answers to love and kindness.

When I think of this thing we call Romance, I realize it is expecting the unexpected.  And that is a gift. (Thanks, Pedro, for my next plot twist.)

Grief and the Writer

Grief is dangerous ground for a writer.  We spend too much time in our heads thinking “what if?” All our emotions gather there as well. In fact, as storytellers, emotions are what stirs us on.

Except Grief isn’t stirring. Like a metal blanket, its weight smothers our inner light of creativity.

So, here is what I learn about grief.

I either channel it into the work, or it destroys me. I can’t fight it.  Greif is too overwhelming.  But I can use it.  I can invite it to dance and allow it a place on the page.

Grief does pass. Not quickly and certainly not easily. I focus on one word after another because that is all I got until my grief works its way through me.

If I don’t go on, I lose everything. That sentiment was hard to process.  How can I continue when everything I believed about my life is challenged? With the loss of people close to me, I latched on to their faith in my talent and their good wishes for my future. With grief over life changes, I’ve had to learn to focus on what I can do, what I control.

Strategies I’ve employed to work through grief—

Therapy. Grief is the gift that keeps on giving. It never leaves; it just reforms itself, sometimes surprising ways. Having a third party available to help process what I’m experiencing has been invaluable.Being kind to myself. No, I’m not worthless. I’m not to the end of my rope. I deserve to treat myself with loving respect.Going slow, breathing deep, and not panicking. Keep doing what I do.Finding accountability partners. Other writers and I compare word count. I have hired a life coach to help provide insight with goal setting. The writing life is full of bumps and grinds. I can over analyze and project craziness with the best of them, especially when I fall into the self-pity phase of grief. I need someone to provide balance.Trusting the talent of my editor, even if I have to hire that  talent. The first manuscript I turned in after my husband died was gibberish. I am forever grateful to my editor who helped me pick my way through the mess.

And finally, this is the tough one, I must embrace change. Markets close, opportunity dries up, people I love die or leave, and I age. I had not imagined I would be alone at this stage of my life  or that there would be so many sweeping changes in the writing market.  I assumed, once in, it would all be easy. However, that is not the way the world runs. My strength is in my acceptance of what is taking place in my life.