C.E. Dorsett's Blog, page 14
October 21, 2013
The secret to children’s growth revealed.
The secret to children’s growth revealed.
haha. I have to get or make some of these hats for all my friends with kids.http://click-to-read-mo.re/p/3Fx5
Hiccup and Toothless BFF
Hiccup and Toothless BFF
This picture of Hiccup and toothless just make me smile. HTTYD2 by kanapy-art is just a picture of pure happiness, serenity, and friendship May we all have a loyal friend like this.
October 19, 2013
O Sarek, want some tea?
O Sarek, want some tea?
Gotta love this picture of a love struck Amanda, overly focused Sarek, and baby Spock. Maybe we need a new animated series?
▼ Reshared Post From Madie Beartri ▼
Ambassador Sarek, Baby Spock and Amanda Grayson.http://dausy.tumblr.com/post/52104095...
What if a crow crossed with a piranha?
What if a crow crossed with a piranha? DOOM!
I love the creativity of any artist who conjures up a “what if” and follows it to its natural conclusion.
Part of me feels like this is something that could happen in my Dragons of Night setting. Hmmmm. Something to think about.
▼ Reshared Post From Branden Haize ▼
"Crowanha", art by Benjamin Clair.http://mighty5cent.deviantart.com/ #Artworkhttp://click-to-read-mo.re/p/3Ei2
Tim Gunn makes a good point about the social fabric #lgbt
Tim Gunn makes a good point about the social fabric #lgbt
I don’t care if this picture is real or not, the point is funny and true.
I am so sick and tired of people telling me that I am a threat to the fabric of society. So, I guess I am. I want to cut out the violence and hatred, poverty and inequality, and suffering and pain.
When these are removed, just imagine how awesome the finished garment of society will look.
▼ Reshared Post From George Takei ▼
Gunns control.http://click-to-read-mo.re/p/3Eiv
September 7, 2013
Walking the Labyrinth with friends
Went out last night to see Labyrinth at the Moolah with friends. I love a good midnight show, and it has been a while since Brian and I went out with friends.
There is something so very special about a road trip with friends. Sharing music and trading stories while traveling has to be one of the best experiences life has to offer.
I spend so much time alone working, or shepherding my virtual friendships on Facebook and Google+, that sometimes I forget about the sheer joy of the journey: the power that an meaningful event can have not only on me, but on my relationships.
Trust has been an issue for me for a while, but I feel like I am staring to move past it and make new friends.
Leave it to the glamour of David Bowie to remind me of the power of the road trip to change the way I see the world.
Oh, great and terrible Goblin King, we have walked your labyrinth and grown closer and stronger for it. May you kingdom have no end.
June 28, 2013
Bitten by a Martian Spider
Ever had one of those days when you had a song stuck in your head?
I really wish it was as simple as just having a song stuck in there... instead, David Bowie, Pete Steele, Rozz Williams, and Bruce Dickinson are competing in a Pitch Perfect style Riff Off.
Did your eyes cross? Imagine how my brain feels.
Each one presents a song with images that would make for an amazing story, but just as I get to the point I think I know what I could write, the next story takes over.
I really want to allow myself more freedom to work, and I want writing to be fun again, but this is ridiculous. I don't know when I put my business hat back on, but I need to take it off and burn it.
I need to let myself love the fiction, and stop trying to force myself to "do the right thing for the business." The right thing is for me to be a fan of my own fiction. I don't know why I keep forgetting that.
It is almost like every time something makes me happy, an alarm goes off and tells me to stop. I would laugh if it wasn't for the frustration.
Roadrunner United's Roads just came on my Slacker Radio.
A soaring hope is reeling in my head
I can’t remember this
But it must be what I miss
Suddenly I find I’m standing still
Staring at the ground
Waiting for your sound
— "Roads," Roadrunner United
That's it. That is the feeling exactly. I am not waiting for inspiration, I am looking for the perfect sound. The tones that work together just right. A killer riff that will drive forward. I am looking for a "fresh sound for the new album" as it were...
Maybe there is a way to bring harmony to the cacophony, but I don't see it quite yet.
June 27, 2013
May 2, 2013
Lord Mammon and the Muse: An Artist's Manifesto
Hesiod and the Muse
I struggle a lot with my Muse. Whether she is a disembodied genius, a demon in the back of my mind, or function of my own imagination matters little. I hear her sing. She gives me more stories than I have time to write. She shows me many worlds, many lives, and many dreams.
I have tried to discipline her. Over the years, I have introduced rules and structures to funnel her inspiration where I feel it should go. She just laughs at me.
I am not sure I would care as much if I had not allowed myself to be distracted by the idea of money. Lord Mammon snarls. He is the tormentor of all artists. He tells us all the simple truth, "You have to make money to support yourself." How sweet is a lie wrapped in the truth?
Yes, every writer needs to make money if they are going to continue working. We read countless books and blogs on how to monetize our work. Could there ever be a bigger waste of time?
A writer needs to focus on their craft. We lie to ourselves and say that we are all publishers now. Why can't we see that the publishing industry was a discrete phenomenon? It arose for its time, served its purpose, and now it is time to let it die. It was the business of Lord Mammon, not the Muse.
Let us rediscover some foundational truths:There is no such thing as a writer, there is only the storyteller.
There is no such thing as the musician, there is only the performer.
There is no such thing as the painter, there is only the artist.
There is no such thing as the storyteller, there is only the artist.
There is no such thing as the performer, there is only the artist.
The artist is the servant and the master of the imagination.
I am an artist who tell stories. No more, no less. I work to perfect my craft in hopes that the stories I tell are not just my stories. I hope they are your stories too. I have to trust that our stories are good enough, compelling enough for you to want more.
We have to stop wanting the instant gratification of the quick buck, and try to build something that will last. A good story will always outlive its teller. The moment a good story enters another person's mind and finds its way into their heart, it has done what it was meant to do.
I need to trust my Muse. I need to trust my readers. I need to trust you all to do the same.
March 21, 2013
The Writer's Worse Enemy: our lying hearts #writetip
Illustration to Tennyson's "Sleeping Beauty" by W. E. F. Britten
Fiction is such a subjective thing. I must admit I am a bit
uncomfortable giving advice to anyone about writing, but that has more
to do with my own innate insecurities than it does with any accumulation
of knowledge or experience I might be able to share.
Being a
writer is a bit like walking down the street naked, at least for me.
Friends and family who read my work are often struck by how much they
reveal about me. I am not sure whether or not my readers recognize that
until after we meet at a convention. That is the blessing and the
curse of any artistry.
I started writing this, asking myself
about the problems that face writers like me, and I thought I would talk
about critics, bad reviews, and how to deal with people that
misunderstood something you wrote. But the biggest problem a writer
will face is him or herself.
I know a lot of writers. You may
not know this, but a writer emits an ultrasonic sound that only other
writers can hear. While that might not be true, I find it odd how often
I will be in a group of strangers talking and then we suddenly realized
that were all writers. One of the things that I have learned from that
is that an honest author is a good author.
Every author I have
ever met that was an honest person, I later found I enjoyed their work.
Oddly enough, the same as in true in reverse.
An honest author
puts their soul on the page, and their fiction benefits from it. If you
want to improve your fiction, the first place to start is by asking
yourself were you honest on the page. Look for the lies, half-truths,
and equivocations. Those places where you wrote something you thought
other people would like, instead of what you really wanted to put
their. Rewrite those sections honestly. Your fiction and your readers
will thank you for it.
How honest are you in your fiction? Do
you think I am crazy for telling you to follow your vision? Let me know
what your experience has been.
