Writer's Notes: Lessons Learned from Philately

Some of you know I have a stamp collection. Although I haven't been
actively collecting for awhile, I'm still completely enamored with how
pretty much any kind of artwork you can dream up can be miniaturized on a
small square or rectangle. Or triangle, as is the case with the
Jamestown commemorative stamps.


Philately (stamp collecting) is a tricky thing. If you're not
careful when you first start (I know this from experience), you just
start collecting every single kind of stamp you can get your hands on.
And because a pack of 500 worldwide stamps (most with little or no
monetary value) are very inexpensive and easy to get a hold of
(especially if you know a collector personally), that's where most
people start. It's not a bad way to start...in fact, it's incredibly
fun, and you can spend literally *hours* examining those stamps with a
little magnifying glass, tweezers (because you don't want any more skin
oils on them than necessary), and a bunch of stamp catalogs/magazines (so you can look up the "Scott number" & value of each stamp, along with any variations that are available).


Actually, it's a lot like Smurf collecting, when I put it that way...



Before you know it, you've got way more stamps than you'll ever
have time to catalog, and the whole thing can be very overwhelming.
Especially when you branch out into collecting covers (which is a fancy
word for envelopes bearing stamps). And you put it aside for awhile, not
really sure what to do with the behemoth of tiny masterpieces you've
created. 


Okay, not all stamp collectors do that. But that's what I did.


When I decided to start collecting Smurfs again (What? Stop looking at me like that!), I decided to set up a blog/web site where
people could see what I have in my collections, and I could post my
want/trade/sales lists all in one place. The lists were requested by my
mom for gift-giving purposes...I just sort of took it to the next level
(web developers - which is what I am when I'm not writing -
instinctively want to put *everything* on the web - I don't even fight
it anymore).


I have some...idiosyncrasies that are a bit odd (you could at least
pretend you didn't know that). One of those is that if I'm going to
name my new collectibles blog The 'S' Collections (in development), and the blog
template I pick has space for three photos at the top, then I need three
collections to showcase. Besides, three is a more "artistic" number
than two. Yes, I know that no matter how I try to spin it, it's still
weird. Regardless, I needed three. And since my skunk collection really
isn't an active one (no one ever buys me skunks or Pepe stuff, even
though I have Pepe tattooed on my ankle), I chose my state spoon
collection and my stamp collection as the other two "S" collections to
feature.


Dude, I sound totally insane, don't I? Ah, well. That's what it looks like inside a writer's brain. I should have warned you, I suppose.




*Anyways*...I was taking the above photo (yes, we are finally
getting close to the point!), and deciding which stamps I wanted to have
in it, and the light bulb that should have gone on in my brain a long
time ago finally did. The stamp collection would be less overwhelming, more fun, and
easier to have a want-list for if I *narrowed my focus*. Instead of
collecting *all* sorts of stamps, I needed to narrow it down to the
themes/subjects I'm most drawn to, and then it would be more
manageable. 


Duh.


Do I regret starting off big and general before narrowing down my
subjects? Not even a little bit. I'm a person who likes to know all the
options before I make a choice. And I think even if you know you'll
eventually choose a narrower focus to make things easier to handle, it's
good to experience the other offerings too. Not only do you get a
broader knowledge base, but it allows you to appreciate more than just
one style of anything. And I think that makes for a well-rounded person.


Maybe that's why I don't write in just one genre. I certainly don't
read in just one (or two or three). But over the years I've read
extensively in pretty much every genre out there...and maybe that's why
it wasn't particularly difficult to narrow my writing focus down to
three (flash notwithstanding).


With my Smurf collecting, I've been trying to narrow the focus down
from the start, and it's not working particularly well. Probably
because I need that more "general" experience before I can really get to
the heart of what I like and want. And you know what that means...

Anyone want a starter pack of worldwide stamps?

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