I was "challenged" last week with a writing prompt to write about a memory.

Coincidence or not, but the timing with today's 11 anniversary brought this memory to mind...

g

-----------------------------------
OVER AND OVER
(AGAIN AND AGAIN)
(c) 2012 - G. Smith (BMI)
------------------------------------------------------------
Over and over, again and again,
I see the smoke being blown by the wind.
Over and over, it goes on and on;
And then in an instant; everything's gone;
Then in an instant; everything's gone.

Clear, cloudless morning,
Sunny and bright;
The city wakes up
And shrugs off the night.
Another day dawning,
New work to be done.
Where there where two,
Soon there will be none.

And,
Over and over, again and again,
I see the smoke being blown by the wind.
Over and over; it keeps running on;
And then in an instant; everything's gone.
Then in an instant; everything's gone.

The same old routine.
Punching the clock;
Walk down the hallway,
Put the key in the lock.
Greeting the faces
You pass every day;
Without being ready
To see them taken away.

Yes,
Over and over, again and again,
I see the smoke being blown by the wind.
Over and over, it runs on so long;
And then in an instant; everything's gone.
Then in an instant; everything's gone.

Over and over;
Again and again.

(to quote Neil Young...), and that time seems to've come for my 18 year old, who I helped move off to college last week.

Sam...

(I'M GONNA MISS YOU) WHILE YOU'RE GONE
(c) 2012 - G. Smith (BMI)
-------------------------------------
Your truck's not in the driveway anymore;
And your fishing gear's not on the porch, leaning by the door.
But I know you'll be back before too long;
Still, I'm gonna miss you while you're gone.

There's one less place at the table every meal;
Even though that's the way it is, I don't like the way it feels.
Still I know you'll be back before too long;
And I'm gonna miss you while you're gone.

There's a fine line between letting go,
And holding on too tight;
It's hard to find and yet I know,
It'll all turn out alright...

The closet in your room is nearly empty;
Those bent and twisted hangers are hard for me to see;
And while I know you'll be back before too long;
Still, I'm gonna miss you while you're gone.

Yeah, I really miss you since you're gone.

Sometimes you'll see something, and it'll just take off at a dead run... what follows is one such...

This evening, during my after-dinner run (okay, power walk), I was passed by an SUV with a dad riding shotgun... I passed 'em twice more, inching towards an empty parking spot in an empty parking lot... and the first verse just "fell outta the sky..."

So, without further ta-do... here's:

LITTLE GIRL
(c) 2012 - G. Smith (BMI)
--------------------------------------------------------
Little girl behind the wheel,
Trying not to cry,
I can't believe that... this is real;
Me teaching you to drive.
You look so nervous;
You look so scared;
But I'm the one who's...
Unprepared...
Little girl behind the wheel;
If you won't cry... neither will I.

Little girl in cap and gown,
Laughing with your friends;
A few more weeks till... you leave town,
Before the summer ends...
Off to college...
Off to school...
I'm not sure I...
Like these rules...
Little girl in cap and gown;
If you'll keep laughing... so will I...

It seems like twenty minutes ago
I was counting fingers, counting toes;
Asking, "Hey - who's got your nose?"
It's old but true - how fast time goes...
It's old but true... how fast time goes...

Little girl walking down the aisle,
Tell me, what's the rush?
Don't say a word, I can... see your smile...
Did I make you blush...?
You look so happy,
As you say, "I do..."
I guess that I'll get
Through this, too....
Little girl walking down the aisle,
If you keep smiling.... so will I...
If you keep smiling... so will I...
==============
As an after-note, I don't have daughters, just sons... one of which graduated this weekend, making the second verse both "easy" and "hard" at the same time...

Enny hoot... holler back...

g

From a challenge to take the title to a book, change one word, and then write something for that new title, I came up with the following "Woody-Guthrie-esque-Depression-Era-Folksy-Bluesy-thang," using the title of H. F. Saint's, _The Memoirs of an Invisible Man_.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
THE MEMOIRS OF AN INVISIBLE ME
(c) 2012 - G. Smith (BMI)
——————————–
When did I start fading a-way?
When did I start fading a-way?
When did I start fading a-way, Lawd, Lawd?
When did I start fading a-way?

When did you start looking through me,
Instead of sitting down and talking to me?
Sometimes it’s like you never even knew me;
When did I start fading a-way?

When did I start to disappear?
That’s what it feels like a-round here.
Don’t say you haven’t noticed it, too, Dear;
When did I start fading a-way?

When did I turn into a ghost?
I used to feel that I could boast
I was the the one you used to love the most;
When did I start fading a-way?

When did I start fading a-way?
When did I start fading a-way?
When did I start fading a-way, Sweet Baby?
When did I start fading a-way?

With my 18 year old getting set to graduate, this scene from/following my own high school graduation #%*# years ago (at least through the first four lines of the second verse), came immediately to mind, and, I hope, addressed the "prompt" to write about a vacuum...:

As always, lemme know, ya know...

: )

Yours;

g

________________________________
WHAT NOW?
(c) 2012 - G. Smith (BMI)
--------------------------------------

V 1.
Rene and I were sitting,
In the Waffle House parking lot,
Celebratin' our graduation,
This was as far as we got.
We'd been to a party already,
Now it was quarter to three;
We were best of friends, afraid this was the end;
I looked at her, and she looked at me...

CHORUS:
What now?
What do we do?
What's next?
I don't have a clue.
What now?
Where do we go?
How do we get there?
I don't know....

V 2.
She went south to Valdosta State,
I went to Georgia Tech;
She studied pre-med just like she'd said,
I was a ramblin' wreck...
I met a girl I amost married,
She met a guy and she did;
Ten years later I'm on my third wife,
And Rene's still tryin to have kids...

So...
CHORUS:
What now?
What do we do?
What's next?
I don't have a clue.
What now?
Where do we go?
How do we get there?
I don't know...

BRIDGE:
We try... holding on... to the past...
Afraid... that tomorrow... won't last...
Our dreams may become memories...
Of what... came true... or may never be...
________________________________

<))><

Here's the latest one in progress...

Would appreciate any feedback you'd care to give...
g
===================
(I'VE GOT) A COLD ONE
(c) 2012 - G. Smith (BMI)
-----–---------------------------
VI
Quitting time and I hit the door;
Fire up my old four-by-four;
Put the pedal to the floor,
And I’m gone... long gone…

There’s a little place up the street,
Where me and my buddies like to meet,
Grab a brew and a bite to eat,
And sing a song... all night long…

(Though I've got…)
CHORUS:
A cold one waiting back at the house,
I think I’ll just stay here a while…
I like the beer and the atmosphere,
And the bartender’s cute little smile.
Ain’t in a hurry... ain’t gonna worry,
I’ll just slip in quiet as a mouse
‘Cause I got a cold one waiting... back at the house…

VII
Grab a stick and shoot a little pool;
Feed the juke-box like a lovesick fool,
Catch Sports Center from my favorite stool…
Until they ring the bell…

Get a buzz just like a neon light,
I’ll hafta bum a ride home tonight;
Maybe I’ll even avoid a fight
You just can’t never tell….

(When there’s…)
CHORUS:
A cold one waiting back at the house,
I think I’ll just stay here a while…
I like the beer and the atmosphere,
And the bartender’s cute little smile.
Ain’t in a hurry... ain’t gonna worry,
I’ll just slip in quiet as a mouse
‘Cause I got a cold one waiting.... back at the house…

BRIDGE:
She'll go to bed before I think of goin' home...
So it ain't no use for me to even telephone...
If I wake her up she won't have too much to say...
Or she won't stop talking, and so either way...

(I've got...)
CHORUS:
A cold one waiting back at the house,
I think I’ll just stay here a while…
I like the beer and the atmosphere,
And the bartender’s cute little smile.
Ain’t in a hurry... ain’t gonna worry,
I’ll just slip in quiet as a mouse
‘Cause I got a cold one waiting... back at the house…

Yeah a cold one waiting... back at the house...

"One thing about songwriting - you can always put it in a drawer and then come back to it."

Sonny Curtis
--------------------------------------
One thing, though, is don't fill up that drawer... remember to go "...back to it..."

g

When people ask me "What would you do if you weren't a successful rock musician?"
I always say, "I would be an unsuccessful rock musician."

Randy Bachman

It's amazing to me how one word can completely change the entire thing... that one word can mean so much.

Tom Petty

Found this posted elsewhere on a "long form" writers' board, linked back to (http://an-authors- journey.blogspot .com) - but I think it applies hereabout...

Anybody wanna answer the question? (I'm a for me & others kind of guy... I write for my pleasure [and because I "have to"] as much as for others' enjoyment... but I'm getting ahead here...)

g
===========================

I've been writing so long I don't even remember where it was I started. The first 'book' I ever completed was at the age of eleven or twelve. It was ten pages, in rather large font, and it was an exposition-heavy, deus ex machina-filled science-fiction story. I followed it with a longer sequel, closer to fifty pages in much smaller text. They were my first 'full-length' efforts, and though I don't have copies of them anymore, my grandmother still does.

That was a kick. Don't get me wrong: writing is full of kicks, and finishing a project is one of the biggest kicks of all. I still remember when I finished the second real book I wrote, another six or seven years after these early efforts. I had been working on it for over a year and a half, and when it was finished I was such a mess of emotions I didn't know what to do. I went downstairs, stood in the kitchen for ten minutes, just staring into space ... and I felt like crying. It was over, but I had done it.

But for me, having readers is almost as big a kick, if not a bigger one. After the thrill of knowing someone was reading my words, hanging onto them even, I wanted to do more. When I was fourteen, I wrote stories about a fictional world myself and some of my forum friends lived in. I later rewrote it into a full-length book and published it via a PoD service. That was the first real book I wrote.

My second book was born during my time at college, and in that time I shared it with many of my peers. That was another moment when I realised that I was the kind of author who thrives on knowing there are people reading my work, waiting to see what happens next. For almost a year, that book had sat in slow development, little more than twenty pages actually penned. After I began showing it to people, it took off. I sat down and started ploughing through it. In the next six or seven months, I tore through it, finally completing it at almost two hundred pages long.

All that was helped along by having readers. If I hadn't shown it to people, I believe that novel would have stayed in a kind of development hell until I finally decided to stick it on the backburner, where it would undoubtedly have remained indefinitely.

Lately I've been more private, but my next book is being serialised over Kindle starting next week. And that's exciting for me. Not just because I've finished something, but because now it's going out there, and people will read it. That's the biggest thrill for me, after the fact that a project has seen completion. It's the fact that people will be hanging onto my every word once again.

I'm the kind of writer who writes for other people. I have stories that I want to tell, and I love knowing that people hear them. I write for me, but I also write for you.

Then there are the others who write for themselves. They sit down and churn out hundreds of thousands of words, but they keep it to themselves. Maybe they show it off to a very select few - I don't know. I'm not one of these people. But for these people, sharing is not the kick. For these writers, the journey is the most exciting part.

Which of these writers are you? Do you write for yourself, or do you write with others in mind? Or is it a mix of the two?

http://an-authors- journey.blogspot .com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<))><

Sometimes, the e-mail bucket has some worthwhile stuff... the following is lifted (and edited) from an e-newsletter received Saturday, October 2, 2010 9:56 AM
---------------------------------------
So what mistake did I make?

Well, I make plenty every time I play my guitar... do you?

Fact is, when you're playing guitar, bass, or any other instrument...

For that matter, for nearly anything in life...

If you're not making mistakes, you're not progressing. Sound harsh?
Well, that's my take on it, and I'm sticking to it.

Neils Bohr once said "An expert is someone who has made all the
mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field."

Nobody pops into this world perfect, and anything you try to learn
takes time and hard work, right?

So the faster you make mistakes trying new things, the faster
you're going to figure out what works and what doesn't.

Don't expect yourself to be perfect the first time you try
something... whether it be playing a new chord, or improvising
a solo, or trying a completely hair brained idea.

Now, as you get better at what you do, i.e. playing guitar, then
the real secret to success here is to recover very quickly from
your mistakes, or even better, make something unique from them.

Some musicians have perfect, or near perfect performances.

One place you see this type of performance is from orchestras:
they practice the exact same thing over and over until it
literally is perfect note for note.

With playing guitar, by and large we're in a much more fluid
environment... in fact, improvising is often the name of the game.

So that means you're going to make mistakes; however some simple
tricks can help you mask your mistakes so nobody else notices.

One trick I use if I hit a wrong note is to simply turn that
note into a 'passing' note... i.e. keep going right on past
through the mistake note until you get where you need to be.

Perhaps that destination note is the root note, or one of the
perfect harmonies (a fourth or a fifth).

Practice makes that transition smoother, and mistakes less
frequent. Remember, we're aiming at perfection, not at mistakes,
but the only way to get there is to embrace mistakes along the way.

Thankfully, some things help hugely in reducing the number of
mistakes you need to make. Learning your scale, and the relevant
chords in the key that you're playing in is a great place to start.

Understanding the basic theory that is going on in the song
is also valuable, as it provides a framework for you to work
from when you're improvising.

Knowing the scale and the various harmonic intervals tells you
what notes will work in a solo, and gives you "safe" notes to
resolve on.

Whatever you do, please DON'T sell yourself short by telling
yourself you can't play guitar well.

Henry Ford once famously said:

"Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right"

Chew on that one for a few minutes...

From this week's Writers' Digest e-zine...

g
================
5 Things Television Teaches Writers
Posted by Chuck

We’ve all watched television—dramas, police procedurals, reality shows, newscasts. Although television is a different medium than writing, it provides an abundance of advice wrapped inside the programming that’s relevant to today’s writers.

1. Jump Right In—Television shows start smack in the middle of the action to grab and hold our attention from the get-go. This method discourages the viewer from flipping the channel to find something more interesting. Once we’re hooked, backstory is revealed. Tune in to any drama or even the news and you’ll see this method in action. Today’s readers expect the same from their books. They want to be hooked after reading that first paragraph, the first page, the first chapter. They want a book so exciting that they can’t put it down, a story that captivates their hearts and souls and fires up their imaginations. They want a story that pulls them into a new world and threatens to hold them there until the very last word. It’s up to writers to hook the readers, to keep them interested enough to keep reading. And it all begins with the first scene. Make it exciting.

2. Use Hooks and Cliffhangers—What keeps us hooked to television shows when the distractions of home, family, friends, work, the Internet, etc. threaten to pull them away? It’s simple really. Good storytelling. But it goes beyond that. Just because it’s good doesn’t mean viewers will stay tuned, especially once a commercial comes on. Television shows tease us when going into a commercial or ending the show. They leave us hooked with an unfinished question or scene that makes the viewer want to know more and makes us wonder what will happen to the characters in the future. This process is a deliberate effort to keep us watching the shows. And it works. For writers, it’s important to begin and end a scene with a hook. It can be an unfinished question, a line of dialogue, or a bit of action—anything that grabs the reader’s attention and make the reader wonder what comes next. The hook compels the reader to turn the page and read more. As readers, we’ve all experienced that book that keeps us up well into the night when we have to get up early the next day. What keeps us reading each page, each chapter, when we know we should really go sleep? It’s simply a good story combined with great hooks.

3. A Break From Writing Is Not a Waste Of Time—We’ve all seen the television character who can’t solve a problem but who is then hit with a great idea while fiddling with the remote, hanging out with friends, playing basketball, or cooking. Some of the best ideas come to us when they’re least expected. Some writers believe that writing is the only way to find new ideas or resolve problems, but sometimes taking a step back from the process yields wonderful results.

4. It’s Not Always Best To Brainstorm Alone—Ideas don’t occur in a vacuum. Television cops don’t work alone, the women on "Army Wives" solve problems together, and the creative group on "Mad Men" is just that—a group of individuals who work together to brainstorm ideas. Many of the ideas are terrible and are rejected, but then a unexpected gem emerges from the give and take among the group members. When stuck for ideas or for solutions to plot problems, writers often stew in their chairs, surf the internet, knock out chores, or play games on the computer with the hopes that the solutions will magically appear. Sometimes it does; sometimes it doesn’t. Shooting an idea past a colleague or brainstorming with a friend can be just the thing to bring freshness and excitement to your work.

5. Diversification Is Key To Success—How many good television shows have gone stale? They show the same twist on an old story line over and over again. As a result, we becom

...reading is a writer's best secret weapon.

Jason Blume

Like Quincey Jones said, "The faucet opens and I've got to fill my bucket as long as it's running..."
Brett Beavers

You have to have the heart of a poet and the hide of a rhino.

Brett Beavers

from Rob Parnell's "Easy Way to Write" e-zine... applies no matter what we scribble...
g

Write Where You Started From
Rob Parnell

Many people write to me about writer's block.

They hate it when the urge to write drops off in the middle of a novel or a non-fiction book or a screenplay, even during a short story.

They worry about what that means. Are they really a writer? Has the Muse deserted them? Or is it symptomatic of some more serious psychological issue?

Some writers worry about stopping even before it happens to them.

A recipe for disaster if ever there was one.

Whatever the problem, my feeling is that if you get stuck, you need to go back and examine the reasons why you started in the first place.

That place was most likely the strongest position you ever occupied in relation to your writing.

Why did you start to write?

To make order from chaos? To right wrongs? For catharsis? Or simply to enjoy the creative process?

Personally, I've written for as long as I've been able. I wrote little pamphlets about hating my sister and stealing candy from the local shop at least a couple of years before I learned to read properly.

I kept a yearly diary up until I was eighteen.

I think I started to write stories because I didn't much like the world. It seemed endless and pointless and I really needed some certainty and symmetry that made sense - and the only place I could get that was from fiction.

Reading helps with that too.

When reading you're aware that lots of other authors too want that sense of control over a world - even if it's only imaginary. Especially if it's imaginary.

I've got into a rhythm recently, one I'm very happy with.

I write fiction in the mornings, up until lunch. Good days I write 1500 words - good unhurried words that I like. Bad days I'll eke out 500, just to feel I did something.

I don't worry about blocks so much as getting distracted into other projects. There's always the temptation to do something less 'Art' oriented. But I try to focus on the fiction because that's what I know gives me the most satisfaction - in the long term.

I'm only really happy when I'm writing - or thinking about writing, which is what I tell myself I'm doing when I watch movies or TV.

I'm seeing how others do it. How other artists put stories together.

I'm learning from other craftsmen and women.

Do you have excuses like this?

I guess we all do. We can't write all the time - to the exclusion of everything else - although some writers have tried - and others do.

I guess it's about balance.

You can't force the Muse. She's too elusive for that. Try to confront her and she dissolves. Call on the Muse and she's busy. You have to let her creep up on you and peek over your shoulder when you're writing. Then don't acknowledge her, just let her hover nearby, nodding unseen approval.

I think the trick is not to beat yourself up.

Write every day if you can. Stay on top of your self imposed goals.

A block isn't so bad as the effect you might let it have on you.

If you start to hate yourself, then immediately write something - even if it's just a shopping list or a set of new goals.

Your brain likes repetition - but most of all it likes the reinforcement of values already held.

So if you remember why you started writing, all those neurons and synaptic gaps will fire up again - and help get you back on your path.

... it's so important that we find a way for our creativity to have a chance to express itself., even though we all have responsibilities or day jobs or families or a hundred other obstacles in our way. If you focus on the obstacles, that's ll you're going to see.

Jason Blume

This is a question I've been hearing at work for three weeks now...

What follows started out to be a song, but I don't know if it qualifies as such, or whether it'll become a seasonal e-mail spam-o'gram boinging it's way around the world-wide web (but that wouldn't be too bad either, I guess...)

I s'pose you could say it's sort of a "Dr.-Seuss-meets-Deitrich-Bonhoeffer" kind of thing... maybe it'll become an animated Christmas special between Charlie Brown and the Grinch...

In any event, warmest, safest, and merriest Christmas to all y'all...

g

============================
ARE YOU READY FOR CHRISTMAS?
(c) 2008 - G. Smith
----------------------------

Are you ready for Christmas? It's coming, you know,
With presents and packages, ribbon and bows;
With lights and with ornaments hung on a tree,
With gifts piled high for you and for me.

Are you ready for Christmas? It will be here right quick~!
With snowmen and reindeer and jolly St. Nick.
With carols, with singing, with jingle bells jingling,
With drummer boys drumming and and five goldens "ringling."

Are you ready for Christmas? It soon will be here,
With dinners and parties, and holiday cheer.
With turkey and dressing and three kinds of pie;
(The homemade's much better than those that you buy~!)

Are you ready for Christmas? It's just 'round the bend;
With cards and with pictures you still have to send,
To aunts and to uncles and cousins galore;
To friends and their families, it becomes quite the chore.

Are you ready for Christmas? It's well on its way,
The radio tells you so ten times a day.
With shopping and stopping all over town,
There's always one more thing you have to run down.

Are you ready for Christmas? Oh, Where to begin?
How 'bout a small town, with no room at the inn?
With Mary and Joseph, with angels who sing,
To shepherds about the birth of the King;

With wise men who traveled because of a star,
To Bethlehem's manger, they came from afar.
It's the story that's timeless; it's the story that's new;
Are you ready for Christmas?
It's ready for you.


<((><
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Take my advice...
think for yourself.

New song lyrics for your consideration, comment, critique...

Thanks;

g
===========================
WHEN A SOLDIER COMES HOME
(c) 2008 G. Smith
------------------------------------------------------

V1:
When a soldier comes home...
From across the sea;
Tears are shed...
By his family.
Tears of joy,
That he's safe from harm,
That once again,
He's in their arms.
When a soldier comes home.

V2:
When a soldier comes home...
From a far away land
Tears are shed...
Over dreams once planned.
Medals and fear
Over what lies ahead;
Nights all alone,
Sleepless with dread;
When a soldier comes home.

Chorus:
He leaves all behind,
To serve the rest;
When duty calls,
He gives his best.
Honor and country,
Flesh and bone;
Ultimate love,
When a soldier comes home...

V3:
When a soldier comes home...
His battle won;
Tears are shed...
His tour is done.
A folded flag
Brings pride and pain;
And prayers that all
Was not in vain.
When a soldier comes home.

Chorus:
He leaves all behind
To serve the rest;
When duty calls,
He gives his best.
Honor and country,
Flesh and bone;
Ultimate love,
When a soldier comes home...

TAG:
When a soldier comes home...
From across the sea;
Tears are shed...
By his family.

One good thing from not making the cut over on MySpace for the Henry Poole Is Here song competition is that we've received some interest in the song.

Granted, there's some editing required because the title and chorus limit its "universality" somewhat (though that hasn't stopped songs like "Live and Let Die" or "Angie" or "Georgia on My Mind").

So we're knee-deep in re-writing a line or two to keep the message, but open the audience.

And the old adage, "Good is enemy to the best," is nowhere more evident that in our efforts. We've come up with half-a-dozen "good" replacements, but nothing that says, "STOP~! PERFECTION~!" (as if there is such an animal for someone as O/C D as we both are)

We'll keep you posted...

g