Azur's Musings & Missives

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Wednesday, February 23, 2005

So what? Why should I write this blog?

Why am I writing about this topic? On this forum I don't care. It is a part-time (very) experiment. If I sell writing I try to answer the questions above. If I can't answer those questions I know I probably shouldn't write the piece. It becomes much more difficult if someone commissions a piece of... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Accept advice with caution

Isn't it funny how experts come out of the woodwork? People care and want to offer advice but the best advice I can give you is to be careful about which advice you heed. Most advice, no matter how well-meant is based on circumstances which are different to your own. People will say they were in the... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, February 21, 2005

The mainstream is not where it's at

Among new friends we discussed movies. Everyone bar me had met the Fokkers. OK, I know it's funny and I will see it one day but what's the rush? It seems a better idea to see the movies which are not on mass release--the low budget, offbeat movies which will not fill entire shelves of the video/DVD... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, February 20, 2005

I refuse to believe my best days are behind me

Did you ever have it all and not know it? I try to live in the moment. I meet some people who live only for tomorrow and others who believe they have already peaked. I think that people who think they have already peaked often mistake public attention or acclaim as the definitive experience in life.... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, February 19, 2005

The world does not need my words

I can't live without writing but that is my problem not yours. If I do not fill some of the white spaces--the newspaper columns, the web pages, the pages in books--someone else will fill those voids and someone else will have the check cut in their name. My need to write and express myself is no one... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, February 17, 2005

Beyond the comfort zone

I believe in jumping in the deep end but this time I'm anxious. I feel nauseous and I feel like I want to turn around and run. And I'll admit it--I feel low but at least I know it. Just for now I see the half-empty glass. The trouble is that this anxiety is affecting everything else I do. Low self... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

You can't teach me a thing

There is on old saying something along the lines of "those who can, do. Those who can't, teach". Apparently part/time teachers who have experience of the world outside of the school halls are at the cutting edge. Maybe this image boost is how schools justify paying them so little. And of course... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, February 14, 2005

Losing my religion

If you wish to sell your writing you should try to make the distinction between how it feels when you write, and how it reads. The person that you try to sell the work to will not care if the earth moved when you wrote the piece but they will be interested in how well it reads. Many professional... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, February 13, 2005

Switch on the error-free button

If you make a typo the sun will still rise tomorrow. The worst thing that will happen is that you may lose a reader or two. So what you say? Shouldn't readers use their brains and figure out that it is a typo--shouldn't readers look beyond mistakes to the points made in the article? Up to a point we... Sign in to see full entry.

A simple trigger sets off tears

Sometimes we need to cry again. Illness crept up on me over the past few days. Aches, pains, shivers, numb fingers, fevers, sore throat, phlegm, difficulty in swallowing. Everyone else around me went about their business, lived their lives, and I lay on the bed shivering and perspiring by turns,... Sign in to see full entry.

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