On Discipline, Priorities, and the Creative Process

“Most people say their main fault is a lack of discipline.  On deeper thought, I believe that is not the case.  The basic problem is that their priorities have not become deeply planted in their hearts and minds.”

--Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

If I’m honest (and I always am, except when I only pretend to be), another reason I’ve been down on myself lately has been the lack of results with my writing.  While I’ve had many things throw me off my stride lately, from illness to jury duty to familial visits, the bottom line is that I haven’t been making progress on my dragon novel.  As much as I itched to write something else, I told myself this year that I wouldn’t start a new story until I had finished the old one.  Yet somehow, I ended up plowing most of my creative energies into blog posts, and devoting less and less to revising, editing, and finishing my novel.

Creation is the fun part of the process.  I may wrack my brain to create my way forward each day, but when I finish that rough draft, I also recognize that more work in needed.  I suppose that’s the difference between a dilettante and a professional: the professional finishes what he sets out to achieve.  He perseveres through the drudgery, and pushes past the tedium.  Only then can his work be revealed as the ultimate culmination of his efforts.

And yet, an author writes.  An author creates.  An author invents.  Or, I think, a little part of him dies.  I think that’s also part of what's been bothering me lately, aside from my lack of results.  And so, this week, I’ve assigned myself a new goal: to start off the day by writing a page of a new novel.  There’s an idea that’s been kicking around in the back of my mind.  I wrote up an outline for it a couple years ago (and revised it!), before setting it aside to concentrate on another story.  I haven’t found that outline yet, so I’m starting with the basic concept, and pushing my way forward.  I had several interruptions to my schedule today, but I still wrote a page of my new story, practiced the piano, and wrote this post.  In the coming weeks, I want to build upon this new model, to write at least a page of my new novel in the morning, and then spend time each day revising my dragon novel.  I know that I’m dedicated to my writing, even if I’m not always as disciplined as I should be.  This is an attempt to restructure my priorities so that I accomplish them.  Hopefully, this new plan will help.

At the very least, they say that change is good for the soul, don’t they?  And I do feel good about my new direction, so that’s something, I suppose.

Tomorrow, if I can, I’ll talk about one of the novels I’ve read lately.  I’d enjoy that.  Hopefully, you will too.

Dragon Dave

Music on the 4th of July

Last week didn’t start off terribly well.  I got down on myself, and it seemed like nothing could shake my mood.  Some friends we hadn’t seen for a few years dropped by for a visit, and instead of making intelligent and uplifting conversation, I’m afraid I spent more time talking about my disappointments than catching up with them. 

One of the things I got down on myself about was my piano playing.  It just seemed as if I had trouble finding the time to practice each day, and when I actually made the time, my fingers stumbled over the notes.  Here I was, playing classical music for beginners, and not only was I playing the pieces far too slowly, but I kept on making mistakes!

My mother and a friend stopped by for the 4^th of July holiday.  One of the first things my mother did was walk over to the piano and look at the music spread open above the keyboard.  She sucked in her breath.  “Ooh, that’s what you’re playing?”

The awe in her voice buoyed my spirits, as did her entreaties to play for her.  So I decided, since she and our friend were just there to relax and enjoy our time together, that I would take the time to really practice.  Not only would it entertain them, but it might also improve my playing.  I practiced the next morning far longer than normal, and again in the evening.  I concentrated on a section each of two Sonatinas, devoting extra time to troublesome areas, playing one-handed, and marking out notes too far above the treble clef to readily recognize.  My fingers moved more smoothly, and the number of wrong notes fell. 

Go on, now: turn that frown upside-down!

Of course, we did other things together, like going out for lunch, taking walks, playing card games, and watching the fireworks.  But the most fun I had was the piano playing.  I feel like I might have actually made some progress with those new sections, and now dare to hope that my fingers may regain more of my former dexterity.  Not only am I looking forward to practicing again each day, but my outlook on life in general has improved. 

If something is important to you, you must make it a priority, and devote the time necessary to pursue it properly.  At least, that’s a lesson I learned over the holiday weekend.  What did you learn?

Dragon Dave

Related Dragon Cache entries

Kim Stanley Robinson Set to Music

Marco Polo and Pope Gregory X

In the year 1250, Marco Polo’s father Nicolo, and his uncle Maffio, departed Venice on a trade expedition.  During their travels, they met Kublai Khan, who inquired about their lives, culture, government, and their religion.  In his autobiography/travel journal, Marco Polo records, “He questioned them particularly respecting the pope, the affairs of the church, and the religious worship and doctrine of the Christians.”  The Khan had so many questions that he appointed them his ambassadors to the Pope.  As the Polo brothers journeyed home, they took a letter from the Khan, petitioning the Pope for 100 Christian scholars who could explain to him every aspect of their faith.

Back then, before automobiles and airplanes, a journey that takes us hours might last years.  In 1269, as Nicolo and Maffio headed toward Rome, they stopped in the Christian-held city of Acre in Israel.  There they learned that Clement IV had died, and a new Pope had yet to be appointed.  The brothers met a legate named Teobaldo Visconti, who advised them to await the selection of the next Pope before making further plans.  So the brothers took the opportunity to visit their families in Venice.

At that time, the Cardinals of the Catholic Church faced significant considerations.  Charles of Anjou, the younger brother of King Louis of France, had usurped the throne of Sicily, and inserted himself in all aspects of Italian politics.  In addition to the Cardinals' travel time, the conclave would prove the longest in history, the latter eventually lasting nearly three years.  But before it ended, the Polos grew impatient.  Fearing the great Khan’s wrath at the unexpected delay, they departed Venice, and took young Marco with them.

As the Papal Conclave continued, the citizens of Viterbo also grew tired of waiting.  So they locked the Cardinals into the Palazzo dei Papi di Viterbo, and only allowed them bread and water.  Likewise, the selection process took its toll on the Cardinals: three died during the conclave, and another resigned.  But eventually they made their decision.  Who did they choose to steer the Church into the future?  Someone nearby, whose work and character were readily observable?  No, they chose the legate Teobaldo Visconti, stationed in the city of Acre in Israel, and assisting King Edward I of England on the Ninth Crusade. 

After Visconti, or Pope Gregory X, learned of the Cardinals' selection, he sent letters to all the cities the Polos might visit on their journey to the Khan.  As he was wrapping up his affairs in Acre, he could not spare the 100 advisors Kublai Khan had requested.  So instead he sent two friars, Nicolo Vicenza and Gurelmo da Tripoli, along with some presents for the Khan.  Marco records: “To them [the priests] he gave license and authority to ordain priests, to consecrate bishops, and to grant absolution as fully as he could do in his own person.”

The Polos’ journey, and the papal conclave, took longer than anyone could have predicted.  But sometimes it takes longer to accomplish tasks than we would prefer.  So never give up your pursuit of excellence.  For, as the case of Teobaldo Visconti demonstrates, others are always watching, and rewards you would never have expected might lie in your future.

Dragon Dave

Looking for Alec & Zoe Callendar: Part 1

"Hey, what joker moved the steering wheel?"

I had everything planned so carefully for our first trip to England.  From the places we would visit in London, to the driving directions to our timeshare condominium in the Midlands, to everything we wanted to see in the seaside village of Rye, we thought we had reduced, if not eliminated, all the uncertainties involved in visiting a foreign country.  So, after arriving at Heathrow Airport, we battled through jetlag for two-and-a-half days as we visited the places in London we most wished to see, wandering the world famous city afoot, and aided by their bus and underground train systems.  Then we rented a car and ventured onto the roads of England. 

According to Google Maps, our drive to the English Midlands would take a few hours.  As we could not check in at our condo until late afternoon, we had planned a few interesting stops along the way.  The first was the village of Pinner, where one of our favorite English sitcoms, May to December, was set. 

Our research had prepared us when it came to basic navigation, such as what side of the road to drive on, and recognizing the speed limit signs.  It was the roundabouts that tripped us up.  Unlike intersections, roundabouts presented us with a variety of perplexing options.  Sometimes the road we needed, according to our Google Map directions, might be painted on the asphalt of the particular exit we needed to take.  Or there might be a sign that showed which turnoff we wanted.  But two, three, four, or more streets can adjoin the same roundabout, and each of those intersecting streets separate before they join the roundabout, so you have to be doubly careful when counting each potential turnoff. 

When we came across simple intersections, we looked for street signs. Sometimes we spotted the street name on a sign affixed to a fence at knee or waist level, but only after we were nearly through the intersection.  Or they were placed along a building farther down the street, visible only after we had passed through the intersection.  Or they simply weren’t there.  Not that we found many intersections.  For the most part, we encountered roundabouts.  This was an aspect of British life that had seemed so quaint and endearing when we were at home, relaxing in our living room and enjoying our beloved TV shows.  In real life, we found them anything but relaxing.

Google Maps had estimated a fifteen-to-twenty minute drive until we reached Pinner.  After half-an-hour, we realized that we had taken several wrong turns along the way, and had no idea where we were.  So we attempted to reverse our course as best we could.  But each roundabout is only a link in a chain, and each link will only tell you how to get to the next one, most of which weren’t listed in my driving instructions.  On those rare occasions when we navigated our way back through roundabouts we recognized, we still couldn’t figure out where or how we had diverted from the printed instructions. 

We had planned on a fun, picturesque drive.  We had hoped to find several meaningful locations where we could connect with the British TV shows we loved.  Instead, after more than an hour, we were driving in circles (literally), frustrated, exhausted, and utterly confused by an onslaught of choices that didn’t correspond with the journey we had so carefully planned before leaving home.  But life is never as hopeless as it seems, and soon we would receive aid from a source we would never have anticipated. 

Feeling lost in your journey right now?  Stick to your course, and keep looking for a source of help.  Life might just surprise you. 

Dragon Dave

Related Dragon Cache entries

A Journey into English Fiction: Part 2

Related Internet Links

An extensive Wikipedia article on Roundabouts all over the world

Dumbo’s Zest for Life

Everyone’s got his or her favorite zoo animal.  For me, it might just be elephants.  I love watching them eat, bathe, and play.  For all their size and strength, they seem gentle and respectful of others.  When I watch them in their enclosures, many seem genuinely inquisitive, as if they’ve never lost their enthusiasm for life. 

In the 1941 Walt Disney movie “Dumbo,” a young elephant is ridiculed for his large ears.  When his mother Jumbo rises to his defense, she is locked away and declared mad.  Yet Dumbo overcomes the obstacles life hurls in his path.  He continues to believe in himself, and grasps the opportunities he finds.  His persistence pays off: Dumbo becomes the star of the circus, and his mother Jumbo is released from her imprisonment. 

Growing up involves learning difficult lessons.  Like squatters, the most painful experiences often lodge in our brains.  If we allow them to inhibit our actions, they'll limit our future prospects.  This weekend, I met a new arrival to the San Diego Safari Park.  Her name is Qinisa, and she’s a two-month-old African Elephant.  Like Dumbo, her inquisitiveness, playfulness, and exuberance reminds me of how I should approach each day, as well as the opportunities life hands me.  When the journey toward adulthood threatens to rob Qinisa of her zest for life, I hope that she, like Dumbo, still believes in her ability to conquer every hardship she encounters.  For our lives are what we make them.  Every day.

We can all fly.

Dragon Dave 

Related Internet Links

Announcement of Qinisa’s birth

Qinisa’s zest for life