Today’s guest blog is by Fine Lines friend, Ashley Kresl
Why Me?
There are endless struggles associated with being a writer. We face them at different times and for different reasons. The battle tearing through my writing life lately seems simple enough: significance. Even in writing this blog post, I had so many questions. Why my thoughts? Why these thoughts? Why today? The request to write a guest post was straightforward enough. But… you want me to write something just to write it? Just to hear the sound of my own voice? And then there was the most frightening question of all: what if I don’t have anything to say?
Good writing is a collection of ideas and symbols that make a difference in our world. Authors and poets must find what they are good at communicating and share it in words, so readers know what they believe.
In the hopes I could prove statistically that our non-profit organization is worth his donation to our mission. To put a value on increasing literacy, one writer at a time. I wonder, is it possible to quantify something as unique as Fine Lines?
Fine Lines Is Powered by Volunteers
Last month 22 trained, volunteer editors devoted 3 hours each of their time, while reading submissions (essays, historical writings, poetry, short stories, fiction, non-fiction, and human interest articles). They collaborated during these 66 hours of reading to find the best writing for our readers. In our 23 years of publication, the number of submissions has increased substantially in recent years. In 2014, Fine Lines has reached all 50 states in the USA and 33 foreign countries
Our editorial group is an eclectic group that includes various ages, jobs, and backgrounds: high school and college students, math teachers, Spanish teachers, English and journalism teachers, novelists, memoirists, journal writers, an insurance executive, a grant writer, a nurse, university English professors, computer IT managers, medical biologists, one retired CIA agent, and lawyers. This diversity of editors gives a widespread perspective when reading the submissions and adds flavor and value to our team.
Write On Summer Camp
Fine Lines provides a summer writing camp each year in June. Last summer was our 15th year of combining all the arts with composition. The 150 campers turned in so much good writing that it will take a year to publish it all. The positive comments from the campers have grown every year, and we are already planning our next one in 2015. Stay tuned.
What Matters
To “quantify” means to count “how much” and is often used with statistical analysis. This term originated in Medieval Latin, and some people, today, dismiss educational creative concepts if they cannot show numerical growth to the end results of applied theories. Yet, the following statement from an Omaha metropolitan educator tells what really matters:
“Fine Lines offers an outlet for young students who suffer academically. A fourth grade student of special education from a recent summer school creative writing class, struggled with written expression. However, he was so excited to tell the story about his wood-carving experience that made writing his short poem a little more bearable. I submitted his poem, and it was published. When he came to my home to pick up his copy of FineLines, I saw the look of pride on his face that was wider than a steamboat. In elation, he cried, ‘I’ve never had anything published before!’”
[Barbra:] Look, I’ve spent a lot of time working on this [Producer 1:] Look, no one’s gonna buy it — no one. [Producer 2:] No one in Middle America, anyway. That’s for sure. [Producer 3:] He’s right! [Producer 1:] Sweetheart, it’s just not commercial! [Barbra:] What is commercial? [Producer 2:] It’s not what’s selling nowadays. [Producer 1:] I mean – personally, I love it, but [Barbra (sung):]Be nice, girl!
[Producer 3:] Nobody’s into this kind of material. [Barbra (sung):] You have to pay a price, girl! [Producer 2:] This album needs a hit single we can push. [Barbra (sung):]They like to give advice, girl! [Producer 1:] The whole idea’s too risky. [Barbra (sung):] Don’t think about it twice, girl! [Producer 2:] The audience won’t understand this kind of thing! [Barbra (sung):]It’s time to get to work!
Barbra (spoken): I disagree! Why don’t you wait until you hear it? [Producer 3:] This is like your old stuff! [Barbra (sung):] Art isn’t easy. [Producer 3:] You’ve got to appeal to the kids. [Barbra (sung):] Even when you’re hot. [Producer 2:] Why would you want to make an album like this anyway? [Barbra (sung):] Advancing art is easy. [Producer 1:] I think we ought to talk seriously about this. [Barbra (sung):] Financing it is not! [Producer 2:] Why take chances? [Barbra (sung):] A vision’s just a vision if it’s only in your head! [Producer 1:] Nobody respects your artistic integrity more than I do, but [Barbra (sung):] If no one gets to hear it, it’s as good as dead! [Producer 2:] You have to think about you career! [Barbra (sung):] It has to come to life!
Bit by bit, putting it together
Piece by piece, only way to make a work of art
Every moment makes a contribution
Every little detail plays a parts
Having just a vision’s no solution
Everything depends on execution
Putting it together, that’s what counts!
Ounce by ounce, putting in together
Small amounts, adding up to make a work of art
First of all you need a good foundation
Otherwise it’s risky from the start
Takes a little cocktail conversation
But without the proper preparation
Having just a vision’s no solution
Everything depends on execution
The art of making art
Is putting it together, bit by bit [Producer 2:] Do we really need all these musicians? [Barbra:] Link by link, making the connections, yes we do!
Drink by drink, taking every comment as it comes
Learning how to play the politician
Like you play piano, bass and drums
Otherwise you’ll find your composition
Isn’t gonna get much exhibition
Art isn’t easy
Every minor detail is a major decision
Have to keep things in scale
Have to hold to your vision [Producer 1:] Why don’t we talk about this over dinner, darling?
What’s a little cocktail conversation
If it gets the funds for your foundation
Every time I start to feel defensive
I remember vinyl is expensive! [Producer 3:] Would you agree to do an interview? [Barbra:] Maybe one!
Dot by dot, building up the image
Shot by shot, keeping at a distance doesn’t pay
Still if you remember your objective
Not give all your privacy away
A little bit of hype can be effective
As long as you can keep it in perspective
Even when you get some recognition
Everything you do you still audition
Art isn’t easy
Overnight you’re a trend
You’re the right combination
Then the trend’s at an end
You’re suddenly last year’s sensation!
All they ever want is repetition
All they really like is what they know
Gotta keep a link with your tradition
Gotta learn to trust your intuition
While you re-establish your position
So that you can be on exhibit…
So that your work can be on exhibition!
Be new, girl!
They tell you till they’re blue, girl!
You’re new, or else you’re through, girl!
And even if it’s true, girl,
You do what you can do!
Bit by bit, Putting it together
Piece by piece, working on the vision night and day
All it takes is time and perseverance
With a little luck along the way
Putting in a personal appearance
Gathering supporters and adherents… [Producer 1:] Well, she’s an original! [Producer 3:] WAS! [Barbra:] Mapping out the songs but in addition
Harmonizing each negotiation
Balancing the part that’s all musicians
With the part that’s strictly presentation
Balancing the money with the mission
Till you have the perfect orchestration
Even if you do have the suspicion
That it’s taking all your concentration
The art of making art
Is putting it together, bit by bit
Beat by beat, part by part
Sheet by sheet, chart by chart
Track by track, bit by bit,
Reel by reel, pout by pout
Stack by stack, snit by snit,
meal by meal, shout by shout
Deal by deal, spat by spat
Shpiel by shpiel, doubt by doubt
And that… Is the state of the art!
Please tell all people you know who like to read and write and have good stories to tell that Fine Lines wants to hear from them. Contact the elementary schools in Oregon. Invite the community college students in Florida. Notify the writers on your email list that we are looking for traditional and non-traditional writers and creative ideas wherever we can find them.
We are now in our twenty-third year of publication, have traversed many publishing hurdles, and transformed ourselves often to keep this 501 (c) 3 non-profit, educational, literary organization available for all, because we are involved with a wonderful labor of love. Our enthusiastic and rowdy editors enjoy opening the mail to find submissions that ask readers to share the authors’ messages.
We fill four issues per year with writing from the heart, human interest stories, essays, and poems that make us want to fly. Well-crafted declarative sentences make the world a better place in which to live, no matter the academic status of the writers. A third grader who wrote a wonderful three line observation about winter and several poems from a ninety-four year old great-grandmother both earned our equal respect.
Our motto is “Write on,” and we do.
We are pleased to have you involved with our mission to change the world one page at a time. If you want to become more involved in our efforts to increase world literacy, let us know, and we will be happy to send you some “stuff” that you can share with writers in your community. Give us your mailing address, and Fine Lines will get it to you.
When I hear people complaining about what is going on in their lives and the world, I ask them what we should do about those issues. Usually, they say, “Oh, nothing,” because their vote doesn’t really count, no one will listen to their ideas, and they do not matter in the big picture of world events, anyway. Across time, people have used this reasoning for not voting, not getting involved, and letting less qualified people run our world; however, history demonstrates that one vote has made the difference on several important occasions, and when “little people” unite, their impact may become a most powerful force.
Consider This
In 1645, one vote gave Oliver Cromwell control of England.
In 1776, a few votes in the Continental Congress gave the United States the English language instead of German.
In 1820, President James Monroe ran for a second term. He was so popular that he won all but a single vote in the Electoral College. John Quincy Adams cast the one vote against Monroe. Adams stated that the reason he did this was “to make certain that only George Washington would ever have the honor of being elected President by a unanimous vote.”
In 1845, one vote in the U. S. Congress brought Texas into the Union. That same vote also resulted in the U. S. acquisition of Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, California and part of Colorado.
In 1868, Andrew Johnson, who became President after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, was impeached by the U. S. House of Representatives for abusing his executive powers and was tried in the U. S. Senate but was found not guilty by one vote.
In 1875, one vote changed France from a monarchy to a republic.
In 1920, one Tennessee vote ratified the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, giving women the right to vote.
In 1923, one vote gave Adolf Hitler leadership of the Nazi Party.
In 1941, one vote saved the Selective Service, just weeks before Pearl Harbor was attacked.
In 1960, Richard Nixon lost the presidential election, and John F. Kennedy won it by a margin of less than one voter per precinct in Illinois.
In 1976, one vote derailed HR-11193 and prevented the U. S. from adopting the handgun ban.
In the 1996 U. S. presidential election, fewer than half of the nation’s voters voted!
Even as recently as in the year 2000, only a few more votes from only a couple of counties in Florida would have resulted in Al Gore being elected the President of the United States.
Martin Luther King said, “Voting is more than a badge of citizenship and dignity. It’s a tool for change.”
Cast your vote and make a difference in the next election. One vote can make the difference. If the person who cast the deciding vote in the examples above had not voted, what would have happened to our country and the world?
Words and Action
When we write and share our positive ideas with readers, we are “voting” for humanity. When we choose to increase our literacy and help others do the same, we are “voting” for the betterment of all. When we take even one step to improve the way we move through the world, we are “voting” to bring a little more light to those areas filled with shadows.
I was raised down South by a strong Southern woman who felt every challenge was an opportunity for character growth, and she lived by the mantra, “Hardwork gets you what you want.” In Alabama, football is like a religion and coaches are like gods. University of Alabama legendary Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant is one of them. My father played for him in the mid-1960s and raised us on Coach Bryant’s life lessons. Combined with my mother’s strong will, Alabama football lessons taught us everything we needed to be successful in life.
I’m also a serial procrastinator
I find nothing compelling about doing something early. But give me hard deadlines and 24 to 48 hours out, I’m on fire. Recently, though, I’ve noticed something troubling among writers I’ve met. They are dissatisfied with their writing lives. They can’t find enough time in the day or they can’t wrap their heads around their ideas or they have no idea how the business runs.
If you want to be a writer, you have to accept that it is not easy. But then again, when it’s hard, it’s worth it. So get on up, dust yourself off, grab whatever tool you need to succeed and get to work. You know you want to do this and you know you can succeed. Here are three ways to help you:
There are endless struggles associated with being a writer. We face them at different times and for different reasons. The battle tearing through my writing life lately seems simple enough: significance. Even in writing this blog post, I had so many questions. Why my thoughts? Why these thoughts? Why today? The request to write a guest post was straightforward enough. But… you want me to write something just to write it? Just to hear the sound of my own voice? And then there was the most frightening question of all: what if I don’t have anything to say?