Earth Shaking News
by Connie Hebert
Did you feel that?
I'm certain the Earth shook last April 12, 2010, when Mark Fiore received his Pulitzer Prize.
Who's Mark Fiore and what makes his award Earth shaking?
A political cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle, Fiore received the prestigious award for his "self-syndicated, online" animated editorials.
Most of us have opinions, one way or another, about self-publishing/self-syndicating as well as online publications. Some excellent works have been introduced in this venue, but are writers (and readers) prejudiced against "vanity press," as they used to be called?
In awarding Fiore his prize, the Pulitzer Board clearly sanctioned online and independent publications. That's earth shaking. But is it a fluke?
I don't think so. Here's why.
One Spring day in the late 1980's, the Administration at the Veteran's Hospital in New Orleans made a fateful announcement: All future documentation will be done on computers.
Ironically, the announcement came via dinosaur--the paper printed office memo.
The hospital provided one computer per department. In Social Work, ours sat on a small desk about two feet away from the Chief. This is a fluke, I thought. Soon we'll be back to communicating on something we can hold in hand.
Eventually this did come true, but the hand-held device is called an iPod. Electronic mail (email) also made its advent on the techno-scene not long after. Another idea which will never stick, I thought.
Several months later, I was eating lunch with two young men in the hospital cafeteria. Before long our conversation turned to computers.
"I think they're here to stay," one said looking toward me with a "what-do-you-think-look" in his eyes. Believe it or not, the jury was still out regarding the clunky grey monsters.
I heard myself answer as though in a tunnel, "Oh, yeah. Definitely."
In that seminal moment, I realized I'd made a revolutionary shift which gave me pause. Wasn't it just a few months ago I swore on my backstage pass to the N.O. Jazz Fest that computers would "crash (pun intended) and burn?"
Last April Mark Fiore accepted his prize and a precedent was set. I, for one, am slow to bet against the staying power of this new trend. Let's not forget the humble hand-written letter (requiring a stamp), the roll-a-dex, and, yes, the antiquated paper memo.
What might the future hold? A Pulitzer for a self-published book? A Nobel Peace Prize for an online grassroots movement? Who knows? One thing we can always count on, though, the times, they are always a-changin.
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Connie Hebert, MSW, is the owner and author of her "True Inklings" website. Retired from a successful career in psychotherapy, education, and seminar training on human behavior, she now writes full-time. Her current work in progress is a nonfiction novel with the working title of "Converting the Maiden; a Memoir of Surrender." She's also published short pieces in trade magazines and in "The Shine Journal," an online publication.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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By: MP,
on 2/19/2010
Blog: WOW! Women on Writing Blog (The Muffin) (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Three Easy Steps to Getting Back on Track
by Connie Hebert
Who are your "Side-trackers?" You know, the experts at derailing your creative goals. The detractors who create storm centers and disrupt the focus of creative beings like yourself.
Often long on problems and short on answers, many of these rabble-rousers are famous or frustrated artists themselves. In the wake of your Side-tracker's latest drama, your creative work gets placed on the back-burner...again.
Don't let these trouble makers get the best of you. It's springtime––a time for new beginnings. Here are three easy steps to help anyone get back on track.
First, learn to recognize Side-trackers. Here are some specific behaviors common to this group:
~ Disrespect for your reality i.e. calling with a problem even
though you have a deadline of some kind, and they know it.
~ Break agreements by being late (or too early) and demanding
allowances which wreck havoc with your schedule
~ Spend your money and/or time by needing to be rescued,
often in the middle of a workday
~ Blame others (you) when something goes wrong
~ Go ballistic if someone points out one more broken promise
~ Deny they are Side-trackers
Second, learn how to diffuse Side-trackers.
~ Admit you are involved with one. Denial only prolongs
the agony.
~ Be brutally honest. Why are you entangled? Are you getting
anything out of it? Does your Side-tracker enable your
procrastination? Are you afraid of failure?
~ Accept that keeping them around is self-destructive.
~ Ask yourself what creative work you'd be doing if not involved
with your detractor.
~ Stop dancing to the Side-tracker's tune. If you can't, get help
such as counseling or support from friends who've been
through the process.
~ Keep in mind the consequences of putting your needs
aside such as cheating your of your birthright, devaluing
yourself and your talents, holding back your Gift to a world
badly in need of it, and losing out on the richness of an
existence filled with peace and the joy of self-expression
and self-fulfillment.
Finally realize it's your choice. Choose wisely. Your creative life depends on it.
* * *
Connie Hebert, MSW, is the owner and author of her "True Inklings" website. (See link below.) Retired from a successful career in psychotherapy, education, and seminar training on human behavior, she now writes full-time. Her current work in progress is a nonfiction novel with the working title of "Converting the Maiden; a Memoir of Surrender." She's also published short pieces in trade magainzes and in "The Shine Journal," an online publication.
Follow "Connie's Blog" on her website: www.trueinklings.com
Connie can be reached at: [email protected]
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Thanks for this amazing post. I think as women we tend to be more people pleasing, allowing our practice to be sidetracked. I know that I really need to get back to writing when I look around and see that the house is spotless and I've made enough food for the week! great post.
Jen.
My blog is at:
http://www.jahoward.com
Hey Jen - Thanks for your feedback. I think we're all prone to getting side-tracked. BTW, wish I had a spotless house... :-)