A thought raced through my mind the other day. I think I’ve had the thought before, but I can’t recall if I’ve ever paid attention to it. The thought:
It’s all about the story.
I laugh at myself for being a drifting dabbler. I routinely slide from one personal interest to another. It’s amusing to take a step back and recognize the pattern that occurs. Now, keep in mind I always drift between the same core activities, though not necessarily in this order: photography and film, mobile digital art (comics, stills and animation), playing the guitar, and writing (poetry and novels). The last two, playing the guitar and writing, often converge into one — songwriting. It’s truly a rare day when I expand this catalog.
The most recent series of drifts was not at all my fault. I swear! I purchased the gear necessary to return to DSLR photography (from iphoneography). I was happily focusing on photography when I found the video feature on my new camera. Naturally, I needed to experiment with the device. What sort of self-respecting photographer would I be if I didn’t know the ends and outs of my equipment?
The first drift. Photography to film.
Now, I was focused on creating a simple short film, experimenting with my gear. I spent an entire day off shooting a script I wrote the week before. The editing software was humming as I pieced the shots together. One needed to be re-filmed but unfortunately it would have to wait until my next day off. Before that happened a very generous member of the church surprised me with a gift. He gave me an acoustic-electric guitar and an amp to plug into!
Drift #2. Film to guitar.
It certainly goes without saying that I had to try out my new instrument. After all, what sort of self-respecting living room rock star would I be if I didn’t spend some time getting to know my new ax? New ax? Okay, maybe that’s taking it a bit far. Anyhow, you get my drift.
So there I was, shredding away, learning some new songs, and yeah, even putting some ink down on an original piece of my own (a mini convergent drift) when SCOTUS declared the decision regarding same-sex marriage.
A third, and might I say, half, drift occurred.
I was still channeling my inner Bob Dylan, but now I also felt compelled to draw a Johnny Scribble comic strip, you know, as any cartoonist with a shred of dignity would do in the wake of a landmark cultural event. One Scribble led to another and I was on the verge of a full fledged drift when I received word from Grail Quest Books that they were interested in publishing my novel, The Gift and the Defender as well as the rest of the Lumen Legends series.
What!?!
And there it was. The final drift. A super drift to complete the cycle. From playing the guitar to songwriting through cartooning to writing novels!
Novels.
Years ago, before I owned a camera, before I learned to play guitar or ever thought about attempting to write an original song, before Johnny Scribble put on his red power tie, I penned a novel. Before I learned to express myself in other ways I dreamed of telling stories and of people actually reading them. And that’s when this thought hit me.
It’s all about the story.
No, not in some post-modern, philosophic, sense. In relation to why I drift from one interest to another. They’re all modes of expressing myself. Ways in which to tell a story. Whether it’s through visuals or accompanied by music or simply by putting enough words together to comprise a book, all my hobbies come from a desire within me to tell a story. To tell a thousand stories. To tell the one great story.
It’s all about the story.
So, dear reader. Whoever you are. Look for more stories to come (especially the biggies, the Lumen Legends) in the future. And while I’m thinking about it, if you’re interested in staying up to date on the release of my series of novels consider liking the Lumen Legends page on Facebook: www.facebook.com/lumenlegends
Until next time.
Tschüs!