To me, this is the single greatest fear that every
musician, singer and songwriter must confront over the course of their creative
lives. How should one respond when one’s audience no longer cares, or worse,
when it disappears entirely?
It’s a question I’ve been asking for more
than 20 years. During that time countless artistic empires have risen and
fallen, the music industry has transformed beyond belief and I’ve experienced
my own zenith and nadir as one of the architects of obscure indie-pop outfit
Silent Alliance.
Many claim that the creative process, the
pursuit and fulfilment of artistic vision is the higher calling – a pure,
uncompromising objective for any that wants to lay claim to true authenticity
as a musical creator.… ...continue reading
The gathering of flesh tightly against itself, the beginning of a seam. When I was a child I went for a walk in the woods— the mountain laurel blossoms lit up the bushes like the kitschy lights of a 1970’s Christmas tree. I cut my arm open falling off that old wooden zipline there, the one with the red painted seat and the wooden handlebars, the one that severed the mountains in half. The branches cut my skin to lace. There was not a single binding stitch on my skull after the surgeon mended my brain, threads seal the inside from the out, and instead the surgery was done through my thigh. During a rupture, blood seeps through the mind like ink across a wet page. … ...continue reading
Founder/Editor-in-Chief of editor of Writing-World.com and freelance writer since 1979, Moira Allen is the author of several hundred published articles, and three books on writing published by Allworth Press: Writing.com, The Writer’s Guide to Queries, Pitches, and Proposals, and Starting Your Career as a Freelance Writer (now in its 3rd edition). Allen has also served as the editor of the national magazine Dog Fancy, as well as the editor of several online/electronic publications. I first came across Moira Allen’s writing articles in Working Writer and her practical suggestions helped my writing and the often confusing submission process.
When did you begin your author website guide and how did it come about?
Writing-World.com actually began in several stages. My first website was “Tips for Writers,” and included only my own articles. … ...continue reading
My boom box teetered on the limestone boulder next to the pigpen. Cousin Libby put it there, unconcerned by my catch of breath when metal scraped rock. The boombox, my only birthday present when I turned thirteen last week, was now scarred by scratches.
“Why didn’t you put it on the grass?” I asked before I saw the puddle beside the boulder, a spray of rust-colored dots on the dirt.
“So that’s what all that ruckus was about.” Libby skimmed her pinky over the surface of the puddle, then tried to trace a heart on the faded wooden plank of the pigpen. But she only had enough on her pinky to draw a backwards question mark.
From the other side of the pond, a holler, a girl waving with one hand, shielding her eyes from the afternoon sun with the other. … ...continue reading
Centered on a small island on the River Lee is Cork, the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland. Nestled just north of the English Market and just west of Cork Harbor, lies the Mutton Lane Inn. A favorite of the early afternoon crowd (opening at 2 pm on Sunday) and the late night couples desiring quaint conditions include candle illumination, small oak tables, and in excess of 600 varieties of beer. Whether a local or a traveler from afar, this small pub sees its shares of love stories and heartache.
This story is not about the Mutton Lane Inn, rather, it pertains to true love found and true love easily lost.
Enter Sergei.
Sergei Protopopov is a young assistant coach for FC Luch-Energiya Vladivostok, or Luch-Energiya for short, or just Luch for conversations with those who find the Russian language and its far eastern dialects difficult to understand and even more difficult to pronounce.… ...continue reading
