I think I started the blogging year out right.  I put up a short work of fiction about someone’s first day out in the world, his great new beginning.  OK, so that “someone” is a Frankenstein monster-like creature.  Everyone deserves a great new start, don’t they?  Yes, my First of January post does show the general flavor my blog will take this fine New Year, but I’m still lacking the typical “here is what I want to accomplish this year” post.  Well, I was lacking – just continue reading…

Who am I and why do I blog?  What am I trying to achieve with this blog?   Glad you asked.  I’ll try to answer these questions, though not necessarily in that order.

I have participated in many of the arts, but two stand above the others.  My life has often been written in music and I try to return the favor, transcribing my world back into sound.  I’m passionate about listening to, creating and participating in organized noise of all types and have studied classical composition.   Possibly even above music I would say that putting words on paper has been a great constant in my life.  I use the written word to express myself and use music when words won’t do.

Most of the topics I will write about center around the arts, with a special emphasis on writing.  One area in particularly is using my experience in the other arts to relate back to writing.  I like to think of things like the rhythm of words and the flow of ideas.  The themes in an article or story can play off of one another like the themes in a sonata or symphony.  Writing should have a groove.  I use motifs in notes and words so if follow my blog you might see much ado about noting…

I’m also interested in creativity in general, whether it’s creativity in the arts, in computer programing or in mathematics.  A related blog area I’ve written about and will continue to explore is creativity in our lives.  I should say creativity and inspiration, for the two go together.  Inspiration can be found in a thing, an idea, a person or, well, anything.  Now isn’t that inspiring?

I usually use my thoughts in the areas above to create little lessons.  I hope you don’t find it presumptuous of me to try to teach you about art, writing and creativity, but they say the best way to learn is to teach.  I am but a humble student.

Putting the lessons into practice I will continue to write short fiction, typically under 750 words.  My goal is to post a new story every other week.  And just watch and read for I may surprise you by substituting in a poem just to mix things up a bit.

A writer is, of course, first and foremost a reader so I will continue to post reviews of books I have recently read, even if they aren’t current.

If I haven’t yet explained were the “Random Ramblings” in my tagline come from, well, I will certainly occasionally ramble on randomly.  Don’t be surprised by posts about things that interest me.  Nature and outdoor sports, such as kayaking, form a large part of my world so I tend to write about those things.  I will often try to tie things back into the Arts, creativity or inspiration, but don’t think I will feel compelled to force every last post into one of those themes.  Sometimes things must be written for their own sake.

Maybe the best way to understand where I’m heading is to look at where I’ve been by digging up some of my older posts.  I hope you enjoy what you find.

If you made it this far, thank you!  I look forward to working with all of the wonderful bloggers out there, reading and learning from what everyone has to say.

May you have a great New Year!

Hmmm, now that gives me an idea for a great new story….

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Photo by Trent P McDonald