Sunday, June 07, 2009

Off days . . .

We all have off days.

Especially us artistic types. Oy.

We can have off weeks, months . . . hopefully not years . . .

I must confess that I personally have been struggling for a little while now, dealing with all the usual fears associated with an artistic temperament. The usual worries, self doubts. And yes, despite my new year's resolution to be more confident (or again, as my friend puts it, "Be confident stupid!"), it isn't like I can automatically become something without a great deal of effort. New Year's resolutions aren't magical, they take work.

But I am feeling much better. I am. I am lucky because I have some amazing support, the coolest friends, the best family . . . people who will listen to me when I am down and cheer me on when I'm going for it. And awesome blog readers who make me smile with all their comments. So first off, I want to express my immense gratitude to all of you for your continuous support. It means a lot to me.

Thank you.

Next I want to talk about Kermit the Frog.

Now many of you will know that Kermit the Frog is Adrienne's ideal man (. . . frog, whatever). For those of you new to my blog, I shall explain briefly why. First off he is sensitive and very talented (can sing, dance, act, write his own material, produce and direct). He is also level headed and practical. However he can also cut loose, knows how to have a good time, and can be very funny. I mean his sense of humour in general is just fantastic - that laugh . . . Adding onto all of that he is also a leader of men . . . women . . . bears . . . pigs . . . chickens . . . rats. . . whats-its . . . etc. You feel better knowing he's around.

And he also owns his own theatre, which for an actress is a very attractive quality.

He is also wise, but not in an obnoxious pretentious way. He is wise in a simple perfectly put kind of way. And he does it through song.


Now the first half of my post and my second merge.



When all else fails, and you are feeling still a little down in your artistic endeavors, and even though your friends and family and blog readers have all made you smile, may I offer the following musical interlude to set your mind to purpose. It works wonders for yours truly, I do hope it can have the same effect on you guys.

"Have you been half asleep and have you heard voices? I've heard them calling my name. . . I've heard it too many times to ignore it, it's something that I'm supposed to be . . ."

For those of us seeking our rainbow connection:





Now that you have been inspired by my ideal man, may I offer you some more aquatic advice, this time of the more pragmatic variety. You now know what you want to do, so here's how to do it:




So there you go. Most importantly I think we need to remember that yup we can have off days, but that doesn't mean every day following will also be off. This too shall pass. And if it takes a little longer than usual . . . well . . . we've always got Kermit the Frog to keep us believing in the magic.

It ain't true if it ain't a little cheesy. :)

4 comments:

Diana Byron said...

Hey Adrienne,

Keep the faith. My daughter loves Alex & the Ironic Gentleman, and as an aspiring author, the highlight of her school year was when you came and spoke at Allenby.

Cheers, Diana

Don Bolen said...

Adrienne, I think we all have fears and the dreaded "writer's block"... I'm that point and trying... so far unsuccessfully to break on through to the other side.

But, on the bright side I'm exactly like Kermit the Frog!! Well... except for the singing, dancing, acting and owning my own theater part.

I read Timothy and the Dragon's Gate to my little 6 year-old niece. Her eyes were wide open with excitement!

Thank you for a great book!

Adrienne said...

Diana - the faith is being kept, have you no fear. And that is wonderful about your daughter, so flattering. I had such fun at Allenby (extra special as it is my alma mater). The kids were so great I didn't want to leave (actually we did wind up hanging out for quite a while after). Tell her "hi" from me!

Don - thanks so much for the support! I think you are probably at the "just keep swimming" place, and I have to say, there is no better advice out there (unless of course you want to go the Galaxy Quest route with "Never give up! Never Surrender!") Great also to hear about your niece, that's just what every author loves to hear!

And yay Kermit! I think it would make sense for you to start taking some musical theatre classes so you can truly hold yourself on par (and start saving for that theatre!).

Don Bolen said...

Adrienne,

Thanks for the encouragement! I believe you are correct about my swimming in place. Plus, I must say, "It isn't easy being green" either!

I was babysitter my little niece Lorili today... and told her you were glad that she liked the book.

She was very happy that you mentioned her and I do believe I have moved up several notches on Lorili's admiration chart.

Especially, when I told her that if she was really good today... we would go to the bookstore this weekend to see if there was another book.

I think I may have created a monster though... in that she is going to be expecting more books from you whenever she is really good.

So Adrienne, I don't want to put any pressure on you... but I do believe that writing a third book is totally on your shoulders now!