All good things...

...must come to an end.

Yes, I will no longer be updating this blog page! However, don't be sad. I've changed my home website www.craig-gilbert.com to a Wordpress blogging page - which basically means my blogs, angst, woes, happiness and general views will be posted there instead.

Well, it makes sense to have everything under one roof for a change!

Thanks for following me on here. Hope to see you on there!!

Craig

A Choice Of Ages

Hi there everyone...

My poetry book A Gathering Of Wings is spreading its wings and nearing completion. I'm still in a quandry of how to go about publishing this one. Do I follow the self-publishing route (that I've done in the past) which ensures a quick publication, or do I begin to seek out potential publishers, something that will take a while but may reap the bigger reward?

The benefit of a real publishing deal does not necessarily ensure I gain more readers, which, ultimately, is my goal. The internet and self-publishing has, certainly for me, allowed my work to get out from my own home (and brain) and reach people - not a lot of people, mind you, but you know who you are! So, do I really want or need a publishing deal? Answers on a postcard (or comment below for ease of use!)

Books are increasingly becoming 'online'; hardware like Kindles are being designed for this goal - but there is still something romantic and comfortable to own a book, have it in your hands - will this ever go? I hope not - I think both options have their pros and cons, of course, but I'm a firm believer in reading away from a screen. I'm sure we spend far too much time in front of them, so why add to the onslaught?

Whatever I decide (and the choice may be taken from me if magazines/publishers decide not to pursue my work), I am very happy with my new book. It has really taken on a life of its own, and forms a solid (if a rather dark) story about a new world; an otherworld leaking through into our own, to lay claim to it. As you can tell, my influence comes from many movies, books and old stories. Mine isn't a new story - but I hope told in a suitably different way!

Expect more news on A Gathering Of Wings before the end of the year; I should then, at least, have decided (or had decided for me) my choice of publishing.

Until then, I post a poem I wrote tonight, suitably apt, called 'The Choice Of Ages'. Hope you enjoy...

The Choice Of Ages

Dare I go with you?
Your outstretched hand of wisdom seems to wink.
If I leave, will your destination lure me from the brink
Of wounded hearts, suffering and demented views?

My first instinct is to look back, cacophony,
I hear the endless cries of the banshees,
Wailing in their tormented laughs to disagree
At each other's woes; their own is far worse, you see!

I linger, but view your resolute body.
I hesitate to join your cause,
Well, the unknown is always frightful, I suppose...
Or is leaving behind what I am my final glory?

Yet if I stay, I remain amongst these masses.
The people of all history combined descending,
Bewildering glimmers of light and dark coalescing -
All is not sour in these fields of red ashes.

Is it over, for us, then?
A brush and a clean and the bacteria is gone,
New shining stars birthed, unearthed, to belong?
If so then perhaps we will start again.

For my own journey, well,
It can't end here, my thoughts confirm,
I bleed my life and heart to learn...

...My soul still exists in your leafy dells.

(c) Copyright Craig Gilbert 2010

New Chapters

Hello again. It is with great relish that I write this blog; my first for some time, for a multitude of reasons. The first main reason is I have not had internet access due to a change in phone company. What should have taken a few days culminated in about three weeks of disconnection, much to my frustration. Never mind, it has forced me to change my daily internet habits and return to a previous time when the word 'Internet' meant nothing, and to embark on other pursuits, such as gardening (growing my own vegetables becoming a new phase), reading more (something I didn't have much time for but I'm greatly appreciative to return back to doing this), and, dare I say it, visiting places, enjoying the sunshine and nature's free gifts of landscapes, wildlife and fresh air!

The time away from the computer has actually been beneficial. It has allowed my thoughts to drift onto new chapters and horizons; hone what will be the next installment of my writing projects, websites, heck, life in general.

On writing, I've continued with my poetry, albeit more slowly. I've decided to focus a bit on promotion of the work, which I find very difficult, as all I actually want to do is write, not market myself, but then with nobody else to do it I need to try and do something. I've so far sent a selection of my poems to various magazines, with a view to getting one or two published. Not heard anything back so far, but that to me is a good sign. I feel if I can get my name out there a bit, this will pave the way towards the holy grail, an actual publishing deal. Of course, if this never happens, I will continue to publish my work the way I've always done, through online resources and paying for my own books, but we shall see if anything develops. I have also begun writing articles/reviews for an online magazine 'Imagine Daily' of which you can read at www.imaginedaily.com (thanks Melanie for giving me that chance).

I'm also increasing my network of creative people (Twitter and Facebook are quite handy in this regard), which brings me onto another project: 'Stripeymouse'. This is a work in progress. I am currently delving into the world of WordPress, an online blogging system that can handle a lot more than just, well, blogging. Using this I intend to create a website which will allow creative people I know to share their work and ideas, and also allow people to logon and buy items should they so desire. The goal in the end would be a fully functional site that would showcase the talents of many of my friends and creative colleagues, so it is very exciting to begin to think about it. Of course, I still need to learn WordPress fully, so I'm expecting a slow (but steady) start. It helps to be back online, of course!

As a new fan of WordPress, I also envisage changing my own website (yes, here we go again!), to also incorporate the functions and features that will allow people to buy my writing much easier than at present, and also promote my site a lot better in search engines. Watch this space! I'm never one to tarry too long on the same designs, as people know...!

Project wise, my mind is filled with new ideas, but I'm wise enough now to at least finish the projects already started, that is, 'A Gathering of Wings' and 'The Dark Shores'. These are my first priority, along with the marketing/promotion of them. After that, well, perhaps I'll leave that to another blog sometime.

Until next time!

De-Clutter

Out with the old, and in with the new, that's been the motto for the last few weeks, both physically and mentally.

Physically, well, I've been having a really big tidy up in the house: old furniture has been taken away to local charity, and new furniture has been bought and set up; the garden has had new plants potted and old weeds removed; my paperwork, drawers and even ornaments are all going through a massive shake-up. It feels good but bewildering all at the same time. Still, I need to make more room as of late the house has gotten a little bit out of hand; plus it's useful space now for my girlfriend to bring in her own things and make the place happier, vibrant and fresh once again.

This de-cluttering regime has begun to take its toll on my mental sanity, forcing me to rethink my muddled thoughts into something clearer, sharper and more focussed. This is undoubtedly a good thing, helping to steer my brain into my creative pursuits in a controlled way. Therefore, as part of this mental de-clutter, I've purposely decided to concentrate on A Gathering Of Wings, my latest poetry book in production, to ensure its completion before the end of the year. All other projects will be put on hold. I was certainly stretching myself way too thin, so this should present an achievable goal. With more time and effort spent on this one project, I am hoping to make it even better and bolder than the original concept/time had so far allowed! This, coupled with reading more and fitting this into my week, will help my ideas and writing expand.

As if this weren't enough, I am now starting to adapt to a more sustainable life; including growing my own veg and cooking soup amongst other things. Having become recently aware of the scandal of palm oil being in thousands of products we take for granted, and the issues palm oil plantations are doing to rainforests and orang-utans, I am making a more concerted effort to buy better produce! Of course there's no way I could eliminate palm oil entirely from my diet (half the stuff I use I don't even know if it's in or not - some people label it vegetable oil as well), but at least I can try and lessen my use of it.

Until next time...!

Creative blues

Well, it's not been as straightforward a month as I had envisaged!

Things keep getting in the way of my writing: work projects, design of websites and gardening, to name a few. I wonder if other creative people who work full-time suffer the same fate?

Another major barrier is my own brain - I've had a bit of writer's block lately, and the stuff I've managed to write just doesn't seem that dynamic or vibrant; certainly not as good as I would hope to be able to achieve, these days. I wish I could have a post here telling you all how brilliantly I've done, but it's slow, slow progress...but then isn't everything in life that is worthwhile slow? Instant results do not often show the love, creativity and imagination. Cracks would show...so I can't be too hard on myself. What I do need to do though is enthuse my mind again by reading, reading, reading, which is really the only way for an author to compare his own work - with the work of other, already published authors! (It also builds up the vocabulary).

In fact, I also think I need to watch more movies, and not just the usual hollywood action stuff - but solid, dramatic, powerful movies with emotional stories. I always find my imagination starts to soar when I watch a film with challenging themes. I'm not sure what's about at the local cinema; I might have to have a wee look, or find a DVD or something.

I mentioned gardening earlier, which is something I do enjoy, despite it eating into my writing time. The garden is looking quite good at the moment, with tulips and daffodils just about opening after the extreme cold weather we've had. I've attracted a lot more birds into the garden too using feeders: blue tits, great tits, chaffinches, sparrows and blackbirds are all there. It's great watching them!

Right, I'd better crack on and write something different to this blog - catch you all again soon.

Tangerine April

Hi folks,

Just returned from a weekend in London to see Tangerine Dream, who played at the Royal Albert Hall. Sublime and mesmeric is how I would call it! Superb, especially for the man above where I sat who stood tall and proud, raised his arms aloft and chanted 'I love you Tangerine Dream!' I concur.

It was also a lovely time to catch up with friends, old and new! A good time was had by all, including some odd moments of attempting arm wrestles in pubs and taking photos by places called 'Craig's Court'...ah well, it was all pretty good, at the end of the day!!

So now I'm back (and back at work), I'm going to settle down and begin my writing extravaganza, as promised for April. First up is 'The Dark Shores', and if I can write a good two or three chapters this month, that will be fantastic and pave the way for a completion by the end of the year, with any luck. In between I'm going to flesh out my poetry in 'A Gathering of Wings', and start to send this off to prospective publishers...

...I still dream of going part-time at work in an affordable way, so I can focus more on these creative outlets. It's not easy trying to compose epic fantasies and poetry while struggling with the, quite frankly, less than thrilling workload about paths. Still, I give a due nod to Sarah, who puts up with some stick, to say the least. I love the team I'm with, and that accounts for a lot. Still, I'm keeping my eyes open and my mind active!

Storms have battered the coastline up here of late. The esplanade here where I live flooded totally - I had a photo sent to me of the main road under the sea. Caravans fell into the sea also, and harbour walls collapsed under the might. Worst I've known since I moved up here! Incredibly the daffodils are now opening to Spring, and some much needed colour emerges. Hurrah!

Will hopefully provide a bit more of an update as April progresses. Thanks for reading, as always.

Why wait for April?

Hi once again!

In my previous post I mentioned all my projects, and that I would make sure in April I would sit down and start my work through them. Well, I'm pleased to report, I didn't wait until April...I've started early!

Firstly, I've combined my two forums into one - Looking Within Creative Community is the result of this! This will bring together a host of creative souls under one roof - poets, artists, writers, painters, musicians, arts and crafts are all here...and it's doing well so far! My goal is to meet new people and share creative ideas; maybe make one or two new friends...and who could ask for anything more?

My budding web design idea has come to the fore, have a look at Techy Mouse, a site which I hope will help those in need of a website (for a modest fee, of course)! The sister site to this, Stripey Mouse, is still under construction - which will be a place for creative folk local to me to have a unique community, showcasing their work as well as my own. Exciting times and more news when it arrives...

...not content to sit on my laurels, I'm pleased to report a further writing effort on The Dark Shores, my second fantasy novel. And tonight? Well, my mind is awhirl with creative poetic impulses! I can only hope April shares this enthusiasm for all my projects (I'm determined it will).

Thanks, as always, for your support and for reading this...see you next month!