After five long years of writing in the shadow of my first book, The Truth Be Told that was published in the year 2003, The Residual Solace has finally reached a status of publication. The book came to a close in March of this year as the season of spring was beginning to breathe.

Those few who remember The Truth Be Told, it was told from an adolescent view over the course of seven years, filled with crude writing techniques and emotional damage. The book was not, by any means, a full blown success. Yes, at the age of 20 I became a published author in high regard to myself, but few copies were ever sold.

Now five years later I have self-published The Residual Solace through Lulu.com. The quality is superb and much better than the first book that was done through a different publisher. Spanning over eighty pages of written poetic material, the book takes a look at defining my memories and understanding their movement in time.

For those interested in purchasing copy of the book, you can visit the book’s Lulu Marketplace page where both a hard copy and digital edition are available. Autographed copies are available on my website and come personalized.

Some poetry in the book was featured on dA as a means of acquiring feedback on my continuing art of writing. To this day I post my last completed works here because of the great community.

For the last eleven years I have been writing off-and-on solely from memory for my poetry manuscripts, the first of which was published in 2000 under the title of The Truth Be Told. Although not a great success, it began this whole writing experience from reliving memories, both good and bad, through pen scribbling words.

Many non-writers find this rather difficult at times, especially from a poetic concept, to establish the sights and sounds that are no longer existent in colorful dialogue. It’s all in the details. And it’s a matter of concentrating with clarity.

Forcing a memory to resurface is not practically ideal considering that the images retained may be distorted due to immediate feelings or surroundings. Whether it is from anger, stress, or a state of denial, these do not shape the truest sense of the memories that are to be, per say, analyzed.

I find that reliving a memory for its sole purpose comes about through understanding and movement. What do I mean by that?

Understanding a memory can be done by anyone. We learn from our mistakes, move on with life and try again. Sometimes understanding a situation, either instant or from a distant past, can be difficult when life trips up and takes an awful spill. There’s nothing that says understanding a memory is easy – it’s a process of life.

However the movement of a memory is rather different. Much like how a camera captures an instance of time through light, a memory is the same in regards to capturing interaction with people and places. As the eyes close and the memory appears, all time stops for a brief moment to relive the past. But in this time within the past, the mind can replay movement with clarity and distinction.

Just as people say “I can remember it like it was yesterday,” that is the movement of a memory – always bound to you in ways that are true, shaping life for who you are.

Writing from these memories must come immediately afterwards, because silently the images will drift away into hiding for another time. Here are some tips for those who want to take this journey on their own.

1. Be ready to write, whenever
A memory can be triggered from just about anything. When words or phrases start moving around in your head, be ready to write them down at a moments notice because the words will act as a basic foundation. I find it easy to carry a pen and a 4x6 index card folded in half in my pocket.

2. Clear your mind
Once you find time to settle down, remove yourself to a place where you can concentrate without distractions. This is the time to read over the words from earlier in the day and focus on the memory. I find that listening to instrumental music helps out in this process.

3. Details
The more details that can be described, the better off the piece will be. Remember colors, shapes, smells, gestures, weather… anything that make the memory more realistic.

4. Keep writings together
I always write my work in small binded notebooks that help keep the words more personal and are easy to travel with on occasion. Whenever a piece is done in the hand-written sense, a digital copy and printout is good to have in a three-ring notebook. Someday that collection of writing could turn into a book.

5. Keep writing
Writing about a memory once and calling it quits is highly doubtful. There are always pieces to the memory that tend to be forgotten and reappear later on in time. You may understand the memory, but its movement is still with you for you to learn from.

6. Change is good
Description of the memory does not have to be exact. The whole process is to understand the meaning of the memory. The great thing about writing is that details can change inducing imagination to take the helm.

7. Let go
Eventually some memories have to move on just as in life. Reminiscing over the same memory do more harm than good. Take a moment so life can slow down, let go of certain pasts, and allow new memories to begin.

Take it from me, writing from memory is an absorbing task that can be emotionally and mentally hard. Each of us has a journey, whether we write it or not is of our on volition. Currently I am in search of the last pieces to my third poetry book, The Residual Solace, which has been in the works for five years and should be completed this summer.

Wow... been a long time my dear. Almost two years since I posted anything in this journal escape, yet the world keeps spinning on an axis twirling the clouds into daylight.

Over 6,100 pageviews has to mean that my work is worth looking at after all. Certainly time has not been in my favor the last few years, straining me to get by with projects that have dragged on for the longest, i.e. Losing Georgia - an art project turned community information center. Hardly brings in any money, but I'm content with the work.

I don't believe my artistic tastes have changed any, rather expanded in appreciation to accept the master's of the past. Recently black and white photography has attracted my eye in such a way that sometimes all I see in the eyepiece is two colors - black and white.

simple

Wallpaper Notice: If you want a wallpaper of one of my photographs, drop me a note or comment and I'll get on it!

This post is mirrored

Defining Momentum

Mood: +
Listening to: Breaking Benjamin - Dance with the Devil

Jezzz, I haven’t made a post in a long time. Oh well, time to get back on the horse.

I might have locked in a new job for the time being, about time I could pay the bills on my own again. The pay is not that great, but I’ll take anything just to dig myself out of this hole. But what this also means is that I can start spending a little more cash on camera equipment and go back to working on my Mustang (how I miss the old girl).

It sucks not having a job this long (eight months so far) and I have know I idea I could last this far. Good money management my friend. I just hate it how the Man upstairs his it out for me. Everyday it’s something, something that pisses me off. As the saying goes, “God hates me, so I hate him back.”

That’s right, hate’em back because what is there to lose. I get an adrenaline rush just thinking about the idea. Letting destiny guide you is bogus, fate is nothing more than a game of Monopoly, and dreams are noxious persuasions that lead to no where.

Why such great optimism? There’s nothing to be optimistic about when nothing is there to look forward to. Sure, everyone is a winner, but how the hell does somebody win the big lotto jackpots? Oh its not luck or God. It’s spending thousands on false hopes that are reimbursed years later down the year just to have half the money lost to the Feds (idiots).

None of this is making sense is it? Figures… Just watch enn+and+teller+bullshit"Penn & Teller’s Bullshit – that’ll explain everything

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Wallpaper Notice: If you want a wallpaper of one of my photographs, drop me a note or comment and I'll get on it!

This post is mirrored

Defining Momentum

Mood: ~
Listening to: Dashboard Confessional - So Long, So Long

It’s been awhile since I posted something, too busy dealing with my Losing Georgia Project – almost like a full time job, but not being paid to do what I’m doing. Hawaii was a great getaway because I’m not a tourist in the sense that I’ve been there plenty of times before.

Getting around Oahu is fairly easy, slow moving with no shortcuts. Most people aren’t in a big hurry because you’re stuck on an island – there’s no reason to be going fast. I decided to stay away from Honolulu, too many tourists around Waikiki making the experience less memorable.

Most tourists purchase these package deals to stay downtown, get on a tour bus everyday to explore the island in spurts. Hawaii should be discovered on a personal level rather than in a camera totting horde spending 15 minutes in each place. Absorb the surroundings, don’t waste them.

But local of Hawaii are becoming more frustrated by the increasing amount of tourists arriving to the island state. Some frustrations are so prominent that locals are setting brushfires to get the point across. The natural ecosystem is under an immense amount of strain because of tourism.

I love Hawaii, but I don’t want to see it be destroyed. It’s my second home.

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