Writing Process

COVID CHRYSALIS

/ Cody McCullough / 1 Comment

Before my wandering ways take me back to my Top 10 list of poems, I have resolved to share a new poem. I recently wrote this poem in the style of an unfinished poetry project that I started before I began writing my novel. I suppose my subconscious is wanting me to finish what I began. Indeed, the river of time does circle back around from time to time. Instead of letting it perpetually bob up and down in an eddy in my mind, I release it to you.

COVID CHRYSALIS

primordial skin surrounds
covid chrysalis

pulsating heart
squeezed within

old ways
dissolving slowly away

sprouting bubbles
new normal

time warps
bending together

night and day
day and night

new normal
shrouded reality

chrysalis cracks
exposing the metamorphosis

emerging wings
shrinking shell

shimmering sun
glistening new body

nascent beginning
a fading memory

fluttering flight
a leap away

by Cody McCullough
Photo by Chris F on Pexels.com

AWAKE

/ Cody McCullough / 4 Comments

I suppose it’s time to awaken from my long slumber. In reality, it wasn’t much of a rest. I’ve been as busy as I’ve ever been. The more things change…. Anyway, today seems like a good time to begin again. There’s no time like the present as they say. With that thought in mind, I’m going to continue my very subjective countdown of my favorite poems (the ones that me, myself, and I have written). Next up is the fifth installment. That’ll be my next post. In the meantime, I suppose we have some catching up to do.

Well for starters, I haven’t gotten very far from home in a while. Then I suppose that isn’t much of a surprise to anyone. I also have a new collection of face coverings that make it easy for me to stick my tongue out at people without them ever knowing. 😜 Oh yeah, I changed the title of my upcoming novel to 2023: A Time Odyssey. In case you are wondering what the difference is between 2021 and 2023, here’s some simple math for you: 1+2=3. Actually, the difference is this: 3-1=2. I never was all that good at math, but I digress. The important thing is that my goal for 2021 is to publish 2023.

Other than that, I don’t really have any big plans to speak of this year. I imagine 2023, my poetry countdown, and an HBO Max subscription will keep me busy enough. It’s that or go back into hibernation like Punxsutawney Phil. No, I think I’m rested enough. Here we go….

Photo by Victor Freitas on Unsplash

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE…

/ Cody McCullough / Leave a comment

Welcome to CODYMCCULLOUGHWRITES.COM. Seven years ago, I started blogging under the title: THE PAST, PRESENT, & FUTURE. Things have changed since then. Today is proof of that. One thing I have learned in life, though, is that the more things change, the more they stay the same. I think someone wise said that a long time ago. Whoever it was, they couldn’t have been more correct.

Within the month, I will be publishing an updated version of THE PAST, PRESENT, & FUTURE. While it maintains the integrity and authenticity of the original work, it also embraces change. As soon as it becomes available for purchase, I will post a link. In the meantime, feel free to view the information about it on my website.

PPF COVER

On Change

/ Cody McCullough / 15 Comments

     Change is constant. For better or worse, it is one of life’s certainties. When it’s for the better, it’s easy to embrace. When it’s for the worse, it can be quite a challenge to accept. Lately, I have found myself facing the latter challenge.

     Change for me came in the form of a ruptured Achilles tendon. Accepting that my life will be much more difficult for the next several months has been more than a challenge. I know that there are much worse things in this world, and the change that I’m experiencing is only temporary. Still, though, it has been exceptionally difficult. Learning how to navigate the world without the mobility that I used to have has definitely been arduous.

     Even challenging changes, however, sometimes present silver linings. For me the silver lining has been extra time for writing. I was able to use this extra time to finally put those finishing touches on my novel. Complete at last, “A New Beginning” is now a reality.

     Next month, I’ll reveal the actual name of my novel along with a synopsis of the story. Hopefully by then I’ll have healed some and will be getting around better than I am now. In the meantime, feel free to search for those silver linings amidst the constant changes of life.

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Making Resolutions

/ Cody McCullough / 14 Comments

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        I resolve to never write again.  Instead, I think I’ll just chill and listen to Jimi Hendrix music.  Okay, that’s not my New Year’s resolution.  I just wanted to see if you were paying attention.  This year my resolution does involve scaling back my writing, though.  The past three years my resolutions have focused heavily on writing.  That’s all well and good, but I’ve neglected one important aspect of writing: publishing.  Sure I picked up a copy of the Poet’s Market, and planned to go through it to find the right publications for my work.  The problem as it turns out, is that there are just too many publications.  Don’t get me wrong, that is a good thing.  On the other hand, it also makes coming up with a good short list of publishers difficult.  Inevitably, I always lose interest and go back to what is comfortable: writing.

        This year, however, I resolve to put the work in and focus on publishing.  Currently, I have more than 20 unpublished poems from my Lost in Time collection, the fourth and final collection of The Past, Present, and Future.  Of course, I still have some other works that have not seen the light of day yet.  I suppose the time has come to test the waters of the publishing world with some of my unpublished work.

        While I’m trying to convince the distributors of information that my work is worth presenting to the consuming public, I suppose I should keep myself busy.  That’s why I have decided to publish 10 poems from Lost in Time on this site.  As always, I’ll publish on the third day of the month.  Pacific Standard Time, of course.  Most likely a few minutes after the day begins, as I typically like to do.  Then in December, I’ll post an update on my publishing adventures.  I do hope that you like my Lost in Time poems as much as I enjoyed writing them.

        Now, where did I put that copy of the Poet’s Market?  Oh, I suppose I should pick up a copy of the 2015 Guide to Literary Agents while I’m at it.  For good measure, I imagine I should throw in a bottle of The Macallan.  You never know when you’ll have to sip away your sorrows, or toast your successes.  As always, I hope for the latter, expect the prior, and will be content if I find myself somewhere in-between.

Those Little Touches

/ Cody McCullough / 19 Comments

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        My pulse quickens and my extremities tingle, as my fingers dance upon ebony keys.  I have just finished one of those little touches, and I know my work is almost complete.  What is a little touch?  A little touch is more than just the words upon a page.  It’s the middle layer, the ivory between black, the alternate possibility that opens the door into a hidden realm.  A realm where all is not what it seems.  A realm immersed in bright, white light.

        Creating those little touches is why I write.  It’s also why I get behind on deadlines, and forget to submit my work.  The problem you see is that I always want just a little bit more.  One meaning is good, two is better, and three is quite divine.  Even then, though, it is hard to quit.  Four, five, six, why not?  By some estimates, English has more than a million words—almost all of which have multiple meanings.  This, of course, means there is inevitably another word that may convey your message more effectively and there is almost always more meaning to be squeezed out of each word.

        Still, though, one must be careful.  There is a big difference between a Kubrick who bides time to create masterpieces and a Lucas who continually destroys his original genius by indefinitely reimagining and recreating it.  No, you definitely don’t want to be the latter.  Just ask poor Greedo about that.  On the other hand, who doesn’t want to be like Kubrick?  I suppose that explains why so many good film makers have copied him over the years.  Trouble is, not everyone can be.  Sometimes you just have to know when enough is enough.

        As for me, the time has come to put the finishing touches on something that I have been working on for quite some time now.  If this year is kind, it will see the last little touch come before the stroke of midnight on this year’s last day.  If it is divine, it may come just a tad bit earlier.  Thirty-some-odd minutes would do.

        For now, I sit and ponder.  How shall it all end?  There are a few good contenders, but like Frost I know it will all come down to fire and ice.  Both are tantalizing, but only one covers everything in a layer of white.  I suppose it will just have to suffice.

Burning Books

/ Cody McCullough / 9 Comments

Fire

Photo by Elizabeth McCullough

        Why do autocrats love to burn books so much?  I suppose they are afraid of new ideas.  That raises the question: are ideas really that dangerous?  Why of course they are.  They always have been, and always will be.  Repeat after me:  Ideas are dangerous.  Ideas are dangerous.  Ideas are dangerous….

        Ok, I think you get the idea.  Or at the very least, you’re starting to sing Big Data’s song “Dangerous” in your head.  So, what do you do in a world where ideas are dangerous and books are burned?  That’s simple: write.  Why miss out on all the fun?  Still, though, there is a time and a place.  I suppose not all stories are suitable for all audiences.  On the other hand, burning, banning, or censoring books seems a bit extreme.  I’ve never been much of an extremist myself.

        No, I’m just one of the seven billion and counting people who live in this world.  When I look outside, I see a world that is full of beauty and filth.  Regardless of how much you may want the world to be one way, you’ll never be able to blot out the things you don’t like.  In order to see the world for what it truly is, you have to be willing to sit back and take it all in–both the good and the bad.  Ok, now I’m starting to sound like a sappy theme song from an 80s sitcom.  I’m bad, but I didn’t know that I was that bad.

        Embracing my rediscovered badness, the time has come for me to burn some books.  The autocrats seem to enjoy it so much that I thought I’d give it a try.  There’s only one problem: it would be extremely rude for me to burn someone else’s work.  Ok, let’s make that two problems: I can’t bear to burn my own.  It isn’t even finished yet (it is getting close, though, and I promise it will be finished sometime between now and the end of time).  If someone else wants to burn it one day, more power to them.

        For now, however, I think I’ll burn something else.  I think I’ll burn an idea.  No need to worry, though, the idea isn’t going anywhere.  I have the idea memorized.  Then again, maybe you do too.  I suppose it all depends on how well you read—the color white.

Reversing Entropy

/ Cody McCullough / 12 Comments

Entropy (2)

Photo by Cody McCullough

        Change is inevitable, but is chaos?  According to entropy, everything gradually declines into disorder, or chaos; ergo chaos is inevitable.  That should make the villains of the world happy.  Just like a sappy comic book, though, I believe the villains will inevitably be disappointed in the end.  That is because I believe in the idea of reversing entropy.

        So, just how do you reverse entropy?  My answer: the same way that you write, grow a business, raise a family, or do just about anything meaningful in the world.  Put simply: embrace change.  Change is inevitable, there is no getting around that.  That’s why you can never rest on your laurels.  If you want to be successful at anything, you have to grow and evolve over time.

        What does that have to do with entropy?  My answer: everything.  It’s not nature that leads to disorder, it’s what goes against nature that falls apart in the end.  From what I can see, nature is actually quite ordered.  From the stars and the Universe above, all the way down to our cells and atoms, order is everywhere.  It’s the human world where disorder is rampat.  Why?  Mostly, I think, it is because we like to create things.  Every creation, though, ultimately has its end.  Even the pyramids of Giza will not last forever.  All human creations, eventually lose their battle with time; ergo nature wins in the end.  Which in my mind, is actually order winning.

        No need to worry, though, as humans derive from nature meaning we are not disorder incarnate.  It’s only our creations that represent disorder.  Thanks to the process of evolution we will be fine, our children will be fine, and their children will be fine.  The deck I plan to build onto my house next summer, however, probably won’t survive three more generations (especially if the Oregon rain has anything to say about it).  Decks just aren’t natural in the wild….

        So, what’s the point?  Simply put: embrace change and subsequently increase your cerebral capacity instead of slowly letting it slip away.  When it comes to writing, and just about everything else, we need to evolve along with nature and the world around us.  If we don’t, nature will pass us by just like my future deck.  Be a lifelong learner, be inquisitive, ask questions, seek the truth, and above all, never think that you know everything.  You don’t.  It’s impossible.  If you spend some time at the library, either virtually or physically, you may just find that you know more today than you did yesterday.  If that is the case, then you’re probably ready to write, and ready to join me in the battle to reverse entropy.

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Photo by Elizabeth McCullough

Finding Inspiration

/ Cody McCullough / 34 Comments

Photo by Elizabeth McCullough

Photo by Elizabeth McCullough

        A single leaf dangling from a high branch, an interesting conversation, a good book, a decent film, a fun trip—indeed inspiration comes in many forms.  In many ways, it is all around us.  With inspiration so bountiful in the world, the challenge becomes finding focus.  How do you tune everything out, and focus on just one idea?  My answer: you don’t.

        In the Digital Age, information overkill is a fact of life.  Instead of tuning everything out to focus on one idea, I grab a life jacket and soak it all in.  After that, I wait.  If something is worth spending the time to focus on, it will usually find its way back into my consciousness.

        I suppose my technique isn’t exactly foolproof.  Occasionally, inspirational thoughts pop up at very inopportune times.  Other times, the inspirational well just dries up all together and I find it difficult to write anything at all.  Then one day, inspiration explodes out of me like a volcano and I don’t have enough time to write all of the words down.

        Hemingway may have been on to something with his 400 to 600 words per day approach.  Then again, Hemingway never had to navigate the Digital Age.  In the end, I’m content to wear my life jacket and bob up and down amongst the waves.  The more that I get used to the motion of the ocean, the more that I am able to anticipate and prepare for the next big wave.

        Well, that’s how I find inspiration.  How about you?

 

How Long is Too Long?

/ Cody McCullough / 21 Comments

        So how long is too long, anyway?  I suppose the answer to that question depends on the topic being discussed.  For a writer, length most likely means one of two things: pages, or the time it takes to complete a project.  The answer to both questions is simple: find a happy medium.

        When it comes to pages, I have no problem reading, or writing, a long work as long as it is interesting.  It’s when a work drones on and on without getting to the point that I lose interest.  I believe that there needs to be a happy medium between an author painting a picture in the mind, and the reader painting their own picture based on the details and description of the work.  Basically it comes down to not overdoing, or underdoing it (as so many things do in life).

        With regard to the time it takes to complete a project, well, I’ve certainly learned a lot.  When I first started writing my book, I figured a year and I’d be done.  All I can do is smile about that now.  It takes what it takes.  Still, though, I suppose there must be a happy medium between a year and pulling a Salinger and taking half a lifetime to complete your follow-up works.  The lesson that I’ve learned is not to worry about deadlines and timelines.  Instead, worry about the words.  If the words are good, then there’s nothing to worry about.

        Hopefully in the future, I’ll have nothing to worry about.  If it doesn’t work out that way, oh well.  Life is meant to be lived, not avoided.  It’s just something that you can’t get away from….