Oftentimes, when we overcome obstacles and prove our true grit, the obstacles are provided by an outside source. In other words, something challenging happens to us, through no fault of our own, and we heroically rise about it.
My latest challenge, Beast Pieces was entirely my fault, and I’m not sure that I rose above it.
On B.C. Day Weekend, I came up with the concept for a new, once-a-day writing project, inspired by Lou Beach’s 420 Facebook posts. If you haven’t read Lou’s work, it’s completely essential that you check him out here. Lou posts a new self-contained story or vignette in his Facebook status everyday. He has about a kazillion followers on Facebook, and he’s publishing a collection of the posts soon. My hero.
I wanted to do something similar. Of course, I was hoping for the kazillion followers and the publishing deal, but I also wanted a project that would kick my creative impulses in the bum.
Here’s what I came up with. Everyday, 5 days a week, I would write, record and post a new piece about animals. I’m also a songwriter and a musician, with a band called Fang, so I thought I should incorporate music into the project. I play accordion and keyboards, my boyfriend plays bass and guitars, and I live in a house full of ridiculously over-talented musicians. Eat my dust, Lou.
Do you already see the major design flaw in my project? Have you figured out the key differences between Lou Beach’s brilliant project, and my own? Let’s make a list:
1. An entire song, or poem with music is way more words than 402 characters. And yes, writing short, self-contained pieces is an incredible writing challenge, that requires a lot of editing. But songs and poems also require a lot of editing, and pieces with multiple verses greatly expand the opportunity to suck.
2. Sure, I can write fast, but can I churn out music? No! How long does it take me to learn music well enough to accompany myself while I sing, or speak words? A long time! Does my roommate love coming home from work, to find me desperately repeating the same three bars of accordion music over, and over, while I try to recite a poem about otters? Not really!
3. The reason recording studio engineers are often the only people to get paid in the recording process, is because recording stuff is hard. My studio was an IPhone taped to a microphone stand, but there were still many, many opportunities for error. At the time, I didn’t have a printer, so imagine me playing the accordion, while I try to read 10 point lyrics off a 13.5“ computer screen, which sometimes goes to screensaver, while singing into a cell phone taped to a stick.
I did learn a few things.
I know now that I need a printer, and that I probably need glasses. I also learned something about writing fast and letting go. Predictably, churning out a new piece about animals every day meant getting over some of my hang-ups about quality. I have a tendency to sit on work for too long. I don’t like sharing writing that isn’t finished, and often enough, I’ll talk myself out of writing if I don’t think it’s going to end up as something good. Many of my Beast Pieces did not end up as something good, but the process of writing them daily turned into a different kind of reward. I felt creatively awake, which was nice, because much of my work as a professional artist requires me to be administratively awake. I write a lot of e-mails.
I’m including a sample of my work from Beast Pieces, to help you plot the meteoric rise and fall of my big idea. You’ll be able to see how my process changed.
Honey Badger is the piece that I’m proudest of, and it has become the basis of a 20-minute commission for the Gabriola Poetry Festival, which will definitively tackle a question I asked myself many times through this project: Why are Animals Funny?
And no, I didn’t get a kazillion followers, or a publishing deal, but something big did happen: I’ve been commissioned to write and perform the script for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s Elementary School Concert: Simmard’s Animal Kingdom. I’ll be writing poems and music about animals, and performing alongside the VSO at the Orpheum in November. If you have kids, hound their school to sign up for the concerts here. It will be worth it. You will be able to see me perform as a serious adult at the Whistler Writer’s Festival, and your kids will see me play accordion dressed up as a beluga whale.
To listen to Beast Pieces in its entirety, please visit: www.badler.ca/beast_pieces
A note: This project was the Orson Wells of daily animal projects, meaning, it peaked early on. Pieces 1-10 are probably the strongest.
Tags: barbara adler, beast pieces, daily practice, fang, fangclub, grit, lit grit, lou beach, spoken word, whistler writers festival
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