Allen McGill's Blog - Posts Tagged "reading"
Sampling the arts, first hand, world-wide
Growing up in New York City, Allen had access to the best and worst the great city had to offer. On the positive side: the most exquisite of the arts were readily available, world acclaimed museums housing the greatest art, opera houses visited by the brilliant voices of the century, drama and musical theater productions, libraries, film palaces and restaurants representative of all earthly palates.
The less than positive aspects of the city--crime, crazies and crowds--also had something to offer, lessons that led to "street smarts."
Intrigued by the creative process in general, he decided early on that the best way to learn how to truly appreciate the abilities of others' artistic work was to try to do the same himself. This philosophy led to his enrolling in a number of New York City schools at different times throughout his young adulthood: Hunter College for liberal arts studies, the Greenwich Village Arts Society for drawing and painting, The American Academy Of Dramatic Arts for acting and public speaking, International Dance Studio at Carnegie Hall for dance and movement, and the New School For Social Research to hone his writing skills in an on-going fiction/non-fiction seminar conducted by Hayes B. Jacobs, on an invitation-only basis.
During this period, Allen decided that he wanted the experience of auditioning for professional spots in the performing arts and, stiffening his backbone, went to acting, voice, and dance auditions. Probably because he didn't really want to give up his job in the travel field, he failed to actually get hired as a performer, although often made it to the finals.
After much of all this schooling took place, Allen pursued another of his passions, travel. He worked as a travel agent for a while, and then discovered that he could avail himself of many more travel opportunities by working for an airline. In the twenty-three years he worked for a major international carrier, he visited nearly a hundred countries, islands, and most of the United States.
On many of these journeys, he met people who instilled a love of the “new,” an interest in the many things he’d yet to experience. One such intriguing person he met was a charming older woman who later became the title character in his novel, “Vicky Banning." She was a compilation of a number of acquaintances, displaying a broad knowledge of all that Allen's experiences had taught him--travel, writing, theatre, enjoyment of life and so much more. "Vicky" received many glowing reports from literary agents and publishers alike: An Auntie Mame grown older; a "gray panther" heroine; delightfully naughty and nice…but no offers to publish.
His interest in writing had begun when he when he was a child, penning comic book stories for his own pleasure, mainly horror and sci-fi. He later branched out from fiction to non-fiction and a genre that had not yet been named at that time, creative non-fiction. He managed to sell articles to top-level newspapers and magazines in the days before e-zines were even thought of by the writing or reading public. When personal computers came into general use, and a myriad of markets opened its creative "doors," Allen was being published often, sometimes several times a week, in many genres.
He continued to expand his knowledge, experience various spheres of interest by joining a number of on-line forums, particularly those focusing on fiction writing. In one on-line writing group that focused on "flash" work, under 1,000 words, he tried his hand at writing short-short plays, all of which were eventually published in e-zines. Some of the publications had never accepted plays for publication before. He credited his theatre experience and fiction-writing skills for these acceptances. The first of his plays to be produced was a short-short called "Prelude," which was performed in Sacramento’s Geery Theatre in July and August, 2004.
The only form of writing he had never been particularly interested in was poetry. He considered himself a storyteller and poetry too introspective. This remained so until the internet gave him the opportunity to read a great variety of poets, in many styles. One genre that caught his attention was haiku, and the various off-shoots in the Japanese style: senryu, tanka, haibun, etc. He had entered fiction contests that had word-limit limitations of 200, or 100, or 55 words. Having done well in some of the contests, he decided that the 17-syllable maximum restriction of haiku would be no work at all, simply throw-away exercises to sharpen his flash-fiction acuity--wrong!
The discipline, focus and selectivity required to write good short-form poetry, he learned, is an art unto itself. It was a challenge he couldn't resist. Studying the style over a period of time, he practiced it diligently and went on to win some quite prestigious prizes, later being invited to become the permanent haibun editor for a high-profile, quality on-line publication--Simply Haiku.
The variety of friends and acquaintances Allen made in his sojourn through the various fields that attracted him led him to discover that "InterestED people are interestING people," and wonderful subjects for writing. Fiction being the main focus on his creative efforts these days, he finds that he has absorbed a practical knowledge of psychology and philosophy (both of which he had studied) and applies it to the creation of his characters, directing their voices and actions with a sense of truth. A discerning eye, too, is an invaluable skill which he has honed--a holdover from his training in art.
All of the arts work together in the mind of one who creates, he feels. The genre of theatee, for example, is an incorporation of the broad fields of writing, performing, directing and design.
Finally, the nurturing of imagination/creativity is essential for a writer, especially of fiction. Worlds that never existed are at the call of one who can stretch the truth and, more importantly, project it to others so that the creation becomes real, at least for a period of time. These creations come as an after-expression of one who has experienced as much as s/he can of the world’s "truth" and "reality."
The less than positive aspects of the city--crime, crazies and crowds--also had something to offer, lessons that led to "street smarts."
Intrigued by the creative process in general, he decided early on that the best way to learn how to truly appreciate the abilities of others' artistic work was to try to do the same himself. This philosophy led to his enrolling in a number of New York City schools at different times throughout his young adulthood: Hunter College for liberal arts studies, the Greenwich Village Arts Society for drawing and painting, The American Academy Of Dramatic Arts for acting and public speaking, International Dance Studio at Carnegie Hall for dance and movement, and the New School For Social Research to hone his writing skills in an on-going fiction/non-fiction seminar conducted by Hayes B. Jacobs, on an invitation-only basis.
During this period, Allen decided that he wanted the experience of auditioning for professional spots in the performing arts and, stiffening his backbone, went to acting, voice, and dance auditions. Probably because he didn't really want to give up his job in the travel field, he failed to actually get hired as a performer, although often made it to the finals.
After much of all this schooling took place, Allen pursued another of his passions, travel. He worked as a travel agent for a while, and then discovered that he could avail himself of many more travel opportunities by working for an airline. In the twenty-three years he worked for a major international carrier, he visited nearly a hundred countries, islands, and most of the United States.
On many of these journeys, he met people who instilled a love of the “new,” an interest in the many things he’d yet to experience. One such intriguing person he met was a charming older woman who later became the title character in his novel, “Vicky Banning." She was a compilation of a number of acquaintances, displaying a broad knowledge of all that Allen's experiences had taught him--travel, writing, theatre, enjoyment of life and so much more. "Vicky" received many glowing reports from literary agents and publishers alike: An Auntie Mame grown older; a "gray panther" heroine; delightfully naughty and nice…but no offers to publish.
His interest in writing had begun when he when he was a child, penning comic book stories for his own pleasure, mainly horror and sci-fi. He later branched out from fiction to non-fiction and a genre that had not yet been named at that time, creative non-fiction. He managed to sell articles to top-level newspapers and magazines in the days before e-zines were even thought of by the writing or reading public. When personal computers came into general use, and a myriad of markets opened its creative "doors," Allen was being published often, sometimes several times a week, in many genres.
He continued to expand his knowledge, experience various spheres of interest by joining a number of on-line forums, particularly those focusing on fiction writing. In one on-line writing group that focused on "flash" work, under 1,000 words, he tried his hand at writing short-short plays, all of which were eventually published in e-zines. Some of the publications had never accepted plays for publication before. He credited his theatre experience and fiction-writing skills for these acceptances. The first of his plays to be produced was a short-short called "Prelude," which was performed in Sacramento’s Geery Theatre in July and August, 2004.
The only form of writing he had never been particularly interested in was poetry. He considered himself a storyteller and poetry too introspective. This remained so until the internet gave him the opportunity to read a great variety of poets, in many styles. One genre that caught his attention was haiku, and the various off-shoots in the Japanese style: senryu, tanka, haibun, etc. He had entered fiction contests that had word-limit limitations of 200, or 100, or 55 words. Having done well in some of the contests, he decided that the 17-syllable maximum restriction of haiku would be no work at all, simply throw-away exercises to sharpen his flash-fiction acuity--wrong!
The discipline, focus and selectivity required to write good short-form poetry, he learned, is an art unto itself. It was a challenge he couldn't resist. Studying the style over a period of time, he practiced it diligently and went on to win some quite prestigious prizes, later being invited to become the permanent haibun editor for a high-profile, quality on-line publication--Simply Haiku.
The variety of friends and acquaintances Allen made in his sojourn through the various fields that attracted him led him to discover that "InterestED people are interestING people," and wonderful subjects for writing. Fiction being the main focus on his creative efforts these days, he finds that he has absorbed a practical knowledge of psychology and philosophy (both of which he had studied) and applies it to the creation of his characters, directing their voices and actions with a sense of truth. A discerning eye, too, is an invaluable skill which he has honed--a holdover from his training in art.
All of the arts work together in the mind of one who creates, he feels. The genre of theatee, for example, is an incorporation of the broad fields of writing, performing, directing and design.
Finally, the nurturing of imagination/creativity is essential for a writer, especially of fiction. Worlds that never existed are at the call of one who can stretch the truth and, more importantly, project it to others so that the creation becomes real, at least for a period of time. These creations come as an after-expression of one who has experienced as much as s/he can of the world’s "truth" and "reality."
