Have you ever received messages from The Dead and the Living?
I notice patterns, particularly those that parallel the very words spoken by people from my past.
The late Loften Mitchell was a Professor of Theatre at Binghamton University and was head of the Playwrights Program. Best known for writing the book to the musical BUBBLIN BROWN SUGAR, his writing covers original play scripts, librettos, short fiction and history. As a Harlem native, he knew writers such as John Oliver Killens and Langston Hughes. In fact, his oft repeated observation about the latter was that Mr. Hughes always seemed to be writing something, even as he sat in restaurants and bars.
A student (not me) once asked "How do you deal with writer's block?"
Mr. Mitchell plainly answered "There's no such thing as Writer's Block. There's only Time Block." From there, he explained that there will be things that pull one away from writing. He was emphatic about staying away from people who waste time. "All that matters is you and your typewriter" he said.
A few years later I was studying under yet another mentor, the late Stuart M. Kaminsky. In a brief exchange, I apologized for also working on a play script (I had barely made his deadline for a screenplay). He merely shrugged and said "Writing is Writing."
Last week during Morning Edition on NPR, I heard an interview with an award winning Florida State University professor. The author attributed his success to the "B.I.C. Method", which stands for "Butt In Chair."
More recently, I attended a workshop with the Tallahassee Author's Guild. A local author, Marilyn Griffith, conducted a 15 minute writing exercise which proved the very same thesis.
My challenges usually involve words on a page. Yours may involve other endeavors. I contend that we all receive messages from the past and messages from the present. Messages from both the dead and the living. They are nothing more than simple reminders of what we need to do.
The question is: Are we listening?
Always B Positive
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