About me

Approaching seven years on WordPress! One thing remains the same: Everything changes.

 

February 13, 2018 site update

I’ve completed my first year and a half living in the mountains in Western North Carolina. It has definitely been an interesting time, between making what was once a family condo into my space, and marking it with my “scent.”

I experienced a spell of decreased writing, when what was the pull of the creative juices before turned into more of a condemnation for not doing it. Perhaps it was the fact I am adjusting to thin air (my condo is about 4,400 feet above sea level). Or perhaps it was the realization that after my bookend marriages (I call one my Starter Wife and the last one my Ender Wife), I’m uncertain at inflicting myself upon another person in yet another committed relationship. There are things I am good at. There are things I am not.

My companion Pomeranian of going on 12 years, Pippin, died of kidney and liver failure suddenly just before Christmas. His remains are contained in a tin urn on the mantel, and his collar and name tag are too.

After he first died, I kept hearing him, and from the corners of my eyes, glimpsed him scooting around a corner. When I got out of my car somewhere, I could hear his frantic/angry barking when left in the front seat. It was a habit I could never cure him of.

I decided to wait until after the year-end holidays were complete, and the traffic of family and friends had died down, before looking at the local humane societies for another companion. That search will have to wait until the summer, as I am now dog-sitting a tiny female Shorkie as a favor to one of my daughter’s dorm mates at a nearby college.

Gemma and I are becoming fast buds, and though she is going on 8

Gemma, post haircut and shampoo.

years old, follows me continuously –– which I like. At the end of the spring semester, her owner will come to take her, yet another excuse to delve into blue waters and avoid writing.

But I am writing. I completed the first rough draft of a two-act play I named Age of Descent. It revolves around Albert (my dad’s middle name) who is experiencing the one-year anniversary of the death of his wife of many years. His daughter, Missy, is understandably concerned that he needs to get his life going forward. A third character, Flo, will complicate Albert’s life and pose a threat to Missy, who thinks Flo is after Albert’s money.

If you would like to read it, email me at skiipwrite at gee mail dot com and ask for a PDF copy. By doing so, however, you are agreeing to read the script with a critic’s eye and give me valuable feedback.

End of update. From this point, the info is pretty much the same as before, with some minor edits.

My writing studio

I refer to this WordPress site as my writing studio.  It’s where I do my work, and like any artist’s studio, is filled and cluttered with a wide range of work: poetry, short stories, beginnings of novels, plays, opinion pieces and more.

Your comments on my work are extremely valuable to me in judging what succeeds in what I write, and what doesn’t. Thanks for “liking” something, but as you might have learned through your own experience with your bah-log, it does not very reveal what you like specifically. I don’t mean to be rude — it’s that comments are better than likes for me.

While I try to respond to new followers, I’m the age where my intentions are noble, my followup rather pathetic. The number slowly clicks upwards, but I’m skeptical that most followers are really trying to mark my site with their icon so others will follow them.

I follow only a few artists, and they will concur I am not a very reliable follower. However, if you want my opinion on something you’ve produced, merely email me at skiipwrite at gee mail dot com, and I will respond. Promise.

A few rules I try to go by:

1. If you are a business blog and follow me, I shan’t contact you with a thank-you, unless you give me a reason. My thought is you are looking for a way to have your icon appear on my site, and have no intention of following my writing. You merely desire others to click on your icon to hyperlink to your blog.

2. If your profile picture depicts you as a nubile young woman, I ain’t going to respond. Sorry. I already look too much like a pedophile than to start doing things that appear that way. Actually, you should take it as a compliment! That’s generally for the under 40 or 50 crowd. That doesn’t mean that I think you are over 40 or 50 if I respond. Jeesh! There’s no winning here!

3. As much as they are appreciated for the thought behind them, I don’t respond to nominations — unless, of course, it’s for an Oscar, Tony, Grammy or the Pulitzer. I don’t understand most of the online “awards.” Plus I’m a curmudgeon.

4. I do all I can to get feedback. To that end I have joined some LinkedIn writing groups, but found these are very similar to Facebook. I am a member of a local writers’ group, and recommend you join one in your area. Remember, however, that some members/leaders feel empowered/destined/spiritually endowed to give critiques written in stone. My attitude is my opinion and $5 will get you a cup of coffee just about anywhere. Don’t give your writing to your friends or family for a reaction. Give it to people who will give you an honest reflection. Or pay someone. Not a lot, though. The goal is for others to pay you for your creativity.

5. Ultimately, my ongoing goal is to write. Along the way I’ve discovered that just because I peck it out onto my computer screen does not mean I have a finished product. That means editing and rewriting. And then editing and rewriting. And then editing and rewriting. Then editing some more.

(copyright © 2013, Lawrence S. Marsden)

Note: EVERYTHING above is subject to change! LSM

Contact information:

Email: skiipwrite at gee mail dot com.

Or, Facebook page: Skip Marsden. Like or request to friend. OR, Stinky and the Night Mare. If I don’t already know you, refer to my WordPress site to make this connection. I’m very trusting, but once burned, the lesson is learned.

LinkedIn: Skip Marsden

Twitter: @skipmars