Quality in Writing

People get in to writing for love of the written word. You can create a new universe with words, or shine a new light on the one you're already in. That's why people start. But after you're done studying and honing your talents, after you hit the ground running and try to BE a writer, you find that's not necessarily how you put bread on the table. 

Writing is not what it’s all about. If you want to make it, you need a sparkling website. Intriguing tweets. A well-erected virtual presence for the world to see and marvel. Like's and Share's. A red carpet shining underneath your feet at all times, even right now at this very instant.

Which qualities make a strong online presence nowadays? A picture of a fertile young female or a kitten gross more page-views than an award winning article about the environment. A video of a guy committing suicide immediately goes viral. So much for quality.

Yet, there’s a market for each voice. Did you know for example, that classical music today is 80% sponsored by donations? Some people consider classical music to be the top of the art-form. Still, only a tiny portion of profits come from ticket sales and CD's.  

 

Blogs are often a sellout as well. Give them what they want. Get more followers. This blog is a bit different. Here, I tell my story without consideration of public opinion. I was actually quite shocked to find out that hundreds of people read it each month. So… hey. Shalom.

With a little luck or with enough practice, artists usually find cracks of freedom to make something meaningful, while still paying for the kids’ school. Not that I have any kids, but probably someday.

Investing vast proportions of time in building an online presence is inevitable, especially at the beginning of your career. Some of us are lucky enough to love what we do. For me, writing helps to illuminate the dirty bricks on the sidewalks, and to make way for new roads to come.

There’s not necessarily much in common between how good a writer is and how well his career goes. What kicks a career off is how good of a networker the person is. Obviously, that’s a whole different set of skills. 

In next week's article I'll bring the story of the past couple of months in my rocky writing career in this beautiful land of Israel. One year after returning from 6 years in North America.

What I write in my own time has never yet been published in vast proportions. Putting written work out there is a job of its own; an alien avocation for most of us word-wallowers. Just like everything else, the first steps are always the hardest. Either you make it public, or you don’t.

Not a Sad Story

So what if I’m not the first person who doesn’t make a living out of his passion in life on the first years of his career? So what if I have to flow between day-jobs that have nothing to do with my chosen occupation? This comes to set-off some steam. Someday, perhaps I’ll get to a place I feel proud of. Meanwhile, I'll keep you up to date on my experience of re-integrating in Israel, the country in which I was born.

Rejection blows in my face time after time after time when it comes to being a writer. So what if hardly any job I apply to gets back to me. The market is flooded. So what. Those who do call me back keep me all the way to the final interview, then choose another applicant with the most vast experience. Time after time they tell me the same thing. Then, personally and professionally impressed, they tell me that I’m doing an amazing job, and good luck. So what. 

It’s been a whole year since I moved back to Israel from North America. I was happy there. I actually made a living as a writer-producer there. I didn’t choose to leave - my visa ended. But I now choose to stay - in Israel. So what if I’m sometimes depressed and disgruntled by my very image in the mirror. So what. I know I’ve got something good inside. I know I’ve got a strong, positive truth, and this truth is abundantly appreciated and loved by just the right people. So what if sometimes I don’t love those people, not even if they're my family and friends; it’s understandable at times I don’t love myself. 

Moshe Parnes is a strong and capable person. I feel it, I know it and people say it all the time. So what. As I spit blood to make ends meet in this country, being capable and talented matters none. No wonder everyone in this damned land wants to live in couples – it’s so damn awful to stand here alone, while the prevailing mentality is overly geared around patronizing and taking without giving. Unfortunately, the prevailing mentality can’t see it. They don’t know. So what if the only thing I can squeeze out of my head and in to this blog over the last few months is a bitching hawk’s scream. So I don’t post many articles. But you know what, screw it. I post. 

I post and I become just like everyone else in this damned land – bitching and compromising and honestly, miserable. In a week or two or five I’ll accept this situation a bit better, and again become happy with it; I am grateful. After all, in many countries in the world people don’t have roofs over their heads, not to mention healthy food, drinking water and a system where the strong and capable can climb up. One may gesture - what about those who don’t like to snarl? What about those who stick to old, naïve beliefs of peace and love? Again comes the indifferent voice - so what. 

The 60s were never my thing. They were extinct way before I was born. The only places in the world where some sparks of 60s spirit can still exist are where most people’s greatest dilemma revolves around what to do in the weekend – swim in the lake, watch football, learn something new and exciting, do a hobby they love. I feel grateful for the simple fact that this reality still exists somewhere in the world. Hopefully it will keep existing for many, many centuries to come, and hopefully not at the expense of others. 

A happy and comfortable lifestyle is the only one I will let myself envision, and it’s not always an easy task. But that’s just how I see things after living in North America for 6 years. If I have to go through another year or three of grinding dirt, I will. But I will bring this happiness and comfort to wherever I am, even here. What’s the point of giving up anyway.