ML Hart's journal of observations, obsessions and inspirations
As I start getting back into the book, I’m running into options. Forks in the path. This is my favorite part of a writing project, the not-knowing-where-it’s-going. Can’t wait to see the twists and turns it will take (and take me with it) towards the final form. The way I answer the questions that come …
Today: recovering from a particularly intense (and tense) week at work, intended to catch up on homework for my class. What did I actually do? Spent every moment I could find with my old friend, The Tenor Book: organized files, electronic and paper glanced at some of the work I’d done over the years, both …
The Tenor Book. During the last 14 years, this project has variously been my frustration, my focus or my inspiration. Sometimes all those at once. More than 100 interviews, 65,000+ miles of travel and hundreds of hours in, I’ve dealt with one derailment after another. ‘Life getting in the way’ I call it. I don’t …
Has it really been a whole year? Ay ay ay. Been working on the site, new design, mental commitment… hasn’t quite translated into sustained activity. I tell myself I’m getting there (does that count?) and console myself with awareness that this is connected to my real work, my writing. And try not to make myself …
I’m happy with my book. Maybe that obsessively perfectionist streak of mine pays off. Or maybe it’s just the research geek in me. Yesterday one of my FAB friends reminded me that there is no problem/topic/issue that cannot be squashed flat by piling enough research on top of it. Made me laugh, because I can …
I’ll never be any traditional publisher’s dream client. I don’t fit in. I mean, I’m pretty happy to have gotten my elevator speech on the current book down to four and a half minutes, but that doesn’t make for easy marketing. So it’s a good thing I have a day job. Figuring I’d sell fewer …
What, am I nuts? I work full time at a high-stress job. I go to school at night. I’m the sole caretaker for my 84-year old mother. And I think I’m going to write another book? Me? I don’t have time to write. That was a year and a couple months ago. This week I’m …
Attention to detail can turn into paralyzing perfectionism in nothing flat. The former is a wonderful characteristic to have, while the latter prevents me from completing work — and moving on to something new. I’m hardly alone in this; most artists have this problem. It’s the nothing-is-ever-quite-good-enough reaction that comes from turning your insides out …
In my journeys with cameras, I’ve worked almost exclusively in black and white, enjoying the affinity I have for the shades and grays—and for film. As digital cameras started to become more available, I stopped shooting. Though I now have a digital SLR and find it to be utilitarian, it’s just not the same kind …
Since the fourth grade, I’d been pushed and prodded and scolded to a particular style of writing. Something formal. Suitable for school. In dozens of English, history, literature courses, I learned how to write ‘appropriately’ for class papers. Later on, I’d learn how to write appropriately, but very differently, in an office, whether I was …
Are creative people and artists more prone to depression, substance abuse and plain old being crazy than anyone else? Not really, though you might think so from tabloid ‘news’ reports. But we do see things differently. Some live on the edge and beyond. Is it all worth it? Do you know “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the …
Things are not what they seem. Who am I now? Depending on the day, my world can range from slightly off balance to pretty much skewed to completely upside down. All the talk about a life in balance and taking care of oneself, that’s all well and good – in theory. But taking care of …
