Podcast #4-A Writer's Mind

Speaker 0    00:00:00    Hello everyone. Welcome to the Aquarianmind Podcast. Today's podcast episode number four. I'm your host, Jamell Crouthers. Today is Mondays with Melo. It's only fitting that today I talk about a writer's mind, and it's going to be a little interesting, at least from my perspective. I can't speak for other authors to be honest or writers, but kind of give you a little bit of what goes on in my mind and certain things from my perspective. But before I start, I want to share a quote with you. Writers aren't exactly people. They are a whole bunch of people trying to be one person. That quote was said by F Scott Fitzgerald. So just a little something for you guys to think about. So there's always a question of how writers create their work and how they come up with the content that they do, what drives them to continually write all the time and consistently.  
Speaker 0    00:01:13    But it's a hard question to answer for others, but for me, I'm going to be as honest as possible in regards to me. Now, if you guys don't know, I have been blessed with a gift to write and story tell since I was a young kid. And when I was writing all of the poetry, I never thought in my mind, well, you can write stories. But that came along as time went on. And if you guys have listened to my previous podcast in the past week, I have had a love-hate relationship with writing for over 20 years. You know, I would go through spurts of, you know, writing, a few weeks at a time, and then I would stop, and then I'd come back to it and, you know, so it was all of that that kind of went on, for me.  
Speaker 0    00:02:12    But to be honest, um, I wouldn't change my journey and where I'm at currently. I am elated that I get to write all of this stuff that I've, uh, really pretty much kept in my mind for all these years now that I think about it and actually get a good laugh out of it. But now it's time to really kind of share, um, my writing and how I do it. The biggest part of my writing comes from experiences that I've been through, um, family and friends, and seeing, you know, what they've gone through, and also seeing the world for what it really is. The world has really built off of negativity. I mean, let's really be honest here. It's unfortunate, but it's the truth. Um, it's how, you know, money keeps the, keeps, uh, you know, people richer and, you know, things of that nature.  
Speaker 0    00:03:16    I won't delve into that, but definitely, for me, it's writing about things that are relatable to what's going on around us. And that's always been my goal. And, you know, let's be honest here. I mean, if one of my books reaches at least one person, I've done my job. It's that simple. It's, you know, to make people think that's really, you know, what my purpose is for writing the books that I do. Um, and maybe, you know, people have been through a similar experience or they know someone that has been through what I'm writing about or, or what they're reading. So, you know, I always try to keep that in my mind. I always try to keep things in perspective. It's imperative to me. It really is. The biggest thing for me is, is that we don't talk about things openly that we deal with and go through.  
Speaker 0    00:04:23    You know, a lot of times we as people tend to internalize things and, you know, whether it's, you know, a sh you know, a thing of us feeling shameful or pride, ego, various negative connotations that, you know, we can use to keep us from really having open discussions about certain things. I think what's good now is that, you know, the world is becoming a little bit more transparent in regards to sharing their stories and, you know, being a little bit more vulnerable. But, you know, there are a lot of people that aren't quite there yet. So that's where me writing my books and doing my audio books can get people, you know, to think about these things.  
Speaker 0    00:05:07    Writing for me, allows me to express myself in ways that, well, I really can't do in group settings now that the world is completely changed. I mean, you know, you can sit and, you know, do zooms and Skypes and, you know, FaceTimes and House Party and everything else that you could possibly think of, but it's not the same. It's really not the same. The interpersonal, uh, conversations and connections are what really keep the world really going. You know, that dialogue of seeing a person's feelings and body language and, you know, being face-to-face with people, that's, I think what helps things change a lot. But if you can take time to really notice how the world is structured now, we're all kind of separated from each other in so many ways. Um, but I will honestly say that I'm a very quiet person. Um, my friends would probably disagree with that, but <laugh> for those who really understand and know me, um, from various perspectives and have seen every aspect of me, I'm very quiet.  
Speaker 0    00:06:31    I'm, I'm very observant of people life situations. Um, and I'm not open to everyone. I mean, I can truthfully say probably about six or seven people really know every aspect of me and who I am. And, that's really putting it <laugh> in perspective when I really sit and think about it. So, a lot of people understand my purpose and reasoning for writing and why I do it, and things of that nature. So that helps in so many ways. And sometimes, you know, I write my books in series because I have a lot to say, so I spread it out. I don't wanna give you a book that's 500 pages. I'd rather break it down into a series to where you can fully grasp it and understand it and say, okay, I get the messages that are being said and are behind it. Sometimes I may have three or four messages that I want to get across, but I don't wanna put it all in one book. So that's, to really kind of put it in perspective of how my mind kind of chugs away.  
Speaker 0    00:07:51    And writing is really a sense of relaxation and escape for me. Um, I don't get writer's blocked that much. That's surprising, I know to people, but I really don't. If I, you know, brainstorm it and I put an outline together and I know what I'm going to write and I know how I'm going to write it, everything flows. So when people, you know, writers and authors, you know, poets, whatever, you know, they say, oh, I'm, you know, I have writer's block and, you know, I make the strange face and go, I don't struggle with that <laugh>. Maybe I'm lucky in some ways, that I don't get that, and I, and I don't experience that. But I will just give you guys a heads up. I really don't get writer's block. When I get into a zone, I get into a flow, you know, the writing just, you know, comes along and, you know, it's, you know, it's just, you know, my way of getting everything out. And I do get a lot of book ideas. Some stuff turns into books, some stuff doesn't. Um, it's all in, you know, whether I can fully brainstorm a good amount of, a good amount of chapters for a book. Like, if I can think of at least 14 to 16, like pretty good chapters, then there really is a purpose and a reason for me to write that book.  
Speaker 0    00:09:37    Do I have controversial books that I'm gonna write that will never make it to Amazon and Barnes and Nobles and all that? Yes, there are. After I write my 60, I have a few in, in, in the back of my mind, uh, in the barn burner where I'm gonna write them, but there'll, they'll only be ebook versions and sold on my website <laugh>. Um, very few people know what those books are. Uh, I will say probably about two or three people really know, and probably by now they've probably forgotten, which is good. Um, every book for me means something to me. Every book has a message. And for me, bringing out my creativity and finding ways to reach, reach the masses is what really keeps me going. Um, I enjoy, I enjoy this journey, to be honest. There's a lot of struggles that I deal with and go through, and it's not from the writer's perspective.  
Speaker 0    00:10:43    It's not putting the book together and all that. It's more of the marketing and the promotion and all of that stuff, because everything is so convoluted these days. There's just, you know, PR firms trying to make money and, you know, companies reaching out for you, for SEO with your website, and, you know, just a whole lot of, you know, people trying to milk you for your, for your money, basically. So you have to be very diligent and very careful in who you trust and who you, you know, you know, share your content with. Um, but, uh, that's part of the journey, um, in any, any, any sort of business entrepreneurial, you know, things that you do in life that are gonna be a lot of hurdles that you're gonna deal with and go through. And I've gone through plenty of them myself. And I won't tell you, I won't tell you how much money I've spent investment wise. It probably will make you a jaw drop, <laugh> some stuff, some investments were worth it, some really weren't.  
Speaker 0    00:11:48    But somewhere along the lines, I would like to get to a place where, um, you know, the writing is, you know, all I do the podcasts, um, you know, doing speaking engagements, you know, whether, you know, that kind of comes back to the forefront on a bigger scale down the road. I have no idea. But, you know, I definitely want to help people, you know, in regards to, you know, accomplishing goals and, you know, becoming writers, becoming authors things, things of that nature. I also want to travel, experience things, see the world, go to different countries, experience cultures and people. So, you know, that, you know, in itself, me traveling I think will give me fuel to write stuff and, you know, immerse myself in various cultures and countries and things of that, that nature. So that's something that I definitely want to do down the road, and I feel that I definitely will achieve that.  
Speaker 0    00:12:47    So, in hindsight, to be honest, you know, with you guys, it's very hard to turn my brain off. My mind is always chugging away all of the time. It's just, it's insane, you know? But lately it's been good. I, you know, I don't lay in bed at night for long periods of time thinking about, you know, what's next or anything like that. I'm trying to go with the flow a little bit. Um, it's hard for us as writers to, to do that. Uh, we, um, are always thinking of what's next? Uh, what's the next book? What's the next project? How my, you know, getting myself, mark, becoming marketable. How am I promoting certain books? Um, you know, how am I reaching a broader audience? Um, how am I, you know, getting my books noticed by people who want to read those books?  
Speaker 0    00:13:50    Because you don't want to push yourself out to people who really aren't interested in the content that you are writing about. So that's, that's huge. It's very important. So that's what's goes on in my mind for the most part. Um, I'm always working, no matter what's going on in my life. Sometimes things slow down for a little while, but I always get back to it no matter how much, you know, I want to take long extended breaks. I really don't. So, anything and everything inspires me. Um, it can be a conversation, it can be a YouTube video I watch. It can be a documentary I'm watching on Netflix or Hulu, or a TV show that kind of gets to chooses flowing. Can be a podcast I'm listening to. It can be anything. Um, it can be books that I'm reading. Um, so, you know, ideas come to me, um, through various forms of experiences in life.  
Speaker 0    00:15:01    So, I don't limit or restrict myself to just honing in on certain things to give me ideas to be, to be really honest. So that's what goes on in my mind for the most part. And I hope you guys like kind of enjoyed listening to this because it, it, it's getting me in, in the, in a mode of wanting to write now. So maybe I'll get to it today. Who knows? Anyway, that's my podcast for today. Us staying to stay tuned for the next podcast, which will be on Wednesday. And obviously I will be talking about motivation, inspiration on Wednesdays, and then Fridays will be my book Insight. So, have a good week, guys. Be good everyone, and go and accomplish your goals.