Thoughts of a Mad Man

Phase one or Phase two

I just recently realized that art made ONLY for the self is valid. Inspiration lingers and passes by contagion, so it doesn't matter how large your target market is, if you've reached it.


(Nothing to say you can't adapt it for larger, even commercial, markets.)


So I propose that there are two phases of art, and the personal phase is the most critical. It is valid even if it only plays on your personal connections. This has a value because the happiness and richness and inspiration are valuable. Yes, they are valuable to the self but that value actually leaks out onto others. Inspired, you are likely to be kinder, sharper, and more cooperative. And, people can feel that and catch the very feelings you have.


One way to understand this is considering singers. What you hear through your bones is inherently different to what others hear, as it passes through your bones. For those of a western religious bent, they may appreciate the phrase, "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord." One can see the many values that implies.


So instead of a rough draft, start with a phase one draft. This includes the rough draft and first edits, where you change anything so that it feels delicious to you. Don't be so anxious to find out or even consider what others might see. For years I did this and had significant success. Many people did like my work when that was all I ever did, despite the fact that I am arguably an odd duck with strange ways of seeing the world.


I think of Poe, who said it thus: "From Childhood's hour I have not been as others were, I have not seen as others saw, and all I loved, I loved alone."


Now of course Poe did not stop with the first phase! In point of fact he is the model of phase two. For a phase one I think we are talking Emily Dickinson.


The second phase is the one we talk most about. For that I draw attention to what I call Bandler's Law of hypnosis (BLH). "The response you get is the meaning of the statement." If I say "Give me a banana" and he punches me, then in his mind, "give me a banana" means he needs to punch me. This allows us to modify our words so that we get what we want.


Understanding this BLH allows us to restructure our writing in a way that has a lot of power. First, the phase one form is the important point and no critic can ever get at it, they can only judge how well it translates. How well they receive across genres. Thus, we are immune to criticism because they do not receive our beloved creation but only an echo. Imagine if a man who speaks only Chinese called you up and said, your poem does not help him understand how to do heart surgery, and he is very disheartened. That's how bad even the worst criticism is. Second, we now have developed something that makes us feel something which we want to feel. And that means probably we're not alone in that, so there is something of shareeable value there. Third, it allows us to treat the refining of the inspiration at a different level than the later edits and have them be valuable.