The Front Lines of Artist Development by Darcy D

 

Visit Darcy D's Author Page

Plan for Success - A Series Continued Winston Churchill was the one who said. "He, who fails to plan, plans to fail".

These are wise words to live by for anyone, in any business. Does this mean that if you have a plan you will automatically succeed; certainly not. However, there are rules that govern when it's time to take the next step, and having a plan will help facilitate that next step. You will know when you know.

Something I convey to new clients in the very first session, no matter where they are in their journey, I tell them -

"It's what you don't know that's holding you back."

And everyone has something they don't know. It usually comes in questions like these: Do I really need a voice coach? What genre best suits my sound? Who can I write songs with? Where do I record?

Who should produce the music? Who should play on the project? Does the sound fit a radio format? What's a radio format? How do I brand my product? How do I register my songs? When do I need a publisher? When do I need a lawyer? Can't I manage myself? Can I just make YouTube videos and get discovered? Can you tell me how to be famous? And on and on....

There are so many factors, circumstances experiences that contribute to the path and outcome of an artist. Every lesson, session, consultation, jam and performance has the ability to become a pivotal moment in an artists' development. The answers to the questions provide the sequence of the plan.

Some details of the plan can be executed simultaneously whereas others may need a more focused attention.

This requires a disciplined work ethic and a thirst for knowledge.

Find out what you don't know, and you will find out what you need. Keep asking questions.

•       Intrinsically: Singers, Sing, Songs.

•       They tell stories again and again.

•       The expedition begins with a voice.

Good singers have technical ability to go to required notes and maintain consistent resistance levels with ease and grace. They possess dynamic qualities to provide power when needed or the ability to release without letting go to be subtle or subdued. And these are all fabulous, necessary qualities but,

Great singers feel! They know what the song is about. They've experienced the pain, or the joy and they can emotionally relate to the lyrical content. They give the listener a reason to believe what they're singing about as if it was happening to them right now, in that very moment. The song is theirs. And their passion, honesty and vulnerability take the listener to a place beyond understanding. In that place they swallow lumps, cry or stand with fists held high in agreement. It can be magical.

When a singer sings a song without emotional value to the lyrical content, this is a strong

indication that they don't know what the song is about. If they don't know what the song is about, it's going to be difficult for them to tell the story. It could be that they've never experienced, or they are too young to have experienced the theme and topic of the song. So, in order for the singer to make the song believable they have to be able to relate to the content. The performance is more than just notes and melody, more than words and rhythms.

Below is an ephemeral check list. This is an example of the artist development process. Each point in the list will become a topic for expansion and retrospect.

A typical chain of events for an artist in development

Every circumstance and outcome will be varied from artist to artist. That is pretty much guaranteed!

Voice lessons / music lessons

Study with a voice coach and music influence you can relate to. One that understands you, one that provides you with results.

Repertoire development:

•       Learn as many songs as you can.

•       Work through them with your voice coach.

•       Perform them in front of anyone who will listen Can be any genre, any style, of any influence!

 

 

Discovery:

Tear apart your favourite songs and determine what the attraction is for you. Is it the melody, beat, chord progression, key, lyric or genre? What specifically gives your that "this is it" feeling?

Write:

Don't wait. Just write. Author a short story. Take in a Wendy Parr workshop. Paraphrase the story. Use as few words as possible to tell the same story. Use a key, chord progression and style that move you. Complete a verse and a chorus and call it done for now. Move on to the next song and after you've collected a few you'll begin to see a pattern emerge. Record these songs on your iPad or phone and listen to them. Share them with others in the industry. Get an opinion before doing anything with your ideas.

Perform:(this is a series in itself)

Put together a list of songs that make sense musically. Don't be too scattered genre wise. Play covers that compliment your originals. Play covers that people want to hear. Add your own music. Reach out to your audience. Develop a rapport.

Book house concerts, coffee shops, clubs, bars, private parties, contests and local events Build a social network:

Everyone needs a webpage-doesn't have to be huge. Start with a squeeze page. Experience a photo shoot with a photographer that knows what he's doing. Use a shot that represents who you are. Get a second opinion from someone in the industry, (not family and friends). From your web page link to only the social networks you will utilize. Stay active online and provide useful information only.

Record:

This process is a big one. You can't do it too cheaply and you don't need to break the bank. You need to discover your sound. Everything you've done to this point will influence the recording process. From here you should be able to determine who you are becoming as an artist.

Know your intentions before selecting a studio, producer, session players, producer and the like. If you're only creating demos you can record just about anywhere...

Release:

If your intention is to create product to release on-line and/or to radio this raises the bar on

every decision you make. Everything you release will then be direct competition with every other artist in your genre. If you want to see growth and success you must have a plan of action that involves some

market research, strategic alliances and usually a team of people to work toward reaching your goals and intentions.

..... Repeat the steps above over and over. If it feels like work-it is!

If it also feels like you are not complete unless you are creating this way, and you can't sleep thinking about the next song - then its passion................. keep going.

As this series continues I will begin to explore and uncover details of these topics I've listed. Ill share experiences I've personally encountered and knowledge I've collected from many industry professionals around the world.

I'll finish with a quote from an article I read by Dave Stroud.

"Create a system, and then go find Chaos"!

Brilliant.

Most importantly - Don't fail to plan.

Post Olympic Withdrawal by Jeff Tribe

 

Is anyone else dealing with post-Olympic withdrawal?

Tuning into televised coverage can be a dangerously-addictive rabbit hole to poke one’s head down, particularly on lap two of a 10,000-metre final. You know you’re going to be there for the duration and probably spin off into gymnastics or beach volleyball on a different network.

Perhaps its truly, diverse global nature, the biggest bragging rights on the planet, and the fact it only comes around once every four years make it so fascinating.  

It was hard to pick out a single highlight from Team Canada’s record-setting results. Who knew we’d own the hammer throw? That our soccer women would overcome scandal with an epic pool play performance. Or one would be as impressed with Marco Arop’s intelligence and quiet grace as with his 800-metre silver medal.

Well beyond the 27 medals won, there were memorable finishes that didn’t reach the podium, personal bests representing the culmination of years of training.

But one could be forgiven for celebrating Summer McIntosh’s incredible power in the pool, Phil Wizard’s athletic b-boy artistry, Skylar Park’s tenacious dedication to taekwondo, and Andre De Grasse’s anchor leg in the men’s 4-by-100-metre relay.

You knew Andre’s hamstring wasn’t anywhere where it needed to be, and the 100 and 200-metre events had been disappointing for him. But when teammates Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake and Brendon Rodney put that baton in his hand with a lead, he found one more golden performance within.

Andre, Skylar, Phil and Summer competed in very different events, but their final destination atop an Olympic medal podium contained shared elements. Each had put in the hard work to get there, staying consistent to what they needed to do to make their dream happen. And each had a compelling backstory. 

Skylar comes from a family where achieving taekwondo black belts are part of growing up, her father also her coach. Summer completed her own mother’s Olympic journey, dominating the 200-metre butterfly race her mom competed in years before. Phil was a kid who would ask permission to go to the washroom while in school, instead practicing moves that would lead to an Olympic gold medal in the hallway.

And Andre was a skinny kid who first got noticed when he showed up on a track in a pair of basketball shorts and running shoes, taking off from a standing start. He didn’t enjoy the competitive advantages in equipment or training his running mates had. 

But gosh, he was fast.

It’s those backstories, motivation and personal challenges that take Olympic and other competition beyond simple recording of times and judged totals into must-watch territory.

It certainly is a stretch to compare an author’s journey to that of an Olympian. It’s impossible to overemphasize the gap between tapping on a computer keyboard and the dramatically-dangerous artistry Ellie Black creates on a balance beam.

But there arguably are parallels. A novel is more marathon than sprint, requiring a level of tenacity and dedication to complete. And well beyond plot development, it’s the richness of the characters, their motivation and often challenging journies that turn mere words into what one hopes is a compelling reading experience.

That in a similar way to Andre De Grasse overcoming trials and tribulations in the 100 and 200-metre events, Sherry Strong, a young accountant, scarred and shaped by personal tragedy and poverty, may find her laser-focussed career plans derailed by finding love in the most unexpected of places. 

And that as Andre’s journey allowed each of us to share in Olympic gold in some small way, a novel also offers a break from the mundane challenges of everyday life into a space where even the happiest of endings are indeed possible.

Jeff Tribe is a career journalist whose passion project, ‘Accountant With Benefits’, is scheduled for release March 1, 2025.

The Art of Growing Older by Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

 

 

 

 

https://books2read.com/The-Art-of-Growing-Older

https://www.bwlpublishing.ca/donaldson-yarmey-joan/

I am 75 and my husband is 77. In August we headed north, in our motorhome, on a three week trip to Tuktoyaktuk, NWT, Canada, to see the Arctic Ocean. I put my feet in the ocean while my husband dipped his shoe.

Some people think we were too old to have made the trip. I think I am never too old to do anything.

This book tells how I went from thinking 40 was old to realizing that I could do anything at any age. It just takes attitude and ability both of which I have in abundance.

And I am not the only one. My mother was 86 when she went to Europe with my sister and climbed the 251 winding steps of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I was on a bus tour through Spain, Portugal, and Morocco and one of the other passengers was a 94 year old woman who was with her daughter, son-in-law, and grandson. On one of the walking tours we took we made over 22,000 steps. She kept up with everyone because she had the attitude and ability to do so. Everyone can do the same. Age should not stop anyone from doing anything, because age is just a number. And a number shouldn't rule our lives.

Here is the blurb from the back cover:

After her ninth grade class served tea to a bus load of visiting seniors who were to be the students adopted grandparents for the afternoon, Joan Donaldson-Yarmey decided she didn’t want to grow old and have to be adopted by someone. So at the age of fifteen she resolved that she would end her life when she reached sixty-five.

Over the years, Joan read books, surfed the Internet, and watched documentaries about aging and learned that human beings have the ability to live to be over one hundred years of age and to be healthy and alert while doing it. This book is her journey from that decision at age fifteen to realizing that she didn’t have to grow old, that at a certain age some sick, decrepit person would not step into her shoes and take over her life. She is now in her mid-seventies and so healthy that she never gets any sympathy from her family and friends because she has nothing, health wise, to complain about. She has no illnesses, no aches or pains, and takes no medication, not even ASA or ibuprofen.

Read about Joan’s journey in what she playfully calls her futuristic aging memoir and find out what it is that she believes is her fountain of aging.

Changing Horses by Victoria Chatham

 

AVAILABLE HERE

After writing ten historical romance novels and three contemporary western romances, I am itching to try my hand at writing a cozy mystery.

So why change horses in mid-stream? Much sage advice has been written about whether an author should change genres. Although I have enjoyed every bored lord and feisty heroine in my historical romances and sexy ranchers and their ladies in my contemporary westerns, my go-to reading for light relief has always been mysteries and, more recently, cozy mysteries.  

Part of building an author brand is promising your readers sure-fire content and delivering it, so for an author, changing genres might be the kiss of death as there is a chance of losing readers. In the past, it was almost a must-do to have a pen name for a separate genre—think Nora Roberts writing mysteries as J.D. Robb—which might mean a workload that would daunt many authors. Two names might require two websites, newsletters, e-mail addresses or whatever media platform the author prefers.

However, this isn’t always the case. Jude Devereux writes historical romance with a side of paranormal and mystery under her name. Carolyn Brown and Alyssa Cole both write historical and contemporary romances. In these instances, and I’m sure there are many more, the author is the brand. If readers like your work, I think they will follow you out of curiosity, if nothing else.

Whether romance, paranormal, YA, sci-fi and more, every story contains the who, what, why, where, and when writing principle of journalism, which carries over into all fiction. Who are the leading characters? What are they doing, specifically what is being done to whom? Why is it being done? Where does that old road lead, or where will the spaceship land? When did XYZ become a vampire, or did ABC know FGH was a werewolf?

The classic cozy mystery format is that a body is found, often on the first page but usually in the first chapter, an amateur sleuth investigates and reveals the murderer. 

clipartix.com

It sounds simple, but starting with the problem is like working backwards compared to my previous books. What I like most about cozy mysteries is that there is no bloody description of gunshot or knife wounds or other causes of death. Sometimes, there is no description at all, only the information that someone has been found dead. This cuts out much research into weapons and the feasible wounds they produce—likewise, any police or legal protocols. A cozy mystery is not a police procedural, so there is little need for more than a detective on hand or a detective inspector and his sergeant, as in the Midsomer Murders TV series.

I have several more historical romances that I could write, but thankfully, my publisher has accepted my proposal for three cozy mysteries. I have my characters, the victims, and the plots, and I've created the village where all the stories take place. Now, I'm ready to start writing. It remains to be seen if my readers will enjoy them. I could lose some, but on the other hand, I could gain a new following. Time will tell.  

Victoria Chatham

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Do you speak Canadian?

 

Although I reside in Minnesota, we are close enough to Canada to make a day trip to Thunder Bay, Ontario. When in Arizona, I've been asked about our proximity to Canada and whether I'm bilingual, speaking Minnesotan and Canadian. Yep. That's really happened. On several occasions. Instead of explaining that most Canadians and Americans speak the same variety of English, I've started smiling and saying, "Yes, I'm able to communicate with my Canadian neighbors without a problem." 

Although we have somewhat different political situations, folks on both sides of the dotted line delineating the US/Canadian border, are frustrated by our politicians and swear at them using the same words. I'll leave that topic rather than getting into details...

The cross-border influences are even stronger when you get to Two Harbors, Minnesota, the setting for the Whistling Pines mystery series. In "Whistling Pines", the first book in the series, there's a character who served in the Canadian Army. Upon his passing, his family requested that bagpipes be played at his funeral. That request set off a whole series of attempts to locate a piper, including a female piper who advertised topless performances for bachelor parties. Although she was located in Ontario, it turned out she was related to one of the Whistling Pines residents. While the topless piper was pure fiction, the cross-border family ties aren't uncommon. Many athletes, particularly hockey players, move to teams across the border to get more ice time or to play for a more competitive team. People commute across the border to jobs. 

My grandfather moved to Minnesota from New Brunswick. I have hundreds of Candian cousins. I stand for both "O Canada and "The Star-Spangled Banner" when the Edmonton Oilers play the Minnesota Wild. The bottom line is, I am from a Canadian bloodline, and I have a good time including some cross-border crimes and antics in the Whistling Pines and Pine County mystery series. My Doug Fletcher series protagonist is from St. Paul, Minnesota, and is asked at least once in every few books if he speaks Canadian as he solves mysteries in national parks located across the United States.

So, if my Whistling Pines characters sound a little Canadian, through their Swedish and Norwegian accents, it's because we're one big, albeit sometimes dysfunctional, North American family. The US/Canadian border is the longest undefended international border in the world. Yes. Really. And aside from some minor hassles about carrying excessing quantities Canadian whisky home, it's a darned comfortable trip no matter which direction, north or south, we travel.

A substantial percentage of my book sales are in Canada. I feel that says I'm speaking Canadian pretty well. Eh?

Check out Whistling Wedding on my (Canadian) publisher's website:

Hovey, Dean Whistling Pines series - BWL Publishing Inc. (bookswelove.net)