A Little Self-Promotion

The cover of my latest book.

I like to write about writing. I'm not proud of it, but I do enjoy it. I won't try to pad this post since the title tells you exactly what it is. I won't insult you by pretending this is about anything other than selling a book. 

I just published Dogs, Drinks, Women and Me, a short story collection. Please go out and buy it. If you don't I will be forced to continue working for a living. Not that writing isn't work. It's the hardest work I've ever done. It's also my favorite thing to do.

It's available as an e-book and as a paperback. Just in time for Christmas, hint hint!

Thanks for your support, and keep writing. Oh, and keep reading, especially my stuff.

Thanks!

Adolfo

Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published eight books, which you can find here.

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Your Audience

I write every day. Writing is a lonely life. I start work about five o'clock most mornings. Sometimes, I start a little later, waiting until my wife and daughters are gone. I usually do very little on Saturdays for some reason and on Sundays, I review, edit, and write.  This is not a strict schedule. It's something I try to stick to. I have a day job and this is always in the back of my mind so I work with a very specific sense of urgency. I have to shower and shave and get to the office. I have only so many hours to invest in writing each morning.

So, it's a lonely life and of course, I am the worst audience. I am the most biased of judges when it comes to my work. I hate every word of it.

But every once in a while, I read some of my work to my wife, or to my guinea pigs or to myself, and I am pleased with myself. I am reminded of why I take the time to do this. I remember why the isolation and the frustration never seem to be enough to scare me away. I remember why I write.

Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published eight books, which you can find here.

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Change of Scene

Last night, I stayed out until past midnight. Wild, I know. I am a madman. Am I really? As Salvador Dali said, "The only difference between a madman and myself, is that I am not mad!" Well, he said something like that.  A friend of mine moved into a new apartment and had a little housewarming party and invited some colleagues over for dinner and wine. I had a little of each. We talked shop, of course because this is what humans do. Humans suck, don't they.

All but two of the people who were there were people I am around over fifty hours per week. We talked about what we do those fifty-plus hours, and yet, because we were in a different environment, or perhaps because of the wine, I picked up subtleties in their manner of speech, in their expressions. I don't believe they were any different. We've all known each other for a while and have no need to pretend or put on airs. They were the same. I was the same. I was looking for different things. I was with familiar people in an unfamiliar place.

The job of a writer is to notice those subtle changes. The color of the walls or how comfortable the couch is or isn't is of no importance. Those details will not change the story unless something related to those things happens during the party or if you imagine something funny or tragic relating to those inanimate objects, like someone fat sitting on a chair and it collapses, etc. It's the people that matter. Stories are always about people, not about things. Even when a story is about a thing, you don't care about it unless you understand how that thing relates to a person. It's always about the people! And you learn about people when you observe them in their natural environment. You learn something different when you see them elsewhere. Pay attention. You will learn something.

Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published eight books, which you can find here.

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Inspired by Fools

Maybe the title of this post is unfair. I am a lover of people. I love meeting people and talking to people. I love making friends. I love fools because I am a fool.

I was at a cocktail party last night and got into some great conversations including one with a man who kept looking at my name tag, which read Adolfo and still managed to call me Alfredo. But he was a nice man and we made friends. He can call me anything he wants. I guess as long as my wife gets my name right, I have little to worry about.

I met this man and he made an impression and I have no doubt that I will see him again sometime in the future. But even if I never see him again, he was a hell of a character and it wouldn't surprise me to see him pop up in my creative work some day in the future, knowing him for a few hours was worth it. He was great fun.

As a writer, every experience is potentially part of a story.  Everyone you meet can be a character. Every place you visit is a setting. All the better if they manage to entertain you.


Adolfo Jimenez is a writer living against his will in Hollywood, Florida.  His latest release is Scenes from a 1979 Ford Fairmont, a short book of poems. Get it on Amazon!

Check him out here!

The Friends We Listen To

I like to work in silence. I don't play music. I sit at my desk in my home and I write in silence. I don't like a lot of activity around me so I don't sit in a cafe. I am too easily distracted, so I try to minimize the distractions. My wife and daughters leave early in the morning so I can squeeze in a couple hours of work before the world squeezes in on me.

But once in a while, I like to have a little background noise. Never a TV or anything. Usually a little music. I will choose music I'm not inclined to sing along to. If I sing along, I am not working. Writing is creative work, not busy work. It's not an automatic thing like making your bed or mowing the lawn. I always listen to an audiobook or music when doing household chores. I even take my phone into the shower with me so I can listen to a book as I shower, shave, brush my teeth and make myself pretty. Okay, I'm never pretty, but at least I can minimize the ugliness.

But I am choosy about what I listen to. Classical is great to play while writing because you can't sing along to it. Classical music conveys feelings and abstract shapes without words. Perfect for writing.

The important thing is to avoid distractions. Distractions kill creativity, so it is important to kill the distractions.  This is why I don't work in coffee shops. Coffee shops are for coffee and conversation. I work in silence. I work in my home. When I'm travelling, I work in my hotel room. Writing is a private enterprise. Writing in front of people is for those who want to be seen or thought of as writers, but don't actually want to write.

You do the work. Let your words get the glory.


Adolfo Jimenez is a writer living against his will in Hollywood, Florida.  His latest release is Scenes from a 1979 Ford Fairmont, a short book of poems. Get it on Amazon!

Check him out here!

The Invisible Muse

We all need friends. We need friends to make us laugh, to inspire us, to be truthful with us. I have a friend who is all of those things. We don't get to see each other often, we rarely speak, we mostly text one another. But she gets me. She shares my sensibilities. She is also a writer and we bounce ideas off one another. She gets my sense of humor and had a broad vocabulary so I can be myself and talk like a snob and she gets what I'm saying.

We all need friends we can talk to, especially if we live in the creative space. I call her my invisible muse not because of any romantic feeling. I'm a happily married man and my wife is the only woman I care about impressing. She is a muse because I feel a certain liberty around her and she encourages me to express myself freely. She gets my humor.

It's very liberating.

I like to read to my wife. She likes for me to read to her. It's something I did for her on our first date and have been doing ever since. Not every day, not at any specific time or occasion. I read to her when I'm inspired. She is my greatest cheerleader. I'd be lost without her.

I have another close friend I talk to about my work. She is someone near and dear to me. She's actually one of my closest friends. She listens, she encourages, and as a result she inspires me.

Yet another friend is my number one beta reader. She is the first to read anything significant I write. She ask questions and challenges me at every turn. She's a pain in the ass and I love her for it. She's been reading my work for over twenty years and I hope she'll continue to do this for me for the rest of my writing life.

But there is one muse I must always please and that muse matters more than all the others combined. The most important muse. Patient Zero. The first line of defense. That would be me. If I ain't happy, it ain't going nowhere.

Write for yourself. Make sure you're happy. Make sure you do your best. The rest will take care of itself.



Adolfo Jimenez is a writer living against his will in Hollywood, Florida.  His latest release is Scenes from a 1979 Ford Fairmont, a short book of poems. Get it on Amazon!

Check him out here!

The Evolution of Dave Chappelle

Much is being said about Dave Chappelle's  new stand up special available on Netflix. I watched it last week. Never thought I'd find myself writing about it but here I am.

Chappelle had long ago proven that he is a fearless comic. His show on Comedy Central was hugely successful and with good reason. He took a lot of chances and rarely missed. The show was just plain funny. Chappelle has proven time and again that he deserves to be compared to Eddy Murphy or Richard Pryor, two of my favorites when I was growing up.

But with his latest release, Chappelle has claimed new territory. He stepped into a world previously occupied by comics like George Carlin and Bill Hicks. Chappelle now seems to be as interested in making you think as he is in making you laugh; making you uncomfortable is a bonus. The show had funny lines, to be sure, but there were far more lines that seemed meant to push buttons and get people, weak people, foaming at the mouth.

There have been serious opinion pieces calling Chappelle, who is black in case you didn't know, a white supremacist. People are hating on him pretty intensely right now. This is what happens when you have the balls to be honest about your feelings.

I am not trying to defend Chappelle's opinions. The man is quite capable of defending himself. What I will defend is his right to express those opinions.

Chappelle has gone from sidekick (Men in Tights, You've got Mail) to writer and comic performer in his Comedy Central show, to prophet and pot-stirrer extraordinaire in his Netflix special. The man has evolved.

In today's cancel culture, you are not allowed to make a point. You are not allowed to be okay with harsh words. Everything must be sanitized in order to be acceptable. If it hurts someone, it must be eliminated, along with its creator.

Chappelle presents a special problem for the PC police because his is black. He is not afraid of controversy and he's rich enough to tell the world to go to hell.

Lucky bastard.

Note:

I usually write this column to share my thoughts on writing. My opinion pieces appear in other places under other names. The lesson here for an aspiring writer is that you should learn to be fearless. Speak your truth, your opinions. Speak even when you are scared. Don't let yourself be bullied. You are too important; much more important than the feelings of some little pussy who can't handle words he can't agree with. Of course, if you are the little pussy who can't handle the words, kindly fuck the hell off.



Adolfo Jimenez is a writer living against his will in Hollywood, Florida.  His latest release is Scenes from a 1979 Ford Fairmont, a short book of poems. Get it on Amazon!

Check him out here!