Brian, thanks for all that. I totally agree with what you have said. It's great to have the basic tools to get you started but yes, we've been writing for many years. We probably break the "rules" more than we don't but I see the rules as something to get you started. Where you take it from there is entirely up to you.

My NSAI group is co-coordinated by a couple of guys, Jeff and Damon. Both are nice guys and I like everybody in the group. It just seems that, as you said, the NSAI dogma rules the day. That's okay. I can live with that. I may even renew in August for one more year just to give them more time to come around to my way of thinking [Linked Image]. It's still a great way to network and get to know other writers.

I really don't take the critiques personally. I try to listen with an open mind and be as objective as possible. But some of the things they say are flat out ridiculous. Now if I tell them that straight out, I believe that they are just going to view it as me being unhappy with their critique. If I handled it in exactly the right way, I could pull it off without pissing all of them off. I'm just not sure if it's worth the effort to be so diplomatic, so I just usally say thank you for listening and leave it at that.

Of course my collaborator and I would love nothing more than to have commercial success. But in the end, it's more important that we are true to ourselves and our vision for the music.

On the other hand, as we get older, we may opt for money over idealism... [Linked Image]

Thanks for your input.

Van

Van Borden
a.k.a. Buzz Grudge