Time Is Precious (Cara)

[cara june bainbridge]

@brandon

09.25.2024

Maybe it was a little late to be giving a lesson on the houses of Hogwarts after they had graduated, but it was still interesting to see how Brandon reacted to learning about Ravenclaw for the first time. It was easy to know the secret when she was basically the living embodiment of it: fake it until she made it. She still hadn’t made it, but was sort of on the path towards it. Kinsey and Diana were the perfect Ravenclaw examples, in her opinion. Diana was studious and always looking for new topics to learn or talk about. Kinsey was just annoying when it came to school work. “I guess I’m still not used to having graduated,” she admitted. “Everyone has real jobs and here I am, screwing around with a pipe dream. I’m almost determined to finish it just so I can spite myself.” Cara didn’t care if Brandon responded or not. At this point she was using him more as a sounding board than as an advice column. He had a solid understanding of ‘the industry’ that she was trying to break into, and that was useful. Nobody else had been able to help her on that end.

“But wouldn’t letting the label tell you what to do restrict your creative freedom? I know they know how to make the most money for both themselves and you, but I don’t know if I could let them control every part of that.” Cara wasn’t sure if an editor or publisher would eventually do the same with her (and that was a big assumption that she would have either of those in the first place). Surely they would operate like a music label would, offering up advice and information on what sold the best and how certain parts of the work could be edited for audience retention. Those were some of the things she had researched prior to starting the writing process and she still didn’t quite understand why that was so important in the end. She wanted the freedom to write what she wanted to write. Being told to do otherwise wasn’t going to work. “I can understand it if they’re guiding you, but still. What if they’re wrong? Then they’ve wasted your time and talent, and probably disappointed fans as well.”

[Deleted]

Brandon nodded slowly as Cara continued, saying she wasn't used to the newfound freedom of having graduated. That was definitely something he could understand, even though he felt somewhat used to it. Mostly due to the fact that he was excited not to have to go back to school. Now that he could play music whenever he wanted and not have to worry about essays or assignments, Brandon felt much more free. The songs were flowing much better than they ever had before, something he attributed to the freedom and his recent ability to actually be able to play again after his accident. He was definitely enjoying his music more than he ever had before. "I think you'll be able to finish," Brandon encouraged simply. He wasn't sure how far along she was with her book, but encouragement was always a good thing and she seemed to need some, so he was more than willing to provide it to her. 

He shrugged, "I'm not planning on letting them tell me what to do, more like give me a style to try out. I'm not really sure where I want to go with my music, so I think suggestions for where to start out is a good idea, you know? Then if I don't like it, I can always go a different way. I like the idea of trying a bunch of different styles out at first so I can find my niche and see what other people think of it." Though when it really came down to it, Brandon saw himself as a very open musician. He seemed to be able to write songs in whatever genre he wanted. He wasn't sure if they were all good or not, but that's what the record label was for, wasn't it? To help him figure out what direction he should go? He smiled a little at her next questions. "Well, I don't really have any fans yet, so hopefully no one can get too disappointed, and if they're wrong I'll try something else out. I think the hard thing is actually going to be building that fan-base to start with. I'm curious to see how that works."

cara june bainbridge

[cara june bainbridge]

@brandon

09.25.2024

Brandon had an ungodly amount of positivity to give out and it was a little bit suffocating. She understood how he was able to become such a good musician and have record deals already, because acting any other way would probably harm his career path. That and she was sure there was a little luck involved. But she needed a lot more luck than that. Like a whole truck load of luck, if that was even possible. Her writing was unknown and untested on the shelves. Brandon had the assistance of musicians that were already in and music was easier to spread than a book was. She couldn’t really stand in the middle of Diagon Alley handing out copies of her novel like he could when it came to playing music. Her creation would be reliant on an editor and publisher that knew what they were doing, targeting audiences that Cara didn’t even know existed yet. If there was even an audience to begin with. “I think I will too. I need less ‘buts’ in my life right now even though that’s hard to do,” she admitted. There were too many other factors at play that she knew she shouldn’t worry about until it came to. First came writing the book and then came the rest.

He went on to explain that he was still going to be doing his own thing and use the label and producers as a way to get suggestions and gauge what he should be making. That made a lot of sense to her. In a way, that sounded exactly like what she would be doing with her editor (once she got one and assuming she would get on in the first place). Those people were there as guides towards a better finished product. Cara nodded her head to show that she understood what he was saying. “See that’s what I’m worried about too. Building a fan base. Like, I’m sure your label or my future editor work hard at promotion, but there’s no telling what people will like. And that really hurts my motivation to keep working.”

[Deleted]

Brandon nodded when she said that she thought she'd be able to finish too. Good. If she couldn't finish, then it would be very difficult to continue on in her career path. However, Cara seemed like a very determined kind of person, the kind of person that would work and work until she got what she was going for. That was a good thing, especially when it came to things like writing books, and making music. 

He nodded as she explained that she was worried about the fan base as well. It made sense. What was the point in creating something if no one else was going to want to appreciate it. "I get that," he answered, "Like, you know what you like and you can write according to that, but if no one else likes it, then what's the point, right?" he asked. He'd had that issue a bit in school, until he had a realization. If he liked something, there was generally someone out there who liked the same sort of thing. He'd come to realize that when it came to music, at least, he wasn't always as alone as he felt. He shrugged, "I guess that's just trial and error, you know? Trying something and seeing how people react to it. Maybe you could write a chapter or two and find some people who would be willing to read them and give you feedback? Then you could see if it's appealing to people?" Brandon wasn't really sure. With music, he could just go anywhere and play and see the kind of music people liked and didn't. It sounded like that would be a bit more difficult with writing. 

cara june bainbridge

[cara june bainbridge]

@brandon

09.25.2024

She seemed to be hitting some important points because Brandon understood exactly what she was getting at. Once again he gave a logical response, which is something she knew she would have come to eventually, but hearing it from another person meant that it was a process she couldn’t skip now. When it came to writing out drafts and sending them off, she had already done that a few times with her siblings. But Cara knew they weren’t the best when it came to opinions. Even if the writing was trash she was sure they would still tell her it was great and to keep going with it. That wasn’t the kind of attitude she needed when writing the books. She wanted someone to tell her that a plot point didn’t make sense or that her characters were shallow and one-dimensional and far from ever existing as a real person. The idea that criticizing a person’s work could discourage them from continuing was bull. She wouldn’t have put herself in this position if she was thin-skinned and couldn’t take her work being ripped to shreds. That was exactly what she wanted. Because then she could turn it around and make something really good from it.

“So far I’ve only been giving it to my family members,” she admitted. “I know that’s the worst thing I could do, but even the drafts are drafts themselves. If I had one finalized, I’d probably take it straight to an editor and see if it’s a story worth running with or not.” In her head, that was what she really wanted to know. Was a failed love story something people wanted to read? Probably. Everyone used books and movies to escape reality; so they could have a piece of something that real life couldn’t provide them with. There had to be masochists out there that wanted to feel the same dread her main character would be feeling. “I understand what you mean though. Definitely good advice to move forward with.”

[Deleted]

Brandon nodded fervently when Cara started talking about how she'd shared her books with her family members. That was always a good idea, he thought. Family was good at being supportive and encouraging, but they were also good at giving constructive criticism. At least his was. "Family members are good," he agreed. "I would say, be careful who you share it with outside your family though. Some people ... when they see something they like, they feel the need to take it or claim it as their own." He shrugged, "Not that sharing it is a bad idea, just make sure you trust the people you share it with." She probably didn't need or want that kind of lecture, but it was one he'd received from Zander, so he figured that while he was giving out advice he might as well share some that he got a while ago. 

"Are you close to finalizing one of them?" Brandon asked curiously. She seemed the type of person that was very focused, so he wouldn't be surprised if she were, but also ... writing a book was a big investment. It took lots of time and they'd only been out of school for a few months. He nodded and smiled, "It's just something to think about. I'm sure you'll do great." He sighed as he looked around them, "I'm sure you want to get back to your writing though, so I won't keep you too long. It was nice running into you Cara." It was always nice seeing people he didn't see often, Brandon thought. He liked being social and having positive interactions with people was always a good thing from his point of view. 

cara june bainbridge
(you wanna end it?)

[cara june bainbridge]

@brandon

09.25.2024

Brandon brought up a really valid point about sharing her work: it could be stolen. The notion of that happening was sort of ridiculous, considering her idea, and subsequently the book, wasn’t anything special. She was hoping more for a really awful romance novel where all the characters let their moral compasses fail them. Having it based on reality helped her, but she doubted anyone would want to steal that for themselves. Now if she had the next big fantasy story? Sure. She would be a little more guarded with it. Brandon also worked with music, and it was so easy to claim something. “I’ve never really thought about that. I guess not struggling with the idea in general has my worries elsewhere.” But this wasn’t something she would forget. Her siblings didn’t really give a damn (though Kinsey surely would), her parents thought it was some sort of stage she was going through, similar to Diana up and leaving, and her few friends thought it was the coolest thing since sliced bread. She was neutral towards it currently. If someone stole the idea from her, it would be flattering. That meant it was worth something.

“Not really. Things are changed enough as I move back and forth on the story, so running it to a professional right now seems silly.” One day though. The deadline of having a draft of sorts finished by Christmas was inching closer and closer now, the first of the new year intimidating her enough that her brain seized up every time she sat down to write. “Thanks,” she responded as Brandon said she would probably do great. There was no telling right now, and maybe not until the book was being sold. There were too many hurdles to go over first before that happened. “Good to see you again too. I think your advice will help me in the long run,” she said earnestly. “Good luck with your music.”

[The End]