Relationship wisdom: “If you’re not mad enough to bareknuckle box, then you’re not mad.” –Red Foreman

I’m a bit of a contrarian on this point.

As someone who has played and studied (off and on) a number of guitar styles, I have a natural interest in the gear. I love guitars, amps, effects, tuners, picks, straps. I’m also wise enough to know that a guitar, by itself, won’t make me a good guitarist.

But it is a common saw that intangibles like skill, feel, and heart are the most important elements in a guitarists sound. This may even be true. Those intangibles certainly account for the difference between me and say . . . Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Pass, or Eddie Van Halen.

That said, the tools do matter. A crappy guitar that won’t stay in tune, or which has impossible action, just causes unnecessary friction. It makes it harder to stay motivated through the monotony of practice.

The tools also provide inspiration in and of themselves. I just got a new guitar. I’ve played more hours in the past week than I have for the past six months. I’m having a blast.

As a writer, the tools also matter. I love and have used Scrivener for three novels. I just switched to something else. Why. Because it felt stale. I needed a change.

Will the new app (Ulysses, FTW) write the book for me? No. But it makes me want to write, just as the new guitar makes me want to play.

Sometimes you get the day you need. The one that matches your mood. The one that matches the mood you’re trying to convey in your art.

Here in Wisconsin this morning, it’s dreich.

For the characters in my novel . . . well, they’re on an island in the Caribbean. But inside their hearts today, it shall be very dreich indeed.

Throw a stone into the water and watch the ripples spread and then subside.

Though the surface may grow calm, the stone has made a longer lasting change than it seems. It has raised the level of the pond.

Your creative work is never wasted, even if it barely makes a splash.