Author and composer Robert Gennari reveals the positive attitude that allowed him to overcome "invalidation" to work with accomplished actors and musicians on his sci-fi creation.

Sometimes you get that sudden urge to write. You sit down, rest your fingertips upon the keys...you are ready to go, to traverse that unknown  realm of story a story residing somewhere in your mind. You only know the start, you hope the rest will come as you write.
 
Along the way there may be hardship, writers block, etc., but that’s okay. You’re keen, you can push through it. But, after you’ve written a few chapters, you find yourself wondering where to next? Certainly it is a problem and, if you don’t find a solution to it, if you don’t start writing again, it may very well be a big one at that! At this point, many put down their pens for a break. Some will come back to it, sadly the majority will not return to finish it.

To state the obvious, this is a problem. But like most problems, they have workable solutions. Provided you view a problem as being something that can be solved, you’ll do a great thing and will succeed if you just get back to your writing! And how sweet it will be if you’re one of the few people who can say you’ve actually completed a whole book – start to finish.
 
Roughly five years ago I had an idea that seemed far-fetched to most people I explained it to: to develop a storyline to use as a basis for my musical compositions. It was a theme or a concept, you might say.

Before this early point in time, I had been exposed to all sorts of fantasy and science fiction from Ted Prior's Grug books, Dream Time stories and Star Wars right through to Greek and Roman mythology, The Book of Revelations and even vampire and zombie films. Film and literature mediums have had a large impact on me, and still do to this day.

I had pondered on the thought of using other previously written stories and concepts as the basis for my composition, however, for one reason or another I felt them to be inappropriate. So I began to brain storm ideas within the realms of astronomy and science fiction (areas in which, of course, I was already very familiar). Finally, I came up with the idea of a colossal sphere of illuminance, an energy-source, that I called, Gennarium. It was based on my surname Gennari, so I further rendered it for pronunciation by substituting the G for a J, finally settling upon Jenarium.
 
This was a big discovery for me, though at the time I never fully realised it. Having found a name that was workable and with which I could identify was a big hurdle to jump. I was then able to give a name to my work – both my music and literature.
 
I was all set to go when I experienced my first barrier – and what a barrier it turned out to be! Weeks went by as I fumbled around with ideas. Weeks turned to months and still no solid beginnings. I hadn’t even started.
 
I didn’t realise it at the time, but I had managed to grab onto a single piece of information out of the many chaotic pieces that were flying around in my head. The name, Jenarium. It was just a name, but it as a beginning. So I developed on that, and created a universe, then its deities and a star system and then I explored its terrain for habitable life until I had created an earth-like planet which I christened, Númarea.

I had solved the first problem and ended my confusion. It was a start. Having made these key discoveries, I had a universe in which my mythic stories could now take place. Then, the rest of the mythology began to fall into place – not always with ease, I might add. Jenarium survived many rigorous re-writings and changes and evolved into what it is today: a concept album contributed to by the likes of Craig Parker (actor, The Lord of the Rings) and Richard Norton (martial arts actor) and key members of the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. I even had it reviewed by Eric Bana, Sally Stevens (Hollywood-based director) and John Tempesta (Rob Zombie band).

Through the journey, which was touch-and-go at the beginning, I realised that communication is an amazing thing. With it you can understand and be understood, you can solve problems and achieve things that may seem out of your grasp. I would never have been able to work with the people I did and produce the quality of work we did without it.

Most importantly, I would have gotten nothing at all done if I had succumbed to this thing I will call “invalidation”. Some people may know it as rejection, but I’ll call it what it is. It’s an imposing external factor in the arts and would have to be one of the most destructive forces an artist can encounter. In fact I have seen it destroy the most competent of artists. Invalidation can be received in many different ways, from ‘concerned friends’, organizations, to publishers,  etc...anyone, really. However not all of it has evil origins, but having said that it can affect you nonetheless. My advice is to just be weary of the people and/or organizations that tell you, "it's a good story, but you’re not going to make it in the industry". It seems too obvious to mention, but sometimes, when someone says this to you it may go by unnoticed or be passed off as ‘good advice’. It’s not. Ignore these invalidations and keep positive about your work.

Gone are the days of having your book magically ‘picked up’ by a publisher or agent. With the internet and a bit of money put aside (for marketing and publicity) you can achieve a great deal more than any publishing house would offer to an upstart writer or musician. This may strike you as folly, however the numbers of ways of reaching the masses are vast, and if you deliver a good product you will have success. So don't feel the need to run straight to a publisher or agent, as I have found there are some exceptional inroads one can make without them.
 
The arts belong to humanity. It may be a battle at times, no one is saying it isn't, so put your best leg forward and make a start.
  
  
About Robert Dominic Gennari
Right now Robert is in the throes of writing an accompanying book to
his  concept album. For information on the release dates of both the
book and album, visit the official JENARIUM website: www.jenarium.com