a stylish, original, and very confident way of doing thing that makes people admire you - Cambridge dictionary.
a grand or flamboyant manner; verve; style; flair - Dictionary.com
Panache
I opened this post with a RAW selfie I took late this morning, on the eve of a mini-vacation I'm slated to take with my mom to Illinois for a cousins 50th wedding family gathering. Since one's panache (or lack thereof) begins with an assessment of personality, a picture of a given person is good place to start. Didn't show you a picture of me in full, E.C. Henry expanded persona regalia. Truth of the mater is at age 54 now, I wonder if I'll ever get to that stage of dressing up in creative jester style again. Sigh... I did think I could pull it off, just never had the stage to do so. Here's someone who did, however:
Cutest ringmaster in the history of ever: the one and only, Taylor Swift!
Elvis : a great talent who STILL inspires long after his death
Truth be told I think the origins of modern performance can be traced back to the days of Elvis Presley and his style and changes from the 50s through the later 70s up until his death. Seems to me Elvis got progressively more flamboyant in his constumeing and performances the longer his career went on. Was drugs to blame? Maybe in part, but I think Elvis felt the need to keep pushing the envelope to remain relevant.
Elton John: Most flamboyant piano player in the history of keyboards
Dance-wise NOBODY can touch the panache Michael Jackson brought to modern entertainment
Later in the 70s, Elton John even made piano playing flamboyant! Of course then came Michael Jackson in the 80s and early 90s. These days there is kind of a dearth of performers with panache. Last real good one was probably Lady Gaga, who was known for her outrageous outfits and costuming earlier in her career. These days she's toned that down considerably. Not real familiar with her music, but I remember her singing once impressed, I think that was at the Oscars one year as a song performer.
Girl / goofball / Gaga
For me as a writer's panache is most important to be seen on the page, rather than in how one presents themself in public.
I guess you would say writers and those of the written word attempt to display panache and individuality by their "voice". Your "writing voice" is how you as author come across to readers and the public, that's usually just by how you use words and paragraphs to tells stories.
Panache in writing matters. Don't have panache in writing, you're probably not going to sell anything or develop a following. But panache is not directly tied to notoriety and status. There are undiscovered talents. And in order to ever get discovered you have to have something of merit that solicits interest. Hence, a hopeful needs to already be interesting and possess some degree of polished panache BEFORE they become a household name. Personal panache matters whether you're a superstar like Taylor Swift, or a undiscovered talent at the bottom rung like me, E.C. Henry.
Taylor Swift is a discovered and celebrated talent.
But alas, E.C. Henry lives in obscurity (as of 9-20-2023, at the time of the writing of this post).
Not that I'm not bitter about that or anything else anymore. I'll just make the best art I can, and do so without selling my soul or my principles.
I love studying superstars. Why they do what they do. Not a big outfit guy. I think as artist I want three different looks. Sexy jester, and stylish writer for sure. Not sure what the third look should be yet. BUT I acknowledge that's important.
Creatively I just finished a Lit Expression rewrite of the Indians of the Ancient Plains script that I originally completed in 2007. Got it with my coverage guy now We'll see how he likes it.. Next up I'm going to pursue a creature-horror spec. Also need to be back the The Legend of Thars. Really wanna publish those books.
Whether or not you like me, I do value creativity and panache. In pursuit of my own version therein, I am resolved not to descend into homosexuality or any other sexual or moral deviancy. First and foremost, E.C. Henry is a Christian; a follower of Christ. I prize Jesus above all. He's my God, not the praise of a crowd. And He will guide me creatively to be the best I can possibly be without straying to point of losing faith.
Jesus is Lord. Upon that cornerstone I build and make art. So happy with my last script I was able to fuse some aspect of faith into story that's one third, Dances with Wolves; one third, Jurassic Park; and one third, Pan's Labyrinth. No matter what I write may it be blessed from an On-high enabling from above. I always want my talent to be God given. For me I think that began when I was modeling clay while watching the mini-series, Jesus of Nazareth on TV in the late 1970s.
Panache: flamboyance in style or action. I've got it. God's infused that in my character.