Periodically! #8 – Too Cold to Snow? and In Memoriam

Back when I lived in Minnesota, where one must be brave or crazy to live in the winter, there was a saying there that it if the temperature reached a certain level of cold (like 10 degrees and below), it was too cold to snow. Such bromides must only occur in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Either that, or this saying doesn’t work in Michigan. For I can tell you, after a fairly mild winter (where I admit, I was spoiled with temperate weather and rain instead of buckets of snow), when the polar express heads to Hockeytown, it doesn’t matter how cold it is – it’s going to snow.

I’m reporting this from San Francisco, where the area is experiencing a strange heat wave. *ducking stones*

The last few weeks have been sad ones. We’ve lost great musicians (David Bowie and Glenn Frye – my city, where he grew up, is naming a street near the high school where he graduated after him), great actors (Alan Rickman), and now, a great friend of mine.

Known online as The Little Fluffy Cat, I met Lydia Ondrusek online over ten years in a now defunct website called gather.com. Gather was an up-and-coming social network, which was launched as an outlet for writers and artists. Well, it became much more than that. Unsupervised for the most part, the site was like an unruly high school classroom full of bullies, geeks, and the popular cliques. Despite some troubling aspects to the site, the upside is (besides the fact that I got paid, and handsomely at the end) that I met an incredible group of writers. When the End loomed, we all jumped off the Gather ship and Lydia found a private place (Glitches) for us on Ning.

Then came Facebook (which I was already on) and the rest is history. I met Lydia in person (along with some of the other Glitchers) in Ohio a few years ago. As I find when I meet all my online friends, they are just as wonderful in person as they are online. Instant connection. Like we knew each other for years and years In Real Life.

Lydia was a writer, so adept at flash fiction, which I admired. I have a problem writing, in that I tend to go on and on (and on). Some of her short stories bordered on the supernatural, the out of the ordinary. She also wrote touching poetry, and her haikus were beautiful, concise and full of imagery in so few words.

Lydia was a great cheerleader (and occasional cattle prodder) to a wannabe writer like me. I hated to bother her, but I trusted her instincts, and she would never blow me off, even though I knew she was busy, with writing and with her family. I would send her short stories, most of which were flawed, and she let me know right away what the problems were. She pointed me to resources like books and classes, and urged me to find a writers conference. After she’d cheered me on for the two years I’d been working on my first novel, Finding Cadence, I sent her the first chapter for an edit, as that week I was going to attend my first San Francisco Writers Conference. (She lived in Texas, so almost all our communication was done by email.) She returned it less than five minutes later, full of red lines. I wasn’t finished yet, not by a long shot.

I was full of fear before that conference, especially after the red lines, but Lydia encouraged me.

This is Lydia.

She was really into the Internet, and encouraged me to join Twitter. (Actually, she also invited me into WordPress, which lead to six months of headaches for me, but that’s another story. You can scroll backward to the beginning, to see where I started in 2009.) I couldn’t get Twitter for the longest time. I’m still not adept at it, but the great thing about it is that even though I might not add anything to the conversation, I can eavesdrop and gain so much information.

Lydia was the last person I acknowledged in Finding Cadence, along with Sandy, my other online mentor.

Lydia once sent me a draft of a manuscript she’d been working on that I found intriguing. Except for a few chapters in the middle, it was almost finished, and I wondered why she hadn’t finished it. Like all her work, it was good, really good. (I hope she got the chance to finish it. This is my greatest fear, leaving work undone.) Later, I found she had attended HER first writers conference, and was amazed that she had never attended one before.

Lydia also knit (or crocheted) all sorts of wonderful things. I have one of her hats somewhere. In return, I sent her some of my (first attempts at) jewelry. The last thing she sent me was an assortment of amber. I’m going to have to think of something very special to wire it into.

Lydia lost her battle with bad health a few weeks ago. Our online community has been totally crushed with the news. But I will carry on, in her giving spirit, and remember what a beautiful, talented woman she was, and strive to help others in the same way.

Rest in Peace, Little Fluffy Cat. We’re going to miss you.

You can learn more about Lydia here.

Write News

Follow this blog! I discovered a ‘new’ writers resource from the Wellstone Center in the Redwoods. If you write, you must follow.

As followers know, I sometimes suffer from writer’s block. Or other excuses. Here’s a post on how to keep going, even the writing isn’t linear in nature. Just write!

I found a very interesting blog called Writing Sideways. Many good links. A writer cannot have too many resources.

This is an EXCELLENT post regarding your characters’ personality traits. Your characters can’t be all good or all evil. Even the evil ones have to have a redeeming quality and even good people have a dark side. Now to get that into the writing…

Interesting Articles

Is it live? Or is it Memorex? Chuck Wendig discusses depression versus writer’s block in this compelling post.

Here’s some good information on marketing for writers. If you read all the way through, there is a link with free PDF on how to build an email list. (I obviously need all of this help, as I am clueless. And slow.)

Totally unrelated to writing, but rather interesting to fierce women, is this article about wearing black.

Reading This Month

On my iPhone, I’m reading Today a Better Way, a self-help book put out by Families Anonymous. Every day, there is a brief passage to read. While intended for friends and family of substance abusers, these short readings are helpful for anyone feeling stress and hopelessness.

This month, on my way to San Francisco, I read two of my dear Internet friend Arthur Wooten’s novels. On Picking Fruit is a bittersweet but humorous journey of one man’s journey to find his perfect soul mate. And Birthday Pie is an equally entertaining look at a man’s (reluctant) return to his Southern hometown to say goodbye to his ailing father. Both novels (well, all of Arthur’s novels) are populated with the most unusual, likable and oddly flawed characters you could ever imagine.

Question of the Month

Writers: This month I’m taking an online class with Michelle Richmond. I’m also attending the San Francisco Writers Conference. I do both to keep learning, to stay motivated, and to nurture my community. My question is, if you write, what do you do to improve your writing?

Readers: Any pet peeves in what you are finding on the shelves these days? Feel free to answer here, or email me.

Quote of the Month

The writer’s job is to get the main character up a tree, and then once they’re up there, throw rocks at them. ~Vladimir Nabokov

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Here’s the real action: check it out.

Find me on Facebook! I’ll friend anyone. Ask anyone. I even approve the weird guys from another country who IM me to ask about my life but clearly have never read my profile.

I’m a Goodreads author! Honest to God. Ask me a question, I’ll be happy to answer. Even if it’s a *stupid* question. (Or a questionable question. Those are the best kind.)

Follow me on Twitter! I’m not sure I have anything wonderful to say. I will say that I follow some interesting people. I can’t believe I can say this, but a few interesting people follow me, too. Twitter: the cyber cocktail party – alcohol not necessary.

I’m also on Pinterest! Rarely, but I do hit up the boards every now and again.

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Periodically!, PO Box 207, Royal Oak, Michigan 48068

 

Periodically! – #4 – Time For Fall

September. Now that was a fast month! One day it’s 90 degrees, the next day you awaken to 50 degree weather and automatically reach for the nearest sweatshirt. Because of the brief thirty days and the nearly overnight change in climate, September whizzes by faster than, let’s say February, when you can’t wait for March’s lion’s roar.

Good God. February.

While I shake off that shivery promise of a future, I’ll update you as to what’s been going on in my world.

Write News:

This month saw my Editor for Life return an edit for Virtually Yours Forever, meaning I really should get off my butt and start editing. With the day job and personal family issues to deal with over the summer, I stood back from making any serious changes. I’m now glad I waited until I saw what he said at the end. This is going to take some major thought. I wish I could say the novel will be ready for prime time by the end of the year, but it could take longer. (Damn it.)

However, I’m in the process of coming out with a print version of Virtually Yours. I plan on using the copies in giveaways for the new book.

Can I share with you my feelings about the whole self-publishing scenario? If you’re an artist like I consider myself to be, the entire technical aspect can be daunting. I’m one of those learners who can’t do it by reading. I have to learn by doing. And yes, I realize that it’s the operator. I don’t understand templates and megapixels and the Internet. Remember, it took me at least eight months to learn WordPress! And I couldn’t figure out Twitter for the longest time. If you don’t make the application stupidly easy, I’m lost.

Oh! I have been invited back to the Leon and Lulu Books and Authors Event, to be held on Sunday, October 25, 2015 from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. If you’re in Southeastern Michigan, plan to stop by. Meet local authors, and visit the store, which is an experience in itself.

The Guerrilla Urban Garden:

It’s been all-out war between me and the rodents. The squirrels won the battle of the pear tree. Despite my constant tending, my squirrel prevention measures – including bagging the pears, mothballs, shiny, noisy things in the tree, and a Boston terrier on premise, I ended up with NO pears this year. (I really want to hurt someone over this.) I managed to salvage enough cherries from the tree (first time ever!) to make two tarts. DEE-licious.

The potatoes, however, have been a banner crop this year, probably because we had so much rain early in the season. I also mulched with coconut mulch, and that seemed to repel just about everything. Sweet potatoes – just digging these up now. (I planted them in my flower containers, where they trail nicely.) YUM! You can grow sweet potatoes in Michigan, but they need direct, hot sunlight.

Of course, the Swiss chard and hot peppers have been going crazy! No pomegranates this year, but the fig tree is bearing.

Not bad for a person who doesn’t weed much after June. 🙂

Interesting Articles:

Here’s one in defense of light reads. Personally speaking, I don’t know how people can read the same genre all the time. If I want something deep, I’ll reach for it three out of four times, but sometimes I want something light and fluffy and fun. Likewise, I don’t write in one genre either. Not all writing has to be “literary” – whatever that means. Good writing is good writing and makes for good reading. In that same vein, you can really learn a lot from other genres.

And here’s a good article from RachelintheOC about censoring your writing. If you don’t follow her, you should; she posts a wealth of great info online about writing, relationships, and social media.

I’m not against the use of adverbs (obviously!), but when in doubt, a strong verb works just as well.

Music:

As I mentioned a couple of months ago, my husband and I have been watching reruns of The Wonder Years. This has prompted my husband to drag out his old sheet music from the time. I’ve been listening to him pound out classics like Burt Bacharach, Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, and of course, the Beatles. I’m probably prejudiced, but I think the best music came out of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, that sacred space between Top 40 bubblegum and disco.

Read this Month:

When Bad Things Happen to Good People, by Harold S. Kushner. A friend suggested this book as a possible way for a family member to get through rough times. In reading it, though, I realized this is a gold mine of information for me to use in a novel I’ve been toying with since last summer. As a writer, you have to realize that there are other experiences out there beyond your own. It’s difficult to put yourself into another person’s shoes and write about an alternate experience convincingly. (My problem is all my characters act like me and sound like me.)

Quote of the Month:

Being a good writer is 3% talent, 97% not being distracted by the internet. ~Anonymous

Have a great month!

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Here’s the real action: check it out.

Find me on Facebook! I’ll friend anyone. Ask anyone. I even approve the weird guys from another country who IM me to ask about my life but clearly have never read my profile.

I’m a Goodreads author! Honest to God. Ask me a question, I’ll be happy to answer. Even if it’s a *stupid* question. (Or a questionable question. Those are the best kind.)

Follow me on Twitter! I’m not sure I have anything wonderful to say. I will say that I follow some interesting people. I can’t believe I can say this, but a few interesting people follow me, too. Twitter: the cyber cocktail party – alcohol not necessary.

I’m also on Pinterest! Rarely, but I do hit up the boards every now and again.

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Periodically!, PO Box 207, Royal Oak, Michigan 48068

Periodically #3 – The Thank Goodness It’s Nearly Over Edition

 

It’s the final day of August, which means summer is one week away from being officially over! Now I love the sun, and especially love summer, but I think I would like it a lot better if I weren’t working 24/7 at my day job. With September comes cooler temperatures and the opportunity to take a deep breath. Plus, I will be able to devote more time to writing. Having my creative juices curtailed is much like having my arm cut off.

The Write Rite:

At last! An agent that gives permission to NOT beat yourself up, while encouraging control of your creative life. I can be done!

It’s Monday. Yes. It. Is. I know, blah-blah, hungover from the weekend, good Lord, I don’t want to go back to work Monday. However, there is one shimmering, shining Monday moment, called Monday Blogs. Follow Monday Blogs on Twitter (@MondayBlogs), and if your head doesn’t spin off from the sheer amount of good info – especially for those who write – you will absorb so many good articles on writing, publishing, querying, etc. You might find a few other interesting, non-writing blogs, too.

If you’re looking for classes, workshops, and/or general support, go over to Savvy Authors. I was given this excellent writers resource by a past president of the Greater Detroit Romance Writers of America, and have taken several of the classes. ALL HELPFUL, and most are at a nominal fee so it won’t break the bank. With my schedule, I don’t have time to commit to classes in the flesh; web sites like Savvy Authors can fill in the gap. The instructors know what they are doing, and the people taking the classes are great.

While you’re honing your craft, don’t forget about connecting with readers. After all, we’re nothing without them.

A Little Music Doesn’t Hurt:

As I mentioned last month, my husband and I are re-watching The Wonder Years, and we are up to 1971. Great times, wonderful music. Most of our TV viewing (only DVDs, never live) has a strong musical component. Take Glee, for instance. I know, dorky, show choir singing Journey ballads that would cause a normal person to tear their eyeballs out. NOT REALLY! For the most part, the show does a wonderful job of weaving the music into the story line. Maybe I’m *ahem* old, but I find myself liking these shows more because of the music.

Art News:

I decided to apply for the Leon and Lulu Artist Market, and was accepted. It was a great opportunity. I love the store (very eclectic and fun), and they are so nice to the artists, feeding us, plying us with wine, ringing up our sales (and subsequently taking care of the taxes). I participated in the Books and Authors day last year, and will again this October. If you’re in the southeastern Michigan area, check the store out. In Clawson, not far from where I am sitting and typing. 🙂 And if you’re interested in shopping the artist market, the next one is scheduled for November.

Interesting Articles:

Here’s one that caught my eye. Supposedly, male writers who submit queries to agents are more likely to get a response than women writers who submit queries to agents. One of these days, I might make an experiment of my own work and try this myself.

I have decided to back Broke Ass Stuart for Mayor of San Francisco. Never mind that I’m not a resident of California, or of San Francisco; however, I love Broke Ass Stuart‘s wry humor. You must follow him! If anyone deserves to be mayor of the City by the Bay, it’s him. I’ve even sprung for an official campaign tee shirt, so you know I’m serious.

Read This Month:

Hum, by Michelle Richmond. A collection of sometimes deeply disturbing short stories. Good God, but I wish I could write like that!

Currently reading The Big Bounce by Elmore Leonard. Can you believe I’ve lived in Detroit since 1986 and have never read Elmore Leonard? I know! Blasphemy. This one was highly recommended, so I thought I’d start my Elmore Leonard library with the Bounce.

Quote of the Month:

A single best-seller can ruin a writer forever. ~John Steinbeck

Not sure I’ll ever find that out for myself, but I’ll keep trying!

Have a great month!

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Here’s the real action: check it out.

Find me on Facebook! I’ll friend anyone. Ask anyone. I even approve the weird guys from another country who IM me to ask about my life but clearly have never read my profile.

I’m a Goodreads author! Honest to God. Ask me a question, I’ll be happy to answer. Even if it’s a *stupid* question. (Or a questionable question. Those are the best kind.)

Follow me on Twitter! I’m not sure I have anything wonderful to say. I will say that I follow some interesting people. I can’t believe I can say this, but a few interesting people follow me, too. Twitter: the cyber cocktail party – alcohol not necessary.

I’m also on Pinterest! Rarely, but I do hit up the boards every now and again.

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Periodically!, PO Box 207, Royal Oak, Michigan 48068

Periodically #2 – Dog Days of Summer Edition

Personal note: Weather. It’s going to change. That is a given. Especially in the Midwest, where each of the four seasons is (or should be) starkly different from the other.

After several years of what I call Bummer Summers (too cold, too wet, too short), temperatures finally hit the 90 degree mark. I am never one to complain about heat. You need a little for the garden to grow. You need some to coincide with a frozen strawberry margarita, to be enjoyed on the deck.

But then the air conditioning goes out. Both units, upstairs and downstairs. And your house was built in 1927. And you learn that because in 1927, the method of heat was radiator and when previous owners later converted to forced air, they neglected to put in enough intake vents. And the lack of said venting strains the AC units which is why we have the painfully brief 11 year life span of a $3000 unit.

Yes! Major appliance replacement AND home renovation in my near future.

My takeaway: Your AC never goes out in November. And, your furnace never dies in July. Preventative maintenance is a pain in the behind, but it is key.

WRITE RIGHT TIPS

If you’re a writer and you’re not currently hooked up to these web sites, you are operating at a deficit. Check it out! Subscribe if it’s an option. Writer Unboxed is a great site. Lots of good information, from the perspective of the author and of the business of writing. An email from Chuck Sambuchino’s Guide to Literary Agents lands in my inbox weekly, and I read every one. Here’s a good site I love to visit – Janet Reid, Literary Agent. There’s of course the great information on the state of the publishing world, and writing prompts, and contests. And did I mention that Janet Reid is the Query Shark? The Query Shark scares the bejesus out of me, but when I have time, I read the archives. You can learn from the mistakes of other writers.

As for me, I’m still struggling, and I’m good with it. All creative types must struggle; if art were easy, the world would be a better place. I’ve put down my reconstruction of Siouxy for now. I began reconstituting the story and found after three chapters that it was too unnatural. Forced. So I’m rethinking how to tell this story. There’s a great story there, many, many pages, I’ve just got to whack at the extemporaneous to get to the pretty.

So it’s now on to the umpteenth edit of Virtually Yours Forever! Thanks to a former employee who is also a Federal Marshall, I should have the governmental aspect of my subplot down quickly. This novel is so close to ready, I can feel it.

READ THIS MONTH

Feathered by Laura Kasischke. This is the book my Boston terrier ate. Not completely, but Millie found the binding to have a piquant aftertaste, as well as being quite chewy. After I yelled at the dog, I reassembled the cover and the first two chapters. I’m reading quite a bit more YA these days, and found this tale interesting. Definitely worth a read, but don’t leave the book where your dog can get at it.

’89 Walls by Katie Pierson. Another young adult novel. I’m heartened to learn that teenage stories set in 1989 are considered historical. Now I can consider my own YA set in 1976 the same. I loved that the author included a bibliography at the end, as well as suggested reading material available at the time. Oh, and a glossary of terms! I won’t divulge the story except to say it’s a romance of sorts, during one of the most trying years of the last century. Please, please, please have Kleenex available for the last four chapters. You’re going to need it.

ART NEWS

The Ann Arbor Art Fair was a success. Not enough to quit my day job, but I managed to sell quite a few pieces. The temperatures were hot but not sweltering, and while tornado warnings were sounded north and south of us, we had a bit of welcome wind and about ten minutes of light rain – not enough to dampen anyone’s enthusiasm. I have put away jewelry for a while to concentrate on writing. (I did, however, enter a competition of sorts – more on that later…especially if I win!)

REDISCOVERED

In a fit of nostalgia, I decided to purchase the box DVD set of the Wonder Years, and so we are now in the process of watching. I’d forgotten what a great show this was, until I read a review online and was reminded.

A couple of reasons why this TV show resonates with people my age: 1. We grew up during the “wonder years” and 2. Modern TV is lacking true creativity and inventiveness. I can’t remember the last time I followed a network TV show, comedy or drama. Like a lot of people, I wait to see if the reviews are good before I decide to commit to any time watching TV. The current wave of “reality shows” on every channel from ABC to TLC and beyond boggles my mind. Where’s the writing? Where are the interesting comebacks and the witty jokes? (And I don’t mean crude jokes, but truly funny ones.)

The Wonder Years did not sugar-coat the ’60’s and the ’70’s. I might sound like a curmudgeonly Baby Boomer, but those were the good old days. Sweet in simplicity, but with looming change just out of arms’ reach. Life is like that now, but when you are coming of age in a time…well, that hits home. I was the same age Kevin Arnold was, during the same time. It’s the same reason we so enjoy That ’70’s Show.

Both shows capture the spirit and essence of what it was like to grow up back then. Plus the music is fabulous.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

First you’re an unknown, then you write one book and you move up to obscurity. ~Martin Myers

Stay cool, my friends!

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Here’s the real action: check it out.

Find me on Facebook! I’ll friend anyone. Ask anyone. I even approve the weird guys from another country who IM me to ask about my life but clearly have never read my profile.

I’m a Goodreads author! Honest to God. Ask me a question, I’ll be happy to answer. Even if it’s a *stupid* question. (Or a questionable question. Those are the best kind.)

Follow me on Twitter! I’m not sure I have anything wonderful to say. I will say that I follow some interesting people. I can’t believe I can say this, but a few interesting people follow me, too. Twitter: the cyber cocktail party – alcohol not necessary.

I’m also on Pinterest! Rarely, but I do hit up the boards every now and again.

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Periodically!, PO Box 207, Royal Oak, Michigan 48068

Why I Am NOT Participating in NaNoWriMo

Don’t get me wrong; I LOVE NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, which starts November 1 and ends November 30. If you’re a procrastinating writer like me, you need every cattle prod or device out there to kick you into the writing mode.

This is not to say I don’t enjoy writing. OF COURSE, I enjoy writing. But having other responsibilities, what ends up being short shrifted is my writing time. This year, there’s been other factors as well. Family members in dire health. Business in flux. An incredibly Bummer Summer which resulted in lots of rain, an extraordinary flash flood, and resulting damage, which of course, takes me away from pleasurable activities and instead has me planning out construction worker schedules.

Here is why I love me the NaNo… It’s an extremely useful tool. Just like jumping on a treadmill exercises your body, jumping head first into the waters of NaNoWriMo exercises your brain. It introduces you to keeping a schedule. It gives you a not unreasonable goal of 50K words in 30 days. There’s a camaraderie of fellow writers, across the internet and across town, that cannot be beat.

I’ve participated in NaNo many times. In fact, because of it, I managed to complete three manuscripts that turned out (with much editing and fine tuning) to be decent novels. (Still in the editing phase on two of them.)

Last year, I tried it for a week, and then decided that editing the work I’d been suffering over since 2007 (Finding Cadence) had to take precedence over any new material. So I put that idea aside. For later. I like the story, I just can’t have three completed novels in various states of disrepair hanging over my head like a black cloud.

This year, my problems are much the same. I’ve been toying with Virtually Yours Forever (completed during NaNo a few years ago) for… well, forever. It’s time to clean up this tale of moms, the internet, and high intrigue and get this story nailed down and move on to the next project.

I can no longer tell myself that I’ll write more when I retire from this business. The sad truth is that I might have to work until I die. But I’m also a writer, and I’m not going to sacrifice my art for outside influences.

Not anymore.

So to all you writers out there who are participating in NaNoWriMo – Bravo! or Brava! Keep pushing on. I’m there with you in spirit, and I hope will have my edit complete by November 30.

 

My First Books and Authors Event

Yesterday, I attended my first Books and Authors Event at Leon and Lulu‘s in Clawson, Michigan. This store is trendy, hip, and sells everything from jewelry to clothing to furniture to toys. It’s one of my favorites, as my husband can tell you from our VISA bill.

I can’t even believe I went through the event; hell, I can’t believe I filled out the application. And then sent it in! And then was selected as a participant! As you might know, I’m rather lackadaisical about selling my work. (I’m also rather lackadaisical about writing – sometimes.) But, I’ve been in a slump since summer, so I’ve signed up for writing prompts, classes, and have committed to (somewhat) weekly Skype conversations with my editor to sort of kick start my juices. So I figured, might as well throw this event on the pile.

I had NO IDEA what to expect at this event. NONE. I had hoped to sell a few books, get my name out there. As with everything new that I do, I was petrified. And as with everything, in order to get rid of the petrification, one must dive in head first.

Leon and Lulu’s does a fabulous job of making all 50 of us authors feel comfortable. They provide food, coffee, water, even hot dogs! The friendliness relieved some of the sting. 🙂 After being shown my table, I set up.

We had an hour after that to look around. While all of the authors were from Michigan, amazingly many of them were from Royal Oak. I found I was speaking with authors who were neighbors!

Some had many titles to choose from. Some, like me, had the one physical book, and the eBook. Some were traditionally published; many more were self-published. Most of the books were for children, picture and chapter books, many were mysteries, there were some non-fiction, and just a few novels.

If you’ve ever been to Leon and Lulu’s, you’ll know that walking into the store is a total assault on your senses. Bright colors, things hanging from everywhere. Add to that 50 authors and their many books, and even I was shell shocked. It was a long day, but it’s what I needed. Suddenly, I’m energized to get that manuscript out and start editing in earnest. I sold a few books, handed out a ton of business cards for those who wanted to buy the book in eBook format (one woman did it from her phone while chatting with me!), and made a few new author friends. I enjoyed it so much, I’ll definitely do it next year.

The only thing is, I need to have another book for next year.

Better get to work.

The Excavation of Words

I just noticed my two WordPress blogs are not posting at the same time, if you are signed up for email here, please consider signing up for email notifications here. That way you won’t be left off the loop. Thank you!

I don’t know how I’ve been struck with the ambition, but I am in the middle of deep cleaning and purging my house, in advance of a monster garage sale I plan on hosting late in August.

I’m not a consummate slob. I tend to veer toward the lived-in but not dangerously germy look. Deep cleaning is something I haven’t done in the ten years we’ve been here. Just consider: a four-bedroom house with plenty of nooks and crannies, a basement full of boxes (most of which haven’t been opened since we moved), and a walk up attic bulging with the hastily packed mementos of my children’s school years. (Yeah. I didn’t oversee that operation, and I should have.)

Back at another place I wrote for online, an orange, hazy, huge toxic bubble, I remarked in a post that I had misplaced my folder of poetry, and asked the pressing question, “Where the hell is it?” The resulting comment thread blasted me for being a dumb ass, and how the hell would the Internets know where my poems were?

Even back then, my feelings were rarely hurt. Just temporarily slapped silly. I imagined I’d thrown my folder out by accident (I grew up in the Ice Age, and had only the typewritten copies, having not had the time or inclination to put the work on an actual computer, where my words could be backed up on a flash drive or by Carbonite), or maybe the guy we had staying at our home as it was being sold decided to run off with my silly scribblings.

Eventually, I chalked up my loss as a learning experience. My teenage and new adult angst-ridden lyrics and poetry forever absent, never to be enjoyed by posterity.

(Now I back up in several places and pay Carbonite for the stuff I’m apt to forget.)

Imagine my pleasant surprise last weekend. After fighting years of cobwebs and nearly retching over an army of dead bugs, I opened a box labeled “Kids Books” to find my folder of poems prominently sitting atop well-loved copies of Pat the Bunny and every book ever penned by Mercer Mayer.

Win! (clean basement) – Win! (possible garage sale windfall) – Win! (my book of poems). I momentarily died and went to heaven.

I spent an hour reading them. Most of my “poetry” was set to music. I played the guitar back then, and wrote simple songs with (what I thought were) tender lyrics about unrequited love and loss. Reading the words brought back the music, and I found myself humming. Most of my songs were god-awful, music and lyrics, but some of it wasn’t half bad.

What was most interesting that my writing voice back then isn’t that far removed from my writing voice now. The excavation of words cements the fact – in my mind – that I was destined to write.

Now, to celebrate my wonderful find, I will regale you with one of my favorites, written after a trip to Sioux Falls, SD, where we lit sparklers during a midnight tornado warning after ingesting Black Star.

 

Black Star

 

his grandpa was a cowboy, he said

you nod in silence–

your dreams are riding the range.

 

a little wine, a little smoke

helps to ease the loneliness,

shake off the chains —

lose those midnight blues.

you laugh and joke,

ha! your smiles are plastic

flowers molded from pain.

and still you choose

too much wine and smoke

the strawberry madness.

so you’re backed against the floor.

from another galaxy, he leans toward you

and shouts in a foreign frequency

heyareyouallrightdownthere?crazybroad!

o-zoned again.

 

lonesome cowboy,  roll me in your arms

just once.

i know i ruin everything good

but sometimes one kiss is all i need.

 

what space tripper? you’re returning home?

but you’ll soon return to ride the range

blue skies your rolling prairie

unlimited, weightless, darkened void.

you’re always searching for the light

in a heaven that gives no easy answers,

in a heaven where the sun

is just a black star.

October 28, 1978

Finding Inspiration Everywhere

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While I feel writing is my artistic outlet, there are times where producing actual writing is hampered, by real life, by other interests and responsibilities, by the lack of time. This happens to be one of those two week periods where finding a good, solid block of writing time is just not possible.

It’s not that I’m lazy – well, yes, I’m kind of lazy, although I’m trying to reform myself. It’s not like I’m lying around eating bonbons and watching daytime TV (which I guess is now NOT soaps and might be Judge Judy). I work – a lot, in fact, it’s a holiday and I’m taking a break from work right now (and the phone is ringing off the hook! Shouldn’t they be barbecuing or something?) I have a huge house and a bigger yard that I maintain on my own (with the help from the other half), and there are other commitments that eat into time. It’s not unusual, in fact, you could say that outside influences are a prevailing factor amongst us “struggling” artists. It’s a monumental struggle to create.

Still, you can find inspiration everywhere.

I force myself to do writing prompts. I’m currently doing 21 Moments (I’d link you, but this month will be the last set). Short writing prompts are the easiest. They take about 30 minutes to complete, perfect for those days where a block of three or four hours just doesn’t exist.

Even without the prompts, life gives you plenty of opportunities to explore your creative side. I have a huge vegetable garden, and have had to devote many days recently (thank heavens the days are sunny and clear!) to tending it.

At my age, I rather enjoy gardening. There’s something organic about the human hand digging in dirt, getting rid of the weeds, planting new material and seeds. There’s an order, a certain Zen about it. It’s the circle of life, and hopefully in a few months, I’ll be able to bring the fruits of my labor to the table. In the quiet of the early morning hours, I can entertain entire conversations in my head, play out plots and scenes, and think about the larger picture.

During breaks, I scribble down the meat of the moment. I’ll uncover it later, and use it in my writing.

It might seem strange, but I find cooking gives me a similar artistic charge. Many modern people think cooking is a bore, that it takes a lot of time, that you can nourish yourself a lot quicker through a drive-through or with ready-made meals. Not me. Home cooking takes a little forethought but it’s not difficult. There’s a care and love in making a meal, and the machinations always translate into tasty literary morsels. In fact, I’m working on a story with food as an underlying theme.

(I used to be able to write at work; unfortunately, things are more stressful now than they used to be.)

Art can be born of any action. The artist has to take a germ of an idea and go from there.

Any art takes a commitment. The artist has to be able to carve out time from the day to create.

It’s a daunting task, but you can find inspiration everywhere.

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Happy reading.