This Never Happened to Me Before

I am in deep thought, too...but with clothes on...Image via Wikipedia

I wanted to write a simple post today about something that I did in high school and intersperse some observations about the writing life and the writing craft in it. You may have noticed I sometimes “set the scene” with a little vignette that’s meant to set up the “meat” of the post.

Well, as I was setting up my little vignette, something strange happened. It started to spin out into this who non-fiction piece. I started to say profound things without trying. My mind unfolded to similies and metaphors without effort. All of a sudden, instead of introducing a blog post, I was writing a creative non-fiction piece.

I’ve sat down to write and not been able to come up with anything. I’ve started writing and had a piece go pear-shaped. I’ve even started writing and have a character (or an entire piece) take a sharp left turn. But I’ve never had a blog post go all “real writing” on me.

The thing is, I was thinking about sharing some of my writing here–not a lot, I still have trust issues, you understand–but I didn’t think it would be non-fiction or, well, on this topic. When I envisioned myself sharing a piece with you, I envisioned it being a little poetry, or a mini-scene. I was going to do some flash fiction exercises or something on here, you know, nothing fancy that may possibly get published later (I mean, don’t magazines want first publication rights? Would posting something on my blog count as publication? Help!).

I was so blindsided with an attack of the green-eyed monster and my problems building a big blog following that I almost missed the fact that I’ve had several ideas that could further stories this week. For example, the very non-fiction piece I’m speaking of brought to mind an area in the dorms where residents practiced music that would be perfect for A Blues for Zora (somewhere–I’m thinking Hershey’s place? Hmm…). I was also thinking that it’s perfectly normal for someone approaching their class reunion age to have a quarter life crisis, as per the wikipedia definition that came up on a post I was writing. I even thought how much better my chick lit is going to be than something I’m reading right now, because I am not doing something that’s standard chick but am going to do something that’s so Bildungsroman. And it will all be EPIC.

To what unexpected places has a blog post draft led you? Maybe for you, through the act of typing up a post, some miraculous insight into writing, your works in progress, or life, has hit you. Maybe you were struck with the idea of making the post a series of post. Whatever it was, feel free to share!

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What Writers are Writing

Image by clspeace via Flickr

On my other blog, I’ve begun sharing the link love. Each Friday, I choose the post that I’ve read and enjoyed and post them up for my subscribers’ reading pleasure. It’s my way of passing on a good book blog. Since I’ve started this blog, I’ve come across some fantastic writer’s blogs. I have decided that I should share my favorite writing related posts of the week on this here blog, and any other reading/writing related bits that don’t fit anywhere else on Free to Read Fridays! Hmm…that sounds a little lame. No worries, I’ll come up with something better by next week.

What’s been going on with me this week? Well, I finished Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. It was so different from the movie. It was so much better than the movie. Although the movie kept the trip to Thailand and some other scenarios, it veered deeply away from the major conflict. The way they resolved the conflict in the movie…cheap is the best word I can come up with. It was a cheap trick. Helen Fielding is a much better writer than the movies would suggest (even if she does write without using pronouns: Right, will just meditate…Must call mother….where are the pronouns here? Is it a British thing? Maybe I’m misinformed.)

I also began work on my memoir and decided to send out Candy Apples as is for publication consideration. I’ve already blogged about the tiny breakthrough I had with my memoir in “Rusty Water.” As for my decision to send out Candy Apples as is, it was a bit spur of the moment. I was debating on adding further examples of the main character’s addiction and some other things, but I want to see how it’s received. Besides, I can always add those parts and publish it in the alternate form as part of a short story collection, right? I want to submit it before my birthday (two weeks from yesterday).

Speaking of my birthday, I have set a goal of having one chapter of my memoir done by my birthday. I think this is a reasonable goal, as the chapters now focus of specific images, ideas, or periods of time and can be elaborated on and fleshed out in a moderate amount of time.

Now, the Moment You’ve All Been Waiting For…Link Love:

Here’s what I found fascinating around the blogosphere, writing/reading wise:

• Amanda discusses sleeping with her characters
• Life in Boomer Lane gloats about her royalties
• The Hack Novelist Contemplates Cheating on his novel
• Catana gives us things to consider when writing a novel
• Tsuchigari’s You Know You’re a Writer When
• Amanda ponders shuffling her internal playlist.

What were your favorite writing and reading reads around the web this week?

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PostAWeek?

Indeed it is! Image via Wikipedia

For those of you that follow my other blog, you know I’m participating in Postaday2011. That doesn’t mean that I mean to neglect you. I plan on doing PostAWeek for this blog, as well as my review blog. I’ll do posts for this blog Mondays and the review blog Tuesdays. That doesn’t mean that I won’t update on any other day if the mood strikes me. I just want you to know that I haven’t forgotten all of my fellow writing enthusiasts! A real post to come later tonight.

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Your Introductory Course to Me

Image via Wikipedia

“Hello there,” you say, staring at the back of my head, angling your neck to try and get a better view of my face. I see you clearly reflected in the window in front of me. “I thought that was you!”

You appear delighted to see me, but I have no idea why. I’ve been dodging you for days, turning into alleys and crossing the street without thought to danger or destination whenever I saw your beige trenchcoat and stylized bedhead hair.

I’ve been waiting for you to catch me, turn your head faster than I can duck out of sight and raise a casual hand of greeting. I thought you had once, but you were signally a taxi. It made my heart race to almost be caught, just as it’s beating now…

I turn and extend a hand, one corner of my mouth upturned, the other a straight slash…

***

All of the above is fiction. I don’t make a habit of dodging people, but I am not a fan of introducing myself either. I usually don’t spend much time doing so (as my other blogs will attest). I usually just jump right in with wherever I am and catch you up as we go along. So, without further ado my life right now:

• I am participating in NaNoWriMo; in other words, I am a nutcase. I still don’t know why I signed up for it. This is my first time attempting it, and I am well below the total I’m supposed to have at this point. More on this later.
• Oh, and my NaNoWriMo novel is my first attempt at Chick Lit. Oh, boy, will you hear more on that later.
• I am reading The Secret History by Donna Tartt. It’s a well written book. I found it a little slow at first, but I’m beginning to see her genius. I usually read on my lunch break from work (I work for a company and do stuff–I’m sorry; that was deliberately vague). So far, on said lunch break, I’ve read Stephen King‘s Misery, Carrie, & It, along with a litany of Harlequin romance novels; I am now attempting to be more literary.
• I’m moving in two weeks time, which only adds to the fun of working, reading, and writing–with packing!
•  I think this is one of the coolest blog names ever!
• There are a million and one things to do to this blog–I hope you stay around long enough to see me at my best
• Yes, I realize I spelled “copyright” wrong; that was intentional.
• This blog, at the moment, will be about me as a writer, reader, and literary thinker. However, due to chronic random-itis, I may digress into random observations that have nothing to do with any of the aforementioned things.
•  Does anyone else feel like Paul Sheldon in Misery sometimes?–Not that some crazed fan is breaking your legs and holding you hostage, but that writing, while slow at first, sort of becomes a rabbit hole for you, to get away from all the pressure and stress of the everyday? I also feel like writing is something I can’t afford to not do–albeit for a different reason.

Enough of my rambling. Welcome. Kick of your shoes and stay a while. Pardon the mess.

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