Baby Step

When somebody says they think I’m brave or gutsy or full of confidence, I have to snort. It’s nice that I can appear that way, but fear; fear of rejection, fear of the unknown, fear of pain, fear of unintentionally hurting somebody, fear is an emotion I battle with on a regular basis. Especially this past year which has been filled with dramatic life changes: I left my stable job as a public school teacher, I left Joshua Tree after having lived there for fifteen years, I got married for a second time (after a pretty devastating first marriage) – all of which meant brand-new starts in a new place.

Many of those changes though felt as if there was an order or logic to them: steps I could follow. Moving meant looking for a new house to rent, packing boxes, enrolling Bella in a new school – things that I couldn’t very well procrastinate or ignore.

On the other hand, deciding that I wanted to be a free-lance writer has felt much more arbitrary and formless, and therefore easier to procrastinate and ignore – so in some ways I have.

Yes, I’ve kept up with womantalk.org and written many, many daily posts. Yes, I got a job as a website manager/copywriter. Yes, I get paid to write press releases. But the real work I had intended for myself, that of writing about art, has remained hovering out of reach. I am embarrassed to admit that my first attempt at contacting an editor and “selling” myself didn’t happen until last month. Last month. That’s nearly a year of practically pooping my pants at the thought of being rejected as writer.

A month ago, I contacted the editor of ArtScene to let him know I was interested in writing art reviews.

And yesterday I found out that…

They’re going to give a me shot this month at writing a blurb for their “Continuing and Recommended” section, which neither pays well nor gives me by-line credit – but no matter – the most difficult part is past, I’m in!

It kills me that I could have done this a year ago and I didn’t. I’m going to see art and write about it for folks I don’t know. Good grief, I guess I am brave.

 

“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

And hence the legend of very short stories begins with six words from Hemingway. SMITH, an online magazine, had a reader contest that turned out to be so popular that the system almost crashed under the weight of 500+ submissions a day. Now the best ones have been compiled into a book titled Not Quite What I Was Planning.

The contest? Your life story in six words.

A few good ones culled from the brief article in the Feb 25 New Yorker:

“Yes, you can edit this biography.” (Jimmy Wales of Wikipedia)

“Eat mutate aura amateur auteur true.” (Jonathan Lethem)

“Former child star seeks love, employment.” (Justin Taylor)

“Well, I thought it was funny.” (Stephen Colbert)

“Brought it to a boil, often.” (Mario Batali)

“Not quite what I was planning…” (Summer Grimes, a 25-year old hairdresser in St Paul, whose submission was chosen for the book’s title.)

Although the ones riffed by the article’s author were pretty funny too. I think the entire article was written in six-word sentences!

“Born in California. Then nothing happened.”

“Birth, childhood, adolescence, adolescence, adolescence, adolescence…”

“Canoe guide, only got lost once.”

Trying to write your own? Advice from the editor:

“Try not to think too hard.”

My own?

“Never made it to med school.”

 

"For sale: baby shoes, never worn."

And hence the legend of very short stories begins with six words from Hemingway. SMITH, an online magazine, had a reader contest that turned out to be so popular that the system almost crashed under the weight of 500+ submissions a day. Now the best ones have been compiled into a book titled Not Quite What I Was Planning.

The contest? Your life story in six words.

A few good ones culled from the brief article in the Feb 25 New Yorker:

“Yes, you can edit this biography.” (Jimmy Wales of Wikipedia)

“Eat mutate aura amateur auteur true.” (Jonathan Lethem)

“Former child star seeks love, employment.” (Justin Taylor)

“Well, I thought it was funny.” (Stephen Colbert)

“Brought it to a boil, often.” (Mario Batali)

“Not quite what I was planning…” (Summer Grimes, a 25-year old hairdresser in St Paul, whose submission was chosen for the book’s title.)

Although the ones riffed by the article’s author were pretty funny too. I think the entire article was written in six-word sentences!

“Born in California. Then nothing happened.”

“Birth, childhood, adolescence, adolescence, adolescence, adolescence…”

“Canoe guide, only got lost once.”

Trying to write your own? Advice from the editor:

“Try not to think too hard.”

My own?

“Never made it to med school.”

 

My Second Job

I have spotted evidence that iloveinns.com is actually using the press releases I occasionally write for them (for $50 a piece).

It’s not particularly interesting, but if you’re curious as to how much writing I’ll do for $50 (1 page) you can see the press release for yourself here. It’s called “The Perfect Second Career for Educators: Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper.”

At the moment, I’m working on another press release about affordable B & B’s in Washington State. If you know of any, please leave me a comment. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the affordable B & B’s are a heck of lot less interesting than the extravagant ones, especially online.

 

For Joan Didion Readers

A delightful essay by Joan Didion in today’s NYTimes in five parts.

It’s about writing her very first play this year, “The Year of Magical Thinking.”

You can read it here.

Here is one line from the essay:

“One example, a note: “This is about the speaker discovering that she is completely powerless, that the control she so prizes is nonexistent.”’

Did you know that Didion has lost both her husband and only child?

That her daughter was named Quintana Roo?

 

staying focused

The earl grey from Harrod’s is distinctly better than the earl grey that came in a piggy bank tin painted like a double decker bus. The flavor is more delicate and refined and the caffeine doesn’t give me a rude jolt. It is especially good with the juice of one quarter of a lemon. The brand is Fortnum and Mason.

For the mega-jolt, I have ordered some meth coffee. Yes, it is as pyscho as it sounds and you can read about it here. It is basically spiked coffee beans; spiked with every possible thing known to give energy. I need it for the last few miles of the thesis.

On the de-caf end, I tried Yerba Mate this morning – two cups. Tastes okay, and I thought I noticed a small increase in energy, but I’m not sure. I finally broke down and made myself some earl grey.

I also bought some Unplugged Tea, which is also caffeine-free, but contains wicked sounding ingredients like damiana and skullcap. It is made by a local artisan Jenny Q. (1-800-933-3197) She warns that “too much of this tea can put you in a different realm.” I like the sound of that.

And for about twenty varieties of caffeine candies, drinks, etc, check out thinkgeek.com.

 

The writer’s Secret

A line from a lovely essay about writing I just finished in the Dec. 25, 06 New Yorker by Orhan Pamuk. It’s called “My Father’s Suitcase.”

“The writer’s secret is not inspiration – for it is never clear where that comes from – but stubbornness, endurance.”

 

The writer's Secret

A line from a lovely essay about writing I just finished in the Dec. 25, 06 New Yorker by Orhan Pamuk. It’s called “My Father’s Suitcase.”

“The writer’s secret is not inspiration – for it is never clear where that comes from – but stubbornness, endurance.”