in between writing

This blog will never only be about writing because life happens in between writing one piece and starting another. Life is what inspires, calms, and often knocks us down. In my creative writing classes, I regularly heard that it's wise to write about what you know. During a workshop, one young woman read her story about an embalmer, and it was great! Why? Because her mother was an embalmer, and she was familiar with the science behind it. I'm not saying that every bit of our lives should be documented in writing (although some people abuse the use of Facebook for such publications), BUT we should take what we enjoy, what hurts, what we've experienced and run with it in any and every direction that makes sense to us as writers and as readers. I say all of this because I will often post about day-to-day things--things that may not seem to be important in isolation, but may add up to something greater. For example, the nail polish in my previous post... totally unimportant. However, if I should ever decide to write about a girl preparing for her first school dance, I may choose to include the color of her nail polish: First Kiss, and that my friends, may be a very significant detail once the story unravels.

delights

Through the course of this week, I was able to get quite a few errands done and was also able to enjoy a few selfish pleasures. Below, are some of the things that brought me delight this week.

I revised the last story I needed for my contest submission & am ready to mail everything on Monday!

I found this wonderful summer nail polish at Target. Its name: First Kiss. Adorable, right?

On the right is a bag that my mom crocheted for me. I love it!

My sister gave me this fabulous floppy hat. It's amazing! I used it several times while working on my tan this week.

While running some errands, I stopped by Jo-ann fabric store to try and find a bright printed fabric that I had seen the previous week, but it was nowhere to be found. I was very disappointed to say the least, but I fell in love with a black, tan & coral printed chiffon, so I bought it. Because I've become a little obsessed with this store, I couldn't get the original fabric I had seen out of my head, so I decided to return to the store a few days later, and guess what... it was there! I think I may have squealed in excitement a little bit when I found it. Embarrassing? Yes. Do I care? No.

That was my week, and it was pretty great.

realizations

Realization #1: I thought that a week would be enough time to work on the new story I started last week, but I have been unexpectedly busy these past few days. Instead of rushing the story, I have decided to put it off for now, and I'm going to let the format of the piece be fluid. I'm not going to force it into a story if it would be better as a poem. I often throw ideas out because I don't think they'll make good stories. BUT they may make good poems. This is one of my realizations: Material can take any form as long as it complements its message and doesn't reduce it. I was having trouble with the idea I had for my story because I felt that I was forcing it to carry a bigger meaning just so I could write a story... when in reality the idea itself wasn't bad, but fewer words would do it more justice than letting the message drown in pages of unnecessary words.

Realization #2: Because I won't have enough time to write a new story and mail in my submission before the deadline, I have decided not only to revise, but to re-envision a story I wrote a few years ago. There's something about coming back to a piece I have written in the past and making changes to it that makes me feel comfortable, older...different. My next realization: It's easier to see opportunities in one's own writing after some distance and coming back to it with fresh eyes.

Realization #3: My mom is a pretty amazing woman. She was born in a rural town in Mexico where she didn't always have shoes to wear on her feet. She worked in her parents' fields picking tomatoes after school. She could carry a bucket full of water on her head after fetching it from the creek nearby. She always wore dresses as a girl because back then, women didn't wear shorts or pants. She grew up across the street from the man she eventually married and became a father to her 4 children. She learned to sew at age 15. In her twenties she raised two daughters with the help of the women in her family while my father worked in the U.S. through the Bracero Program for two years off and on. She has raised 4 successful children, who are now adults. She has survived one bout with cancer in 2008, and is now fighting her second. Like I said, she's pretty amazing. My final realization: My mom's life has been anything but ordinary and it deserves to be shared.

attempt #1

I attempted to write. I did as promised, but I stopped after an hour and one page because I became totally disillusioned with my story. I think I tried to make that story larger than it really is. It's thought-based, so it's a kind of stream of consciousness piece, which is something I haven't really done before. I wanted to stop ten minutes into it because, in all honesty, it's difficult. I think I can make it work, but it'll take just that--work. I'm trying to take it sentence by sentence, but I need a little more direction so that I know where it will start to pick up. I have about a week to work on it before I need to submit it, and I hope that will be enough time for this particular piece. I do not want to give up on it.

On a brighter note. Isn't my flash drive cute? All of my fiction, non-fiction, and shorts are on this flash drive. To distinguish this one from the others floating around my house, I decided to add the bow because you can (almost) never go wrong with a simple bow. Love it!

inspiration?

I've been trying to keep busy these past few days by going to the gym, crocheting, and watching TV. Unfortunately, I have not read or written anything. A few ideas for a short story have been rattling around in my head, but I admit that they feel... well, inadequate.  My "inspiration" feels limited. A few weeks ago, I revised a story that I wrote over a year ago, and I can honestly say that I really enjoyed writing and revising that piece. But now, I need to write another before the end of this month in order to submit them to a short story contest, and all I can do is talk myself into doing something else besides writing. However, since I am working very few hours over the next couple of days, I hope (fingers crossed) to get something--anything, done. I've promised myself that once I have at least started a new story, that I can then begin reading a new book. I'm particularly looking forward to reading The Help because I plan on buying a copy for my mom to read as well. Here are my current Top 3:

a first sentence

I most definitely do not consider myself a writer, but I do enjoy writing. The title itself is rather presumptuous and should be reserved for those whom actually consider it their career. Me? I'm just someone who longs to be in an MFA program and has way too much time on her hands.

I love to write, but I must confess that I do not write as much as I should or as often as I should. It has become easy for me to make excuses for my lack of practice because, quite honestly, I have no idea where to start. I've been waiting for some idea to come to me... some fabulous new concept that I could write about for days. But I have nothing. There's a strained dialogue between my mind and my heart. They both want me to write, but they cannot agree on a topic. So now, instead of searching for a topic or concept, I am simply looking for a brilliant first sentence... something I can run with. Here's to hoping it comes to me soon, or I to it.