Author: abby mumford

writing

getting ready

abby mumford

brother G’s youngest turned 4 yesterday (4 on june 4 — golden birthday!) and he (G) sent out the following picture the day before:

maybe turning 4 will improve his fashion sense?

one of the most wonderful things about kids is when they reach the age where they can and do dress themselves. the combinations of shirts and pants and socks and tutus and tights and shoes they put on is awfully endearing.

it’s also how they learn (a) how to put on clothes and (b) which clothes match, or not, depending upon the intended end result.

they figure out (a) by if they’re mobile in their clothes and they understand if (b) is correct by judging their parents’/siblings’ reactions. much laughter probably means they should turn around and try a different combination of clothes from the closet.

which got me thinking about writing.

we first have to learn (a) how to write and plot and create and dream and (b) if the story, plot, characters match.

we can figure out (a) by writing and writing and writing some more and we’ll know if (b) is working based upon the reactions of our critique partners, agents, editors, beta readers, real readers (depending upon what level of publication you’ve reached).

but the most important thing i realized from my nephew’s current fashion sense is that the beginning/the learning/the figuring out of clothes/writing is messy, crazy, and silly, as it should be. the only way to learn what’s right is by doing what’s wrong. it’s also very important not to take life or your outfit or your manuscript too seriously because where’s the fun in that?

cheers to mismatched socks, plots, and birthday cakes.

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general

reading style

abby mumford

earlier this week, i received an email from a coworker’s brother.

said coworker has been out of the country visiting that brother and i’ll admit it, my heart stopped when i realized who the email was from. i was so nervous to read the letter (because it could only contain bad news, right? why else was he contacting me?), i processed only about every fourth word of the email. i was skipping and searching and looking for the bad news.

it took about three read-throughs until i understood the gist of the email, which was that there was plane trouble in amsterdam and coworker would not be back to work thursday, but rather friday.

phew.

but the way i read that email got me thinking, because i’m normally a very through reader. i don’t often skim, as i like to savor the words and the worlds and the characters and the stories i’m reading. even work emails. i don’t want to miss anything important.

that said, i did find myself skimming through a series recently. a very popular series that i never should have read and never would have read if it wasn’t to satisfy my curiosity as to why EVERYONE was reading it. the writing was bad, the characters flat, and the situations disturbing (to me at least), but the first book ends on a cliffhanger and i’d made it that far i had to know what happened next, so i read the second one, and hell, i’d read that far, i might as well finish the dang series.

it wasn’t worth much more than a quick read through because a lot of what goes on is repetitive and if you breeze through, you won’t miss anything, which only reinforced my decision to read without paying much attention. i don’t like that i did it because everything i read (good, bad, mediocre) is a learning tool and i fear i raced too fast through that lesson.

(don’t make me go back through it again! nooooooooo!)

have you found yourself skimming through anything lately or do you take your time when reading? or perhaps you’re a constant skimmer and so you re-read things in order to make sure you digest them properly? why do you skim? or if you’re on the other side, why do you rarely skim? do you like skim milk? how about skim boarding? how many other ways can i use the word skim?

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convos with strangers

conversations with strangers #33

abby mumford

i’m talking with strangers … here’s why.

after an email from our receptionist warning us about the towing going on outside, my guts twisted. i had driven to work that day because, post work, i had planned to drive down to NJ to see maga, who’s in town visiting, as well my other family members. because i rarely drive to work, i don’t know the street cleaning schedule and that’s a big reason why they tow in this town.

i flew outside and sure enough, my car was jacked up.

me: *breathless with panic* oh, please don’t drive away!! *waves wallet* i’ll pay you right now.

tow guy: *stares at me*

me: please? if i pay you now can you not drive off with my car?

tow guy: man, you are really lucky. one more second, i mean one more, and i’d have been outta here.

me: *chuckles, pitifully, mirthlessly, angrily* so i can pay you now?

tow guy: okay. that’ll be $90. it’s cash only you know.

me: yes, i figured it was cash only. *searches wallet* i have $50. i’ll give that to you now if you promise to wait here while i run to the atm.

tow guy: i said i’d wait, so i’ll wait. my word is good.

me: thank you!

tow guy: how far is the atm?

me: there are two around here, both off mass ave. it’ll take me 10-15 minutes? *ponders how fast she’ll have to run to pull that off.*

tow guy: well, here, why don’t i give you a lift to one of them.

me: oh, okay. *figures it’s better to be in the tow truck that’s captured my car than to be running willy nilly through the streets.*

i climb into his truck and after a brief discussion about which atm is closer (i’m at his mercy, i’ll go wherever is easiest for him because i don’t want him changing his mind and charging me more or deciding to take my car to the tow yard after all), we pull away from the curb. the guy then proceeds to try and make me feel better (“this is the worst part of my job” “we towed this one guy twice this week”), but the fact that i don’t have to cab over to some unknown tow yard and pay upwards of $150 to release my car is enough to squash the ugliness of having to fork over $90 at 11am on a friday morning.

tow guy: in order for this to be safe, i’m going to pull into this market’s parking lot. you do your atm thing and i’ll start unhooking your car.

me: thanks.

i return with the necessary cash, hand it over, and just like that my car is back in my possession. my panic subsides and everything feels lighter, particularly my wallet.

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