Author: abby mumford

feelings

growing up, awkwardly

abby mumford

i realize that in the grand scheme of things i am quite young. i have a lot left to learn. but you can’t deny that i have a bit of knowledge stored in this brain of mine. even if it is a tad unbalanced.

for instance, my conversations this weekend ranged from mortgages to reality TV. from savings accounts to “that’s what the kids are calling it.” from wedding invitations to my obsession with twitter. from vintage wines to blue raspberry slushes. from current love affairs to celebrity crushes. from washing machines and clotheslines to the sexiest bras. from taxes to toilet paper. from splitting the check to sugar cookies. from student loans to one drink too many. from compost piles to high school memories. from donations to double dipping. from directions home to salt and pepper shakers. from budgets to bud light aluminum cans. from car parts to that’s what she said.

i think i’m headed, albeit wobbly, in the right direction. i just hope that along the way i don’t lose my silly side. because adult conversations, while necessary, can be a bit dry. and who doesn’t like to get wet every now and then?

(looks like i’ve got some growing left.)

general

legal name change

abby mumford

Juliet:
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”

and would i, by any other name, still tweet?

it appears I DO. as is evidenced by my recent change in twitter user name. i’m now @abbymumford, formally known as @mumfusa.

why did i go from the obscure mumfusa to the normal abbymumford? mumfusa was generated in college, and well, as much as i don’t like to admit it, i’m past that time in my life. plus, i’ve been thinking about it for awhile. i joined twitter on a whim, but since that fateful day in march 2009, my relationship with twitter had completely changed. twitter and i? we’ve grown up. instead of following celebrities and marveling at how they tie their shoes like the rest of us, i have taken up residence in a publishing corner of the twitter world. i’m surrounded by authors and agents and publishers and editors and, let’s face it, digital friends. i’ve stopped lurking and joined the conversation.

and so, i’ve decided to unmask and unveil myself and go by my given name. err, my given nickname. (you have to save characters, you know. going by @abigailmumford would be asking for trouble. or for no RTs. or for no @ messages.)

plus, one of my life goals is to be published and i don’t plan on writing under the pen name of mumfusa, so i figure i should take this baby step forward towards that goal and link my internet presence with my off-line self. (in case that miraculous time comes when i sign an agent and a book deal and people start searching for me online.)

you know me, always prepared. never procrastinating. this is just me being me. whether it’s as mumfusa or abby or abigail.

feelings

happy blogiversary, self

abby mumford

it’s been a FULL year since i transformed my OLD to a live blog with real readers (you, and you, and you, thank you!) and grown up thoughts and immature ramblings. what a ride it’s been. thanks for listening and commenting and reading. cheers to another year of writing deadlines and whimsical musings and wondering how to get more of you to speak up. cause i heart you, readers, talk to me.

hey, what’s an anniversary without presents?

boring.

i got permission from his parents…and so, without further ado (dear readers), my present to you, live on-stage, performing for the first time as a solo artist (with a little help off-screen from his older brother):

LIAM AND HIS AIR GUITAR.

but first, turn on your speakers. ok, GO.

p.s. sorry about the quality. it’s from my sis-in-law’s phone to my phone to my email to youtube. i’m not so sure this little video was supposed to traverse the interwebs. but how could i not share this guy with you?

p.p.s. thanks to brother G for all the tech help. i couldn’t have done it without your help. on many levels.

general

graduation, family reunion, wedding: a photo essay.

abby mumford

let’s rewind a bit, shall we? the week of june 21-27 was a whirlwind. first, there was the family reunion in NJ. we reunined (fun, new word!) because sister E was graduating from high school. and if that’s not a reason to get together and CELEBRATE…well, it is a perfectly good reason. so that’s what we did.

the FAMILY REUNION. where kids and toys and games and parents and grandparents and and great grandparents and aunts and uncles and siblings and cousins were in every nook and cranny.

the cousins, who now live on opposite coasts were introduced.

the girls were excited to meet.

the boys, not so much.

once kids are introduced into the mix, it’s so fun to compare traits. genetics and personality. some of us have the same toes. some have similar color eyes. some have their dad’s nose, their mom’s  smile and the sweat glands of their aunt. some are shy like their dad. some are studious like their uncle. some are tall like this side of the family. some are stocky like that side of the family. some are still waiting to develop.  but you can’t deny the family resemblance here. it is uncanny. which one’s the graduate? which one’s the aunt? which one’s the niece?

then came the GRADUATION. which was as hot and stuffy and as full of cliched speeches as you might imagine. but we attend because we’re there to applaud sister E’s efforts over the past 4 years. her efforts in learning, in living, in playing, in growing. she’s finished one chapter and it’s immediately time for a new one to begin. a chapter that is slightly scary and exciting and full of independence. so we gather now to let her know we’re here. always here. supporting. and doing the things families do best. loving. so, here’s the graduate herself. looking all spiffed up and ready for college. or perhaps, more celebrating.

speaking of MORE celebrating, i had just that in store for me at the end of the week. this time, it was friends (and their families) gathering to cheer for the culmination of a love affair. you might recall my adventures in white washing a barn? well, it was time for that barn to take center stage at lauren and  nate’s wedding. but more importantly, it was time for LOVE to put on its cap and gown and stand up on stage and accept its diploma of marriage. congrats, you two!

general

the chicken or the plot?

abby mumford

i was in the middle of doing some mundane work at work when a thought struck me down. it’s a question that’s been asked repeatedly and over and over and repeatedly again, but this time, i sat there and really pondered it. and then i posted that thought on twitter. because that’s how i roll.

mumfusa: WRITERS — do you come up with plot or character first? if character, do you just start writing scenes? how do you figure out his/her story?

linda_grimes: @mumfusa Characters, definitely. Then I just wait and see what they do to entertain me.

PattyBlount: @mumfusa ooo, good question. Plot or character. Almost like chicken or the egg? May be a blog post in here somewhere.

when i first read linda’s comment, i thought, “LUCKY. i wish i worked like that.” and then i came across patty’s comment, and i thought, “yeah but, i only have one MSS. i’m no expert. i have no evidence to write about.”

but then i thought some more. about both ladies’ words. and a chord struck within me. i may be tone deaf, but i can tell when something important hums across my wrinkled brain. like now, when all of a sudden i’m thinking about how i wrote my current MSS. and, in fact, i did start with the character. and moved forward from there.

and oh what a bumpy ride. i tried to push her in one direction, but my grad school mentors and workshop partners (oh how i miss them all) told me to simplify. too much was afoot. too much was amuck. and so i did. and, actually, i can’t even believe i’m about to write this because i can’t tell you how many times i’ve objected to hearing these words from other authors, but you could say i turned into a writer when i stopped to listen to her story. to hear what she had to say.

i guess it’s my quasi type A personality (i don’t mind letting others lead as long as i can maintain control over what i do), i was trying to maintain control of this situation. of the characters. and i think i still am. i’m having a hard time listening to the characters because i think I know best. but really, how do i know what’s best for someone else? i don’t. and i most likely never will. which is why i should trust the process.

but, wait, hold on. i don’t understand how to “follow my characters” because i’m the one writing the words. how do you lead and follow simultaneously?

what do YOU do? do you hang out with your character(s) and get to know them first? OR do you plop your character(s) into a scene and let them work their way through it? out of it? around it? and then let them hold the flashlight as they guide the way out of your brain and onto the page? OR do you start with the plot and only include those characters that can handle the twists and turns?

what’s a newbie to do?