Tag: friends

writing

writing in the kitchen

abby mumford

i’ve always heard that in order to be a complete athlete, you need to cross-train: ballet will help the football players’ footwork, yoga will improve the lacrosse players’ flexibility, swimming will increase the runners’ lung capacity, and so on and so forth and yet armed with that knowledge, i was surprised to find spending time in the kitchen benefited my writing skills.

let me clarify i was NOT the one cooking. adriana was and then my friend L’s hubby was which is why (a) the food tasted so good and (b) i was able to spectate and speculate.

watching adriana chop and saute and measure and stir and season a vast variety of raw ingredients which then turned into one of the most delicious stews i’ve ever eaten was a lesson in word play. as a writer, it’s my job to mix and whip and shape and pound and sift the words to combine them into the best image you’ve never thought of.

watching my friend L’s hubby present us with a chicken cacciatore dish served over polenta was a lesson in trial and error. that entree is usually served with pasta, but the thin sauce doesn’t work so well with the pasta he’d found out. he decided to try to pouring it over polenta, and what a good decision that was! the flavors and textures melded together and formed a plate of awesome. as a writer, i may think description is best right there when in fact, it’s a bit thin and if i was to use dialogue instead, the characters would mingle and clash and play off each other turning the scene into a page of awesome. it’s important to keep trying new scenes and perspectives and words because just like my taste buds, my brain will know when it’s a page of awesome.

now if only i could flip this lesson on its head and use my time in front of word document to turn myself into a master chef.

writing

FWIS: the beginning

abby mumford

there are these two ladies:

jessica corra

bria quinlan

and they are awesome. we all connected on twitter, but since then, i’ve met bria in real life because we’re both in the great state of massachusetts. we’re working on getting jessica up here for a visit, but until that time, we’ve settled into a nice little routine of google chatting, emails and of course, twitter-ing.

we’re all writers, but we’re each in a very different stage of the publishing process (jessica’s book AFTER YOU comes out from Dial Books For Young Readers (an imprint of Penguin) in spring 2013, bria is agented, and i’m at the bottom of the curve), so it got us thinking — what does the world look like from from where we each stand?

and thus, a monthly column was born. we each write about a topic from our unique perspectives.

today’s topic: how we got to where we stand today.

*waves* i am at the beginning. *waves more*

despite having my MFA in creative writing and having one finished MS under my belt (and locked securely in a drawer where no one will ever read it again), i didn’t truly get serious about obtaining the holy grail of getting published until recently. for the first time in my life, i had trouble sticking to deadlines because i was the only one who knew about them. there was no accountability. no one to push me. no one to read my work.

i had to press pause while i evaluated this goal i’d always dreamed of.

i have such amazing memories of reading throughout my childhood that i’ve always wanted to return the favor. i wanted to pass along that reading experience to generations younger than me, but was i cut out for it? did i have a story to tell? characters to breathe life into? did i have the right motivation? did my words work?

after a month long pause, i decided that YES, i did want this, but i was going to have to start from scratch. first came alexis and her critiquing skills. then came bria and her disaster drafting. and deadlines. and accountability. then came the epiphany. and another one. and here i am, today.

at the starting line.

my main goal is to finish the manuscript i’m working on now. that’s it. to start and end a manuscript. to know i can. i officially started work on this manuscript in september 2010, but really, truly began in earnest in september of this year. i’ve got 35K words and lots of good habits and my next (more specific) goal is to finish this by the end of november. then i’ll let it marinate before i go back to flesh it out and revise and edit and revise and revise and revise.

depending upon what shape it’s in then, i may turn to the next step — looking for an agent — or, most likely, this manuscript will end up next to my other one locked away in a drawer. i believe this MS is here for practice. like all things in life, in order to get good-er, you have to practice. and the only way to practice writing is to write.

i plan on doing just that.

so as i stand here the beginning, i’m filled with excitement (at the possibility of reaching my goal) and a touch of frustration (at how difficult, how far, how tough that goal is), but ultimately, this is a hopeful place to be in because the only direction from here, the bottom, is UP.

feelings

weekend of learning

abby mumford

a quintessential fall weekend:

*learning (in the form of a digital publishing seminar hosted by IPNE) — CHECK

*driving around NH to see the fall foliage — CHECK

*visiting a local farm — CHECK

lessons learned from said fall weekend:

(1) i can still manage to get lost even when i have a GPS, ALL the google maps at hand (thank you, adriana), and three different navigators. (i really wish my superhero powers were something more useful like flying or shooting fire out of my eyes.)

(2) we tried to combat my superhero powers by using different navigators. gina, front seat = we started chatting and forgot to pay attention to the signs. we had to pull a few U turns. adriana, back seat/front seat = she counted the number of blocks left until the turn. very efficient. justin, back seat = he told me the amount of time until the next turn. worked more often than not.

(3) there are sauces called MOTHER SAUCES. (no, there aren’t any daughter or son sauces. i asked.) these are the five basic (french) sauces from which every other (french) sauce is made. they are: tomato, bechamel, hollandaise, espagnole and veloute. (ok, i had to look up the last two.) (sorry, justin. i swear, i was paying attention. once i stopped giggling at the idea of mother sauces.)

(4) goats can climb up really thin ramps that lead up to a tree house. (it’s as weird to watch it happen as it is for you to read about it.)

(5) pumpkins! (i didn’t really learn anything about them, but it’s the only picture i took and look at the pretty.)

(6) cider donuts are scrumptious. (i know! and there’s no chocolate in them either.)

(7) landing in cambridge at the same time the red line goes off the rails AND the head of the charles races are done for the day AND all the cabs have gone missing is SHEER MADNESS, especially if you’re then trying to leave. (fights for cabs will ensue. justin will win.)

(8) william defoe in THE BOOKDOCK SAINTS is ridiculous. you all have to watch that movie just for him.

(9) having a plan is necessary, but when things don’t go according to it, laughing your way through it helps.

(10) taking the scenic route is worth the extra miles.

what did YOU learn this past weekend?

feelings

gen·er·os·i·ty

abby mumford

–noun, plural -ties.

1. readiness or liberality in giving.
2. freedom from meanness or smallness of mind or character.
3. a generous act: We thanked him for his many generosities.
4. largeness or fullness; amplitude

sure, the technical definition explains what the word means, but this past weekend, i learned what it felt like.

it was in the way my friends listened long enough for me to run out of silly stories and get down to what was really on my mind. it was in the way my parents drove 10+ total hours for me with a couch blocking the rear view window.  it was in the way they continued to look forward, reminding me of the good parts to come. it was in the way the hand-me-downs from my siblings filled up my new apartment. it was in the way my parents opened their wallets. it was in the way my parents, despite their achy knees and backs, lifted and scrubbed and swept and knelt and stood and cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. it was in the way they said “we’re so lucky to see you two weekends in a row” even though this weekend was all about work. it was in the way they pointed out the positive features and ignored the drippy sinks and loose screws. it was in the way the hours slid by, past their desired departure time, but they stayed until i was steady on my feet. it was in the way the smiles were stuck on their faces. it was in the way they squeezed me goodbye – so tight – despite having muscles exhausted from hours of physical labor.

sometimes, to really understand something, you can’t read about it. you must live it.

here’s to living. on my own. (ready or not.)

feelings

fact finding mission

abby mumford

i learned something new the other day. it started off with boredom. boredom with my hairstyle at the same time i had a very posh wedding to attend. clearly i couldn’t show up with the same old hairdo, but my hair is stick straight. if i can get the ends to bend under, it’s a good day. i thought about what to do and decided i wanted something like this:

one problem. i can’t french braid. trust me, i’ve tried. there’s something so elegant and chic and yet casual about it. my friend carrie has worn her hair in a similar style, but i wasn’t sure if she could recreate it on me. as i sat there on the bed and let her nimble fingers twist and twine my hair, i was struck by the thought that i’ve known her for 16 years and somehow didn’t know this one small fact.

she’s a master french braider.

even after all these years, there was something i didn’t know about her. i loved this, but yet, i am freaked out when the character i’m working with (one i’ve known only for a few months) does something unexpected? why is this? why can’t i embrace that newness like i embraced the news about carrie? sure, my character’s not french braiding my hair for me, but that doesn’t mean she’s any less entertaining.

i realize you’re only going to know what people/characters want you to know, but how do you make sure to ask the right questions? and what do you do when something unanticipated arises in the plot or with a character? do you roll with the punches? do you manipulate things to your satisfaction? do you let yourself (and your hair) get twisted up?