Tag: writing

general

like sands through the hourglass…

abby mumford

we’ve all been there WAITING for the phone to ring, for the job offer, for the sun to shine, for the letter of acceptance, for the light to change, for the plane to take off, for the time to speak up, for dinner to be ready, for the doorbell to ring, for the words to develop, for the text to buzz through, for the medicine to kick in, for him to make his move, for sleep to come, for the email to show up, for the company to arrive, for the time to be right, for the shadows to dissipate, for the traffic to clear, for the whistle to blow, for the other shoe to drop.

the question is, what do you do while waiting? how do you keep yourself busy when all you want to do is watch the pot boil? how do you deal with the lack of control over events that could shape for your life? how do you keep your mind on track when all it wants to do is daydream? how do you keep up the momentum when you must wait for other words to marinate?

how do YOU wait patiently?

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.

general

guest post: grandpa

abby mumford

my dad’s dad is a whiz with a computer. he probably knows and can do more than i can, but the thing i appreciate the most is that he’s a diligent reader of my blog. on the days i post, he either comments on the actual post (sometimes with a history lesson) or he’ll email me a quote he’s found that relates to the topic i’ve written about or because it’s something that reminded him of me. (all together now, awwwwww.) and now i present to you some of the awesomeness my grandfather shared with me:

There are a thousand thoughts lying within a woman that she does not know till she takes up a pen to write.
-William Makepeace Thackeray, novelist (1811-1863)

The secret of good writing is to say an old thing in a new way or a new thing in an old way.
-Richard Harding Davis, journalist and author (1864-1916)

‘I learned her name was Proverb’ by Denise Levertov

And the secret names
of all we meet who lead us deeper
into our labyrinth
of valleys and mountains, twisting valleys
and steeper mountains-
their hidden names are always,
like Proverb, promises:
Rune, Omen, Fable, Parable,
those we meet for only
one crucial moment, gaze to gaze,
or for years know and don’t recognize

but of whom later a word
sings back to us
as if from high among leaves
still near but beyond sight

drawing us from tree to tree
towards the time and the unknown place
where we shall know
what it is to arrive.

thanks for unwittingly writing a guest post for me, grandpa!

keep ’em coming.

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.

writing

habit forming

abby mumford

as i stood there, gravity forcing me to the side, and the guy next to me politely and discreetly offering his shoulder for balance, i couldn’t help but think, “how’d i becoming one of those unbalanced, newbie T riders?”

the truth of the matter is i don’t ride the T much anymore. i live and work on the same side of the river thus removing my need for daily subway rides and turning me into an uneasy rider. i can’t seem to remember when to bend my knees, when to lean against the curve vs. when to lean into it, all of which used to be second nature. back in the day, i could listen to my ipod and read a book and still remain solidly in place, but now because of disuse my T riding habits have gotten rusty.

which left me thinking about my writing habits… previously, i was only writing when the mood struck, not when the word count needed to be up, but since i’m now in the “disaster draft” stage of writing (as coined by bria quinlan), i need to be writing as often as i can.

i’m working hard to develop habits that resemble a professional.

even though i have been writing more regularly, it’s important to remember that just because i’m setting up these habits now, it doesn’t excuse me from hard work. even if it’s only 400 words a night, it’s reinforcing that pattern of sitting my butt in the chair and writing. i’d rather my joints get rusty from sitting too long than my words from non-use.

another way to make sure habits take hold is accountability.

one way is to have write-ins with friends. another way is to announce my goals on twitter because the twitterati always and randomly show up to support and challenge me. it’s that whole team mentality. it’s easier for me to get something done if i know there’s a deadline, but self-imposed deadlines (which are all i have right now) only work so well.

the solution is that i’m training myself to be more open about my actions so that the proper people (or improper if the case may be) can offer support and guidance and cheerleading.

and i’ll continue to hope that when life (or the T) takes an unexpected turn and my good habits take a nose dive, there will be a shoulder to lean on (thanks, random guy on the T) or someone to calm the panic (thanks, bria) or the saying “old habits die hard” comes true.

how do you feel about habits — are there any that can be unlearned? re-learned? do you have any you wish you didn’t? any you wish you did?