Tag: writing

writing

writing through the wall (or writing 101)

abby mumford

i don’t know why or where or how i was under the impression that you only had to break through writer’s block just one time and that once you were through, it was all SUNSHINE and HAPPY THINGS and TRA LA LA LA LA all the time from your fingertips.

not so. oh, not so. you have to break through that wall EVERY. SINGLE. TIME you sit down to write.

EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

this post by jessica corra explains it all so much more eloquently, especially the part where she relates it to sports, specifically running. just because i hit 3 miles yesterday doesn’t mean that running today is going to be easy. i mean, it might. the weather might be cool and crisp and my legs might be fresh, but then again, the humidity might be solid and my legs could feel like that as well. who knows? all i know is that i have to push through and keep running because once i’m done that’s when i feel all ENDORPHINEY and SHINY and TRA LA LA LA LA LA and GOOD.

i want to get to that place from writing and the only way to do so is to finish. and to finish, i have to start. each day (or, you know, most days). word by word and sentence by sentence, the pages will fill up. sure, the rough draft is going to be icky and horrid and unfit for all human eyes (save my own), but that’s when the EDITING and POLISHING and SERIOUS WRITERLYISHNESS comes in.

getting that first draft down and out has been difficult for me. i’m not going to go all psychotherapist on myself to figure out why, but instead be grateful that i’ve stumbled into one bria quinlan who’s the funniest type of taskmaster. she’s getting me to put my butt in the chair (at the thinking cup and/or at california pizza kitchen and/or at my own house) and i’m writing. i really am. (look ma, no hands!) (wait…)

the other thing this fast drafting process has shown me is that i’m so busy working i don’t have time to sit and think, “hey, this is really bad and these characters all sound the same and the plot? what plot? and UGH, i stink and what’s dangling participle again?”

i’m just there in the moment writing.

like with running, i don’t have time to think, “hey, my arms aren’t swinging enough, my foot falls on its heel, do i look weird?” because i’m watching for traffic and deciding to go left or right and pushing forward and feeling how my lungs are doing.

i’m just there in the moment running.

it would appear that by just doing [said task], i’m able to push through that wall, which, for me, is composed (brick by brick) of self-doubt. your wall might be made of a different foundation, but the point is not what it’s made of. the point is not to give yourself time to think or worry or ponder, but to get around, over, under, through, past it any way you can.

and if you have trouble getting going, i think it’s okay to start by writing ON the wall.

general

book title poetry

abby mumford

janet reid (a literary agent) is hosting this crazy cool poetry contest and what with all the poetry i keep finding of late, i figured it was time i stopped avoiding all the signs and started writing some of my own. and what better way to start than with book titles? i only had to add 11 of my own words! and take a picture. so easy! so fun!

in fact, this was so enjoyable, i just may add this to my “get the creative juices flowing” exercises. they’re sort of like stretching (mentally) before a sprint/marathon session of exercising/writing.

THE DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE and
THE PRINCE OF THIEVES have a
FLASH BURNOUT
SUPERNATURALLY
FORBIDDEN
PERFECT CHEMISTRY.
AND THEN THINGS FALL APART
due to her BAD TASTE IN BOYS.
He’s GONE, leaving her with nothing but
THE PARTICULAR SADNESS OF LEMON CAKE.

how about your bookshelves? what poetry do they hold?

UPDATED: i was a finalist!!!! and i got a specific shout out!!!! check it out.

book club

BOOK HUNGRY: making waves

abby mumford

who says you have to be crowded into the living room, kitchen, and/or dining room to hold a book club? we are ladies of the 21st century. we don’t need no stinkin’ couches. so pull up a blog and join in the conversation.

the members of the BOOK HUNGRY are (alphabetically): patty blount, kelly breakey, karla nellenbach, vanessa noble, alyson peterson, cynthia reese, elizabeth ryann, and myself. here’s the deal. we pick a book to read. we discuss via email. we post a review on our individual blogs on the same day (3rd thursday of the month). we link to each other. done. i know, genius. click on each one of their names (above) and it’ll take you to their review. browse. enjoy.

this month’s BOOK HUNGRY selection is: 

MAKING WAVES by Tawna Fenske


what it’s about from amazon: When Alex Bradshaw’s unscrupulous boss kicks him to the curb after 20 faithful years as an executive with the world’s largest shipping company, he sets out to reclaim his dignity and his pension. Assembling a team of fellow corporate castoffs, he sails to the Caribbean to intercept an illegal diamond shipment. None of them counted on quirky blonde stowaway Juli Flynn, who has a perplexing array of talents, a few big secrets, and an intoxicating romantic chemistry with Alex…

my opinion: i have an issue with expectations because of this thing i call my imagination. it tends to hype things up so much that i’m usually left disappointed. i’m happy to announce i have found a cure.

its name is tawna fenske.

after spending the last year or so stalking following her blog and interacting with her on twitter, i was prepared for her debut novel, MAKING WAVES, to be funny, charming, believable, sexy, hilarious, and silly. it was all of those things and MORE, oh so much more. in fact, the only reason i put down the book was because i was laughing so hard it was shaking so much that if i continued to read, i’d probably have gotten seasick. (juli, stop being my role model!)

in movies and books, there’s usually a certain formula that keeps the main couple apart so the tension has time to mount to agonizing levels, however, the reasons keeping them separate tend to be far fetched and unbelievable. not so for Juli and Alex in MAKING WAVES. the distractions, motivations, and circumstances that pull these two apart (and push them back together again) are valid, completely realistic (albeit outrageous) and aren’t there just to up the page count.

i don’t claim to know much about the romance genre, but i have a feeling that tawna fenske is to rom-com as katy perry is to pop music. (i feel justified in making this claim because i saw the VH1 behind the music about katy perry which therefore makes me an expert.) both katy and tawna had bumpy roads to stardom/publication, but once on the scene, we all wonder how we survived without her catchy pop songs/hilariously saucy books.

yes, this is me predicting tawna’s gonna hit it big. and this is me thanking the publishing people for finally(!) bringing us her books.

and a THANK YOU to tawna herself for making time to chat with four of us Book Hungries. on monday night, tawna, patty, elizabeth, kelly and i had a conference call where we discussed our favorite scenes, the crazy characters, her inspirations, her research, and her continued publication path, in addition to her passing along some stellar blogging advice. you better believe all of the above included her usual brand of sassy honesty. suffice it to say, tawna is as cool as juli is smart. (if you’ve read the book, you’ll totally get that analogy. if you haven’t read the book yet [why ever not? GO READ IT], you probably won’t properly appreciate my wittiness, but being misunderstood is all part of being a writer, right? or, hmm, is that just when you’re a rock star?)

anyways, the moral of this blog post: READ THIS BOOK. read it if you don’t like romance. read it if you do. read it if you’re cranky. read it if you’re happy. read it if you’re 89. read it if you’re 8, WAIT, no, ask your parents first.

okay, this gushing has taken a turn for the weird so i’m just going to say this one last thing: this book is a super fine display of comedy, plotting, characterization, and romance.

*places book on pedestal.*

//

feelings

*pressing pause*

abby mumford

i read THIS POST by nova ren suma and nodded. i nodded so hard i practically gave myself whiplash. and not to be all morose, but lately, i’ve been feeling confused and frustrated in the area of my writing. i’ve been questioning my intentions, my abilities, and my future. i’m not sure if i’m overextended or underextended. i’m not sure if anyone is listening or if anyone should be. i’m not sure if this is a normal stage of development. i’m not sure if i need a routine or if i need craziness. i’m not sure if i need noise or if i need silence. i’m not sure if i should be hearing voices or creating them. i’m not sure if i need a bigger imagination. all i know is that the words feel stilted and rough and plain and honestly, i’d rather go to the dentist and have him pull my teeth than sit here and pull words out of my brain.

i’m not sure if i need a break from the blog, from the interwebs, from reading, from writing, from life, or from my imagination, but i need to do something to remove this blockade because the dream to do this still lingers:

“I’m not asking you to describe the rain falling the night the archangel arrived; I’m demanding that you get me wet. Make up your mind, Mr. Writer, and for once in your life be the flower that smells rather than the chronicler of the aroma. There’s not much pleasure in writing what you live. The challenge is to live what you write.” – Eduardo Galeano

basically right now, i don’t know which end is up and you all know how horrible i am at directions, so i’m not sure if i’ll ever find the right way. perhaps the only thing to do is to press pause and hope that absence really does make the heart grow fonder.

(see what i mean? cliches are the best i can come up with. and i’m starting sentences with “and” and ending them with prepositions! eek! *steps closer to month long pause button*)

*finger is poised above pause button while she notes to her dear readers that she will have one blog in august. on august 18th to be exact, as that’s the date BOOK HUNGRY discusses MAKING WAVES by tawna fenske. it’s a book (and a blog post) not to be missed.*

*presses*

writing

aMUSEing (or i just had an AH HA moment.)

abby mumford

i had planned another post for today, but then i came across THIS ARTICLE by sarah fine and it was so brilliant, i had to write about it. it’s short, so i’ll wait for you to click through and read it.

ok, done? the thing that’s so great about that post is that it applies to a whole lot of creative endeavors.

writing
running
reading
cooking
listening
drawing
music-ing
knitting
dancing
taking pictures
painting

all of these things can be improved upon if you focus on the relationship between things rather than just one specific item. how much sassier would that still life painting be if, instead of just the orange sitting there, it’s about the orange and the table and how close it is to the edge?

see? electric.

so yeah, to quote Oprah, i just had an AH HA moment. the idea of squishing, ordering, and/or expecting your muse to show up in the form of one person or one place or one idea is ludicrous (to me), but until i read that article, that’s exactly what i was anticipating would happen. i don’t know where i came up with that idea because as i sit here and think about it no one i know exists in their life as just one person. we’re supported and surrounded and sometimes forced to deal with friends, family, coworkers, acquaintances and strangers and it’s all of these interactions that shape our responses, our days, our world. it’s these occurrences that make our lives and stories interesting.

as a writer, the way i express my creativity is through time spent alone because how else am i going to get the words out? i can’t do that in a room full of people expecting me to engage in conversation, but being social is something i like to do, so this idea that my muse involves a lot of people and a lot of relationships and the electricity between them, well, hell, i’ll go to that party.

and suddenly, just like that, the writing time isn’t so lonesome. AWESOME!

in other news, there is one other thing that charmed the pants off me (yes, pants. it’s mid-June and i’m still wearing pants. come on, New England!) is this quote that kelly breakey shared with me: “Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book!” oh my! how true that is. gosh, don’t you just love to read?