What a trip!

Last week was all about spending time with East Coast relatives, reflecting on my writing project, and energizing my spirit. 

I fell in love all over again with the New England countryside.  In many ways, it’s the antithesis of California: established neighborhoods, traditional architecture, lush foliage, ever-changing weather, fill in the blanks. Although I’m very much a California girl, I’d love to own a cottage in the area. Look at these flowers from our Sunday outing…can you see why I’m so smitten?

Last Tuesday, I mentioned that I’d put together some sample pages, bird by bird, ala Anne Lamont. But over the past several days, I’ve been plucking those birds down to their goose-pimply carcasses and rearranging their feathers. I don’t want to lose my forward momentum, but I believe getting this chapter right will help subsequent chapters take wing.

Page Six-ish sidetrip: The reclusive rich (think Henry Kissinger, Meryl Streep, Diane von Furstenburg, and Oscar de la Renta) have homes in rural western Connecticut, where my in-laws live.  But as I’m learning, even this tranquil region has its share of scandalous intrigues. For example, a Manhattan-cum-Connecticut socialite reported a James-Bondish crime late last week. She told investigators that intruders bound her and her companion, pulled hoods over their heads, ransacked the house, and injected them with a mysterious blue liquid. An antidote would be provided, they told her, if she ponied up an $8 million ransom. The National Guard and the FBI were called to investigate the incident. Fortunately, no one died; however, no one’s been arrested. Yeah, I know, we Californians generate more than our share of bizarre stories; still, this East Coast tale’s, um, unusual, don’t you think? 

More later…I need to unpack my clothes, and I’m eager to get back to my writing.  

 


Happy Mother’s Day!

I’ve been tagged to reveal a few secrets about moi. Okay, I’m game. Here are nine things you may not know about Melodye, aka Mom.

  1. When my second son was born, the doctor said, “It’s a boy!” But I wanted a little girl, so I said, “Sh*t!” One look at my beautiful baby, though, and I was smitten. This memory serves as a reminder – as if I needed one – that I’m anything but perfect.
  2. I pretended I was mad, but I loved it when my kids would shuffle into my bedroom in their footed pajamas and prop my eyes open with their tiny thumbs and forefingers. “Mom? Mom? MOM! You awake? Come play with us!”
  3. I smile every time I look at this hand-painted ceramic tile. (Looks just like me, doesn’t it?) Homemade gifts are awesome!
  4. Favorite fragrance in the whole wide world? The top of my newborn babies’ heads.
  5. Best bouquet? Freshly picked dandelions, in a Tweety Bird sippy cup.
  6. Much-loved ritual? Reading bedtime stories until my sons surrendered to the Sand Man.
  7. Most important piece of motherly advice: Follow your own yellow brick road, but remember that there’s no place like home.
  8. Best memory: Every moment is priceless. Pain or pleasure, celebration or sorrow, it’s all part of being a mommy.
  9. If I could choose any two people in the world to be my sons, I’d always choose the ones I was blessed with.

I tag every mother and child that wants to play.

“Subliminable” message?

CNN International’s “CNN Today,” airing at midnight Eastern, led with this graphic. 

Alas, though British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced his impending retirement, Mr. Bush did not. CNN regrets the chyron error.

But if true, wouldn’t this be one of the best Mother’s Day presents ever?

(Screen shot and story via MediaBistro).

Oh, snap!

You ever have one of those mornings where you tumble onto the floor — splat! — on the wrong side of the bed? 

And then you realize that all your clothes are rumpled, ill-fitting, and otherwise unsuitable for public consumption? 

And to top it off, your hair’s so disheveled, there’s nothing you can do but throw on a baseball cap and hope no one notices the tangled mess? 

Yep, that about sums up my writing efforts for the day.   

Anyone got a comb?

Writing tips from the Festival of Books

I brought home a grab-bag of goodies from the L.A. Times Festival of Books. Are you interested? Grab a cup of coffee and pull up a chair.
 

Memoir: What Shapes Us – what happened, and what it means
Panelists: Mark Doty, Bich Minh Nguyen, Emily Rapp, Clancy Sigal

 

A memoir

  • isn’t a work of history, but rather, a work of memory.
  • is elastic by nature, stretching the time-space continuum to suit the story and/or theme.
  • is a shaped narrative that attaches meaning to facts and dates.
  • isn’t the author; it’s an artifact.
  • is an artistic relationship with the truth.

Advice for writers

  • Don’t wait until people are dead to write your memoir. You could die before your book gets written.
  • Understand why you need to tell your story.
  • If you try to create a universal theme, you risk writing a bland bookful of overgeneralizations. Be specific, so your readers can learn and/or relate.
  • Begin not with what you don’t remember; instead, start with things you can’t forget.
  • We can’t know for sure that we’re fairly depicting our relationships with others.
  • Don’t underestimate the fact that your unconscious self has already been working on your memoir.
  • The more you revise, the more distance you place between yourself and your memories.
  • Take a look at these two articles: Publish, Then Flee: How to tell your family you’re writing about them and All About Me? The state of the modern memoir.

Nonfiction: Humor and Attitude
Panelists: Samantha Dunn, Larry Miller, Neal Pollack, Jill Soloway

 

  • Humor = channeled humiliation. Example: If you slip on a banana peel, people will laugh at you. If you tell people you slipped on a banana peel, you become the hero of your story.
  • Micro is macro: The smallest details, well-written, make your story come to life.
  • The greatest part of drama is comedy; the greatest part of comedy is the drama behind it.
  • If you tell people you’re going to write about them, make it known you’re not asking for permission.
  • If you choose to write about other people, give them small penises so they’ll be more reluctant to come forward with a complaint.

Memoir: Lessons Learned
Panelists: Jessica Hendra, Arianna Huffington, Aimee Liu, Karen Stabiner

 

Lessons about memoir-writing

  • Memoirs must be about pain, struggle, failure, and transformation. Otherwise, they’re uninteresting.
  • Shame keeps us quiet; memoirs provide us with a voice.
  • Memories that matter to you may not matter to the story of your life.
  • Editing a memoir is difficult because you’re editing pieces of your life.
  • Writing a memoir = selling your life for $26.95.

 Advice about writing overall

  • Practice doesn’t make perfect; practice makes things easier.
  • Believe passionately in what you do.
  • Take a kinder view of yourself. Also, be kind to yourself by participating in mindful awareness programs that renew your sense of hope (e.g., yoga, meditation, tai chi, etc.).
  • Fear is “that obnoxious roommate living inside your head. Kick her out or send her to her room.” (Ariana Huffington)
  • You can’t live a life devoid of fear, but you can learn to manage it. Propel yourself forward, despite your fears.
  • Build a tribe of fearless friends.
  • Blogging’s a great way to get over your fearfulness. Caveat: you have to put your true self into your blog, and you must engage your reader.  
  • Disclaimer: Most of these quotes aren’t precise, nor are they directly attributed to the original source. Also, though I tried to scribble down the highlights, I’m sure I omitted some fabulous bon mots.

Want more? My partner-in-crime friend Jonathan posted some great Festival photos.

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What’s my line?

I’ve been stalled for hours on an opening sentence for my book. Okay, so I’m procrastinating. Whatever.

Can you guess the origins of these first lines from novels and biographies? 

1) I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975.
2) Clare: It’s hard being left behind.
3) Call me Ishmael.
4) It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
5) It was 7 minutes after midnight. The dog was lying on the grass in the middle of the lawn in front of Mrs. Shear’s house.
6) It was a pleasure to burn.
7) If I could tell you only one thing about my life it would be this: when I was seven years old the mailman ran over my head.
8) Renowned curator Jacques Sauniere staggered through the vaulted archway of the museum’s Grand Gallery.
9) The old aunts lounge in the white wicker armchairs, flipping open their fans, snapping them shut.
10) I wish Giovanni would kiss me.
11) I was looking for a quiet place to die.
12) When they write my obituary. Tomorrow. Or the next day.
13) When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.

1) The Kite Runner
2) The Time Traveler’s Wife
3) Moby Dick
4) Pride and Prejudice
5) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
6) Fahrenheit 451
7) The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint
8) The Da Vanci Code
9) How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents
10) Eat, Pray, Love
11) The Brooklyn Follies
12) The History of Love
13) To Kill a Mockingbird

How many did you get right?

Next up: notes on the humorous nonfiction and memoir-writing panels I attended at the L.A. Times Festival of Books. First, though, it’s the weekend! Hurray for Date Night, beach-side picnics, and (slight hesitation here) Spider-Man 3!

Summer Shape-up: a new LJ Community

If you’ve joined our Summer Shape-Up project, you might also want to be part of a new LJ community,

[info]summer_shape_up

. 

We’re a team of writers who want to use the month of May to to whip our individual works-in-progress into shape. Cheerleaders, team members, and coaches are equally welcome, and you can post a question or a progress update whenever you want. Come join us!