Writing: Throw Paint on the Canvas

Life is a big canvas, throw all the paint on it you can. Danny Kaye

When I'm starving for blog post ideas, I hit the buffet of quotes on the Internet. There's something for everyone, and the perfect quote for every need.

Today, Kaye's quote popped out at me. My canvas is a blank page. I sit down, take a prompt, and start typing. Throwing caution to the wind, the words pour out of me. I try not to stop them.

Once the canvas is full, I walk away for a minute. Let it dry. When I come back, I have a more objective view of the scene. Some words get tossed aside, but some spring into a life all their own. A piece of work I never expected.

Rarely is a word wasted. I can start on one theme and end up with three posts. Or I can free write and end up with a new story idea.

National Novel Writing Month is a great time to remember Kaye's lesson. Write, write, write. Squelch your inner editor for the time being and give words freedom. What you end up with on November 30th is a blueprint. A starting point for something. It's not meant to be a finished novel, but draft one of many.

Although I'm not participating in NaNo, I'm embracing the spirit of it. I'm writing, every single day, and letting the editor take a break until 2012. Just words filling up my canvas... throwing all the paint on it I can.

Flying Fingers versus Cramped Hands

National Blog Posting Month's prompt today:

When you are writing, do you

prefer to use a pen or a computer?

Thanks to my high school typing teacher, I prefer to type. Even then, I can barely keep up with the words as they flow from my brain to my fingertips. The trip through the heart slows them down a bit, thankfully.

The fast typing allows me to give into word flow. I type until it dries up. Editing is a completely different story. I print everything and edit with a red pen. Old school. I take notes all day on any random paper unfortunate enough to get in my way. Post it notes are like dust in my house, great reminders of what I need to do.

When the story is pressing, I can type for lengthy periods without considering food, water, or time. I can't imagine getting that lost in pen and paper. My hand and fingers would begin to cramp and send mixed signals back to the brain, confusing the words trying to come to life.

That being said, I won't let thoughts escape. I carry a steno pad in my purse for those moments an idea strikes. No sense losing a scene or character trait. I'll even send emails to myself from my IPhone with ideas.

I also type to-do lists. Like editing, I print them off for the joy of marking through completed items.

My only exception: a letter. Letter writing has sadly become a lost art. I make my own cards and send to friends for no particular reason. Typed letters or emails will never replace a handwritten note.

Your turn... do you prefer typing or pen to paper?

Where I'm From, Part Two: Tia Bach

If you missed Part One, check it out here.

My version of the poem, Where I'm From.

 *****

Where I’m From

I am from Santa Claus figurines, good Southern food, and stories.

I am from many homes decorated with memories and love, structure and furnishings of little consequence. My childhood is wrapped in images of a family laughing together and holding tight during moments of tears.

I am from every flower and tree south of the Mason-Dixon line, spots of beauty sprinkled through my life. From a poet mom who described trees and flowers in such beautiful detail, the words meant more than the objects.

I am from unicorns and books, from Silverthorne and Beach, from five generations female strong. I am from deep faith and conservative values, the belief in hard work and dedication.

Five Generations (the last four, all first-born women)

I am from Old Time Religion, Marching to Zion, and How Great Thou Art. I am from Dallas Silverthorne and Angela Beach Silverthorne, from the ones before them who helped mold two amazing parents.

I am from depression cookies, chicken-n-dumplings, and way too much food to do justice to here. From a woman who poured love into everything she did, from food to writing and so much more, and a man dedicated to building a strong foundation of love and success.

I am from a professional baseball player, a woman before her time, a mechanic, a homemaker, a writer, an engineer... from blood, sweat, and tears.

Mom and Dad, the early years

I am from moving boxes and new places, parents who believed in us, and coming together during the hard times.

I am from moments of pain, laughter, tears, joy, loneliness, gratitude, and everything in between. I’m from people who found humor and love the most important of all things. They grew me right.

Kick off your Sunday Shoes

From cheerleading to dancing... I'm really finding my youth these days.

Today's NaBloPoMo prompt:

I have a song in my head most of the time, so this is an easy one. YES! My parents were always telling me to turn the music off and do my homework. Without it, I couldn't focus. Same with writing. A stark, quiet room would be the death of me.

All the Footloose songs have been in my head since I took my preteen to see the remake. But it's the original tunes I can't shake. I love the song where Kevin Bacon is running through the warehouse, and the remake didn't use it. Didn't matter. It was playing in my head during the whole scene (as was Kevin Bacon).

My mother and I are writing a follow up to Depression Cookies, and this time the daughter is heading off to college and experiencing first love. Paula Abdul's Straight Up is constantly in my head when I'm writing those scenes. The lyrics:

Lost in a dream

Don't know which way to go

If you are all that you seem

Then baby I'm moving way too slow

I've been a fool before

Wouldn't like to get my love caught

In the slammin' door

How about some information--please

(Chorus)

Straight up now tell me

Do you really want to love me forever oh oh oh

Or am I caught in a hit and run

Straight up now tell me

Is it gonna be you and me together oh oh oh

Are you just having fun

Time's standing still

Waiting for some small clue

I keep getting chills

When I think your love is true

I've been a fool before

Wouldn't like to get my love caught

In the slammin' door

How about some information--please

(Chorus)

You are so hard to read

You play hide and seek

With your true intentions

If you're only playing games

I'll just have to say--bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye

I've been a fool before

Wouldn't like to get my love caught

In the slammin' door

Are you more than hot for me

Or am I a page in your history-book

I don't mean to make demands

But the word and the deed go hand in hand

How about some information--please

(Chorus)

Sounds like young love and smells like teen spirit to me!

Music, like reading, inspires me to write. After all, songs are just poetry set to music.

What song gets you moving/inspires you?

NaNo Cheerleading: ROW 80 Check In

It's important to be up front, I've never been a cheerleader and fear poetry. Still, I want to be the best darned NaNo cheerleader I can. Today's attempts at a NaNo cheer (particularly for my ROW80 friends taking a stab at it):

You're doing great
out of the gate
Hoping words flow
Go Team Go! 

I promise to keep the cheers coming, which may scare some of the poets out there. I'm even planning a little photo surprise involving my sweet girls and some cheerleading outfits. Anything to help my fellow writers.

I am participating in NaBloPoMo... daily blogging in the spirit of National Novel Writing Month, better known as NaNo. Seeing so many of my fellow writers excited about writing has been encouraging. I wrote 1500 words on my new young adult novel since Sunday, and I'm excited to get it moving along.

I also spent a couple of hours outlining this new idea, Sherry's Tale. It's a working title, but I'm the lady who named my child right after the ultrasound appointment because she (in all three cases) needed a name. I stuck with those names, but I usually call a book something the whole way through only to title it differently in the end. Depression Cookies was Harbor of Disillusion for many years and our original publisher suggested Angst. Ouch!

For my fellow writers, what's your process for deciding on a title? Readers, how much does a title influence your decision to buy/read a book?

Cheerleading is bringing me a lot of joy, so I hope it's helping the NaNo writers. I look forward to hearing everyone's experiences and seeing what writing projects develop.

I'm reading more and more which always has a positive influence on my writing. I just finished The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Amazing! Nonfiction is not usually my choice, but Skloot did an incredible job weaving personal stories and science. A must-read. She inspired me to be a better writer. A complete review should be up this week on Mom in Love with Fiction.

Hope everyone is having a good writing week, NaNo or no. I'll be stopping by to check on you with all my Go-Team-Go spirit!

My Last Meal: Surrounded by Food and Family

Today's NaBloPoMo prompt:

If you knew that whatever you ate next would be your last meal, what would you want it to be?

Food is a subject near and dear to my heart. My best memories are sitting around the kitchen table, reveling in food and family. Still today, we make meal times special. I'm not the cook my mom is, but I try and duplicate the family bonding parts.

Between bites, we talk about our days and play imagination games. One of my favorites... we dump small objects in the middle of the table. Each person picks an object. Then we go around and tell a story using the pieces as a prompt. The last person to go finishes the story. The items can be anything from a penny to a miniature horse or even a beautiful stone.

My last meal would start and end with what's most important... family. Mom would be the cook, no sense in wasting my last meal by having any less.

Appetizer: Sushi (Mom hates sushi, would have to order this)—my favorite, a Mt. Fuji roll (avocado & crab stick inside, grilled salmon with mayo outside)

Salad: Spring Mix with sliced strawberries, crunchy Chow Mein noodles, and poppy seed dressing

Soup: Chicken-n-Dumplings

Main Meal: Steak, baked potato (butter, sour cream, cheese, and bacon), and fresh green beans cooked in butter & seasonings.

Dessert: Coconut Custard Pie... two slices, why the heck not? And a depression cookie for old time's sake.

After-dinner drink: Hot Sangria

Poor Mom, cooking all day for her daughter's last meal. Although I doubt she'd have it any other way. I'd settle for canned soup and crackers to spend my last meal surrounded by the people I love.

What would be your last meal?

November and Writing: No NaNo, but Writing Just the Same

November and writing have become synonymous with National Novel Writing Month or NaNo as it is affectionately called. So many of my brave writer friends are participating this year. I'm not... but in the spirit of things, my November plans:

* I am going to be the best *rah rah, go team go* cheerleader for all the NaNo writers.
* I will write 750 words a day.
* I am blogging daily with NaBloPoMo.

The theme for NaBloPoMo is "Blogging for blogging's sake" and each day there will be a prompt to answer. I will incorporate these answers into my blogs, but may veer off a bit occasionally depending on my mood (and Wednesday/Sunday ROW80 check ins).

Today's prompt:

What is your favorite part of writing?

Cleansing the soul. Putting everything I can into the creation of characters, story, setting. It's a thrill to see a blank page come to life, an entire world created from nothing but words mixed with imagination.

Life hands us so many pathways, and writing is an excellent tool to work through conflict, questions, choices, fears, anxieties, and so many other emotions. A writer can create characters and put them in any situation. I study people all the time to see how they react to things, a people-watcher from an early age. It's amazing what you can figure out by simply observing.

Now, even when I don't write creatively, I journal. Emotions can be easier to deal with on the page, and letting emotions flow through words can ease the burden or worry.

I must admit, I enjoy the editing phase just as much. The initial outpouring of words is exciting, but fine tuning them to say what you really want... priceless.

Whether you blog, journal, or write stories, what's your favorite part of writing?