How I Spent My Summer Vacation

It's hard to believe I haven't updated this crazy blog since May. The last time I wrote, it was Memorial Day and now we just had Labor Day. The entire summer has gone by.

Last time I wrote, I was recovering from surgery and off of work for 6 weeks. Since then I:

went to Las Vegas with my husband
worked freelance for the new David Duchovny show, Californication
got a new toilet
returned to my regular job
edited like crazy on Book 3 of my novel
spent the 4th of July in Tarzana with our friends
had my house painted, inside and out
wrote a poem
joined a bunch of on-line writing and reading forums that I don't have time for
wrote a short story and entered it in a contest at fantasy-writers.org
entered the TV show I'm working on in the Sundance Film Festival
read three and a half novels
bought a new battery, tires and radiator for my car
found out my dog, Shadow, might have cancer
spent Labor Day in Palos Verdes with our other friends

What I'm Reading Now

Here's a list of the books stacked on my nightstand. It's pretty eclectic...

The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri -- I got this book for a college class and never got around to reading it. (I don't even remember which class any more. ) Now that I'm home recuperating, I finally have the time. It's about writing plays but the principles apply to any kind of storytelling.

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton -- I'm trying to catch up on the classics. I'm also half way through Tom Jones by Henry Fielding. I'll get back to that one some day.

The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King -- I've never read much Stephen King because I don't like horror but then I read his book on writing, On Writing and fell in love. I like his imagination and his down to earth style. If any guy knows how to tell a story, it's Stephen. This is book 2 of his huge fantasy series.

Dynamite on a China Plate by Jay Leeming -- This is a book of poetry with lots of great imagery. "A woman's lips are like dynamite, they can blow a house right off its foundations." I'm hoping some of the poet's craft will rub off on my writing.

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin -- This is a great book about Lincoln and really makes you long for the day when politicians were expected to act in the public interest, not just their own.

Mining the Pain

My recovery after surgery is going pretty well. Yesterday I took a sponge bath and washed my hair in the kitchen sink, then my husband took me shopping, the first I'd left the house in two weeks. Afterwards, we went out to dinner with our friend Larry. I think I'll be back to normal very soon.

This is my first day here on my own. My mom was in town for the last few weeks taking care of me but she went over the weekend and the rest of my family went back to work and school today. I'm here all by myself with lots of time to waste or use as I see fit. Being home in the middle of the day is a novel experience for someone who normally works full time.

I spent the day writing a women's health article about my experiences. Heck, if you can't mine your pain for a story, what good is it?

The article's five pages long and needs more research and a little polish, but it's almost finished. I usually write fiction so I'm pretty pleased that I was able to get it down so quickly. Maybe it's the beginning of my freelance writing career. Non-fiction is more marketable than fiction.

My plan is to finish it and try to sell to a women's magazine. If that doesn't work, I'll try an on-line publisher and if that doesn't work, I'll publish it here. One way or another, my article will be published.

Out of Time

If I could add an hour here or there and jam a just a little more time into this overflowing day, there are quite a few things I would like to accomplish. For instance, I would read. There are many, many books I want to read, stacked on my nightstand, crammed in my bookcase, stashed in boxes and bags in my closet. I wish I could absorb them in an instant and with a blink of my eye, carry them in my brain. I don't have the time to consume them slowly, one word at a time, savoring each plot twist and turn of the phrase, the way a book is meant to be.

With a little more time I'd write my autobiography. Or I'd arrange the family photos into chronological order and paste them into scrapbook albums. I'd get around to filling out the baby books, now that the children are halfway through college.

I would call the friends who I mean to keep in touch with but never do, the ones waiting futilely to hear from me until I suppose they probably give up and move on with their lives.

There are family members who I once was close to who have turned into strangers, babies who have started kindergarten and made it through most of grade school before I've had a chance to meet them.

Life just keeps churning on while I'm mired in the mundane challenges of daily life and the important things, the meaningful things, fall by the way side. I'm just doing the dishes, paying the electric bill and trying to drag myself through another morning rush hour.

Day 2-The Blogging Goes On

Time to blog. It's tough to come up with a subject to write about every day. I discovered this when I wrote a humor column for my college newspaper. The first few were easy, but then the pressure was on and it was a struggle coming up with interesting, funny topics that would entertain and inform. I eventually stooped to writing rants about the crummy food in the school cafeteria. Let's hope it's easier this time.

I've been writing the same novel for a very long time--11 years--no one can say I don't stick with a project once I start it. It's a very long novel, but it should never have taken me this long. Life is always getting in the way--work, family, American Idol. And, of course, this blog is a very good way to procrastinate.

My novel is a fantasy novel. (Think Lord of the Rings with a girl as the main character and no elves or hobbits.) I like writing fantasy because I like stories that involve imagination, that ask the question, "what if?" Basically I'm just a big daydreamer. Fantasy and science fiction stories are great because they allow you to explore serious topics outside of the bounds of reality and without preconceived notions about how about something is supposed to work.

I already told you I love history. Writing fantasy is like creating my own history.

Introduction

This is the inaugural voyage of my blog. I've never blogged before so I suppose I will have to start slow. I don't know what this blog will be about or what I really want to say. Right now, this is a voyage of discovery. I hope that you will join me as I try put words to feelings and feelings to words.

I am a writer--or at least that's what I hope it will say on my business cards one day--but life has been too crazy lately--my dad passed away last month--I have to go into the hospital for an operation in the next few weeks--so I haven't been writing at all. I'm very rusty and this blog is my way of stretching those writing muscles again. I hope it will help me find my voice.

My other interests are current events and history. I would like this blog to be a running commentary on modern life, with all of its pitfalls and pratfalls. I'd like it to be a reflection of how events of the past influence where we are today.

Perhaps this is too ambitious and all-encompassing. If it is, I may have to split off and create other blogs. I'm very excited. It's been a long time since I allowed myself any free flow creativity.

My Eureka moment: The other day I came to the realization that I should never be afraid to write the truth--even if its painful or embarrassing. Writers must hold up a mirror, even if people gazing into it don't like what they see. I've always known this but I've never before felt it on a visceral level.

Thanks for reading this.


Catch Phrases:

"Stories, like conjuring tricks, are invented because history is inadequate to our dreams."
From"Eisenheim the Illusionist" by Steven Milhauser

"...Come, I will teach you the death of roses, the emptiness of orgasms in sun-flooded loveless rooms."
From "A Game of Clue" by Steven Milhauser