The Absolute Idiot

Uggg!! I’m horibble at this!

absoluteidiot — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 21:17:18 +0000

I have been reading books and magazine articles trying to learn what I like. I just finished the Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. What an amazing life story she has. I was poor growing up but not that poor and my mom always worked, so I was fortunate in comparison. Her style is very simple, more like everyday conversation which I find easy to read so I was greatful for that. I missed the Cave Creek, AZ short story contest deadline which was today at noon and I hadn’t finished my story. I have to say it is entirely my fault. I failed to stick to a writing schedule and totally neglected my mission. I spent an hour writing today and it went very well. I will continue with the story and do the next chapter of the book tonight. Hopefully one day I will finish it. Now I will be reading ” Let the Great World Spin”. I will be watching “Where the Wild Things Are” this evening as well. I have sidetracked into movies lately. I went to see “Avatar” and I absolutely loved it. I could only hope to have 1/100th of that type of imagination. Everything is detailed and unique and even though it is totally unrealistic, it felt realistic and it made me cry. Boo Hoo! My husband laughed at me, he sucks.

So I never made it to Cave Creek, so I consider that letting myself down and I didn’t enter the contest and I haven’t done anything else on the list. This could be the reason that I never finish anything. Will try harder this week to stay focused on one thing. Hard to focus when all I can think about is Buttermilk Brownies and friends coming to visit for a spa day. Ahh, Spahh, feels good already. Horrible

Not So Speedy!

absoluteidiot — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:06:31 +0000

Ok, I realize that I am not always a woman of my word, a fact that I am not at all proud of. I did not go to Cave Creek and I actually made up excuses to convince myself in an attempt to feel better about it. How pathetic is that. I convinced myself that I would have to use too much gas and by the time I headed toward home I would be stuck in rush hour traffic. Oh, and I’m sure the baby is not up for it. I successfully talked myself out of it and really I was just too lazy and depressed. This has been a not so great week for me. I have tortured myself with junk food to the point of tears and self loathing. I have completely avoided opening up my creative writing bible. I have avoided contact with human beings outside of my planet home, in other words, I have avoided life. The good that came out of it is that I finished the book “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett. I really enjoyed and used it as a book should be, an escape from my own self. The story was entertaining and easy to read. I could imagine all the characters in my head as if they were in a movie. I went as far as casting the movie and making some changes, especially to the unsatisfying endings for Aibileen, Minny and Celia. At first I had a distaste for the misspelling of words to show a dialect but I got over it. I could not get over the use of “Law” for lord ever. “Law, it bother me silly ever time”. Now I have the Dubliners by James Joyce and after I got through the first two Paragraphs, I realize I must have the dictionary with me at all times for this book and I will probably finish it by next year. This book better be worth it. I still plan on going to cave creek and it will have to be in the next week or I can say goodby to the contest. Wish me luck. Hopefully I can get some therapy to knock me out of my sad depression. I am totally feeling sorry for myself when I have a great husband an amazing son, more than I could ever ask for and tons of free time to fulfill my dreams. What is wrong with me? I feel like this is the American way. Is it?

To Do List

absoluteidiot — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 21:29:05 +0000

Join a writers group
I have done this. I joined the a writing group near by that focuses on creativity, and personal development. The group
meets once a month but does other message boards online.
Buy personal letterhead
Buy business cards that state that “I am a writer”
Go to Cave Creek, AZ
Write, Write, Write
Write 2,000 word short story to enter into contest. Even if it sucks.

Exercise 1 – Chapter 3

absoluteidiot — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:27:24 +0000

Writing exercise 1 – Chapter 3. Just start writing.

I really want to write a short story for a contest I heard about from my new writing group that I joined online. The contest submission must be 2,000 words or less and take place in Cave Creek/Carefree, AZ. All genres and time periods welcome. The Deadline is April 1, 2010. That would give me the whole much of March, since it is only the 1st today.

The big obstacle is that I have never written a short story, or any story for that matter. I don’t even know what 2,000 words look like. I have been trying to come up with ideas all morning and nothing seems to interest me. It’s as if I am coming up with ideas just for the sake of having ideas. I have very little experience with Cave Creek and Carefree. I am just going to free write to see what 2.000 words look like.

What I do know about Cave Creek and Care Free is that there is a cute small town in Cave Creek with cute rustic shops and small eateries. The town is so small that if you sneeze, you will miss it. On the way out there, there are the Boulders on the right if you take Scottsdale Rd. The boulders are a beautiful set of large boulders and there is a resort at the base of them. It is known to be a place where celebrities spa and vacation. I’ve also heard there are ample hiking trails on the resort property. I had to go the boulders one day for a meeting when I worked for origins and I have to say that I was not at all impressed. The place is not near as nice as lesser-known establishments I have been too.

I use to work up that way as an interior designer and I remember one time that it rained and the roads were so flooded that I had to stop and turn around because my car could not make it through the deep pools of water on the road. Others had ruined their cars that day by trying to cross the puddles. Carefree and Cave Creek are the only areas in Phoenix where I witnessed actual snow. I never in my life thought I would see snow in this hot box of pavement in the middle of the Sonora desert. I had to call my mom and tell her about it. All I ever hear is, “how can you live in the desert, there is no weather there, you must get so tired of the heat”. There is weather here. There are violent monsoons that cause miraculous wind shears that can take down the heftiest of light pools at any given second. There are dust storms that are so fierce that streetlights explode one by one and you cannot see at all so you have to pull over and watch the light show. So, this is 561 words.

The story:

Random thoughts arrived in the mind of one woman called Acton, in response she decided to explore her city of Phoenix in more depth. Realizing that she had never taken the time to really see, hear and smell her new town where she has lived for 4 years now made her feel sad. “What have I been doing these last 4 years? I know I did a lot of complaining about not having anything to do. I think I will take a trip up to Cave Creek to do some exploring.”

Why Cave Creek you wonder. There was an otherworldly force that has been pulling Acton to this area since before she moved to town. Cave Creek was always on her mind, her first job as an interior designer was right on the outskirts of Cave Creek about an hour away from her home. She had many clients but when one from Cave Creek would come in, she would drop everything and make them her priority, even if they were after a look that she abhorred.

Acton never understood why her mom was the only one of seven children born in Arizona. No one in her family ever mentioned Arizona and all her mom knew was that she was born there and she was an infant when her family left to come to California. She did know that when she announced that she would be moving to Arizona, she got little to no support.

I just realized what I have to do. If I want to write something of value, I need to actually go explore Cave Creek. I can load up the baby and go up there tomorrow. That should be a fun day trip for us.

Please know that I am open for suggestions and constructive criticism any time. In fact I enjoy and need it immensely.

Chapter 3- Putting a Toe in the Water: Getting Started

absoluteidiot — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:39:41 +0000

The time has come, the time to just sit down and start writing. In this chapter I must decide what my rituals are and when and where and with what tools I prefer to write. I can tell you that my tool of choice is the computer because it is much faster for me. I can type at the astonishing speed of my thoughts which is truly amazing because I have endless thoughts. I am sad to learn that I have no ritualistic behaviors when it comes to writing. Being so new to this craft, I don’t feel I have had an opportunity to develop any rituals. I feel that I really want very eccentric rituals because only true weirdos and cat people are great writers. Right? Since I have no cats, I have to tap into my inner-weirdness.

There is no right way to write. Everyone has their own style. I must realize my patterns such as, I accomplish more after 10pm, I always have. At night I get started on projects and end up not going to bed till late and am thoroughly exhausted the next day. I also concentrate more when sitting at my desk as opposed to using the laptop on the couch or the bed. I have never tried to do work at a coffee shop, but I would like to. Coffee shops seem like a very authory type thing to do. Because of my short attention span, I usually will not be able to write for more than an hour at the most. Now that I understand my limitations I can create an effective pattern to write with. Now I must begin writing no matter which way it takes me. If I can think of nothing, I must simply write anything and see if I can pick one or two sentences out of it to expand on. I will start now and post my results when finished.

Practice Blog

absoluteidiot — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 04:16:15 +0000

For writing practice I have started an additional blog titled “365 Days = 365 Products”. I decided that I should use my love for beauty products to practice writing with. It makes perfect sense. A product junkie writing about how she feels about a product or how a product mad her feel. I’ll be sure to link to it in my sidebar.

Chapter 2, In Your Write Mind

absoluteidiot — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 03:55:53 +0000

I love this chapter because it lets me know that none of my excuses for not writing are legit. It offers a list of excuses commonly used and yes I have used nearly all of them simultaneously. Writing is a love hate relationship and the first task is to list my downsides and upsides of writing.

Downsides:

No Instant gratification. The process is long and grueling
Difficult to develop amazing ideas on a regular basis
Grammar is far from my strong point but not as weak as my attention span
Looking at a computer for too long is a drag
Fear of rejection of my words, ideas and ability

Upsides:

Maybe can make some extra income. Of course this is listed first; I like money.
Share my experiences and creativity with others.
Leave my legacy behind.
Very low overhead
Good tool for expanding the mind.

“The first step is having the write attitude.”

I discover with with a helpful checklist that the only times I have for writing are when my 1 year old takes a napp and before I go to bed, which is right now. I must now set aside the same writing time everyday and stick with it. Buts she says that even a half an hour will do. This will be most challenging for me with a 1 year old and a 37 year old baby that leave a ton of work for me to do.

Now I must find a writers group and join. If I can’t find one, I must start one by advertising in local newspapers and on bulletin boards. I must read everything I can, and consider taking writing classes. I must get on the net, buy personal letterhead and business cards stating I am a writer and get working. Sounds like fun. OH! and I must also tell people that I am a writer and believe it. So here is goes. “I am a writer.”

Chapter 3 makes promises of finally, “Putting a Toe in the Water: Getting started. I will be writing something next Chapter and I am excited about that. I am off to read.

Chapter 1 – Write Away

absoluteidiot — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:09:04 +0000

First I have to say that the forward by Julius Schwartz was very inspiring. Julius Schwartz is a literary agent that has been in the business since 1934 and has discovered many Science Fiction writers including Ray Bradbury. His inspirational tips are as follows.

Be Original!!
Carry a notebook and pen at all times and keep a notebook next to your bed for those 3:00 am brainstorms.
Use a “narrative hook.” Start your story with a sentence or idea that immediately grabs the readers’ attention and lures them to read on.
When you finish your manuscript, put it away for at least 24 hours before looking at it again. Flaws and errors jump out at you why you look at it with a fresh eye.
Keep writing. The only way to become better is practice.

Which is exactly why I started this blog, for additional practice.

Chapter 1 -Write Away

3 goals are set out in the beginning, to define “creative writing”, discover why people write and learn what creative writing can offer.

There are different types of writing, Narration, Description, Exposition, and Persuasion. Creative writing is “writing that uses language imaginatively.”

Side note: “A good writer is always a beginner because writing is a process of continual discovery.” This is exactly what I want to hear because I am not the path to discovery.

Types of writing that are considered creative are:

Novel
Short Story
Play
TV Script
Poem
Autobiography
Biography
Article
Love Letter

I have taken the quiz to see if I have the “Write Stuff” and guess what, I DO! It seems that you only have to write in order to be a writer. It is as simple as that apparently. So I am now an official writer. Hello, my name is Erika and I am a writer. It sounds so fantastic and artsy.

Why do people right anyway? The reasons:

Convey a message
Tell a story
Express individuality
Gain personal satisfaction
Express emotion
Gain Knowledge
Fulfill a dream
Share information
Become Famous
Earn a living

I think my reasons are obvious, I want to become rich and famous. Duh! That was it for Chapter 1, a very brief chapter. I can handle this only there was no actual writing assigment. After I finished the chapter I came up with this little line.

Ok, my stress level is high, entering the red zone. My outlet, is my vegetable garden? I can’t even keep the houseplants alive. What the is wrong with me?

Somehow I have to incorporate this into whatever story I come up with. Stay tuned for Chapter 2.

A Run Through “The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Creative Writing”

absoluteidiot — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 06:17:39 +0000

I have been staring at this book on my bookshelf for about 7 years now, In that time I have moved to 3 states, got hitched and had a son. This book has been with me every step of the way. I have never,ever looked inside it, and still haven’t. I did however, pull it down from the shelf. I have decided that I will use the book. I will follow all of this books instructions and I will write my very first novel. How successful of a novel can I create using just this book as a guide?

IMPORTANT NOTE: I HAVE NEVER BEEN A WRITER AND HAVE NEVER WRITTEN ANYTHING OTHER THAN HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS.
I Vow to open this book tonight and begin reading it tonight.