17 Comments

"Let me write the first sentence and not know where it goes." YES! 🙌

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I've often thought of going on a writing retweet but it would be a ridiculous waste of money in my case because I write best when I'm alone, either in the sense of being on my own, or being in a place like a cafe where nobody knows me. I hate interruptions. For instance, having someone say good morning to me while I'm writing an article in my head would spoil my whole day.

"I was short on underwear and... on patience." Such a wonderful sentence: well-balanced, a hint of bathos, and humorous.

"It’s only bolstered my conviction that there’s two main approaches to writing — inside out and outside in."

Well put. I need a sentence to start or finish with, or a quotable turn of phrase, or the title before I can make much headway.

I don't think I've ever brought up underwear in a conversation. I must try harder.

Why is that your favourite quote?

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Thank you, Terry! Nothing better than a good coffee shop. Post-COVID, I don't visit them quite as often as I used to and oh, I miss them so. (And nothing better than underwear in polite conversation! Ha!) (Remembering now how we used to ask presidential candidates: boxers or briefs?) Writing retreats can be lovely, I think, so long as you don't expect to do any writing. In hindsight, I'd put so much pressure on myself to "be a writer" that week, whereas I'd have done better to just sip my wine, listen to the lectures, and relax. There's a time to write, and a time to gather fodder.

I love the French quote simply because it's so playful and full of fantasy and perfectly sets the tone of the first few chapters. The translation is roughly:

"The kitchen mice liked to dance to the sound of sunbeams hitting the faucets, and ran after the little dots formed by the beams as they splayed over the floor like jets of yellow mercury. Colin caressed one of the mice as he walked by. She had very long black whiskers, she was gray and skinny and beautifully lustrous. The chef fed them well without letting them get too fat."

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Thanks, Alicia. Taking your last one first, I used Google Translate to find out the meaning. I did start learning French, Italian and Spanish, but never had the patience to go beyond a certain point. Thank you for explaining why you like the quote. "There's a time to write, and a time to gather fodder." I couldn't agree more, and very much value what I call my non-writing writing days -- as long as the non-writing is deliberate. As a Zen master called Suzuki put it: A Zen student has to waste time conscientiously. "Writing retreats can be lovely, I think, so long as you don't expect to do any writing." You should bottle that quote, Alicia, it's hilarious! "Remembering now how we used to ask presidential candidates: boxers or briefs" : I don't recall that at all, and now feel bereft. I bet the answers were interesting😁 I don't frequent coffee shops frequently (?) either these days. I got out of the habit during covid. I have turned into the father of my first serious girlfriend:

Gf: Dad, Terry and I are going out for a coffee.

Dad: Why? We've got coffee here.

Anyway, 'twas a very enjoyable read, Alicia.

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When you bring up the the sensory moment my mind shifts to the Moss Beach Distillery, a charming restaurant with an ocean edge terrace of fire pits and benches, complementary blankets, and an extensive dog food menu alongside a happy hour. They know my dogs by name upon arrival. Famously haunted, I eventually had an experience with the blue lady, a great story topic and something I want to branch into outside of my strong lean to the rom-com genre for fictional screenwriting. Thanx for that lightbulb.

I am backlogged! I have three screenplays, and a possible completely separate supernatural story to make into something (different and more epic than the Blue Lady moment). A fist full of priorities are held in the mix so much that I really just want to clone myself twice to get it all done.

One thing actors allow themselves is a full range of emotions, whether it be the most rosy or so icky only a bath can soothe. When I want my mind to operate in a specific way, for example I want to write on romantic ideas and attitude reflects “Forrest Grump,” I take a moment for a speed griping. I open my journal and voice to text all of the irritation until it is out of the way and I can breathe beyond it. Purged! Then I meditate a bit on the direction I want to flow, support it with mental imagery, and begin dialogue. It is only human nature to feel cranky at times, no red flag, you’re not a robot. I recall my grandfather in his 90s stopping me to say, “ Don’t worry if I leave for a bit. I sometimes take a drive along the lakefront to clear my mind and feel good.” We do what we need to handle ourselves.

I want to visit Greece! I feel so much like a Cinderella, it’s sad. What if the art commissioning gent who wooed me in the park on an August songwriter Wednesday was actually my Greek Prince Charming? Will never know, though I’m giving myself some adventure to Sonoma to see Jonathan Richman play. It a bit of a ride home, though reasonable.

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Backlogged!! What a great place to be creatively. If you figure out a cheap way to clone yourself let me know; I want to do the same, ha! YES, purging is really a beautiful thing. Morning places are great in that way. Get everything out that's on your mind. Wade through the drivel until you find a little hint of gold. I think that's where I got cranky, this idea that my drivel should then effortlessly transform into art if I just sit with it enough. But really, it's something to get out of the way first.

Moss Beach Distillery sounds just as good as a Greek island, honestly! With pups for company to boot.

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"Speed griping" OMG Wish I'd have come up with that. Incidentally , we all just had a lucky escape: I noticed just in time that the kindle fire I'm using right now decided that "speed groping" was what I meant to write.

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I wonder if devices provide adjusted words because someone previously made such a statement. Voice-to-texting while paused at a red light, “thank you for your generosity of time,” resulted in the reply, “They’re called pecs.” 😳 Speed griping too is an interesting read afterward. Cheers!!! Just don’t press “send.”

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Alicia, the wandering here from literature to lingerie defines your charming, funny and intellectual voice. Have you read Saunders' _Lincoln in the Bardo_-- a book that saved me during the week of shiva for my son. xo Mary Look for an email from me soon.

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Oh thank you, Mary!! I do have "Lincoln in the Bardo" on my bookshelf but I must confess I never made it past the first chapter. One of those books I've promised myself to come back to, when I'm in the right mindset. Might be approaching that time. How beautiful that it was there for you during that week. I can only imagine.

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Totally agree with your first sem6, Mary

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Call me dumb, but not sure what "sem6" means?

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Lol, I'm guessing he meant "sentence"! Very kind of you both.

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Oh , right! Me dumb, dumb 😆! He's so clever, I thought I was missing something I should know. xo ~ Mary

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Alicia was quite right. I often write comments on a Kindle Fire, which takes autocorrect to a whole new level. I didn't notice the Sem6, but find it extremely chortleworthy that you thought it was something you should know 😂 sorry!

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