Tag Archives: writing

I Plan to Make a Plan

Posted on October 27, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I have been letting myself off the hook a lot lately, and not just with making silly as opposed to “real” blog posts.   The problem stems from my rule of Any Writing Counts.  On the one hand, it does.  Putting words on paper works your writing muscles.  I don’t mean just the muscles in your fingers and wrist, either.  I mean your brain, if you have one, and they found out when they did a CAT scan on me that I do.

However, writing blog posts and letters or postcards to friends and clever Facebook posts and comments on other people’s blogs and entries in my TV Journal… however fun they may be, however useful they may be to my writing muscles, will not get my novel written.   Only working on the novel will get the novel done.

I have been thinking about this in a vague sort of way for a while now, even as lately I write less and less of all that other writing which I insist counts as writing.  The fact is, I do less and less of everything lately, but that is not what I’m talking about right now.  I have been thinking Work On That Novel.

Today I got a bit of inspiration from another blogger I read sometimes, Dawne Webber.  She recently hit a major milestone, a happy dance worthy event.  She got an agent.  You can click on her name, where I have linked to the post, but I’ll tell you, she wrote a novel, queried it everywhere with no result, wrote another novel, queried it almost everywhere and FINALLY got a good result.

THIS is what it’s all about!  She worked!  She wrote!  She worked some more!  She wrote some more! I have to get to work like her!

But first I have rehearsal for the play I am stage-managing.  And I have to write postcards to some folks (yes, I KNOW, postcards are not novels, but some of the people who receive my postcards really like them and there is no reason they should do without just because I want to write a novel).  And I have to work ten hours tomorrow, go to another rehearsal, and it would be a good idea if I also went running.  And I have to clean my basement, because a co-worker is going to sell him his washer and drier and I need a place to put them.

You see why I need a plan.  Somewhere amidst all the crap I have to do, I must find time to work on my novel.  When I have figured it out, I’ll let you know.  If any of you have any time management tips you’d like to share, feel free to comment.  Thanks.

 

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How I Have Missed My Turbie Twist

Posted on October 23, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I thought of that title while I was taking my shower, and I love rhyme almost as much as I love alliteration.  On the other hand, I do not want to make a whole blog post touting an “As Seen On TV” product.  Adding another hand, today is Non-Sequitur Thursday, so why not use the headline?  As the saying goes, waste not, want not.

Once again, the magic of putting fingers on keyboard is soothing me.  I may not be writing good words, but I am writing words.  That makes me feel happy.

I was feeling beyond stressed earlier today.  My sinus — or whatever it is — problems continue to plague me; work is, well, work; I have rehearsal tonight; and I am far from ready for the (wait for it) Halloweddinganniversaweenary Party this weekend.  AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!  Hmm. Primal scream therapy does not have the same effect on the screen.

I know, I know, what a big fat baby.  All I can do is whine and complain.  That may be true, but I prefer to say kvetch and gripe.  Gripe, especially, seems to have a tough, gritty aspect.  Ah, how I love words.

So you see that I continue to struggle with the “real” post problem.  After having such a good week last week. Well, at least I had one good week in October.  It isn’t time yet for the blog to become All Lunch Hour All The Time (that’s the play which is the rehearsal I have to go to) (it’s at Ilion Little Theatre; I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before).

Oh dear, two posts in a row where all I do is whine (complain, kvetch, gripe, whatever).  I hope I can come up with something amusing for Lame Post Friday.  As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

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Can’t Give You Anything But Wuss

Posted on October 22, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh dear, it is SO Wuss-out Wednesday!  I am so tired now I don’t know how I’m going to get through rehearsal, which I have to leave for soon so I am REALLY rushing this post.  Steady, Cindy, steady.  You’re only the stage manager.  All you have to do is sit there with the book in your lap and feed the actors their lines as needed.  It is one thing to wuss out.  Let us keep our wrist off our forehead.

Where was I?  Ah yes, making a blog post.  I did start to write a “real” post while at work today, about another stop on the Saturday of adventures I had recently.  I need to look up a few more things about the place (preview of coming attractions).  I had planned to go running after work, so I thought I would make a Running Commentary instead.   Why do I even bother planning anything?

Oh, I did run.  If you could call it that.  It might even be good to write about my plod/shuffle/whatever-it-was.  For one reason, other runners may read it and feel a whole lot better about their own endeavors.  For another reason, it might be more humorous than my current whining.

It’s no use.  Right now I’ve got nothing but whine.  And I don’t dare have any wine or I will fall asleep for sure (no, I’m not an alcoholic, I was making a play on words with whine/wine.  Sheesh!).  All I can do is try again tomorrow. Thank you for bearing with me and Happy Wednesday to you all.

 

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Post then Popcorn

Posted on October 19, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

In my defense, it has been a week since I published a foolish post about not writing a post.  Perhaps some of you are surprised it took me this long.  I am having quite an enjoyable Sunday, as I often do, but feel not the least bit inclined to compose anything of substance.  I shall therefore type in a couple of paragraphs off the cuff and pass it off as a Wrist to Forehead Sunday.

Steven and I spent the morning cleaning our house for our — wait for it — Halloweddinganniversaweenary Party.  I paused in the midst of cleaning to go running.  As I ran, I realized that when I have mentioned the party in this blog, I always preface it with  “wait for it.” I like that.

I had thought I could do a Running Commentary.  I still have a couple of adventures from last Saturday I have not detailed. We just watched a cheesy movie that may or may not make a good blog post.  I mention these things to give you a preview of coming attractions, although some readers may be sitting there saying in that snarky tone of voice, “Well, why don’t your write them then?”  You know who you are.

In the meantime, we are watching Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds.  Yes, Halloween movie viewing is in full force at my house.  I believe a bowl of popcorn is in order, but I wanted to make my blog post so I wouldn’t have it hanging over my head.  You know, my head that has a forehead with a wrist on it.  Happy Sunday, everyone.

 

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The Most Boring Post Yet?

Posted on October 11, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Yesterday when I ended with the threat that I was going to publish The Most Boring Post Yet for comparison purposes with yesterday’s nonsense, I bet a lot you thought I was just kidding.  Well, maybe I was, and yet, here we are.  I worked this morning then had a lovely afternoon of adventuring.  I just don’t darn well feel like composing a blog post right now.  So, pretend it is still Friday and read:

Is it time for another Lame Post Friday already? Oh dear. I am having the worst case of Writer’s Blank I have had in a long time. At least, I seem to remember writing that I had one recently. Was it a Tired Tuesday or a Wuss-out Wednesday? I can’t possibly go back to previous posts and check.

I could write a cooking post. I have some bean soup on the stove which is tasting pretty good. My problem is I am a little bored with my cooking methods. I seem to always start with chopping up an onion and putting it in some oil to cook, then crushing up some cloves of garlic and letting them breathe (or whatever it is they do) for fifteen minutes (and I usually use the line “breathe (or whatever it is they do)”). One night last week, I asked Steven to cook because I just couldn’t face chopping that onion and putting it in oil to cook.

And now I feel silly for railing against it, because onions cooked down in oil is a very good start to many recipes. Still, how many times can I write about it? I need a new technique.

My overarching problem today is that I am in kind of a down mood. That is a rather distressing state of affairs on a Friday, for a Monday through Friday worker such as myself. I think it is reasonable to expect a lightening of mood when I do not have to be at work tomorrow. Not that my job is so burdensome, but I’m sure you know what I mean.

This is the worst post I have written yet. I can’t publish this. I will save it as a draft and try something else.

Back to the present time:  now that I read this again, it is not so stinking bad, is it? I wonder what else was in that bean soup.  I’d like to make it again.

 

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Second Most Boring Post Yet

Posted on October 10, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Wow, that was a boring post.  Not yesterday’s, although I suppose some found it boring (you don’t have to tell me if it was you).  Not having written anything earlier today (except part of a letter to a friend) and feeling rather blank, I looked into my Drafts and saw, “The Most Boring Post Yet.”  Damned if I wasn’t right!

Although I guess today’s is bidding to become a close second (I KNOW at least one of you just said or thought that).  I did not have a headache today, for which I am extremely grateful.  However, these all-day headaches often leave me somewhat brain-dead the next day (cue unkind remarks about how my brain is not the most lively under the best of circumstances).

Then again, it is Lame Post Friday.  I almost always post lame on Friday, even when I have to work on Saturday (which I do this week, by the way).  It is usually my day of random observations and half-baked philosophy.  Let’s see if I can come up with any of those.

I have been making a lot of… not “real” post lately.  Call them lame, call them foolish, call the ridiculous (I know I have used all those descriptions).  The fact is, they have not been about specific Mohawk Valley events, places, or adventures.  I can offer the usual excuses:  I’ve been busy, I’ve been tired, I’ve been down.  If I was really clever I could offer some half-baked philosophy about why this is true or even why it is all right.  And here we come to the ugly truth about me:  not very clever (and those of you saying you already knew that, please shut up) (you know who you are).

Sorry, folks, I got nuthin’.  But I’m going to publish it anyways, because I don’t think I can come up with anything better.  Tomorrow maybe I’ll post The Most Boring Post Yet and you can compare/contrast.  Happy Friday, everyone.

Oh, but here’s a question:  since I have not published The Most Boring Post Yet yet, does that make this The Most Boring Post Yet?  Discuss amongst yourselves.

 

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Overwhelming Temptation

Posted on October 8, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am going to have a Wuss-out Wednesday and I am not going to apologize.  Maybe I will apologize.  Or maybe it will be too much trouble even to do that.

Oh, quit playing that imaginary violin.  Like you never got tired at the end of a long day!  Get over yourself!  Or don’t get over yourself.  I am trying to avoid telling other people what to do, although one must admit, sometimes the temptation to do so is overwhelming.

I  worked a ten-hour day today, and it was one of those days where the tenth hour was tacked on at the end.  Why is it that so much more tiring than going in two hours instead of one hour early?  That may be a good question for some half-baked philosophy on Lame Post Friday.  Will I even make it to Friday?  I suppose there is no reason to fear I will not, but the temptation to express myself dramatically is sometimes overwhelming.

Leaving work an hour later than usual, I nonetheless headed to the laundromat, something of a nemesis to me these days.  Perhaps I could have gone out and bought new underwear, but I was running out of clean everything else as well.  I started late enough that I was not finished when Steven got home from work.  He called me on my cell phone then drove to Ilion to join me.

Naturally the temptation to send out for food was overwhelming.  Steven called Sorrento’s, which is right across the street from the laundromat.  Unfortunately, we were done folding and our food was going to be 45 minutes.  Now what?  Sorrento’s does not have a bar where we could sit and have a drink while we waited.

“There’s Crossway’s Tavern,” I suggested, not thinking Steven would go for it.  Steven went for it.

As we sat at the bar at Crossways, I said I would write a blog post about it.  However, now that we are home, in our comfy clothes and have eaten,  all I really want to write is a Wuss-out Wednesday.  The temptation to do so is, as you might guess, overwhelming.

 

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What I Meant to Post Last Thursday

Posted on October 7, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

For this week’s Tired Tuesday, I present the Running Commentary I wrote but did not fully type in last Thursday (perhaps you read my post about my computer tribulations).  In fact, I had meant to run today and write about that but instead stayed at work an extra hour.  I can use the cash.  Now I am pressed for time but managed to finish typing in what I wrote last week. I always say, waste not, want not!

Regular readers and well-wishers may be happy to hear that I started running again.  According to my Running Journal I have not gone since Aug. 3.  Yikes!  How mortifying to admit it.  I suppose it is possible that I went once and did not note it, but the fact remains: I waited TOO long to begin again.  However, regret is a profitless venture.  I ran and now I shall write about it.

When  I left work Wednesday, it was near perfect running conditions.  The rain had stopped and mostly dried up.  It was neither too cool nor too hot.  There was even cloud cover, so the afternoon sun would not get in my eyes.

“It would be flying in the face of fate not to run,” I remarked to the colleague I was walking out with.  Kind of like not taking the elevator when it is right there open and your feet hurt.

I had rehearsal at 6:30 as well as a blog post to write, a shower to take and the usual problem of finding something to wear.  I mentally calculated how long these things would take and figured a twenty-minute run with ten-minute cool-down would be fine.  Oh, I also had to find something to eat.  No doubt all these things could be worked out.  What I could NOT do was get on the computer for a quick check of Facebook and email before I did anything else.

I know some of you are saying with a disdainful sniff that you NEVER get on Facebook and you have NO problem eschewing all forms of electronic distraction.  Well, that’s nice for you.  The rest of my readers are nodding wisely in agreement (with me).

I still almost talked myself out of it.  I was hungry!  I had rehearsal!  The other part of me said, Flying in the face of fate! and Oh, just do it!  So I did.

And it wasn’t bad at all.  My first feeling as I started shuffling along was one of triumph.  I was RUNNING!  (Yes, what I do counts as running!  Shut up!)  I was going to post as my Facebook status, “I ran!”  I would probably get lots of Likes.  Perhaps it is a product of my low self-esteem, but I love to get Likes on Facebook (I like to get Likes on WordPress too.  Just saying).

The run continued to feel pretty good.  My knees felt a little sore but not sore enough to stop me.  I figure running will help me lose weight and weighing less will help my knees more than anything else.  In fact, I was feeling skinnier already.

I was happy to note some patches of brightly colored leaves as I ran.  I’ve seen some leaves changing, but they seemed more brown than anything else.  I was delighted to see bright orange, my favorite.

The run was going pretty well.  My legs felt OK (other than the knees), my breathing was fine, even my feet didn’t hurt much, which was surprising because they had been aching all day at work.  I blame the steel-toed work shoes, although I was happy enough for them the day I dropped a pan of metal parts on my foot.

I ran for the twenty minutes I had set out to do.  I walked nine minutes for my cool-down, because that was how long it took me to get around the block.

I had plenty of time to make my blog post by virtue of having written most of it during breaks at work.  I did not have time to fix myself something to eat but made do with a few pieces of cheese supplemented by a candy bar purchased from Ilion Little Theatre Club at rehearsal.

Do you suppose the candy bar cancelled out the run as far as my weight loss goals are concerned?  If so, that would be unfortunate.  On the other hand, the candy bar tasted really good and helped me get through rehearsal.  Also, it is better than if I ate the candy bar and did not run, so I’ll call the glass half full and not of diet soda (I HATE diet soda!).

I felt happy with my little run and especially happy to be writing a Running Commentary.  I may have been happier yet if I could have published it the same day I originally wrote it, but this is nice too.

 

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Damned at the Desktop

Posted on October 2, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

This is much better.

Just a little computer problem over here.  It is frustrating, because I wrote a blog post earlier today.  I think I even ended it with a little self-congratulation on not indulging in Non-Sequitur Thursday.  It was when I began to type it into WordPress that the trouble started.

I was, as usual these days, on our little Acer Netbook, a handy device given to us by my dear sister, Victoria.  It is a well-known fact that I am not technologically inclined and any device invented in this century mystifies me.  In other words, I don’t know what I did, but I messed it up.  The Acer is still working fine, but my WordPress account is suddenly in teeny-weeny, itty-bitty, minute, miniscule (I’m doing this without a thesaurus by the way) printing.  I can’t even read it properly with my glasses off (I am extremely near-sighted: me with my glasses off is the same as a normal person with a magnifying glass, as long as I hold whatever I’m looking at close enough) (that may be the only time ever that you see the phrase “the same as a normal person” referring to me).

Where was I?

Well, where I AM is upstairs on my desktop, which is for a change and perhaps only for the moment, behaving itself.  Why am I not finishing typing in what I started downstairs?  You know, that is a very good question.

The fact is, I am having a bit of a mental/emotional/physical problem lately.  I don’t mean to complain about my ills (I know, I know, for not meaning to I do an awful lot of it), but I am having the damnedest time DOING anything.  Even taking a shower required great effort and self-motivation.  Laugh, point and judge all you want.  The fact is, as soon as I said to myself, “Oh just have a Non-Sequitur Thursday and be done with it,” I felt a great lightening of spirit.

I’ll use that other post tomorrow, when I bet Steven will have figured out how to fix my WordPress.  Or perhaps this desktop will continue to behave.  I do love a full-size keyboard.  If only I could think of a snappy headline for today’s post, my life would be perfect.

 

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Monday Malaise

Posted on September 29, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I’m pretty sure I’ve used this title before.  I’m going to call today a Blogger’s Sick Day.  I actually wrote parts of a blog post while at work today, but I was not having a good day.  I don’t feel like talking about why.

OK, that’s not true.  I would LOVE to talk about ALL the things that are bothering me, but there are reasons why I shall not. One reason is that it is not all my stuff.  I don’t want to look as if I’m saying, “Oh, look at me, I’m so compassionate, worried about other people’s troubles!”  Anyways, it isn’t true.  Oh, I have a normal amount of compassion, I do worry about other people’s problems. But, how do I put this?  Sometimes other people’s troubles bother me because they bother ME.

This would be a ripe topic for a Monday Middle-aged Musings, but I’m just not up to having any profound thoughts today.  Did I mention Blogger’s Sick Day?  Well, it is not merely a mental malaise.  I also feel like crap physically.

I was afraid this would happen.  I was afraid I would feel too crappy to write a post. That is why I tried so hard to write something while at work. Oh well, sometimes these things work out, sometimes they do not.  All I can do is try again tomorrow. Happy Monday ,everyone.

 

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