blogging

Like I am going to Blog on Facebook is Monday’s Meme


Facebook has this notebook thing that people treat as a blog or an overly personal journal.* So far I have been tagged by three different note meme’s. For Facebook. As if I am going to add FB to the already too long list of things I need to write.

My husband even tagged me.

A good meme idea too which meant there was no way I was going to waste it on Facebook.

Rules:
1. Put your music library on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write that song title as the answer to the question, no matter how silly it sounds! Most of the time they seem to work though, strangely enough.
4. Ok, go!
5. When you’re done, tag 20 people** in this note, and make sure to tag the person who sent you this.

Here are my answers:

1) IF SOMEONE SAYS “IS THIS OK?” YOU SAY?
I Think I’ll Just Stay Here (The Gourds)

2) WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
I Got the Feelin (oh, no, no) Neil Diamond

3) WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Armagideon Time (The Clash)

4) HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
I Hear You Knockin (Dave Edmunds)

5) WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?
Real World (Matchbox 20)

6) WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Chickaboom (Daddy Dewdrop)

7) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS?
Hold Your Head Up (Argent)

8) WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
You Might Think (The Cars)

9) WHAT IS 2+2?
Ski Mask Way (Eminem)

10) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Home of the Blues (JoaquinPhoenix)

11) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Saturday Night (The Bay City Rollers)

12) WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Brooklyn Roads (Neil Diamond – live no less)

13) WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Chantal Kreviazuk/Feels like Home (Various Artists)

14) WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Kiss the Bride (Elton John)

15) WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
High highs, Low lows (The Gourds)

16) WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Red Ragtop (Tim McGraw – though I am hoping that I have had my last wedding.)

17) WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Captain Sunshine (Fucking Neil D. again and still live.)

18) WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Afternoon Delight (Starland Vocal Band – and I did not rig this.)

19) WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Doctor! Doctor! (The Thompson Twins)

20) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Thrift Store Chair (Everclear. Totally random this shuffle thing.)

21) WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Peg (Steely Dan – and of course I won’t ’cause I don’t blog on Facebook but if you choose to do this you can do as you please.)

No one is tagged. But if you would like to share a song title that defines you at this moment or one that answers one of the meme’s queries, feel free. I always love to hear whatever you have to say.

*Which I seriously wish some of them would not do. Seriously. When I think it is TMI – we are talking me here – it’s time to step far away from the keyboard.

**It’s FB, people. The assumption is that everyone who hasn’t hidden there profiles has a friends’s list in the hundreds.

And the Blog Award Goes to…


Me!premio_dardos_award11

Well, me first anyway, because according to blog etiquette, the recipient of any award must then bestow it on other worthies.

Unbearable Banishment graciously awarded the Premiro Dardos to me on Thursday for sharing my writing journey. I am not sure I have all that much to share but I am honored that he noticed I am not a mommy blogger.

It is now my duty to award others and I happily bequeath this fine award to the following journeyfolk in the blogosphere:

The Bloggess – who always makes me laugh, probably gets more awards than she knows what to do with and has given me a whole different perspective on my nether regions. 

Tome of the Unknown Blogger – and not just because he gives excellent bum rubs. He is insightful with his funny and poignant with his insightful, and I never spot grammatical errors in his work the way he does in mine.

She is Too Fond of Books – for keeping me current on what’s out and what’s good in my chosen profession. Hopefully someday, I will be one of the author’s whose books she carefully reviews.

Daily (w)rite – for the glimpses she provides into the process of writing and the gorgeous prose she generously shares.

Breathings of the Heart – for reminding me about all the good things that is teaching and sharing her life’s journey with such clarity and art.

and finally

DarcKynt – for his honesty, his unapologetic world-view and for being a fellow writer sharing his journey with other writers.

Taking a Fiction Break


The memoir is cooling. I won’t go back and begin the first serious revision until month’s end. So I decided to work on some neglected short fiction. Kumari for sure will be finished before the month is over and I have a Stephen King inspired monster story that is about a third of the way done which I want to finish as well.

As fate would have it, however, I was driving home from town after BabyD’s ballet class and was struck by a great first line. First lines in stories has been a preoccupation of mine for the past few weeks as memoir stuff rolls about in my head. A first line can make or break you because it influences the paragraph that follows. Sometimes, that’s all a writer gets to hook a reader.

So what was the line?

We killed the first one with a Chevy Avalanche.

The road home at night is a secondary highway through farmland. It’s narrow and has no shoulders to speak of with a gaping ditch on either side for any sort of wildlife to hide before making a run for the other side. This includes deer, of course, but also coyote and fox as well as dogs and cats. Even in the winter, you have to be aware of the possibility that something will dart out in front of you.

So while I was watching the road and scanning for potential roadkill and thinking about first lines … one came to me. Unfortunately, an entire story followed close on its heels and loathe to lose it, I started writing it Tuesday afternoon. By Thursday evening, I had 6000 words, and I expect to finish it today although I don’t know where the word count will fall out. I am think at about 8 grand, but that’s just a guess based on the fact that I am averaging about 2000 words a day on it.

And I really like it. It includes French dialogue and only slightly suspect scientific factoids.*

February is a fiction month for me. I had decided that back in January actually. 50 something Moms only requires two pieces from me a month and they have been published already. Blogging here is not really an effort as I do some of it ahead, but I will be leaving less of a footprint on the blogosphere this month. Not so much Facebook. No networking among the blogo-mom’s. Just fiction.

And so far, I am enjoying this fiction break. I have been away from it a bit and am surprised at how much I really like immersing myself in worlds of my own creation. It has made me rethink a few things, but I am not ready to discuss that today.

I will still be blogging here. Never fear. And I will let you know how the fiction goes as it goes.

*Rob is going to fact check my science. It’s good to be married to a grammarian with a chemistry degree.