Interruptions...And Who's Doing the Dishes?

The best time for planning a book is while you're doing the dishes. ~Agatha Christie

Getting my daughter ready for school, carpool, dishes, laundry, church obligations, Facebook, paying bills... these are just a few things that are scratching around in my mind while I try to write. My husband asked me the other day "Are you a house keeper or are you a writer?" I immediately said "A WRITER, of course!".

But who is going to vacuum the rug? Who is going to make sure we have toilet paper and the cat is fed? Even taking the time to shower or brew a single cup of coffee interrupts what could be precious minutes of writing. What's a writer to do? Put on your blinders to the floor that needs mopping or the fact that you're down to your last pair of undies? Oh, and there's this little thing called sleep...

How to balance the creative process with the reality of family life...it's a mystery to me.

Brain Washed

Writing, I think, is not apart from living. Writing is a kind of double living. The writer experiences everything twice. Once in reality and once in that mirror which waits always before or behind. ~Catherine Drinker Bowen, Atlantic, December 1957

I have discovered that the more I write, the more I think like a writer in every situation I find myself in. For example, it is sometimes hard to read books without feeling the urge to edit even the tiniest mistake. And possibly to a fault, I sometimes gauge the quality of books, not by plot or character appeal, but how the manuscript is constructed...much like a composer of music. If it sounds awkward, do the words make any sense?

Another instance of "writer interference" was during a conversation with my husband several days ago. I was telling him about my day while propped up in bed and he stopped me in my tracks, pointing out that I had configured my last sentence as if I were introducing a character instead of just discussing the details surrounding a person that we both knew. I believe my e-mails could possibly sympathize with my husband as well.

I went to a concert with a close friend over the weekend and although I thoroughly enjoyed the music, I found myself focusing more on the song lyrics and how they told the story that the band wished to convey. In soaking the "stories" in, I began having idea after idea for things that I could write...and oddly enough, during the 2 hour show, I sometimes wished that I was at home in front of my computer, purging all of these thoughts. Of course, now that I am home, I cannot remember most of my "bright ideas". Even as I sit here writing this, I am thinking about new ideas for stories...yet it is time for carpool. How is it that we can have such wonderful ideas if we haven't the time to jot them down or remember them an hour later? Hmm...

The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug. ~Mark Twain

When it comes to writing submissions, I think that the bone folder is possibly mightier than the pen. How else can you take about five pages and a SASE and thin it down to the point that it only needs one, maybe two postage stamps, max?

Proofread carefully to see if you any words out. ~Author Unknown

There is nothing creative about writing query letters, printing manuscripts, folding (if the submission is small) and stamping. Thank God for self-adhesive stamps and envelopes, however! The process is drone work almost making me want to "hire" my 5 year old to do it for me while I sip a latte and read a novel.

As for keeping up with my submissions, it is now extremely easy since I found the program Sonar online. It allows me to keep up with when I mailed my submissions, and if they have circled back like a boomerang for me to dispense yet again to another editor.

Don't be too harsh to these poems until they're typed. I always think typescript lends some sort of certainty: at least, if the things are bad then, they appear to be bad with conviction. ~Dylan Thomas, letter to Vernon Watkins, March 1938

Here goes nothing....yet, maybe something?

A Weekend of Inspiring Characters

As I'm sitting here listening to the rain dripping steadily outside, I am sipping on a cup of coffee brewed in just a flash with my Keurig coffee pot...one of the best Christmas gifts I have ever received. I sprinkled in a dash of cinnamon as the waitress at the Austin Street Bistro in Jefferson, Texas suggested over the weekend.

Speaking of the weekend, I found myself in some situations that I would never have believed possible. To begin with, I got to meet the great Pat Conroy. What can I say about Pat Conroy that can sum up what kind of writer he is. He is the Elvis of literature. My signed copy of My Reading Life is tagged with little neon green sticky notes, reminding me of all of the phrases that simply made me weak in the knees.

Another special happening was friend and author Allen Whitley (Where Southern Cross the Dog) pointing me out to hundreds of book club members, thanking me for being his friend and being the first person outside of his family to buy his book. I was completely flabbergasted and had to try really hard not to cry in front of everyone. I could not believe what I was hearing. Talk about unexpected!

I also had the chance to sit beside the 2010 Texas Poet Laureate Karla K. Morton for the entire day. While not listening to interesting panels of authors, we discussed poetry and frustrations with the submission process.

Have I mentioned that I met Fannie Flagg??!! Yes, I actually posed with Fannie Flagg for pictures, me shaking like a leaf of course. Come on, it was Fannie Flagg! Later in the evening she and I met again at the costume ball, I was wearing rubber vampire bite marks and blood on my neck and she was dressed like a Munchkin from the Wizard of Oz (I think) with rosy pink cheeks.

Perhaps the highlight of my weekend was meeting author Susan Vreeland...while wearing my vampire get-up. The writer of Luncheon of the Boating Party, Clara and Mr. Tiffany, and my favorite Girl in Hyacinth Blue, she is a tall, delicate woman with a smile that could melt butter. She sat down at my table the night of the ball and I quickly dished out a selection of books to have signed (I couldn't fit all of them in my bag, so I had to leave some at home). Feeling like a complete child, the only thing I could get out of my mouth was how much I loved her and her books. I can only imagine what was going through her head as I was fawning over her like a fat kid at a fudge counter. I couldn't for the life of me think of anything to discuss with her, my brain was completely stuck in "fan mode". We posed for several pictures and she wisped away (she didn't really walk, just floated like a sweet little ghost) to other tables. I turned to my best friend Michelle, as giddy as a school girl. My weekend was complete. All I can possibly say now is "Thank you Kathy Patrick for gathering this cast of inspiring characters for my delight."

Satisfying the Ghosts

I admit that it has been several months since I have touched base with my blog. With the craziness of the holidays, every day tasks seemed to have been put on hold. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

It is now 2011 and I feel the ghosts of 2010 past weighing heavy on my conscience. My writing ghosts, that is. I feel as if there should be some kind of place I should go to confess my writing sins. "Yes father, I have sinned 6 times. I have started short stories that I have not finished. I have quit writing poetry completely, and I have become a slacker in my article writing." Surely there's a support group for this! Writers Anonymous or something.

My New Years resolution is to get off of my ass and be the writer that I know I can be. I spent the weekend in Jefferson, Texas with some of the BIGGEST names in Southern Literature. Hell, I even sat beside the 2010 Texas Poet Laureate Karla K. Morton for an entire day and she even gave me a list of journals that she submits to! I have NO excuse not to be a good writer, I have NO excuse not to be a good writer...as I click my fuzzy slippers 3 times like Dorothy. No, mine aren't covered in rubies, but mine are more comfortable! Ha!

This will be an extraordinary year of words and books, I can just feel it.

December Louisiana Road Trips

I was very disappointed this year to find out that the Louisiana Book Festival had closed its doors due to budget cuts. My article on page 5 is my homage to book festivals and why they mean so much to writers and readers.

Open publication - Free publishing - More louisiana

Writing Outside the Box

"A word is not the same with one writer as with another. One tears it from his guts. The other pulls it out of his overcoat pocket." ~Charles Peguy

Oh, what can I say about a book festival? It is inspiring, educational, a chance for friendships, and super exciting...especially if you are one of the selected few that get to participate as an "author".

The word "author" is changing shape before our eyes. It is not always necessary to have a printed, paper copy of a work to be considered a writer. I was fortunate to be a guest at the Acadiana Book Festival in Lafayette, La on October 30th. I shared a panel with two very interesting authors Carla Hostetter, an independent romance writer, and Cyril Vetter (Dirtdobber Blues), a multi-media author who wants to expand the reading experience by adding audio and visual elements. I spoke for about 15 minutes about the art of blogging and its many purposes. Thank you Chere' Coen of the website Louisiana Book News for inviting me to be a part of the fun!