What I've Learned...Part II

When I made the decision to enter Brava's Writing with the Stars Contest, I had no idea how hard the next two months were going to be. Or how much I would learn. Even if I don't final in the contest, the experience was well worth it!

I originally planned to enter my fallen angel story. Then, two weeks in, I decided it was too hot for the Brava line, so I pulled out the bartender story I'd written last year - you know, the one with the opening line: "Can I get a blowjob, please." - and started over. Silver gets all the credit for the title, by the way.

So it was May 15th when I settled on a story. I had to rework my timeline because I'd lost 14 days, but I felt like it was still doable. I never would have believed life could throw so much crap at me in such a short time!!! Nothing serious, just frustrations and hassles and worries that tested my resolve and focus.

Just a few examples:
* The last 3 weeks of school, my youngest was suspended twice
* One of those suspensions carried a disorderly conduct charge, and we had to appear before a juvenile court councelor (We realized the Singulair they had him on for allergies was affecting his mood - and not in a good way!)
* When my computer crashed in the fall, I lost 20K words of Last Call. Recreating those, on top of adding another 20K...I basically rewrote the whole thing
* Oldest totaled his car, and got kicked out of school for low GPA in less than 24 hours
* My dad had a cat scan - still not sure what for, but I was worried for a while (turns out it's okay)
* My mom had to go in for stress tests (she's okay too, but I was really worried for a while)
* I had a stomach bug for a week
* PowerWriter is 3000 words more than Word (grrrrrrr)

Lesson #1 - If I have to, I can block life out, sit in my chair and get really focused for hours on end. I wrote every. Single. Day. Even when I didn't want to, I made myself sit at my desk and meet my word count goal. And I was able to do it! :)

Lesson #2 - I don't need 8-9 hours of sleep like I've always thought. I LIKE that much sleep, but I don't need it. About half-way in, I started sleeping between 6-7 hours each night, and was able to function fine. The last two weeks, I didn't get more than 6 hours any night, and most nights I was down to 4 1/2 - 5 hours. That didn't work well, but I was still able to do all that I needed to do. I wasn't necessarily pleasant to be around (LOL) but I was doing what needed to be done.

Lesson #3 - I don't need to do as much around the house as I've always believed. The last two weeks, hubby and kidlet did a great job of fending for themselves. And they survived!! One night, they fixed Redhots (spicy hotdogs), cut them lengthwise, and then in half, and put them on hamburger buns. LOL

Hubby helped with the laundry a few times, and no one complained about the nasty...and I do mean NASTY...state of the house. No one has stepped up to help clean it, but no one has complained about the state of things, either.

Lesson #4 - This is something I'd always suspected, but now know for sure. I get a second wind around 9:00, and am as happy as can be to work until around 2:00. If I lived alone, I'd probably stay up until that late every night, and then sleep later than I do in the mornings. I'd say some of my best, most creative work was done late at night.

Lesson #5 - I don't ever want to write another story in two months, but having such a tight deadline was great. And being forced to work on it for such long hours (up to 18 hours some days) I was totally immersed in the story and found it very easy to keep the continuity, and keep track of what was happening in the story, in general.

Lesson #6 - Worrying about the story doesn't get it written. I overthink things when I'm writing - normally. On this timeframe, I didn't have time to get caught up in my doubts, and fears, and paranoia. I just didn't have time for it, and it all disappeared. It came back like a damned flood, though, when I hit "send." :D

Lesson #7 - Self-care is a very, very important part of being a writer, and something I totally neglected over the past two months. I'm taking the discipline that I learned while writing Last Call, and applying it to getting myself back in shape. I'll let you guys know how that's going in a few weeks.

I'm sure there are a few other random, minor things that I learned throughout this process, but those are the biggies. I think I need to keep myself on a close deadline - not THAT close, but having a deadline definitely was the kick in the pants I needed to take this job seriously, and work it.

So there you have it....what I learned.

How about you guys? Ever have a project, or something that you were working for that taught you so much more than you would have ever believed?

Have a great Thursday! One more "get-up" for this week!!

Peace and love,
Alannah

You may have seen this before, it's been going around for a while. But it's too good not to share in case you haven't....

This is an "actual letter" from an Austin, Texas woman sent to Proctor and Gamble regarding one of their feminine products. She really gets rolling after the first paragraph. This was PC Magazine's 2009 Editors' Choice award-winner for the best letter sent via e-mail.

Dear Mr. Thatcher,

I have been a loyal user of your 'Always' maxi pads for over 20 years and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the LeakGuard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I'd probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I'd certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts.

But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic I can't tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there's a little F-16 in my pants.

Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? I'm guessing you haven't. Well, my time of the month is starting right now. As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I'll be transformed into what my husband likes to call "an inbred hillbilly with knife skills."

Isn't the human body amazing?

As Brand Manager in the Feminine-Hygiene Division, you've no doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your customer's monthly visits from "Aunt Flo". Therefore, you must know about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood swings, crying jags, and out-of-control behavior. You surely realize it's a tough time for most women.

The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is just crawling with homicidal maniacs in Capri pants... Which brings me to the reason for my letter. Last month, while in the throes of cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my uterus, I opened an Always maxi-pad, and there, printed on the adhesive backing, were these words: "Have a Happy Period."

Are you f------ kidding me? What I mean is, does any part of your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness - actual smiling, laughing happiness, is possible during a menstrual period? Did anything mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James? FYI, unless you're some kind of sick S&M freak, there will never be anything "happy" about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlua and lock yourself in your house just so you don't march down to the local Walgreen's armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your
life in a blaze of glory.

For the love of God, pull your head out, man! If you have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn't it make more sense to say something that's actually pertinent, like "Put down the Hammer" or "Vehicular Manslaughter is Wrong."

Sir, please inform your Accounting Department that, effective immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere. And though I will certainly miss your Flex-Wings, I will not for one minute miss your brand of condescending bullsh!t. And that's a promise I will keep.

Always. . ...

W--- A----
Austin , TX


Have a fantastic hump day!!!

Peace and love,
Alannah

"To be a champ, you have to believe in yourself when nobody else will."

Sugar Ray Robinson
1920-1989, American Boxer


This seemed most appropriate for me today. I finished up my story, Last Call, wrote the synopsis and query letter, and got all of it submitted to the Brava contest last night.

At this point, I'm suffering from the same depression I always get when I've finished a story and I'm absolutely convinced the story sucks. I'm trying to put that feeling aside, and believe in myself, and get ready for the next story.

First things first though - my house needs cleaned!!! It's so bad, I'm actually excited about cleaning. LOL Oh, and I think there's a stack of bills around here somewhere that need to be paid too.

Have a great Tuesday, everyone!!
Peace and love,
Alannah

What I'm Reading...

ROTFLMA.....


I'm reading LAST CALL...over, and over, and over! In fact, it's so bad, the cat has started to take offense, and take matters into her own hands (please ignore the messy house, and my messy hair. Who has time to clean when I'm busy editing?) LOL



Anyway, I've been editing, and I haven't read anything. I saw on Facebook that Silver is in about the same shape as me, editing wise. But Liza, on the other hand, has been reeading up a storm and raided B&N on Tuesday.

What's good that I absolutely must read once I've gotten this story submitted?

We're off to Charleston for a wedding this weekend. I will be working, but that's okay. That's why I have a laptop. And, I can sit by the pool while I'm doing it, and it won't seem quite so much like work.

Have a great weekend!!!!

Peace and love,
Alannah

What I've Learned

I told you guys yesterday that I'd share some of the things I've learned over the past 2 months. Well, the biggest thing I've learned is that nothing is a given, and that EVERYTHING takes longer than I think it will.

Yesterday afternoon, around 3:30, I typed "The End" and then jumped up from my computer and did a little snoopy dance. Feeling extremely proud of myself, I copied the work from my Power Writer program, and pasted it into a Word document.

The happy instantly drained out of my dance, and despair rushed in. I have no explanation for it, but the Power Writer program showed that I had 80,300 words. My Word document shows I have 77,000 words.

80,000 is the minimum accepted word count.

So, I'm scrambling to add 3K words to the story so I can get it sent in before I leave for Charleston tomorrow morning. We're going for a wedding, and I refuse to be stuck in my room, writing, while everyone else is having fun and visiting with family.

Next week, when I'm sure I'm completely finished (LOL) I'll give you the full rundown of all that I've learned.

I hope it's a great Thursday for everyone, and stay cool!!!

Peace and love,
Alannah

Hump Day Humor....

A few of us are southern, so I thought this might fun. For those non-southerns, do any of these ring true for you?


Things I Learned in the South


A possum is a flat animal that sleeps in the middle of the road.

There are 5,000 types of snakes, and 4,998 of them live in the South.

There are 10,000 types of spiders. All 10,000 of them live in the South, plus a couple no one’s seen before.

If it grows, it’ll stick ya. If it crawls, it'll bite cha.

Onced and Twiced are words.

It is not a shopping cart, it is a buggy!

Jaw-P? means Did y’all go to the bathroom?

People actually grow and eat okra. And fry it, huh, Silver?

Fixinto is one word. It means I’m preparing to do that.

There is no such thing as lunch. There is only dinner and then there is supper.

Iced tea is appropriate for all meals and you start drinking it when you're two. We do like a little tea with our sugar.

Backwards ‘n forwards means I know everything about you.

The word jeet is actually a phrase meaning “Did you eat?”

You don’t have to wear a watch, because it doesn't matter what time it is, you work until you’re done or it’s too dark to see.

You don’t PUSH buttons, you MASH em.

No, Jew? is a common response to the question, Did you bring any beer?

You measure distance in minutes.

You switch from heat to A/C in the same day.

All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable, grain, insect, or animal.

You know what a DAWG is.

You carry jumper cables in your car - for your OWN car.

You only own five spices: salt, pepper, Tonys, Tabasco and ketchup. (We actually have Franks and Texas Pete in our house)

The local papers cover national and international news on one page, but require 6 pages for local high school sports and motor sports, and gossip.

You think that the first day of deer season is a national holiday.

You find 100 degrees Fahrenheit a bit warm.

You know all four seasons: Almost summer, summer, still summer, and Christmas.

Going to Wal-Mart is a favorite pastime known as goin’ Wal-Martin or off to Wally World.

You describe the first cool snap (below 70 degrees) as good chicken stew weather.

Fried catfish is the other white meat.

We don't need no dang Driver's Ed. If our mama says we can drive, we can drive dag-nabbit. (and I started at 10, on the road by 13)

You understand these jokes and forward them to your Southern friends and those who just wish they were from the SOUTH.


I thought I'd give y'all a sitrep on Last Call. I should be able to finish putting the final spit-shine on it today, and getting it submitted before I go to bed tonight.

Tomorrow, I'll have a list of things I've learned over the past two months while writing this story, and getting it ready to submit.

Have a great hump day!!!!

Peace and love,
Alannah

Food For Thought...

"Don't be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality. If you can dream it, you can make it so."

Belva Davis
Award-Winning Journalist


Have a fantastic day!!

Peace and love,
Alannah