Good on Paper

Currently buried under: job interview anxiety (including pantyhose and nail files)

I just read a book, If Andy Warhol had a Girlfriend by Alison Pace, that fulfills all of the traditional Chick Lit cliches. And yet, it wasn’t so bad that I had to stop reading. In fact, I finished it in one day. Does that mean I like cliches? Or that as a reader I’m comforted by seeing familiar characters and knowing what’s going to happen next? Don’t answer that.

Let me explain. Cathy Yardley’s Will Write For Shoes describes several reoccuring cliches in Chick Lit. Actually, she calls them “important elements” of traditional Chick Lit. They include: urban location, glam industries, the simply marvelous gay friend, the evil boss, the cheating lover, drinks, dates, and Mr. Wrongs (prior to meeting Mr. Right, of course), Life implosion syndrome, Chick Lit fabulous (brand names, usually designer), club coffee klatch (those witty scenes when the girls meet for brunch or drinks), and pop culture references.

If Andy Warhol had a Girlfriend includes all of those elements. Somehow it didn’t annoy me that much. Yes, the evil boss, fabulous gay friend, and the urban location were a bit heavy handed, but for a book about the art industry, it makes sense. I won’t spoil the ending (I know you’re dying to read it now after my glowing review), but it literally ends on the last two pages. It’s one of those kinds of books.

I recently wrote a book review of See Jane Date, too. Check it out. And wish me luck on my upcoming job interview. I won’t say too much…no sense in jinxing it.

 Currently buried under: post-it notes

From the Southeast Review’s Writing Regimen, another writing prompt:

Revisit the moment of your independence–

Currently buried under: bird feathers (yes, Imposter brought in Birds # 3 and 4 this morning)

These are not the reasons I’ve started a blog:

• I have so much free time that I didn’t know what else to do
• I’m an especially extroverted person who likes to share her personal life with strangers
• I’m so neurotric that I have to indulge myself by blog writing (which is similar to talking to yourself)
• I plan to make loads of money and write a blog for a living (since no other job wants me)

These are, however, possible motivations that I’m considering fessing up to:

• I was so inspired by Editrix that I thought I’d copy off of her
• I had an optimistic thought that when I eventually publish my chick lit novel (yet to be written), I could help market it with a personal blog
• It’s a good way to develop a virtual portfolio of writing for freelance gigs
• Because I wrote some less than stellar articles and wanted to show off (see upper right hand corner of this page)

Really, I think I’ve been immersed in academia too long. Sometimes I forget how to have conversations that don’t involve writing and teaching and pedagogy and literature.  Anyone who knows me knows I’m much more at home when I’m talking about beer and reality TV. My favorite party game is Adult (re:dirty) Mad Libs. I’d rather watch reruns of Sex and the City on TBS than read, I don’t know, Faulkner.  I’m trying to find a way to bridge one version of myself with the other.  This is good practice because it’s about writing and reading, but also about Chick Lit (which we all know academia frowns at).

Now, I’m off to disinfect the floor where the fourth massacre occured. Sigh.

Currently buried under: this blog

The good news today is that a short story of mine (the first from my thesis) will be picked up by The Chick Lit Review. There’s a bra shopping scene…if you’re interested. I don’t even mind that they don’t offer compensation, but this particular publication does give me lots to think about.

Part of me is really excited because I’m currently working on writing a Chick Lit book and I’ve been worried that I might not have the right voice for it. I was worried I wasn’t funny and girly enough. But apparently I am. You can officially buy me fuzzy pink sweaters for my birthday. Now, when I eventually attempt to publish my novel, I can list this relevant publication. Also, because it’s online, more people will get a chance to read it. More people will know that I’m a wannabe Carrie Bradshaw.

My worry, as elitest as this sounds, is that now I’ll be a “Chick Lit writer.” What happens to my short stories and my reputation as a literary writer? Not that I have much of a reputation, but I could have one someday. I think I’ve decided not to care about it. Snobbery hasn’t fit into my life in the past and there’s no reason for it to start now.  Right?

What this really means is that I need to start writing more and get this novel off the ground. Any ideas for how to make more time for writing? I’ve written a short article about this very subject, but I’m interested in hearing other tactics for balancing work, family, social life, and writing.

Blog spotlight 

This will, I hope, be a reoccurring post in which I aggressively pimp a favorite blog writer or blog. I love finding new links and new blogs. I hope you will, too. 

Today’s lucky blogger to be spotlighted is Editrix. Website: http://www.editrix.us/ 

I could easily sum it up by saying “Editrix rocks,” but that doesn’t seem to be quite aggressive enough in terms of pimping. The Editrix blog is “for editors, editors at heart, and anyone else who thinks grammar is hot.” Yes, that’s right. Grammar is hot. How can you not love someone who is passionate, sincere, and so devoted to their cause? (In this case, the cause is grammar and other topics related to editing and writing).

Some of my favorite topics at Editrix include: American Idol, love stories (between punctuation marks), and the unique “5 questions” segment that features super cool and sometimes random writers. Plus, Editrix is funny. And she writes better prose than just about anyone else. And she’s lives upstairs and wears great shoes and once provided extra towels for me when my apartment flooded.

It’s would be easy to think that a blog about grammar couldn’t possibly be hot, but in the hands of such a skilled writer, grammar is sexy as hell. Others are talking about her blog, too. Don’t be the last to learn about Editrix and certainly don’t be the only loser without a “Grammar is Hot” coffee mug.

P.S. She’ll most likely tell me about the typos I’ve made here and I will be so very grateful. As usual.

Currently buried under: training for online teaching at University of Phoenix

I fell yesterday on my way to teach class (while wearing my grown up high heels) and a boy laughed at me and just walked by. Yup, that’s the kind of week I’m having.

Did I write today? No. Not unless you count the discussion questions for my online teacher training or the comments on my student’s papers. I guess I could have woken up early and made time, but I could barely remember what day it was when I woke up. And yes, I could stay up tonight (after Grey’s Anatomy) and write, but I’m still knee deep in student papers.

I can see my character, that neurotic and lovable narrator from fourteen pages of chapter 1, and she’s waving goodbye. She’s standing on a pier in a sundress shielding her eyes from the glare…and she looks sad. But not surprised.

“Wait, Jolene,” I cry (a placeholder name because I adore Dolly Parton lately). “Don’t leave yet. I just need a day off and then we can hang out again.”

Fat chance.  It’s funny that I can not talk to a friend in weeks (or sometimes months) and know that we’ll be cool. We’ll fall right back into a routine of sharing silly stories and trading crude jokes. But characters are so temperamental. They’re needy in that almost charming way. As the great Annie Dillard says “If you skip a visit or two a work in progress will turn on you.”

Any suggestions for managing one’s time better?

Currently buried under: too many student papers 

I’m not going to lie; I tend to get most of my news from three basic sources: Yahoo headlines, blogs, and Jon Stewart. (Four sources if you count gossip I pick up from friends and colleagues). This could be the reason I never really know what’s going on in the world. It could also explain why I struggled to come up with any literary news to report today.

Pop culture news is easy: Star Jones is getting divorced. Beyonce and Jay-Z got married. Political news was hard to miss today since I live so close to Pittsburgh; it’d be impossible not to know about Hilary Clinton winning Pennsylvania. Any personal news that I might have (poor attendance in my classes today or twelve emails about the Professional Development session I’m helping to coordinate) is inescapable as well.

Where’s all the literary news? It shouldn’t be tough since I am an English instructor and a writer. Sad to say, what’s happening in the world of literature doesn’t saturate my life as much as everything else. I searched during my lunch break, though, to find something:

• It is still National Poetry Month (which I knew but reminded me of an article I can write)
• Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri is still on the New York Times Bestseller List (though she’s number two now, a step down from last week).
• Today is Vladimir Nabokov’s birthday. Maybe I should finally read Lolita.

But I do have my own literary news….kind of. I wrote yesterday and now have fourteen pages of chapter one (a new chapter one). When I re-read what I’d worked on the week before, I surprised myself by not hating it. So it can only go upward from here, right?

Still trying to figure out this blog thing. It’s a work in progress.

Courtesy of the Southeast Review’s Writing Regimen, a writing exercise for you to enjoy:

Someone once said that food is memory– Write about a meal, being concrete and sensuous about the food and the environment around it, that has become irreversibly tied to a memory.

Currently buried under: piles of student papers

Item # 1 on my priority list today: write. This meant that I planned to work on my novel before anything else. No blog writing, no freelance writing, no answering emails until I visited my characters after an unfortunate week away from them. But by 9:30 a.m., there I was writing an email when my cat, Imposter, dropped a live bird at my feet. That quickly I was off track. How can a girl plan to write when she has to catch a bird, clean up feathers, and try to ignore the fact that she hasn’t heard back from the only job interview she’s had in months?

 The good news, I guess, is that this was our first “gift” from Imposter, a skittish stray cat we’ve adopted. Rudy Huxtable, our other kitty, has been bringing us gifts for years. Usually, though, they’re already dead. I was so saddened by this little bird who was too wounded to fly away, but my immediate thought was: I have to write about this. This is what writers do…they turn all the crazy, surreal, funny, and horrifying moments into fuel for their writing.

Take for instance, my good friend Editrix. Last night her tire blew while on her way to buy hot dogs and we stood together in a gas station parking lot trying to learn how to change a tire. She went home and wrote about it. It’s the best coping strategy I know. For every day in which life gets in the way of writing, there are days like today when the writing wouldn’t happen if it weren’t for life’s little adventures.

I’ll let you know if Imposter and the bird make it into my next story.