Weekly Writing Challenges

Once again, I find myself out of the habit of writing daily. I recently discovered that Joseph Gordon-Levitt has this thing, HitRecord. It's a pretty awesome thing. One of the awesome things they do is host a weekly writing challenge. I always want to do it, but never manage to write anything. The deadline for this week is tomorrow, so I forced myself to just sit down and write something tonight. The challenge is to write a letter to the love of your life, who just happens to be marrying your best friend in 48 hours. I chose to write the story directly on the website, so it hasn't been edited, and it was written very quickly. I'm going to take this approach more often because it forces me to submit something without over-thinking. When it comes to my writing, I need to think less.


The challenge, and contributions to it, can be found here:


http://www.hitrecord.org/collaborations/9571?page=1


And here's my contribution:


Dear John

So, it's almost the big day. The first day of the rest of your lives together and blah, blah, blah.
I'm not very good at the romantic crap. But you know that already.

I know you and Steph really want me to come to the wedding, but I can't. I'm a terrible friend and a coward, and I don't trust myself. I'm fairly certain I would get extremely drunk and say inappropriate things at a socially unacceptable volume. You know I have no filter once I get a few beers in me.

Steph is a lovely girl, and I can't do that to her. She deserves her fairy tale, not some goblin clumsily knocking shit over or throwing up in the bushes near the cake.

Do you remember the night you met her? She was my lab partner in Chemistry sophomore year, and I brought her back to the room so we could finish writing up our notes. I knew you were lost from the time you saw her face. Your eyes nearly glassed over. I probably could have seen your imagined future play over your irises if I had stared closely enough. Instantly smitten, man.

I never stood a chance.

Even without Steph, I never would have had a chance with you. And that's ok. I've accepted it. There's nothing that I value more than our friendship.

So, that's why I can't come. I love Steph. She's probably the only reason I passed Chem that year. You couldn't have fallen in love with anyone more perfect. I know you'll have a beautiful life together. Save me a piece of cake, will ya?

Seriously, I hope you can forgive me for sitting this one out.

All my love,

Chet

To the Mom in front of me at Target

This isn't one of those posts. You know, the ones that tear into a stranger for something you observed while they were most likely having a terrible moment during the worst day of their lives. No, this post is a commendation, and a confession.

So, the boy and I are behind a Mom and her two kids at Target the other day. The boy has begged for a slushie enough that my will wore away and I agreed to buy said slushie.  The kids in front of us were also buying slushies.  However, SuperMom pulls out two wallets from her purse and hands one to each kid. Each kid then proceeds to buy their slushie using their own money. How great is that? What a great lesson on how money works. I totally stole her idea and plan to implement it immediately.

The boy picked out his own wallet. It's a Spiderman one with a zipper pocket, which is perfect for all of the change he's going to want to shove in there.  We've discussed how things will work. He wants a snack or treat from the store, he will use his own money to purchase that. If he runs out of money, he can do chores around the house to earn more. I feel like this will be a beautiful system. This means it will most likely crash and burn, but I have high hopes for it.

So, this incident, combined with a history of comics course I'm taking online, have got me thinking about ideas. That mom inspired me to begin a practice that I hope will build a solid foundation for the boy in his understanding of the world of personal finance.  The comic course assigned us to take a god or goddess from any mythology and use it to create a new superhero and villain.  We constantly borrow and trade ideas with those around us.  Look at the wild popularity of sites like Pinterest and Etsy.

The beauty of these borrowed ideas is that they don't have to be exact replicas.  In fact, many times the idea transforms into something unique. Like Poseidon evolving into Aquaman, or the cute party favors you made last year that were inspired by something you saw on Facebook.

My confession: I'm totally an idea stealer. Well, more like an idea transfigurer. Yeah, that's a made up word, but you know what I mean.  So, a huge shout out to the Target mom that inspired me to try something new with the boy, and props to all those creative minds out there that ignite the imaginations of those around you.

PAD Challenge complete!

I did it. I wrote a poem a day for the entire month of April. I may have taken the easy road and scribbled down a few haikus on busy days, but I still managed to write something every day.

I haven't yet decided if I will keep this going through May or beyond. It's definitely a good habit to get into, but I think I'll open it up to all writing, not just poetry. Maybe challenge myself to write 500 words a day in any format. Baby steps.

As the best reward to myself ever, I'm seeing Neil Gaiman tonight in D.C. Really, my wonderful husband bought the tickets for me as a Valentine's Day gift, but it certainly seems like a reward for a successful poetry challenge. Either way, I get to see Neil Gaiman, so it's a win!

Hanging in There

We're nearing the end of April. I've managed not to abandon either of my monthly challenges thus far. I'm hoping to hang on for one more week.

In the interest of full disclosure, most of the poems I've written are absolute garbage. They haven't been edited, haven't even been looked at really since I scribbled them into my notebook. Do I plan to post them here anyway? You betcha. I might even throw in a link to the imgur album I plan to make of my daily portrait challenges. We won't discuss how they show even less skill than the poetry.  The important thing is that I'm developing the habit of writing and drawing daily, right? The skill level of the exercises doesn't  matter. At least, that's what I keep telling myself every day so I don't feel discouraged.

April has also brought warmer weather (finally) which means all plant life is attempting to kill me with its poisonous pollen spores. I made the mistake of spending the entire day outside last Saturday, and I've been paying for it ever since. A throat filled with scratchy fire, itchy eyes, a head that feels like it will explode at any minute from the sinus pressure contained within...all make for a joyous time. I finally got some mostly uninterrupted sleep last night which was awesome, but it's still a feat to breathe out of both nostrils simultaneously today.

I think next year I'm just going to shut myself away for the months of April and May, create a nice, pollen-free zone for myself. Unless Nature learns to keep her gifts to herself.

A Challenging Month

April is National Poetry Month. I've decided, like many others, to challenge myself to write one new poem a day for the entire month. I'm 2/2 so far, and feeling pretty optimistic. It's a great way to get back into the habit of writing every day (even of the poems are mediocre at best). I've completely abandoned the writing wagon as of late. I have a dozen excuses, but I'm doing my best to recognize my procrastination and force myself back into a routine.

My son starts a new preschool on April 13th, and I think I'll be able to sneak in a few hours of writing time a day. *Gasp* Dare I hope to finish that Nanowrimo novel that remains untouched since November?

As if pushing myself to compose a daily poem wasn't challenge enough, I also decided to begin a daily portrait.  I haven't drawn seriously since I was in college. I'm 2/2 with this one as well.  I'll admit that I'm beyond rusty, but it feels good to sketch again.

If I get myself together by the end of the month, I will post all 30 poems and portrait sketches here. If I was even more motivated, I would write poems inspired by the sketches or vice versa. Not going to lie, that will never happen, but I do hope to have a small gallery of art to showcase the first of May.

April is going to be hard work!

Just Breathe

I have been at war with my sinuses for almost a week now. The nostrils trade off, each enjoying a wonderful vacation from their very important task of allowing me to breathe. My lips are chapped. My throat is perpetually dry. Eating a meal without choking as I attempt to both breathe and chew at the same time has become an accomplishment.

However, for a few seconds today, the left nostril opened. Completely. I was able to take a handful of deep breaths for the first time in days. The tissue inside my nasal cavity, hidden beneath its armor of mucus for the last week, burned as the fresh air rushed past it. And then, of course, the nostril clogged right back up.  For a few precious seconds, though, I was reminded just how much I take breathing for granted. I miss it.

But this moment has given me hope. Maybe tomorrow I will get more than a few precious seconds of unimpeded breathing. A girl can dream, right?

My Gym

Not the one where I work out because that one doesn't exist. The one where my three year old goes to do "gymnastics" once a week.

The music is so loud the children have to shout to make their tiny voices heard. The walls are nauseatingly cheerful. Bright colors and smiling cartoon animals assault your eyes from every surface. For some reason, every animal is waving at you--except the fish, obviously excused from the creepy greeting due to his lack of arms. In an effort to compensate for the fins, his smile crosses the line from mirthy to maniacal, as if his mouth is trying to split his head in two. One can only assume the children think they're friendly and fun.

I'm convinced that, if I stayed here after they turned the lights out, the animals would reveal the weapons they're wielding in the hands hidden behind their backs. You know, the ones not waving.

Except the fish. He would use his huge mouth to swallow my face.

There's no way I could be here by myself, even if it wasn't dark. The laughter of phantom children probably echoes off the walls.

And don't even get me started on the multitudes of bare feet and booger fingers that have touched every bit of this place. The amount of cooties in here has to be epic.

But we'll be here again next Wednesday because the kid loves this damned germ factory.