Nice & Easy
I wrote about three different blogs and had to scrap them because I was contemplating my navel too much.
Therefore I suppose there’s nothing else for it: parody time. And maybe, just maybe, it’ll be a little bit inspirational to you as you hum along.
If not, at least be grateful I spared you the reading of my navel lint and its philosophical meaning to the rest of the Universe.
I’m taking it nice and easy,
It’s going to be so breezy
For me to write this book.
Hey, now, what’s my hurry?
Relax, I shouldn’t worry,
My opening’s going to be off the hook!
I’m on the road to getting published
That’s safe to say
But I better finish it or they’ll never pay
The problem now of course is
To figure out what my plot is of course is
To write nothing would be a crime
But nice & easy does it every time.
I hope Old Blue Eyes isn’t spinning too quickly in his grave. Frank, you know I love you!
Question of the Day: What little lies do you tell yourself in order to accomplish the tasks you have for yourself? Whether it’s writing a book or giving birth…after all, neither of those cases is it “nice & easy”. Well, except for maybe Terri…What little pep talks (LIES) do you tell yourself to get it done?
August 15th, 2008 at 4:59 am
Hmmm. I think I’m missing Lisa! *g*
I never tell motivational lies, though I do have a notice that I sometimes hang on the office door. It says ‘SILENCE, GENIUS AT WORK’
Cap’n, I just know that your navel is worth contemplating. Both I and the rest of the universe are agog, wondering what you thought!
August 15th, 2008 at 7:39 am
I am not sure what I tell myself.
As far as writing goes, I just tell myself that if I keep going forward, it’s bound to get easier. It does, most of the time. And I tell myself that it’s all downhill from wherever I am. At the beginning, it’s “at least I have the idea now, it’s all downhill from here.” Then in the middle I think, “I already wrote the beginning, it’s all downhill from here.” And after the middle I think, “I’ve written the middle” and, well, you get the idea.
Most of this just a “calm down, don’t panic” mentality. Works most, I mean, some of the time.
August 15th, 2008 at 8:09 am
Q - Love that sign!
Marn - That seems like a good way to go to me. And I’m sure there’s some truth in there somewhere. LOL!
Captain - Now I have this song in my brain. Good thing it’s in my iPod with about a million other Frankie songs so I can get it back out.
That vomit it out thing seems to be the only thing working for me. And the lie in that is when I tell myself I can fix it in revisions. Since I haven’t tested that theory yet, I like to think it’s not really a lie at all.
August 15th, 2008 at 8:14 am
In 2007, I decided to write a little every day. I know, it’s genius. But when you’re a pantser like I am and have no freakin’ idea what to write every day, even a little bit can be a PITA. But y’know, it works. Just a little. I don’t worry now about writing thousands of words, just hundreds.After a while, the hundreds add up to thousands, and presto, you have a book. Now if I could convince myself to do a little exercise every day, things would be close to perfect. *g*
August 15th, 2008 at 8:15 am
Come to think of it, I personify “nice and easy does it,” don’t I?
August 15th, 2008 at 8:35 am
Maggie said: “Now if I could convince myself to do a little exercise every day, things would be close to perfect” and “Come to think of it, I personify “nice and easy does it,” don’t I?”
I have to say that these two things absolutely spoke to me today, Maggie!
August 15th, 2008 at 8:43 am
*LOL* Sorry, Q, we’re all missing Lisa–and I just wasn’t into navel contemplation this week. The Capt’n is MOODY and I needed my Friday to be light and fun. This has been a week of hurricanes around here.
But I’m loving all the advice:
Vomit
“Just keeping swimming, just keep swimming” which is how I think of the Marnee strategy
Just a little bit–the Maggie strategy–this one I can do, but how do you leave the mentality you’re not doing ENOUGH…
August 15th, 2008 at 8:47 am
LMAO!! That’s exactly my strategy. “Just keeping swimming, just keep swimming.” I hope I’m that chipper about it too. Though some days I doubt it.
August 15th, 2008 at 9:02 am
I’m thinking if your goal is just to write a little each day, then there is no enough. You wrote today? You met your goal. You write again tomorrow? You met your goal. Sounds genius to me.
And I’m with Maggie on that exercise thing. If only *thinking* about exercising had some benefit…
August 15th, 2008 at 9:05 am
I’m in Olympic mode.
As with childbirth, I tell myself “Writers have been writing for centuries. If they can finish a book, I can too.”
“Nothing worth having comes without trial.”
And this horrible tune ruins everything. “The sun will come out tomorrow. Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow. They’ll be sun.”
Don’t mutiny!
August 15th, 2008 at 9:12 am
I’m dreadfully honest with myself, which is why I never accomplish anything. Today is one of those days instead of swimming, I think I’ll just drop to the bottom of the ocean and complemplate things there.
H- wonderful as always. Old Blue Eyes, oh to be alive then.
August 15th, 2008 at 9:20 am
Alive then? Without the Pill? When you had to wear girdles? Without tampons? No, man…to me that’s almost as much the dark ages as trying to be a girl in the Middle Ages.
I just wish there was an Old Blue Eyes now…so I can enjoy him now…along with my Pill. *LOL*
August 15th, 2008 at 9:42 am
I should wear a girdle now….
August 15th, 2008 at 9:51 am
I live without the Pill now. I could suffer through the girdles (though the conviences of the other stuff would be missed) but I would trade wearing pants for low heeled shoes and shirtwaist dresses and curled hair to dance live to Old Blue Eyes.
August 15th, 2008 at 9:51 am
Oh hush, you’re a tiny little thing Marn.
August 15th, 2008 at 10:00 am
Have you seen the maxi girdles from that era? Are you SERIOUS? *LOL*
August 15th, 2008 at 10:01 am
I had donuts for breakfast and chinese food for lunch. I feel disgusting today.
It was pretty tasty though…
August 15th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Maxi pad girdles. *shudders*
August 15th, 2008 at 10:03 am
I’m serious. I would so tackle anything from that era to dance live to his singing.
August 15th, 2008 at 10:03 am
Donuts sound good. Hm.
August 15th, 2008 at 10:04 am
And yes, I’ve seen them.
August 15th, 2008 at 10:18 am
Well, I should know better. Nothing scares you, Sin. I should have remembered your Mattycakes…that should be proof right there you’re willing to tackle challenges.
August 15th, 2008 at 10:18 am
I’d go back to the 40s in a heartbeat. I’d be miserable and no man would have me because I could never have been one of those stepford housewives, but for Frankie (and Fred and Rock and Cary and….) I’d go back to that time tomorrow.
Plus, I could beat that chick to inventing Spanx!
August 15th, 2008 at 10:23 am
LOL to both of you.
August 15th, 2008 at 10:27 am
Marn - you had lunch already? LOL!
August 15th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Oh, and I had a donut for breakfast. Man that was good.
August 15th, 2008 at 10:35 am
I suspect the Wee One eats earlier than the rest of us, and Marnee has to too, to keep her strength up as she chases him. (Beware of the sugar donut crash though, man…)
August 15th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Robert Mitchem, Gregory Peck, and Robert Taylor!!! Yumm!!
August 15th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Seamed hose, ruffles, rationing, minimum wage of 43 cents, 45% of American homes without indoor plumbing? No, thanks. I love the music too, but I’ll just enjoy listening to it on my ipod in my air conditioned house with my bare legs in jeans.
Right now I feel as if the lie I am telling myself is that I will finish these revisions. I spent hours yesterday observing the wreckage of many marriages. I am finding it hard to work on a story with a mandatory HEA today.
August 15th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Oh, to dance with Gene Kelly!
August 15th, 2008 at 11:28 am
I think I’ll join Janga being happy to enjoy all the oldies but goodies on my iPod and big screen TV. I would not have done well in the past (any time period). I’m too spoiled and way too opinionated. When I was a teenager my father told me to forget about joining the army or being a nun because I didn’t take ridiculous rules or being told what to do very well!
The lies I tell myself…hmmm. I’m sure there are many.
Oops… I’ll have to chime in later - just got a call from the DD asking to picked up from her babysitting job. I’ll be back……
August 15th, 2008 at 11:35 am
Yep, donut was at 0645 this morning, so lunch was at 1045. I was starving. Oh, and the chinese food was calling my name.
August 15th, 2008 at 11:39 am
actually, I kid, it was more like 0715 for the donut. But the chinese food was on spot. sesame chicken…. yummmm….
August 15th, 2008 at 11:45 am
I think hit snooze for the *cough* time at 6:45.
Terri - who is about to eat her frozen pizza lunch.
August 15th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
I definitely have a word count that I hit every day when I’m writing a mss. Like Maggie, I’m such a pantser that I have to write a certain amount or I lose my groove in writing. When I’m editing, I’m much more looser and it tends to take me a bit longer to edit.
But chocolate makes everything better.
*g*
August 15th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Okay, all this talk of breakfast at 7 and lunch at 10 has me feeling guilty - I didn’t get up until 10:45. We went to the mall yesterday for about 6 hours shopping for school clothes for two pre-teens. Enuf said! I feel as if I need another day of rest. Next week it’s back to 6:00 am to get the kids off to school, though.
Okay, one of the big life lies I’ve been telling myself since the kids were little is that I’d worry about them less as they grew. Wrong! Just different worries. I guess my writing lie is that I’ll actually sit down and write again someday. LOL
August 15th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Forgot to say child birth was a breeze.
*ducks and runs*
Irish - You deserve a medal or something, girlfriend. I have to take mine when I get her back which is ONE WEEK before school starts. Good thing I’ve bought some stuff already.
August 15th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
My daughter is so past the point where I can go out and shop for her, Terri. She is sooooo picky now. I really don’t understand it either, she’s never been too particular about what she wore. It’s the whole teenage thing. I can see her turning into a completely different person right before my eyes. I kid you not I really think she’s psychotic. We finally, finally after 5 hours found a pair of jeans she liked. We bought them, brought them home and she comes in my bedroom last night as I’m de-stressing from the day claiming they don’t fit now! My DH had to restrain me from crawling across the bed and wrapping the jeans around her neck!
I know I was a really neurotic teen, but I’ve apologized to my mom about 100 times already. I really don’t think this continuous payback is very fair. I think the Big Man up there needs to pick someone else to screw with and stop having a chuckle at my expense.
August 15th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Irish - I’d like to make you feel better but I’m afraid it has only just begun. Luckily, I can recognize things that are Isabelle’s style, but I can see that won’t last much longer. She informed me the clothes her step-mother buys her are ugly so I will be taking her shopping when she gets back. Informed being the operative word there.
August 16th, 2008 at 12:12 am
So, what was the question? Oh, white lies I tell myself about writing. I’ve used the ‘I won’t read this new book until I’ve finished the book I’m writing.’ That strategy has been an abysmal failure.
Maggie’s idea sounds like the ticket. A win-win situation.
I’ve gotten NADA done on the back to school front. The kids are getting worried they’ll be without pencils. I mean, come on now. We have pencils….at least I think we do.