October 31, 2003 9:43 am
Me and my lame costume
That time is not this morning. But I have missed writing so I must get back to it in one form or fashion.
It's Halloween. What's your costume? I am not a Halloween person. I've always been the "Uh, I can throw a sheet over my head and be a ghost" last minute costumer preparers. Not the one that plans for weeks, shops excessively, spends an exorbitant amount of time and money and comes up with some completely current and hilarious. I'll never forget the guy in a bar in 1988 who came as "little Jessica in the well." He was dressed as a large pipe, maybe had a baby bonnet on or something, and had a doll's leg sticking up beside his head. If you are completely puzzled about what all that means, you obviously weren't watching the news in 1988. It was totally outrageous and TIMELY.
Me? I may be a cowboy today. That's easy, doesn't involve too much effort, and doesn't require that I go out and purchase anything. I'm lazy. Maybe that is the whole thing. I would go like I did last year, completely uncostumed, but my biggest boss apparently LOVES this holiday (last year he wore a tutu) and he enjoys participation at the office. I will humor him and try to jump in a little.
One of my co-workers had his lunch stolen from the refrigerator at work and he wrote a long diatribe and posted it on the refrigerator door condemning the culprit. Another co-worker is planning to come today as "Ed (NOT his real name)'s Lost Lunch." Now that is thinking.
Speaking of writing. Okay, I mentioned writing way up top... I was asked by a local newspaper/magazine to write a column for them. In my usual "hey you think I'm cool and I'll do it for you because you flatter me and build my ego" kind of way I wanted to say yes and jump into it. Upon more reflection (and reading the mag, which I hadn't seen in a few months), I've decided that the agreement would only benefit them and hurt me. I'll pass. It does make me itch to write something on a deadline again though. To be forced to produce has benefits. Something gets written!
Also speaking of writing. . . (and okay, we're not "speaking" here at all, the room is totally silent except for the sound of buttons dragging along the walls of the dryer as it tumbles, the bell around Nathan's neck jingling off on the other end of the house, and the click-clack of this keyboard's keys). . . I read Pamie's book and enjoyed it very very much. It is my kind of writing and situation and it was simple and had no dead weight. I was in awe. I also read a book by a friend at work. She self-published (which has totally lost that old stigma of the vanity press, it seems) and her book was good, but not compelling, and I could find lots of things in it that I would have edited and had her rewrite if it were up to me. Then I was digging through something in the closet last week and came upon my own novel. The one book I have finished (hell, the one book that got beyond 10 pages). I started reading it. It has probably been at least two years since I read it so I had forgotten a lot about it. As I read it, I laughed at the right spots and was pulled along and into the story. It wasn't half as bad as I remember it being when I put it away. It still needs editing and some help and I haven't gotten to the second half yet, where I think the plot really falls into a muddle, but it was not something to be un-proud of (I'm sorry, I'm don't have enough confidence to say "something to be proud of"). I don't know, really, what to do with it at this point, but reading it again may give me the umph I need to at least think about another one and get started. I've always heard that books are like pancakes and children, better to write that first one because you have to and then throw it out and write one for real.
I'd better go see what sort of costume I can come up with. Wannabe writer?