D'vorahDavida
Yetzirah

( ) And The Giant Purple Pen
Thu May 19 2005


Contrary to popular weatherman opinion, it is raining and dreary here this morning. I like it just fine. But then I don't have to go anywhere either. Finding myself at home and at my leisure after a rather busy working week (for me anyway).... I'm having odd thoughts run through the gray matter.

Ever notice how when you are about to plug in one of those electrical plugs that all have one side bigger than the other, that invariably, the way you are trying to put it in is not the right way and you have to turn it around?

Ditto with the window blinds. If you want to open them, you end up grabbing the string that closes them and vise versa.

Some time ago I read a book on writing that said you should let go of your need to write neatly and just scribble away with abandon. That this would unleash your inner right brained creative side and annoy the heck out of "The Watcher" who is the critic of all you do. That was a liberating insight. I took it. I ran with it. I gave myself over to it with abandon. - - - Only thing is, now all I seem to be able to do is scribble. I used to have VERY nice handwriting. Now I scrawl. I scratch. I swerve.
Now I AND the Watcher are annoyed. But I DID learn to write some pretty good stuff that way.

Last night at my writer's group, someone handed over a paper they had edited, that had THE most wonderful purple sparkly ink on it. I begged to see the pen. I wrote these words with it.... Uniball Signo Rainbow ..... which is the name of the pen. I came home. I got on the internet. They sell them in jolly old England. But over here it looks like all we get is black. I am distraught. I am inconsolable. I am green with envy. But, I found these:

Dreamy Pens From Across The Pond

She DID say she thought she may have bought hers while she was in Europe recently.

Sigh. . .

There are days like today, when I wonder if I will ever write anything good again.
I used to think that writers who felt that way were just lazy whiners and needed to get to work and stop blathering about their "muse" and feeling the need to decamp to some exotic locale to find "it" again.

But I wouldn't mind heading out to some completely unfamiliar spot to jar my sluggish brain into spewing out something worthwhile once more.

No wonder Hemmingway was a lush.

I think about working on my novel. I even touch the notebook it's in, lift the cover a bit from time to time. It sits at my left elbow the whole time I am here in front of the computer, inches away. It languishes, neglected and forlorn, while I play endless games of Zuma, look up "bergamot" to see what the heck they put in Hub Man's Earl Grey tea. (It's a sour orange by the way), look at Shelties on Petfinder.com, give the cat a squeeze as he saunters under my nose on his way to his basket on my desk for a snooze, and finally while I write this angst ridden drivel and publish it on the internet so EVERYONE knows I have lost my marbles, and beyond that, am not re-writing my novel.

There are days I have half a mind to burn it.

I heard once that Stephen King's wife pulled the manuscript of "Carrie" out of the wastebasket one day. She told him to finish it. She was right. But listen.... I understand why he threw it in the trash. It was driving him crazy! He wanted to put himself out of his misery! Burn the sumbitch! Get it out of my sight!

You go Stephen. Power to the Uninspired.

Sigh.

Slump.

Grump.

Maybe if I had a purple pen with sparkly ink I could finish my book.....

(Oh like THAT is going to change anything. You are undeniably at your most whiney, obnoxious, and annoying today there cupcake. You are getting on my last nerve. Here, I'll GET the wastebasket for you. Better yet, I'll empty out the shredder bucket and you can shred that pile of crap right now. We'll start a fire in the backyard and burn it. We'll put out its tribal torch after we vote it off the island. Whatever suits your indecisive fancy. . . But will you please just shut UP about it already? I'm beggin' ya.)

Pout.

Mean old ( ).

I need chocolate.

I'm going to go bake brownies.

Hummpfff.






8 Comments
  • From:
    Pragmatist (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu May 19 2005
    It's a well-known fact that a pan of brownies, fresh out of the oven, is the solution to any problem that might ever come up!

    Bake on!

    Shalom
  • From:
    Allimom (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu May 19 2005
    You might check e-bay. I didn't see purple, but I did see some other colors. Just search for Uniball Signo.
    Alli
  • From:
    Sezrah (Legacy)
    On:
    Fri May 20 2005
    well, you keep all of us entertained and interested and THAT is no mean feat

    i wonder whether somebody from the uk would be open to sending you a couple of said pens
  • From:
    Bookworm (Legacy)
    On:
    Fri May 20 2005
    Lol, well at least this entry made me smile. Keep writing, no matter how it is you *feel*. ;-)
  • From:
    Kedar (Legacy)
    On:
    Fri May 20 2005
    ah cybercutie otherwise known as cupcake
    I bet your novel is superka----you know that long word that Julie Andrews uses

    I think that people are overly critical of themselves and others anything that is written down has merit in a way because it is a recording of someones thoughts and feelings in that moment of time it is a recording of the history of humanity

    I use to run an open mike at a small cafe because no one else would hee hee it was just a grungy little cafe on a street in my city that is historical and represents the starving art district and sometimes we had professional writers come to present poetry or whatever a short presentation of fiction and sometimes people would come in from off the street late at night they would come only once in this uncensored environment and they wouldnt even really call themselves writers they stood up simply because they were burning to say something about their lives and some of these presentations I can remember so clearly and really cupcake these humble presentations were the most powerful
    a kid got up and said one night and said I hate to see people being so miserable people can be so much happier than they actually are this was so enlightening he didnt say come on everyone be happy and smile that is unrealistic he did not try to disolve reality he put the words in just the right way
    anyway I know you are an awesome writer I too have trouble getting motivated at times I have started to write a novel about twenty times over I am starting a novel again this summer I seem to always make it through my kids picture books because there isnt time to waver it is done before I can throw it away

    I think you would be very good at writing childrens picture books because you are so cute but you are a wonderful writer mon amie yetzirah for any age group

    I think steve here at dd said a very beautiful thing he said we never really delete a journal because it is the recording of a life

    I hope this post fits in this window ha ha
    nice talking to you mon amie yetzirah
    love and lightning
    kedar
  • From:
    Kedar (Legacy)
    On:
    Fri May 20 2005
    ps dont get lost in zumaland cupcake
  • From:
    InStitches (Legacy)
    On:
    Fri May 20 2005
    "Ever notice how when you are about to plug in one of those electrical plugs that all have one side bigger than the other, that invariably, the way you are trying to put it in is not the right way and you have to turn it around?"

    Every Single Time Without Fail Even When I Look First!


  • From:
    LifeOFLouise (Legacy)
    On:
    Tue May 24 2005
    And why did you not just ask me to send you a shiny purple pen instead of sulking? I live in the UK and a sparkly purple pen? I think I might have to have one too!
    I'll have a little look in our stationery catalogue, being grand high ruler of the stationery cupboard at work DOES have its advantages sometimes!

    Louise