Monday, September 13, 2010

Things I suck at....

I can no longer sing the tidy-up song. My house is littered with toys, my feet are bloody from stepping on transformers and blocks and the idea of singing when I want to scream at my progeny - no longer works. I suck at singing the tidy up song.

I can't make putting shoes on into some kind of game. It's a fight. It's always going to be a fight.

Sticking to the spinning class plan. I want to go. I really do. I get so far as to put on the appropriate clothes and for some reason I always find a way to bail.

Managing the roller coaster. I have two roller coasters in my life right now. The first is Mick in Kindergarten and Lucy going to day care two days a week. I am THRILLED to have two full days and every afternoon of my life back. THRILLED. and then...I'm guilty about being thrilled. And then I'm mad about being guilty. I suppose this will stop - though Eileen is taking her oldest to college this week and I can't WAIT to hear about HER emotional roller coaster - that's going to put me to shame, I'm sure.

The second roller coaster is the persepective on my work drama. One day I'm quite sure that I'm the cleverest girl around, all my ducks are in a row and they're following me on this mad downhill run to the end of the book. The next day I look and there are no ducks just terrible loose ends that have no conflict or drama and they aren't following me downhill - they're spinning off into nowhere.

I know this roller coaster is in my head and if I can occupy brain with the story - with actually getting words down on paper - the roller coaster turns into a pleasant kid's ride.

So, there you have it - where are you falling down on the job? Or better yet - give me one thing you've done right this week!

9 comments:

Ryshia Kennie said...

What I did right this week was mostly luck - I stumbled on the right packaging to bundle up my book for a raffle and make it all look great. On the other hand I finally had to admit that my tomatoes are dismal. They're small, rock hard and doing their best to turn red anyway before first frost.

Maureen McGowan said...

It's so much easier to think of things I suck at... but I feel like I should force myself to think of something I've done right. Since I know that, like Molly, one thing I suck at is forgiving myself for my shortcomings. Hmmm...

I worked through to the end of this WIP. No, I haven't finished, but I think I see a route through to the end. Are there problems? Yes. But at least it's not all just a mystery, now.

Maureen McGowan said...

PS. Welcome, Ryshia!

Good for you on the promo raffle stuff! And the tomatoes aren't your fault. :)

Sometimes I think that because we can control our characters' lives, we start to think we can control everything. ;) I know I have a tendency to blame myself for stuff that's not my fault. Even before I was a writer.

Stephanie Doyle said...

I suck at hair. I blame my mother who started me off with a bowl cut from age 2.

But I can't use a curling iron, or flat iron. Sometimes curls work, sometimes they don't. Basically I've been blowing out the same boring cut forever.

I went through this Meg Ryan phase for years when I thought I could pull off short and cute... I couldn't.

So now it's long and I suck at it. Which product to use, when to spray all of it.

What I did right this week... 100+ pages baby! Best writing week evah.

Eileen said...

It's only Monday! Am I supposed to have done something right already?

I made it to work on time and packed a nutritious lunch for my high school junior.

Writing-wise, I'm pretty much done with my rough draft after blowing off all social engagements Friday and Saturday and staying up until midnight Saturday to do it. It's rough (I'm afraid I'm with you with all the loose-ends, etc.), but it's done.

Molly O'Keefe said...

Oh my gosh - tomatoes aren't your fault. That is absolutely an act of God.

Molly O'Keefe said...

Maureen CONGRATS!! It's so awesome isn't it when one idea knocks down all the wall - I'm so thrilled for you!

Oh Steph - don't get me started on hair. I got this lady across the street and she manages to give me a hair cut that looks pretty good when I do absolutely nothing to it. You need my lady.

100 pages!!!! I wish I could take you out for a drink - that's a great week - congrats!

Molly O'Keefe said...

My daughter ate cheese, crackers and left over honey cake for lunch. Oh, and we split an apple - you are ahead of me, for sure.

Congrats on getting the rough draft done!! Those ducks will toe the line, I promise!

Eileen said...

I think cheese, crackers, honey cake and an apple IS a nutritious lunch. If I could have gotten Alex to eat that as a toddler I would have been over the moon.

I hope you're right about my ducks. I'm getting pretty sick of them.

Oh. And I love everyone's hair.

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