100 Things - 56-64

I realized that it's been a long time since I've added to my 100 Things list, so here goes.

56. I got tired of being blonde. Now I'm stripey. (And I think this picture is funny, because it looks like I'm slightly annoyed at having my picture taken, but I took the picture).

57. I love Reel Big Fish. I realize that listening to Reel Big Fish annoys everyone in my general vicinity, but they have a kick ass horn section and they curse a lot, and when you've had a bad day, it's very satisfying to dance around like an idiot and sing along. Sadly, I realized in 2002, the last time I saw RBF live, that since I am not a 15 year old boy, it's probably not okay for me to go to their concerts, even if they do have a kick ass horn section and Beer is the best song ever. Also, RBF reminds me of my best friend from high school, because, while he hates RBF, he looks an awful lot like the lead singer.

58. I have a potty mouth. I've gotten good about observing proper time and place rules over the years, but I do love a good obscenity. I particularly enjoy combining obscene words that don't make any sense when you put them together. I don't, however, drop f-bombs on my blog, because I know that cursing does offend some people, and I really don't want to make people uncomfortable. (Side note: When Lady makes reference to someone "dropping an f-bomb," she actually says the word and then bomb, which totally cracks me up, because it negates the whole purpose of the term f-bomb. I've never pointed this out to her, because I think it's adorable and I don't want her to stop doing it, although I think she reads my blog now . . . Hi Lady!) I, personally, subscribe to the Kevin Smith theory of cursing (which I think may be a paraphrasing of a George Carlin sentiment), which is that there are "no bad words, only bad intentions," the exception being, of course, that carabiner is an awful word.

59. I fell asleep at 9:30 last night and woke up at 1AM, wide awake. This explains the rambling.

60. I ramble when I'm tired.

61. Our microwave blew up on Friday, so we ordered a new one and it came yesterday, and it has convection cooking capabilities, and I was really excited about it until I saw how big the manual is.

62. I love SciFi. This completely shocks me, because I never liked Stars Trek or Wars. But last year when I had the sniffles, I binge read all of Kevin Smith's blog (there was more on the blog before he turned it into a book), and he kept writing about Battlestar Galactica and how his wife really liked it because there were strong female characters. Then, Noelle wrote about B-star on her blog, and I believe NPW made mention of it as well. So I decided to give it a try, and I love it ever so much. Then I moved on to Dr. Who, which is absurdly awesome. I also enjoy Futurama, Torchwood, Fringe, and Heroes, and we just Netflixed Firefly. I kind of feel like I was missing out all these years. Although, I do think my enjoyment of SciFi now (and my original distaste for it) has to do with the evolution of character in the genre over the years. Starbuck has a much deeper, complex range of emotions than Han Solo does. And the relationship between The Doctor and Rose/Martha/Donna will break your heart.

63. I've been binge reading books lately. Dog treadmill time encourages this.

64. I got excited yesterday, while reading Bookends by Jane Green, because (in addition to being a great book) there's a Dr. Who reference in it. She refers to someone's home as a Tardis (meaning it looks small from the outside, but is actually roomy inside).

65. I am quite comfortable with my nerdiness.

A little cross-blog promotion

EnviroVogue is giving away three reusable bags over at my other blog, Allie's Answers. You should enter. The bags are adorable. They are made through fair trade labor practices, and the fabric used to make them comes from recycled soda bottles.

Backpacking My Way Through Stars Hollow

I haven't been graceful about accepting winter this year. Back in late October/early November, I started feeling this panic about dark, grey days, temperatures that I believe would convince sane people that this area of the country is not inhabitable, and the wonder that is lake effect snow. I felt the weight of impending cabin fever so heavily, that we broke down and bought a treadmill. It was the best damn purchase ever.

We trained the dogs how to use the treadmill, and when it's too cold out, or the roads are too messy, they get their morning walk indoors (while I happily read and drink coffee, sitting on our big blue exercise ball next to the treadmill, cheering "good job" every five minutes or so). And I have discovered the extreme awesomeness of having a treadmill in the privacy of my own home.

I can walk barefoot. I don't have to worry about having a cute, (or at least presentable) workout outfit. I can exercise with crazy I-just-woke-up hair. And, I can backpack.

I've been walking on the "mountain climber" program setting, carrying a 15 pound pack. I'm working my way through the seasons of Gilmore Girls (except I'm going to skip the last one, because everyone knows it started sucking when they ditched the original writers). And I look forward to that 45 minutes every day more than I've ever looked forward to any workout.

I'm planning to add a few more cans of beans to my backpack to get up to 20 pounds this week, with an overall goal of being comfortable hauling 30 pounds. And when backpacking season starts up, look out. It's one thing to be in shape, and it's another thing to be in backpacking shape. It's great to run all winter, but then you put on a pack and you're using different muscles and your stride is different, and muscles you forgot you had start telling you to f-off. I might not have a lot of time to go backpacking this year, but when I do go, I'll be able to make the most of it. No re-acclimating to my pack. No sore ankles. No feeling like I'm going to fall over backward the first time we hit a big hill.

I know some hardcore backpackers hit the gym treadmill with their packs, but I'm really not comfortable working the crazy out in public. I prefer to maintain the crazy in the privacy of my own home. And then blog about it.

Why Can't You Pee Like A Normal Dog?

The Stella Urinary Saga continues. She's gotten a little better, but still, it's a struggle to get her to pee. It's like she needs the right combination of mood lighting and shrubs, and the earth has to be rotating exactly right before she can squat.

But I learned last night that all of this can be ignored if Stella has a pee buddy. After dinner, I took her out. She immediately ran over to a stick, started chewing on it and plopped down in the grass. I crouched down to call her over to me to distract her from the stick and hopefully get her back to business. She came over, squatted right next to me, and started peeing. It was very strange, squatting there with my peeing dog. I stifled a giggle and tried my hardest not to move, so I wouldn't disturb her ever so sacred pee time. When she was done, I piled on the praise and started to run inside with her. She ran back to sniff at the spot where I had crouched down. Apparently, she thought I'd been peeing in the yard. I hope the neighbors didn't think so too.

Back to Work

I didn't mean to drop my big news and then disappear from this blog for a week. Honestly, I've just been overwhelmed (in a very very very good way) with all of this and haven't been able to think of anything to say (aside from thank you - your kind comments mean so much to me!).

So, all of a sudden, my entire life has changed, except it hasn't. When it all boils down, it's still about the work. It's still about crafting the best story I can, staying true to my characters, and putting the time in.

I'm putting aside my folk singer project for a few weeks while I take a stab at my editor's suggestions for STAY. She has such amazing ideas and I'm so excited to be working with her. Plus, now I can start conversations with, "So, I was talking with my editor the other day . . . "

I promise I'll be back later this week with a more interesting post, but for now, it's time to pull a Mr. Rogers, put my writing sweater on, and get to work.

Guess what!?!

From Publishers Marketplace:

February 9, 2009 Fiction:
General/Other
Allie Larkin's STAY, pitched as in the tradition of Emily Giffin and Claire Cook, the story of a woman whose relationship with a loveable Slovakian German Shepherd helps her recover from heartbreak after the love of her life marries her best friend, to Erika Imranyi at Dutton, in a pre-empt, for publication in 2010, by Rebecca Strauss at McIntosh & Otis.

Yeah, that's me. That's my book. And I feel like the luckiest girl in the whole wide world right now, for getting to work with my awesome agent and amazing editor on this book. I love my main character so much, and I'm thrilled that she's in such good hands.

An Ode to My Long-Suffering Writing Group

Maybe some writers sit in solitude and easily, brilliantly turn out incredible, award-winning pages on the first draft without ever getting even the slightest bit of feedback. Maybe pigs fly, but I just don't look up enough to see them. It's not like I'm claiming I know everything there is to know. But I do know that my writing group is a vital part of my writing process.

It's easy, when you figure out something in your head, to leave out major, vital bits of information. It's easy to leave out words, write choppy dialogue, or think something's working when it isn't.

I meet with my writing group every two weeks. We show up with three copies of our recent pages, read aloud, and then talk about what's working and what isn't. Everyone makes notes on their copies and gives them back when we're done with the discussion. These notes are so helpful later on in the editing process.

I've been in a writing group of one form or another since 2002. People have come and gone, - moved, stopped writing, started writing again, etc. - we break for holidays, and take some time off in the summer or if everyone's life seems to be getting a little too crazy. But overall, I've been going to writing group consistently since I graduated from college. I credit this for the fact that, almost seven years after graduating, I'm still writing.

At this point in my life, I know I'll never stop writing. I've got enough ideas and characters backed up in my head to keep me going for ever and ever, but in those first few years after school there was this tenuous balance between writing and the rest of my life. My writing group is what kept me from teetering. It's kind of like Writers Anonymous. Hi, my name is Allie and I'm a writer. Because, let's face it, there are easier interests to have. Stamp collecting, for one, involves very little rejection, and is far less time consuming than writing a novel.

Having a deadline and knowing that I don't want to show up without pages, plays a big part in my productivity level, and my work is so much better for getting consistent feedback. But the other thing that's wonderful about writing group is the people and their work. Right now, my group consists of me, Joan, and Mel, and our meetings are one of the brightest spots in my life. Not only do I get help with my writing from smart, perceptive, creative ladies, but I get to read their writing. Sometimes, their work leaves us on a cliffhanger, and I can't wait to get back to group the next time to hear how it all turns out.

Joan and I have been working together forever now. She has amazing patience in reading through countless edits of the same scene, and roots for my characters as much as I do. Her ideas for my work are amazing and her writing is even more so. I've watched her work evolve. Her stories have made me cry on more than one occasion, and I still think about characters she wrote years ago. She did a reading at Writers and Books recently, and blew everyone away. (If you want to curl up with a cup of tea and read some great stories, check out this one and this one). And I feel so lucky to have had her as a constant in my writing life.

Mel joined our group this fall. We took a novella class together years ago, and she and Joan and I were in a master class over the summer. Mel writes middle grade fiction, and it's so much fun to read. She works with kids and is so in tune to the perspective of grade schoolers. Recently, she wrote this vivid scene about a kid in the nurse's office that gave me crazy flashbacks to faking sick so I could get out of long division. Mel also does fascinating things. She spent a summer studying Harper Lee in Monroeville. She's always reading a great book, and she takes really neat classes.

Working in group has taught me how to take constructive criticism, how to have faith in my work, and how to be a better writer and reader.

If you're interested in writing, my best advice would be to find a group - people you trust, who will work hard, and be honest, kind, and supportive. But you can't have my group. I'm not giving them up for anything.

Honestly!

One of my favorite bloggers, The Modern Gal, awarded me the Honesty Award, and I am honored.

The honorees are to:

A) first list 10 honest things about yourself - and make it interesting, even if you have to dig deep!
B) pass the award on to 4 bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of the Honest Scrap.

So here goes:

1. I get teary when I talk about how amazing my friends are and how much they mean to me. It's hard not to. They are really freaking amazing, and several live way too far away.
   
2. I had an imaginary friend as a child, but he left me and I was devastated. I worry about what this says about me in general.
   
3. As a kid, I actually kissed several frogs to see if any would turn into a prince. None of them did.
4. I research bizarre things and retain random information that isn't really useful to anyone. For example, did you know that Cat Steven's song Wild World is about the woman who played Rayanne's mom on My So Called Life? I actually think this process helps me work through other ideas, but I'm not sure why.
   
5. Sometimes, when J's sleeping, or doing something else and not paying attention to me, I watch him and wonder how it's possible to love some one as much as I love him.
   
6. I got teary writing that. He is, after all, my best friend, so #1 applies.
7. When people complain about 30 or 40 degree weather being cold I want to invite them to spend a winter here. Sometimes, there are obscenities involved in my imaginary invitation.
8. Two of my best friends say I'm very water. They are talking about this, and while I can't say the guy in the example of water looks a lot like me, I think we might have a lot in common.
9. When one of my Facebook friends is tagged in a photo, I usually end up looking at the whole photo album even if I don't know any of the other people. I also love random people's vacation pictures on Flickr.
   
10. One of my favorite gifts ever is a blue felt heart the other 1/4 gave all of my ladies in 1997. She had each of us stitch a piece of it. I still carry it in my pocket whenever I travel, have something major going on, or just feel lonely, and it reminds me how lucky I am to have people I love so much.

I'm passing the Honesty Award on to:
The Reluctant Blogger
Malfeasance
Baltimore Bliss
In a Western Place