Friday Five
1. At the end of a very unstructured, first-days-out-of-school week, I have remembered once again that I don't DO unstructured well. My son is slightly better at it, but even he is ready for something to happen. Today, I called friends & got him to email and we will be sociable and productive next week. Maybe even this weekend.
2. I'm reading Skunk Girl, by Sheba Karim. Somebody out here recommended it, and I owe you a thanks. This is a wonderfully written, really fun book. It's about being Pakistani-American in small-town America, but it's not just about that--Karim has hooked into the universal teen girl problems with a really nice balance of pain and humor. And she has picked wonderfully specific details to show Nina's struggles with not fitting in, with trying to make her parents happy, with her own mixed feelings about who she is. This is not vague angst, but a strong, concrete world. Lovely.
3. I had a great writing session with friends today. I realized the other day that I'm not only not happy with the voice of my WIP, I'm actively unhappy with it. Enough so that it was making the actual writing I was doing...unpleasant. Today, I took a chance and started the next scene in a different tense--I switched from first person, present to third person, past. You tell me why my sentences got shorter and less run-on, randomy. You tell me why I ended up with probably twice as much white space on these pages as I've been getting on the others. You tell me why the words came out faster, why I could write scenes instead of feeling the need to stick in big, bracketed questions for later.] This is why, if I could have done math, I might have been a neurologist. Our brains are so beautifully mysterious. When they're not driving us crazy.
4. This weekend, we start cleaning my son's room. Actually, cleaning out would be a better description. He has the most storage space of any room in the house, which--on the one hand-- is very nice for him (and me, when I want him to just do a quick clean-up), but which--on the other hand--does lead to, shall we say...collecting. It is time to shovel out the stuff that's sat on a shelf for two or three years gathering dust. It's the kind of pile you just can't, with any kindness, send the kid in to do alone. Besides, extra hands are needed to hold the trash bag open.
I predict loud music wil be needed. My son suggests The Doors.
5. What movie should we see this weekend? Sandra Bullock's The Proposal just opened in town, but--even not knowing what it's about--I'm guessing I can't get my son on board for it. The Taking of Pelham something-something-something looks more like his & husband's thing, but I want to wait to hear what the R rating is about, from someone who's gone. My son keeps asking about Land of the Lost, but Will Ferrell and me...meh. Probably we'll settle on Night at the Smithsonian, because it's on its way out. Any recommendations?
Happy weekend, everyone. And tell me, during summer vacation, how is that different than, say...Wednesday? :)
2. I'm reading Skunk Girl, by Sheba Karim. Somebody out here recommended it, and I owe you a thanks. This is a wonderfully written, really fun book. It's about being Pakistani-American in small-town America, but it's not just about that--Karim has hooked into the universal teen girl problems with a really nice balance of pain and humor. And she has picked wonderfully specific details to show Nina's struggles with not fitting in, with trying to make her parents happy, with her own mixed feelings about who she is. This is not vague angst, but a strong, concrete world. Lovely.
3. I had a great writing session with friends today. I realized the other day that I'm not only not happy with the voice of my WIP, I'm actively unhappy with it. Enough so that it was making the actual writing I was doing...unpleasant. Today, I took a chance and started the next scene in a different tense--I switched from first person, present to third person, past. You tell me why my sentences got shorter and less run-on, randomy. You tell me why I ended up with probably twice as much white space on these pages as I've been getting on the others. You tell me why the words came out faster, why I could write scenes instead of feeling the need to stick in big, bracketed questions for later.] This is why, if I could have done math, I might have been a neurologist. Our brains are so beautifully mysterious. When they're not driving us crazy.
4. This weekend, we start cleaning my son's room. Actually, cleaning out would be a better description. He has the most storage space of any room in the house, which--on the one hand-- is very nice for him (and me, when I want him to just do a quick clean-up), but which--on the other hand--does lead to, shall we say...collecting. It is time to shovel out the stuff that's sat on a shelf for two or three years gathering dust. It's the kind of pile you just can't, with any kindness, send the kid in to do alone. Besides, extra hands are needed to hold the trash bag open.
I predict loud music wil be needed. My son suggests The Doors.
5. What movie should we see this weekend? Sandra Bullock's The Proposal just opened in town, but--even not knowing what it's about--I'm guessing I can't get my son on board for it. The Taking of Pelham something-something-something looks more like his & husband's thing, but I want to wait to hear what the R rating is about, from someone who's gone. My son keeps asking about Land of the Lost, but Will Ferrell and me...meh. Probably we'll settle on Night at the Smithsonian, because it's on its way out. Any recommendations?
Happy weekend, everyone. And tell me, during summer vacation, how is that different than, say...Wednesday? :)