Getting excited to make something, Tv show Zen and Crusie.

1. 200 words or 20 minutes

I think that the idea of writing to a word count makes sense. It helps to keep muscles working, the typing muscles and the brain ones. This would mean that by practice, I’ll learn to use them more efficiently.

 

The outstanding Lani aka Lucy March used this a few times on her blog A Year and Change. Mary Stella reminded me of it a few days ago when I complained that I had done no writing and my time was slipping away.

As is my pattern, I now have less time and more things that need doing but the urge to write has gripped me. One of my patterns is always being prodded to be creative when I have formal tasks that need completion. Yet, upon completion, I find that I have lost the focus that would help me create. 

I’ve decided to try to “get excited and make something” as suggested by Wil Wheaton, all round good guy but player of some of tv’s morally relative characters, well, in recent years, at least - thank you very much big The Bang Theory – seriously, thanks. So my thing will be something written. At least, that’s my first idea.

 

I noticed that for an avid reader and English graduate I have a basic knowledge of grammar and punctuation. Oh, I know what an interrobang is ?! and how to use it, but my Word spell check doesn’t recognise the term.  

Aside: word count is 225 and it’s about 10 minutes.           

 

Back to our story – I have trouble with the n-dash and m-dash and where should I use a semi-colon. I have books to tutor me and it’s time that I study to improve my skills. I want to have the craft of writing down. The flair can come later. 

What would you like to get excited and make?

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2. I’ve recently watched Zen a BBC tv production starring Rufus Sewell, someone I know best from Colde Comfort Farm and A Knight’s Tale. It’s about an Italian policeman named Aurelio Zen who does his best not to be touched by the corruption rife in the  department. It’s filmed in Italy and just appealed to me. Three 90 minute episodes that I just couldn’t stop watching. I mentioned it on Jenny Crusie’s blog and she promptly bought them. After purchase, her receipt showed it was on special $5. Methinks it was meant to be.

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3. Question: Does anyone else’s laptop cursor move up in MSWord even when you’re most probably NOT touching the trackpad by mistake? I am a good typist – 40 words per minute touch typing and better when I’m in practice. But something goes wrong and suddenly I’m typing half of my last sentence three lines up from where I want to be.

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4. Gratitude

The fabulous Jenny Crusie is refabbing – Re-inventing Fabulous and we are all invited to join in the journey. The equally fabulous Anne Stuart will be joining her. I can’t wait. This is so exciting. I guess they got excited and made a new blog. It'll help me with what I want to achieve this year. Woot.

Comments

[Julie]

No, seriously. Just move here and be my daughter-in-law 'kay? Because JUST recently J.D. and I were discussing the "interrobang" and marveling over the fact that this: ?! has it's own name! Destiny dammit! (He's excellent about semi-colons, just sayin'.)

Right, where were we? Other than inside of my ridiculous head, oh yes, the numbered items.

1. I love this idea of 20 minutes or 200 words. (I'm tragically behind in BettyVerse posts right now, will be remedied tomorrow night.)

2. BBC is beyond our reach currently, but I like the sound of this one. And yes, isn't the Universe a well oiled machine.

3. I can't stand the trackpad dealie, it constantly sends me places I don't want to go, and yes, moves where I WAS typing to where I do NOT want to be typing. A. Lot.
I blame the fact that every once in a while my arm SLIGHTLY covers that demon square, and it THINKS it's my finger, wanting me to move the cursor. But, it's always wrong.

4. We are ALL grateful for the new ReFab!

(Whew, that was verbose.)

[Sarah V]

Haha, connection by punctuation.

Apparently Zen was shown on PBS Masterpiece in early 2011.

And I like you and your verbosity.

[Sofie]

Try writing intentionally bad stuff. I'm serious. I used to do writing workshops with teens and overall they'd hate having been dragged to a writing workshop by their teacher. So I'd have them do five to ten minutes of bad writing. Emphasis on bad--cliches, poor logic, etc. Then we'd read them out loud and talk about how to "change" not fix the pieces. The lesson, which some of them actually got, was that a lot of writing is in the re-writing. You can re-write crap--I do it all the time--but you can't rewrite nothing.

[Sarah V]

Thank you Sofie. That's a really good idea.