Do I Love My Writing?

I’m sorry I’ve been absent from this space for a while. I accepted a quick project with very imminent deadlines. Like today.

If you are new to this space, I am a freelance writer/editor. Under my given name, I write or edit books under contract. Lots of work for hire, but some royalty projects.

Speaking of which: over the last six months or so, I’ve slowly come to a revelation about my writing. Whether I wrote or not depended on what others thought. If I received rejections for a book I queried, I stopped writing other books in that series or genre. So after prayer one day (yes I pray), I asked myself, Do I love my writing regardless of whether or not I receive a contract or sell a book some other way?

The answer was no. 😥 It was too tied to the approval of others.

Back in the day, a friend and I wrote stories to entertain each other. When she moved away, I still wrote stories, this time to entertain myself. This was way before I even thought of querying publishers and agents. Back then I wrote by hand. Like these relics from a bygone era.

 

I have a drawer full of stories. I don’t have to care if anyone besides me (or you if you deciphered the tiny bit of writing on the photos) reads them or think they’re “good,” trendy, or old-fashioned. I enjoyed the journey of writing them. They’re like journals in a way—a path into what I was thinking about at the time. Feeling bored and couldn’t get to a library? I wrote a story. Disgruntled about a relationship? I wrote a story. No money to travel? I wrote a story.

I get that no one is an island and that publishing is a business. See paragraph one if you don’t believe that. As someone who has an editor (more than one in fact) for two projects, I understand the need to make money and pay rent because I made money. And this post is not about a refusal to improve my craft nor is it a denial of my desire to have stories I wrote read by others. I just want to love writing regardless of whether I have anyone’s approval or lack thereof. I want to get back to writing a story because I feel like doing it even if no one ever reads it.

Does that make sense?

Is there something you want to do that you like doing but stopped doing because you think no one else approves? If you’re brave enough, please comment below.

Person with a pen from wisegeek.org. Other photos by L. Marie.

Old Favorites

The other day when I snapped a photo of the cover of a book, I realized how much wear and tear the book has sustained. It is one of my favorite books after all.

So I looked at others to see how they fared.

 

You might wonder why I don’t replace them now that they are old and so shabby that spines have to be taped because pages are now falling out. I can’t help thinking of a familiar quote by the Skin Horse in The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco:

Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.

I know some passages by memory and by page number. Each time I open one of these books, it feels like I’m heading home. They remind me of friends I’ve had for a long time whose habits I know well.

Do you have a favorite book that is now shabby, but you still keep it? Do tell!

Velveteen Rabbit image from word-ink.net. Other photos by L. Marie.

Does “Quality” Matter?

I put quote marks around quality, because I realize that many see this term as subjective. But I pondered the question the other day when I looked at a video about last week’s movie box office totals.

Godzilla x Kong (please do not ask me how that title is pronounced), which was directed by Adam Wingard, made $80 domestically and over $190 million internationally. Many critics disparaged its quality. Yet moviegoers gave it an A- CinemaScore rating. This article will tell you more about that: https://fandomwire.com/it-seems-overall-people-love-it-godzilla-x-kong-scores-surprisingly-high-cinemascore-despite-critics-bashing-latest-kaiju-movie-to-smithereens/

Dune 2 made just a tad bit more domestically in its opening weekend. Critics and moviegoers gave it high marks for quality. I saw it twice at the theater. I haven’t yet seen Godzilla x Kong. However, a friend saw it and said it was “ridiculous” (his quote). Meanwhile he saw Dune 2 four times at the theater and praised its quality.

I think we’ve all seen movies and read books that some critics and consumers described as utter trash but which captivated others. “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” the old saying goes. I can’t help thinking of 2002’s My Big Fat Greek Wedding, a movie I saw twice at the theater. Critics panned it.

I wonder if “quality” is a matter of the heart. What do I mean by that? Well, in a previous post, I mentioned that when called upon to clean my room (back when I was a kid), I barely put effort into doing it. I hated that task. But when I love what I do, I put a lot of effort into that task, because I want to do the best job that I can.

Sometimes, in my sad moments, I fear that my efforts seem wasted, especially if something I’ve written is rejected or ignored. Case in point: Years ago, when I queried a novel, an agent praised the writing, but rejected the book in favor of what was deemed trendier.

In those moments I’m so tempted to put less effort in, thinking, Does anyone really care? But then I come to my senses and realize that I still care about what I write, regardless of whether anyone else does.

Quality image from quasource.com. Godzilla x Kong image found somewhere online. Dune 2 poster from eBay. My Big Fat Greek Wedding poster found somewhere online.

Convenience Food

I can’t recall the last episode I’ve seen of The Simpsons. I stopped watching it regularly after season 8. But I vividly recall many an episode where Homer Simpson would run into the Kwik-E-Mart for a hotdog or some other overpriced, inedible food item. Though inedible by the standards of most of the population, Homer would still eat it, even if the item had dirt that it picked up after being dropped on the floor.

Unfortunately, those episodes and the sneering comments of people over the years created a stigma in my mind for a long time in regard to food made at gas stations or convenience stores. Now, coffee and Icee drinks were a different story. I have had many a cappuccino or an Icee from the gas station or 7-11. My sister-in-law and I would stop at a gas station in her area and grab a cappuccino to go. But I wouldn’t buy food there—only snacks by well-known vendors like Frito-Lay.

Well, times have changed. According to an NCCO (National Checking Company) Foodservice Solutions blog post:

Thanks to busy lifestyles and the desire for quick, easy meals, convenience stores have seen a surge in business.

Today, I wanted a “quick, easy meal.” Thanks to having a gift card, I decided to try some wings at the gas station (and buy gas as well).

My verdict: They’re decent, but very filling. Just three pieces and I was full. They have a breakfast pizza that I heard was good. I also saw some salads that I wouldn’t mind trying. So, I’m glad to lay that stigma to rest.

I’ve heard that convenience stores in Japan are great places for food. Check them out here: https://www.byfood.com/blog/culture/guide-to-konbini-japanese-convenience-stores

Have you eaten at the gas station or a convenience store? What did you think? Have you heard others talk about food from these establishments? How has that affected the way you see the food sold there?

Kwik-E-Mart from The Simpsons Wiki. Icee image from their website. Other photos by L. Marie.

Resilience

When I was a kid, my mother often told me to clean my room. But I would get tired and bored of the project halfway through it. I didn’t have the resilience or perseverance to stick to a task until its completion despite how I felt about it or how difficult it was. Instead, I resented having to miss TV shows or be with friends because I had to do this assigned task.

In college, I still didn’t have it! One of my major classes was a very time-consuming video class taught by a professor who voiced his opinion that women didn’t belong in the field. Rather than have an “I’ll show him” attitude, I chose the easy way out. I took an incomplete in the class, because I didn’t have the resilience to deal with someone who was determined to make my life miserable. I decided to pledge a sorority rather than work hard in school. I mean, some things were more important—parties, dating guys in frats. Guess I showed him! (Yes, I know. Hindsight is 20/20 since the women in the sorority were determined to make my life miserable while I pledged.)

My roommate sophomore year had a 4.0 GPA and never went to parties. I didn’t understand her desire to work hard instead of partying hard. At least that is, until I realized what it cost her with her family. But that’s not a story I will share here. I will say her endurance despite having no support at home was an important influence down the road.

As you can imagine, my choices affected my GPA. By the time my frontal lobe kicked in and I came to my senses about studying, well, I was a junior! Consequently, I had to work extremely hard and take an extra class in order to have enough credits to graduate! Some people have to learn things the hard way, I guess.

Why this trip down memory lane? These days I think a lot about resilience, since I’m in the middle of a work-for-hire school curriculum book project. This project entails multiple drafts for the editorial team to evaluate how well I’ve stuck to the scope and sequence of the project. It involves trying and failing and trying again. I have a great editor who tirelessly works with me to get the project done so that students and teachers will enjoy the experience of reading the book and discussing the subject.

Working on the project means multiple deadlines, some of which are weekly. It means I keep going despite the fact that this has been one of the hardest seasons of my life. But this post is not a call to pity me. I love what I do. I’m marveling at the fact that the kid who could barely clean a room and the young woman who took an incomplete in a class because it interfered with her partying schedule has to continually face the lesson of resilience in a task.

How about you? I know you’re resilient, because Covid happened and you’re still here. But when has your resilience been tried the most? What kept you going?

Person with a pen from wisegeek.org. Stories sign from transformleaders.tv.

How Do You Know a Film Is Good?

If you search online for the qualities that make a film good, you’ll see qualities like directing, writing, acting, music, and cinematography. Do you agree? Is there anything you would add to the list?

Over the weekend I saw Dune 2, which was directed and co-written by Denis Villeneuve and adapted from the 1965 book by Frank Herbert. I will not give spoilers, so please don’t flee. Seeing Dune 2 was pretty much a given seeing as how I loved the first movie. I realize a film like this is not everyone’s cup of tea. I realize a film like this is not everyone’s cup of tea. But many people seemed to like it even without having read the book or having seen the 1984 film or the miniseries. (I read the book but didn’t see the 1984 film. I saw the 2000 miniseries, however.)

Dune was considered an unfilmable book, according to many online sources like this one. But with two film adaptations of the book, Director Denis Villeneuve has proven that to be a false assumption.

Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides in Dune 2.

Some might say that the qualities listed above (directing, writing, acting, music, and cinematography) might seem subjective. After all, I might like a soundtrack you hate. But for me, Dune 2 ticks all of the quality boxes.

I can recall many well-framed scenes that I won’t share because I am avoiding spoilers. But thinking of them reminds me of my photography versus that of Marie Bailey of 1 Write Way. I am an indifferent photographer. I see a cloud and I shoot a photo with my phone. I don’t take the time to frame anything. I just click. You might not want me to take a photo of your family. Marie, however, is of a different sort as you’ll see if you click on the above link.

The actors were inspired to put everything they had into the production because of the incredible work ethic and love for the material exemplified by the director and the crew. How do I know this? The actors said so themselves in many interviews. (I watched several interviews after seeing the film.)

The composer, Hans Zimmer, and his team created instruments to produce the soundtrack. How is that for dedication? He read the book when he was a teen. By the way, he won an Oscar for the first film’s score. So did the cinematographer, Greg Fraser.

Have you seen Dune 2? What movie have you seen recently that you consider good or even great? What makes you think that way?

Dune 2 poster from eBay. Timothée Chalamet photo found somewhere online. Other photos by L. Marie.

Franchise Ownership? Moi?

The other day, I received an email that I wish I hadn’t quickly deleted, but instead had copied it to this post. The gist of it had to do with a unique opportunity for me to own a franchise. The sender saw my profile (under my given name) on LinkedIn and thought my freelance writing made me well suited to own a franchise. Only the franchise had ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with writing. Not even a little bit. (Sorry. I can’t recall the name of the company. Just that I was perfectly suited for it, according to the sender.)

Last year, a guy sent three emails, because he was absolutely convinced that I was the ideal candidate to own a totally different franchise based on my job as a freelance book editor. (LinkedIn again!) I can’t recall the name of that franchise either. I know it was obscure, however. I didn’t keep those emails either, but instead reported them to the email scam division of the FBI. After that, I did not hear from him, unless he changed his name and franchise offer.

The only difference between the latest offer and the first offer was money. The recent offer involved a payment of $28. I skimmed the email in my haste to delete it, so I don’t really know what I would get for that $28 besides a franchise. Seems a pretty small amount of startup capital to invest in a franchise! Maybe the $28 payment would have netted me the knowledge to gain a franchise since I’m ideally suited for one, as I have been told. 🙃🙃🙃

I never get emails from McDonald’s or Starbucks—corporations whose offerings I actually appreciate—asking me if I want to own a franchise. I guess they don’t search LinkedIn for freelancers with a small number of followers. Oh well. And I so wanted to be able to say, “Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccinos are on me today, ’cause my $28 bought a franchise! Woo!”

Have ever you been invited to own a franchise? Maybe you’ve seen scam emails like the ones I received too. Here’s a great site on reporting scams: https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/spoofing-and-phishing

Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino from Starbucks website. Business owner image found somewhere online through Bing.

Are You Swayed by Reviews?

I am to some extent. I mean, look at this humidifier.

I chose it on Amazon because it has over 119,000 positive reviews. You read that number correctly. The photo on Amazon doesn’t really show how big the unit is. It is small, but mighty. And due to a recent sinus infection, I found myself in need of a new one after the old one had issues. Normally, I would run to Target or Walmart for a new one. I simply couldn’t look away from the massive number of positive reviews. But this is not a post about humidifiers.

You might call me a sheep, and you would be correct. I followed the herd on this one. But I lived to regret another time when I followed the herd based on a staggering number of positive book reviews; literally hundreds of thousands of positive reviews—way more than the humidifier.

Normally, I’m wary of bestsellers. But the book sounded like it would be greatly entertaining. I mean could hundreds of thousands of people be wrong? So I bought a copy of the hardback. Yes, the hardback. (I won’t name the book. Sorry to disappoint.)

I guess I don’t see eye to eye with that large group of book readers. I read a significant portion of it only to later skim to the end. I couldn’t take any more. I won’t say I hated the book—it was too well executed for me to hate it—but I came very close. It was just not for me. And lest you wonder why I didn’t just get it at the library—ha! 😄😄😄There were holds for ages on that book. I think people are still waiting to read it. And I bought it early last year!

Reviews are subjective, I know. There are books I don’t want to read that over 100,000 people are probably rereading even as I write this, since they have an astronomical amount of positive reviews. I read some of the reviews of one series that fans gushed over and judged other books in the same category with disfavor because they are not that series.

I remember reading the first Harry Potter book before the extreme hype kicked in. I hadn’t read any reviews of it. In fact, I saw it at a bookstore and thought it sounded like a good book. So I bought it. I’m so glad I did! I promptly bought every book in the series, often picking them up at midnight. What a fun time.

I’ve bought some books based on reviews and word of mouth that I wound up enjoying. But these days, I’m really careful about what I read. I don’t want waste another dime on a book that I wind up loathing.

What about you? Do you depend on reviews when you purchase products like humidifiers or books? Let me clarify for authors who might be snarling at me because you want people to review your books. I’m an author too. I’m not talking about books we’ve written. I mean other people’s books that you’re considering buying.

P.S. Thank you once again for your kind condolences in re my previous post.

Photos by L. Marie. Thank you gif found at Tenor.

A Flag for a Widow

Hi, everyone. Before I get into the meat of the post, I want to announce the winner of the ice cream giveaway: Charles Yallowitz. Charles, please confirm below your ice cream flavor of choice. I know you mentioned one earlier, but please confirm anyway.

I was going to wait until next week, but decided that since I’m back, I’ll announce the winner today. I also was going to close the comments, but I need Charles to confirm, so I’m leaving them open for now.

On the day that I schedule the post for the giveaway, I learned that my dad had passed away. (There was no way I was going to cancel that giveaway, so please don’t comment on that decision.) In a previous post, I mentioned that my father had fallen in his home last November. Well, he never recovered from that fall.

I just returned home from his funeral. I’m not going to post pictures of him or the family because as you know, L. Marie is a pen name. But I wanted to post what my mother was handed at the cemetery after the military honored my dad for his service in the army.

It’s weird for me to think of my mother as a widow. I know many other people whose mothers are widows. But now my mother is among that number.

That’s all for now.

Photo by L. Marie.

Ice Cream Giveaway 2024!

In the dead of winter, many people think of warm things to cheer themselves up. Warm, hearty soups. Hot cider, cocoa, and other hot beverages. Sherpa blankets like this one.

But in the dead of winter, I think of cold things. Well, one cold thing in particular.

Ice cream!

And no, the recent subzero temperatures have not addled my brain! (It’s in the 30s F here now anyway.)

It’s time once again for the ice cream giveaway, where one winner will receive a pint of ice cream of his or her choice from Ice Cream Source. Click here for a past giveaway. Just as before, you can search their website to see the pints offered. If you are the winner, you will be shipped the pint of ice cream. (Deliveries to the U.S. only. Sorry. 😔)

Why am I doing this? Why not?! Why wait until the hot summer when you can enjoy delicious ice cream in the freezing winter? I’m glad you agree! So, put down that hot cup of coffee, take off those tough, outdoor mittens, and get yourself over to Ice Cream Source and bask in their frozen delights!

You probably feel better already!

Comment below to be entered into the drawing. Winner to be announced not next week, but the week following. I will explain why in that post.

Carhartt mittens from their website. Ice cream images from Serious Eats. Ice Cream Source logo from X. Sherpa blanket photo by L. Marie.