Athena Strikes Again

Quote of the Day:  I really talk too much about my work and to anyone who will listen.  If I would limit my talk to inventions and keep my big mouth shut about work, there would probably be a good deal more work done. - John Steinbeck

(Look at the ideas exploding around my computer.  Oh, ya, the chocolate and coffee help stimulate them!)

I agree with Mr. Steinbeck to a certain extent.  We can talk our ideas out and lose the energy for them.  We can give too much away.  And, sometimes, we need to close our mouths and start writing. 

Unless you use the people that you meet as sources for great stories and dialogue.  Here's an example.

I went to the drive-thru of Grab-a-Java, where you might think I just want a wham-bam-thank you, ma'am, quick shot to go.  To that I would say, you don't know me very well.  I'd just brought my cat to the vet because she hadn't been eating for over five days, and I was concerned. I ended up leaving her there for oral surgery - cavities and infection. (Let this be a lesson to all you kids to brush your teeth.) I needed a little pick-me-up.  I mentioned this to Carla, the owner, as she leaned out the window.  No one was behind me, so we chatted.  I told her about my play Coffee Shop Confessions.  She had more stories.  She witnessed a whole love drama unfold in her little coffee shop - from tryst to break-up, chairs sliding closer together, to being pushed apart.

I told her that on my way home from the She Speaks event in Grand Forks, I had no less than three ideas brewing. (She liked that metaphor.)

Carla said, "You must feel like your head is exploding sometimes."

I said, "Yes, you know that Athena, goddess of wisdom, war and community, was born out of Zeus' head.  She's my muse.  I feel ideas bursting out of my head."

She laughed.  Another car pulled up.  I finally ordered my mocha to go and was a wee bit late in getting home to teach a piano student.  I blamed it on the cat, at first, then confessed that I had a quick chat with the coffee lady.

Ideas are everywhere.  Interesting characters are lurking in waiting rooms, coffee shops, and in check-out lines across the globe.  And, how convenient with cell phones, now.  I can hear one-sided conversations and piece together the rest of the story.

Carla asked, "How do you know if you have a good idea?"

I said, "I talk about it to people.  There are some writers who guard their ideas and don't talk about them.  But, I find that when I talk about an idea, I get more ideas and stories, and that's how I know I have a good idea, because so many people can relate to it."

On my trip North for the reading, I packed a couple fun wines.  The red is called "Writer's Block."  Roxane and I determined that we weren't blocked, so didn't open that one. 

I just had to try the white, though.  It's called "Middle Sister - Drama Queen."  Seems it was made for me!

May the muse be with you in whatever form she takes.

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  Do you like to share your ideas while their brewing, or do you wait until the pot if full before you share what you're working on?  In other words, do you talk about your creative work, or do you wait until it's done to reveal it?

Measuring Success

Quote of the Day:  The true artist declares himself by leaving out a lot.  The artist alone sees spirits.  But after he has told of their appearing to him, everybody sees them. Goethe

photo by Joey Halvorson

I have spent many hours in coffee shops talking, listening, eavesdropping, asking questions, visiting with the baristas, observing life.  The characters of my first play in three acts, Coffee Shop Confessions, were formed here.  Many of them are based on real people, but they are all fictional.  They have a past.  They have current concerns.  They have hopes and dreams, talents and conflicts.  These characters were conceived inside of me, talked to me, grew, and birthed from my head, the way Athena burst forth from the head of Zeus, fully armed and ready to lead her armies into battle.

I'll claim Athena as my muse today.  She is goddess of war, civilization, wisdom, strength, strategy, crafts, justice, and Greek Mythology.  Don't we need all those skills as we march onto the battlefield of our crafts?  We need the tools for success.  We need an army of supporters, a cloud of witnesses if you will, strategic planning, and a sense of justice in a satisfying ending.

I am measuring my success today.  I have a few finishing touches left in Act 3, then I'm ready to unveil my first full-length play.  I've scheduled a read-through with supportive and talented friends, and I've already gotten enthusiastic response from them.

Thank you!

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  Write about the success you feel right now in your craft and in your life.

"The Java Jive" (Ink Spots, 1940)

Quote of the Day:  I love coffee. I love tea.  I love the Java Jive and it loves me.  Coffee and tea, and the java and me...a cup a cup a cup...pour!

I first heard this song while riding around with my sister in her little Chevette back in the '80s, listening to The Manhattan Transfer.  Of course, they were great, but I found this recording on Youtube by the Ink Spots and love their true blue jazz style...m-m-m.  I find sippin' coffee to be invigorating and stimulating everything from creativity to conversation.

So, this morning, I laid in bed until the last possible minute, then jumped in the shower.  No sooner than the first blast warm water, came the knock on the door (no one needed me UNTIL the water turned on), so I said, "Can it wait.  I'm in the shower!"

"Mom," I heard Charlie, then words I couldn't decipher. I turned off the water and said, "Just open the door."

"How much water do you put in the coffee pot?" 

He was making coffee for me!  "I fill it between the 4 and the 6."

Water back on, knock, holler, "Mom! Which beans do you use - the ones in the red or the blue?"

"Blue!"  (The red is a weird flavored one that I don't like in the morning, and the clear glass one is decaf.)

The shower goes off.  I hear the grinder.  I dress faster.

"Thank you, Charlie," I say, kissing his head.  "That was the most thoughtful, kind thing to do for me."  I looked at the pot.  "How many scoops of beans did you use?"

"Just one scoop."  I looked inside and the filter was full of coffee grounds.  I added more water and asked him which scoop he used.  "Oh, the scoop that's the cover of the grinder."  Whew! That was a bit strong. 

Then, I went out for coffee with the Mother's of Multiples, our usual Friday morning coffee therapy session.  I could be dancin' "The Jitterbug" about now.

But, how sweet!  Also, my twins get up early, on their own, come downstairs, turn up the heat, get their own breakfast and watch a little tv. 

Being the mother of four boys has its perks! (wink)

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  What gets you out of bed in the morning?  Who makes your coffee, tea, or beverage of choice?  How do you like it?

Eavesdropping on Characters

Quote of the Day:  The way you define yourself as a writer is that you write every time you have a free minute. If you didn't behave that way you would never do anything.

~John Irving (1942 - )

(The playwright, ya, that's me, sipping on some inspiration.)

Let me introduce you to five friends who meet at a coffee shop.  They're connected through their love of music and performing.  They call themselves the Swingin' Sallies, although not one is named Sally.  They are:

Laura, married, mother of five, including twins who are the youngest.  She seriously needs a creative outlet, a long solitary bath, and a triple shot latte, "No, don't hold back on the whipped cream."

Lolly, Laura's mom. They've been singing together since Laura was out of the womb.  Lolly's husband died a year ago from colon cancer.  She still wears black nearly every day, but plans her new flower garden while sipping her herbal tea.  Oh, and going on an Alaskan cruise is still a dream she talks about from time to time.

Aubrey, a hair stylist.  She's got an eye for a good make-over.  She's single and cruising the 'net for the next exciting date.  A hot mocha is like a warm hug to her, especially after a morning of hearing salon chair confessions (but that's another story).

Jewell, stay-at-home mother of two.  The youngest started Kindergarten this year.  The older is in second grade.  She's in charge of everything - the schedule, the children, her home.  She's always "on call."  Her cell phone and planner are her appendages.  She'll order a fresh brew, black, because she's watching her weight. Or, is it her husband who's watching her weight?  (She secretly craves a turtle latte.) Naturally, she's in charge of the schedule for the group.  Whenever they add a new gig she says, "I'll check with my husband then put it on the calendar."

Roxy, an artist, easily distracted (I mean interested). Her coffee order varies with her mood.  Some days she just wants a fresh brew, sometimes with a splash of cream, or maybe a mocha, or hmmm... What's the special today?  Her husband is kind and supportive and rescues her often with a forgotten item.

Wouldn't you just love to eavesdrop on their conversations?

Research for this project has been stimulating.  I've spent many hours with girlfriends at coffee shops.  I've spent some solitary time there, too, writing, thinking, and yes, eavesdropping.  I can't help it.  I daydream in dialogue.  The quote at the top of this post fits me when I'm working on a script.  I keep notecards handy and write down conversation bits, ideas, scenes.  I am writing in the spare minutes.  As a mother of four who's in charge of everything, I have only snippets of time and limited energy.  Keeping a pencil and scraps of paper scattered throughout my home, van, and purse have been my way of letting this story pour out.

Journaling Prompt: Fess us!  I know you've done it.  Write about a time when you accidentally, or on purpose, listened in on a conversation.

Making a Scene

Quote of the Day:  The play's the thing. - William Shakespeare (Hamlet)

( Photo by Joey Halvorson)

Here we are, folks, making a scene at the Coco Moon in downtown Brainerd, MN.  I needed to set up a photo shoot with local photographer, Joey Halvorson, for an article I wrote for our local women's magazine, Her Voice. The article is called "The Committee" and it's about the gremlins that sit on your shoulder and tell you that you're not good enough and who are you to write a novel, or play, or sing, or do any art, or be special (you know the voices).  They were drowned out today, I'll tell you!

I said, "I'll be at the Coco Moon this afternoon working on a coffee shop drama that I just started."

She appeared, camera in hand.  I sat there with my laptop, book bag, numerous pens, stack of notecards, a single tall Thumper latte (treated myself for this event. Ingredients: white chocolate and roca almond, mm-mm), a glass of ice water and two napkins.  (I was setting up shop!)

She asked me what I was planning to do with my drama.  I pointed to the coffee bar in the above photo and said, "I picture it performed right here."

The people in the photo are normal, everyday patrons who had innocently come in for a cup of coffee.  Suddenly, we're rearranging the furniture, snapping pictures, talking loudly (that was me), giving directions (both Joey and I), laughing (I think everyone), and the sweet, young gal at the table with me is leaning in because she's truly interested in acting in my play.  We made a great connection!

The guy on the left, near the pillar, was a little surprised that he'd be making his modeling debut in a magazine called Her Voice.  He came over to me afterwards to ask what it was and when it would be published.

The sweet, young gal talked to me about her gifts and talents and hopes for the future.  She'll be graduating high school this May.

Joey took fabulous shots, as always.

The proprietor was all smiles and encouraging.  Thanks, Lorie!

The photographer lifts her lens.  The script writer directs the patrons.  Connections are made in a flash (or is that with the flash).  And, fun was had by all!

Journaling Prompt: Describe a great day that included making a fun connection with someone.