An Average Joan's Adventures into the Creative World of Possibilities...

The Best Laid Plans of Weekends Past

I always have the best intentions for the weekend.  Come Friday around 4 o'clock, I start outlining my writing goals for the weekend.  Of course, I don't figure family obligations into the equation.  Well, I do... but not in a realistic, stuff happens kind of way.  

Writing down my weekend goals helps me keep in the forefront what I want to accomplish in the upcoming weeks, even if I miss the mark completely now and then.  This was one of those weekends. 

Okay, so I didn't write my Cliffhanger Friday outline for Monday's Y&R as planned, but I know in my head what direction I'm taking.  That's half the battle right there.  

I'm one of those Average Joans who works well under pressure.  I guess it's the thrill of looking at that blank screen and knowing you only have a few hours to fill it up with something that'll knock your clients' socks off or yours.

Not to worry, I'll have a rough outline and a few acts of dialogue written by the time I screen the show on Monday on the Web.  

Then there are the weekends I morph into a hermit at my desk and bang out the creative work -- letting cleaning the bathroom, washing the kitchen floor and organizing my cluttered closet... fall by the waist side.  Of course, I'm up until the wee hours, cleaning the bathroom and washing the kitchen floor and organizing the closet on Monday.

It all seems to balance out.  Scribes... I guess what I'm saying is... learn from the unrealistic goals of weekends past and focus on one goal you're pretty sure you can accomplish within your daily life's demands. 

Don't be embarrass to brainstorm on a Wendy's napkin.  Just don't get chili stains on it and then can't read what you wrote.  Been there... done that.  Or better yet, keep a notebook with you at all times, so you can jot down ideas or write a premise, or synopsis.  I keep one with me half the time.  Some days I'm still scrambling for that restaurant napkin.  That's just what we Average Joans do. 

Miraculously, I found time to do an hour or two of grant research for a few clients.  And guess what... I found a funding opportunity for myself that'll help me upgrade around here.  Sweet!

(Apple MacBook Pro - iCafe Woman Moderne Store)

I also dropped by the library and found the latest America's Book Review - BookPage.  So I curled up in my canopy bed before bedtime, last night, with a hot cup of sweet herbal tea and cream and thumbed through the pages.  Yes, on a Saturday night... what can I say, I love my books. 

Don't you get excited reading about new book releases?  To be honest, I'm both excited and a little melancholy.  Why melancholy?  Because I don't see my name and book title in it yet.  But it will be.  I live on faith, and faith will see me through to that day I'm holding and kissing mine.  Here's to that day! 

One debut novel really caught my eye:  Baking Cakes in Kigali, By Gaile Parkin.  Parkin's characters enter the story through vignettes when they visit Cake Baker Angel Tungaraza's apartment to order a cake for a celebration. 

cake

Reviewed by Carla Jean Whitley -- a writer and baker from Birmingham, Alabama -- she explains how the residents of Kgali, Rwanda's capital, turn to Tanzania transplant and baker Angel for baked sweets.  Their lives intertwine with each cake baked.

And with each celebration, there are stories of survival over the horrific Genocide and AIDS that plague Rwanda.   

"Angel  serves as a mother of the bride for Shopkeeper Leocadie's wedding, and when sex worker Jeanne d'Arc comes to her to order a cake for her sister's confirmation, Angel offers the girl her grandchild's confirmation gown, writes Whitley."

"Gaile Parkin's Baking Cakes in Kigali reveals a hope and joy not often associated with Rwanda."  Parkins, a Zambia native did relief work in Rwanda.

I can't wait to read it.  Hollywood would be crazy not to snatch up this story.  I wish I could option and co-write the screenplay with Gaile Parkins.

The best laid plans always have the best surprises.

What are your best laid plans?

Also, check out:  iCafe Woman Moderne - an intergenerational virtual cafe for women. 

Miracles and Blessings!