Did Somebody Turn Off the Light?

Hellooo, it's dark in here, will somebody 
please turn on a light?
 Persian Architecture

 Twilight Books

That's what I feel like shouting when I see rows of young adult novels in my favorite bookstore.  Through squinting eyes, I see black and bloody covers, vampires and wolves leering back at me.

These days, they seem to be the rage in books, television, movies and the Internet.  The only rage I see is what they produce in me.   

J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter brought the world of wizards to the middle grade readers in 600 or more pages.  That's right scare them to sleep, I'm sure there's a package of GoodNites handy.    

On the flip side, it sparked children into reading, especially boys.  Who am I kidding, it sparked some adults to read.  But this fact alone doesn't soothe my discomfort, not even close. 

 

Brady Bunch

Yes, I'm going to say it.  I yearn for the television of yesterday.  Let's not get crazy ... I crave for yesterday's television entertainment with New Millennium conveniences.  

You know we can't live without our tech toys and Lattes.  But it would be nice not to watch television between my fingers for a change and not dash to the fridge for a ginger ale during a CSI episode. 

However, nobody made me key in that channel on the remote on Wednesday at 10 p.m.  Curiosity sometimes takes us Average Jones where we shouldn't go.  But that's another post.  

 

(Touched by an Angel)

What happened to Touched by an Angel, 7th Heaven and the angel books that are now hard press to find?   If there was ever a time this world needed angels, it would be now.  

Sure, I didn't grow up in an antiseptic bubble.  I watched Hitchcock reruns and saw a few Jason movies and some of Stephen King's craziness, but they were tucked away in their genre closet.  I opened the door only at select times.  They didn't bombard my daily life like a bad hair cut.  

 

Supermarket

 Can't say that anymore.  At the supermarket, I see that Twilight couple when I'm looking for my Lays potato chips and Snapple.  Harry Potter stares at me when I'm searching for a Three Musketeers bar in the candy aisle.  

It's no different shopping for kids' clothes and accessories.  There they are again, like somebody called them.   I don't want dark thoughts, so I'm not calling them.

 Child with balloon

But I'm an adult, I can handle it.  I no longer wet my bed.  Well, not yet.  But can our kids, tweens and teens handle the darkness?  They're bombarded with challenges we never had to deal with.  

Today, they have high blood pressure, sleeping and eating disorders.  They're making baby and suicide pacts, having internet sex and the frightening list continues.  

Domestic violence in teen relationships not only slithered into the halls of high schools, but sneaked into middle schools too.  Yes, we prefer to put our fingers in our ears and sing La-La-La when a news report give us proof that elementary school children are experimenting with sex.

Now you understand why I want the light turned on in the literary and broadcast worlds.  Doctors take a pledge that says, "... Do no harm."  Maybe writers, producers and book publishers should take a similar pledge, "...For their writing to do no harm."

 

Then, there are those who have shone the light on their creations and let characters boost their readers' self-esteem.

 

We can't go back to the Brady Bunch, Dennis the Menace and The Waltons' days.  But we can take back entertainment and break new innovative ground.  

The Brady Bunch, Dennis the Menace and The Waltons broke new ground for their season.   It's time for more groundbreaking work that will lift our spirits in this season.
(Flickr.com)

 

  

(Girl in pink)

"Teach a child to choose the right path and when he is older, he will remain upon it."  Proverbs 21:6

Here's a thought, maybe if we let the light into our writing, there would be more light entering our children's lives.   Children and teens have a lot more challenges than we ever had, which is evident in the Oscar nominated movie, Precious.  

When the mother described to the social worker how the father abused Precious as an infant with her present, I left the room.  It ended for me there.

(Jumping on trampoline)

I approach my writing as an escape for readers.  I want to entertain, inspire, provoke laughter, smiles and encourage imagination.   We can't act like the ills of the world don't exist.  But we can tackle them through volunteering and mentoring for starters.

Writing is where I let the light shine, so the young and young-at- heart can soar through unlimited possibilities.  Where they can dare to dream and see that dream into reality.  

That's a little hard to do when you're stumbling around in the dark getting bumped and bruised.  At least flick on the switch, so you can see what's coming at you.

Stop by iCafe Woman Moderne with your favorite beverage.  

We'll leave the light on for you.

 

I Dream an Organized and Creative Workspace

Ernest Hemingway Had the Right Idea ...

This is what I call a creative and organized workspace.  Earnest Hemingway had the right idea when he created his Sun Valley, Idaho writing retreat.  

Beautiful scenery keeps the creative juices flowing.  His manual typewriter takes me back to a simpler time.  I transport back to my powder blue Corona passed down the hand-me-down family train until it finally reached me, the fifth child.

I'm back at my dining room table in my childhood row house banging away on my manual typewriter into the wee hours.  It didn't matter that computers had entered our world in a big way.  There I sat typing away with my whiteout next to me.  Organization was non-existent.  A creative backdrop ... are you kidding?  

Not exactly, unless you call an iron board piled with folded clothes, a dining room set from the 1940s, clutter from one end of the dining room table to the other inspiring.  Did I mention five kids and a dog?

If money was no object, I'd put my dream office in an A-frame house on a hill with views of the ocean and mountains in beautiful Maui.

But I live in the real world with everybody else.  My life is on the east coast, an hour from any waves.  I stare at my cluttered rolltop desk.  A bottle of vitamins, stapler, deodorant, exercise dvds and a bar of soap commune with papers galore and eye wash.  Peace is not here.

 

What's a woman to do ... cyber-surf.  I find more than a few stylish work spaces that would suit my needs for creativity and organization. 

A few minor adjustments, and the craft desk (above) would serve my purposes well.   I'd make the shelving and desk wider and store my submitted manuscripts in the boxes on top of the shelving.  My scriptwriting and other software would go in smaller rattan boxes.  

The binders would hold magazines I queried or plan to query for articles.  I'd replace the bottom plastic storage with rolling rattan file cabinets for my ongoing projects.   I'd add a serenity fountain, a jar of shells, sand and a couple of inspirational phrases on the walls to keep me on task.  

Tiffany blue and chocolate would be my color scheme of choice. I'd fill the shelves with an assortment of Tiffany blue and chocolate boxes, some with damask and polka dot patterns.

   

This would make a great additional wall unit.  Since I write for more than several markets, this shelving unit can hold magazines, scripts, greeting card samples, book manuscripts and so forth. 

.   

Wow, this one is even more ideal.  I could study a television show on one screen while writing notes on the other for a script.  I do that now, but it doesn't look quite like this.  I'd encase it and turn it into a built-in unit with shoji screened doors, so I can close it up when I'm not working.  Even if I have a dedicated office space, (I currently work out of the corner of my living room)I'd also use it for non-writing pursuits. 

This Tiffany Blue craft room excites me because my writing workspace would also double as a studio for my second passion:  vintage hats and handbags.  I hope to start creating them on the side.

I know what you're thinking.  With a hectic online writing business and creative writing projects -- when would you have the time?  But you see, it's actually all connected.  We'll get into that in just a moment.  

  

Now this room is clean, organized and a little sterile.  The color is too depressing.  It just doesn't scream creativity.  I'm looking for a workspace that's also my muse.  You know every writer needs one or two.

A Murphy Bed Office?

 

What a great concept!  You can quickly transform the office into guest quarters because the "flip" side of this desk and shelving unit houses a Murphy bed. A rolling filing cabinet lets you keep work close by or tucked away.

  

(pop art)

This pop art is a definite choice.   I'd get two made, one of my Mom and the other of my sister, Diane -- my biggest supporters who passed away.   

I'd add a wall of shelves or a glass cabinet filled with my interests and rotated periodically.  I'd display vintage handbags one season, a doll collection another season ... you get the idea. I'd also find one of those dress forms and keep a retro dress on it or decopage a collage. This would happen with any of the above designs.

(June Bug Weddings) (Posh Girl Vintage)

 

These boxes serve function and art.  I love them!

 If I'm really dreaming a workspace that's doable in the near future, here's my inspiration.  Milliner Amy Hamilton, owner of the Granville Millinery Company, designs handcrafted hats in her restored 1859 farmhouse in Ohio for the Kentucky Derby, Red Hat Society, celebrities and the Average Joan.  

Since I write family sagas spanning generations that blend yesterday with today and a little tomorrow, what better place to write than in a Hollywood glam atelier/writing room.   My Hollywood Glam is a mixture of Mid-century Modern, Art Deco and Asian design.  All of my favorites.

 

(Angelina Jolie in the movie Changeling)  

I'd like to design hats you can imagine worn by Lena Horne, Ingrid Bergman, Lucille Ball and Dianne Carrol, 50 to 70 years ago.  But not in the same magnitude as Amy Hamilton. 

(Lena Horne)

(Sabrina Gown)

And since cartooning is another foray, my work space has to be whimsical too.  Until I develop my millinery skills, I'll settle for collecting them.

 

To dream my workspace is to be surrounded by vintage hats and handbags with my desk in the middle or somewhere alongside with shelves and boxes for storage in Tiffany Blue and Chocolate -- pop art -- a dress form with one of Posh Girl's Vintage bridal gowns -- a few favorite cartoons on the wall -- and a table for designing accessories.

Now I'll explain about what I meant when I said my work is all connected to my workspace design.  Let's say I'm writing a brochure for an insurance company, a creative environment will spark an innovative spirit and produce attention-grabbing copy.  An uninspiring one may produce uninspiring results.

My characters breathe through me.  I have one who designs hats, another who designs handbags, two create cartoons and murals, another writes soap operas, and an eleven-year-old who helps her granddad on his candy machine route.  

Needless to say, I dream a workspace where my characters can feel at home.  As Candace Olsen of HGTV's Divine Design would say, "How Divine!"

Stop by iCafe Woman Moderne with your favorite beverage.  It's where women can just be. 

 

   
 

Do it Afraid!

(Kim Possible)

Hello World, it's me again, Joan B. Average ... and this time, I'm doing it afraid!  Sorry for the ten-week delay, but if you're a writer, you know we live in two worlds.  The real world and the one we create in our heads.  

 (Khavan's angry face)

We're annoyed when the real world pushes us out before we're ready to emerge.  Our fists are balled, our eyes blazing, we're ready for a fight.  Rambo is no match.  But on the outside, we apologize, placate and step back into the status quo with a need for Pepto Bismol and chocolate. Lots of chocolate.

(box of chocolates-Fannie Mae Chocolates)

 

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To make donations call 1-800-4UNICEF of visit www.unicefusa.org/haitiquake

We (writers) want to stay balled up in our fulfilling world of protagonists, antagonists, compelling drama, conflict, triumph, mayhem, madness and the joy we create.

At the same time, we're thankful.  Because if our family members and sister friends didn't pull us back, we'd probably be babbling to ourselves in a padded room with visitors once a week.  

Wow, think of the movies and books we'd create. We'd probably win a Pulitzer and an Oscar.   Down girl!  Now how did I get back to the writing.  You see, it's who we are.  It's not just a career, especially if you find something good about being in a rubber room. Think happy thoughts.

 

(Makena Beach Maui)

 

Aah ... I'm back.  I can see the finishing line of my sleepless-in-fiction goal -- my first novel aka novels.  I'm a few chapter edits away from submission, well ... re-submission.  This is actually a rewrite from the suggestions of a publishing exec I met at the Maui Writers Conference.  Time indeed has passed because now it's called the Hawaii Writers Conference.  (a recent change) Nevertheless, I won't let a little thing like time stop me. 

My biggest challenge and the reason for my ten-week disappearing act was an 1,100 page, bear of a manuscript, I managed to edit and cut into two and a half books.  Procrastination was the culprit.  Not the kind of procrastination that stops you from writing, but the avoidance kind.

 

woman on trampoline - flickr.com

Sure, I dove into my other writing projects like a cat to nip ... just to avoid my literary Mt. Everest.  Now that I can see the finish line of my family saga flag from where I'm dangling with a harness three jagged rocks away, I can shout it out:  "I did it afraid and I'm proud of it."

On January 23, I finished the actual cutting and I'm only a few chapters away of sending it to a close friend who heard me utter my first declaration -- "I want to write a novel" -- eons ago.  I shudder to admit that it was in another century.  I had to go there.  

Next, it'll go to my editor, who was one of my first editors right out of college.  Life really does come full circle.  And then it'll go to a former book production editor friend who should catch any glaring red flags. 

 (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants)

This is my version of "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," I like to call the "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Manuscript."   My hope is that it fits everyone who wears it ... all shapes, sizes, walks-of-life, ethnicities, etc.  You get the idea.

Don't be surprised if you see that title in an upcoming post.  I hope it'll be nothing but blue skies, green lights and clamoring book editors when I ease on down re-submission road in early Spring.

(Flickr.com)

Before I go to the Land of Oz, this Average Joan owes you my sincerest apology for not letting you in.  Believe me, it won't happen again.  I owe it to all of you Average Joans out there, to let you know the good, the bad, the crazy, the wonderful and the ugly on a daily or every other day basis.

I'll take this pledge with you as my witness. 

I AVERAGE JOAN DO SOLEMNLY PROMISE TO LET YOU INTO MY ADVENTURES IN FICTION WRITING AND SCRIPTWRITING WHETHER I AM BOLD OR DO THEM AFRAID.

 Chocolate Heart

We'll seal it with anything chocolate. 

There's strength when you do things afraid.  There's victory when you don't let fear stop you.  There's a power you release into the world that never returns void when you set out to live your purpose with faith.  

Welcome back to the roller coaster ride ... don't forget to buckle up.

Miracles and Blessings!

Stop by iCafe Woman Moderne  
Avirtual cafe where you can just be.