My Writing Process - Blog Tour

It's unreal the number of notes that were passed in class between Glendaliz Camacho and myself between 6th and 8th grade. Not only the number of notes but the sheer volume of the written exchanges. Since then she's been published numerous times and is working on her short story collection ("La Baca" still thrills me) and will be included in an upcoming anthology. She's been a huge supporter of my blog and has wielded the red pen against my words. 

This is the cyber-version of passing a note -- Glendaliz asked me if I'd like to participate in this blog tour. It's good timing since my focus lately has been everywhere. Not in a bad way. Just that there are quite a few projects I have going on right now that are at different phases of development and taking some time to think about only my writing is needed.

Can't fight fate. We were destined to be writers. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

What are you working on?

I'm working on some stuff. 

I work to maintain this blog and it's many focuses -- the personal writing, the sex, dating and relationship writing, body image, rants on the idiocy of society, Ask Abbie, the guest posts, NY posts for my Native Creative Concierge business, Planet of the Apes -- there's a system to my Random Musings. 

I want a syndicated writing gig - a column. One that I get paid for. I need to do more work on getting that. 

The 5th anniversary edition of The Darker Side of Lust is also on my To-Do List.

The Much Needed Book Job

It's been a long time since I've related to and enjoyed an episode of The Simpsons (I didn't even get all the references in "The Food Wife" and that's saying something). I've always loved the show for it's social commentary and satire. Being a fan of ensemble heist films (Ocean's Eleven and The Italian Job top the list), and a writer, I smiled throughout the entire episode, "The Book Job".


I don't read young adult lit and I don't like vampires but I know everyone and their nephew's half-sister's neighbor's uncle's personal trainer is into vampires. I had flashbacks to the Book Expo America and the world of book junkies and author groupies. And I felt Lisa's pain when she realized who was receiving book deals and writing best-sellers (a dog? Tyra Banks?).

The Facts About Fiction

I love fiction that's based on reality. Always have.

I recently had to find my fiction sea legs again. I've been working on a story for an upcoming anthology I was asked to contribute to (it's great to have Muchachas in your life who see your potential and push you). Up until a few weeks ago, I didn't know what to write about. I had stories in my notebook I could've transcribed and submitted but I just wasn't feeling those stories.

Then, I had a great evening earlier this month and it sparked a story--my muse had arrived in the form of a man (nothing new there). So I wrote. It was great to write to get the story down on paper, but after further review, it was just a fictional retelling of actual events. Yeah, that works when that's what you're going for but I wanted to write a work of fiction.

A story.

About the characters.

Characters make or break works of fiction. They don't have to be likable, but they have to be relatable. That's my rule of thumb.

Chris Hansen Caught Another One

FADE IN:

STONE PHILLIPS

A warning, some of what you are about

to see and hear is explicit.

INT. KITCHEN – CONDO – NIGHT

ABIGAIL enters. She looks around the modern kitchen, impressed with the digs. She walks by the stove, running her fingers along the steel surface. She stops in front of the fridge. She studies the LCD screen on the door.

CHRIS HANSEN enters wearing a black sports jacket over a brown turtleneck carrying a small stack of papers.

CHRIS HANSEN

That’s a pretty impressive fridge,

isn’t it?

Abigail turns to him and nods.

ABIGAIL

Yeah, is that a control panel or

an actual TV?

Chris posts up next to the center island. Abigail eyes him with intense sexual interest. He places the papers down on the countertop.

CHRIS HANSEN

(motions to a

 bar stool)

Why don’t you go ahead and have

a seat?

How Bold Is Crazy?

It's 6am on a Saturday or maybe 4am on a Thursday. They're on your mind. You want to talk to that particular person. Or have some sort of contact with them. So you psyche yourself up to be bold. Then you start to come up with any excuse not to reach out to them--it's too late, it's too early, they'll think you're bothering them, maybe they're with someone else...

You toss and turn. Can't sleep because you're too busy replaying all these could-be scenarios in your head. You log on to Facebook or Twitter and do some cyber-stalking or just a cyber check-in (we're trying to stay away from 'crazy'). You see they're online. They've posted something 5 minutes ago.

Refresh

Smokey Rhythms

for a friend of old and of new

It may appear as though I've been gone a while. And in a way I have been, I've been everywhere and nowhere. As a creative soul, I take these trips every once in while. Sleep is important for survival and I'm a cranky bitch when I don't get my fair share. But lately, I've barely been getting any. I've literally been living off of music, yogurt and my pen and notebook. Here's what I birthed last night on one of my psychedelic sleepless nights in and out of my body.

Smokey Rhythms

Remember the New York when you could smoke in bars? I went out a lot back then. Took home memories of those nights on my leather jacket. I could smell the events of the evenings in my jacket weeks later. The cigars, cigarettes, weed or cologne from my partners. It wasn’t a New York full of flower children practicing commune love or the key party 70’s but love was freer back then. Prudes may use the word “reckless”. Either way, I did what I did. No regrets. Just the dip in my belly when I relive the moments with him.