Free Thought Fridays

Last week I posted on this blog for the first time in months. MONTHS. I posted some goals for the new year and as I read the entry back and heard some feedback from friends, I realized something: I haven't been writing at all lately. Nothing. Not a damn thing. and especially not on here. I used to scribble things down that would pop into my head, like an idea/theme to focus on/write about or a place/moment in time or I want to remember later or even, god forbid, what I might be feeling. My writing days seem to have gotten buried away some place, like old toys that don't get played with as often or clothes that don't fit us quite like they used to.

I think it's time I start to dig them out.

But a blog entry sometimes,especially for me, seems like a daunting task - what should I write about? why can't I think of anything to say? What if it's not interesting/too short/too long/not intelligent enough/not funny enough/doesn't mean anything? (Yeah, that's how my brain works.)

So I'm starting...

Wait for it.....

"Free Thought Fridays"

Basically every Friday, I'm just going to try to post random thoughts, feelings, dreams, wishes, likes, hates, lists, etc., whatever is going through my brain on a given Friday in any particular order or form. If I have a specific topic/theme I want to talk about, awesome! but let's be realistic here, I'm pretty boring. This will not only help me get some thoughts onto paper/blog but Fridays in my office tend to be on the slow side so this will help kill time. So I'll write something and then you can read it! Everybody WINS!

So here's my first entry for "Free Thought Fridays":

- I'm about 98% sure I going to sign up for my 1st 5k run. Yeah, you read that right. I'm going to do a 5K. Feel free to laugh - I most certainly am. More on that in upcoming months.

- So winter seems to have finally arrived. I don't know about you but I was perfectly fine with the 60 degree sunny days in NYC. Bring it on, global warming!

- I don't think I will ever understand adult males thought proces on how to make snd keep plans. Seriously, what is so god damn hard about taking out your iPhone or Blackberry, clicking the calendar button and checking to see if you are free on a specific date? Sure, I understand emergencies happen or the occasional impromptu/spontaneous plan but I'm not talking those instances. But when I've been talking to someone for awhile and we pick a day and time to go out and, more than once, I get cancelled on the same day without a reason, sorry but there is don't assume that there's going to be a spot for you in my calendar next week. When did making dinner plans after work become worse than getting x-rays taken at the dentist? Or what's worse is the last minute, "Hey, what are you up to? what are you doing right now?" I'm at work or I'm at the gym or I'm at home watching Breaking Bad in my pajamas because you didn't return my phone call from 3 days ago when I asked what you were doing this week. Guys, grow up and get your shit together.

- I will get at least 1 new tattoo this year. and maybe even start on a 2nd. more to come on that.

- Peppermint Taffy might be my new favorite candy.

- this isn't news but I watch too much TV.

Alright I think that's good enough for today...

spam can be good for you.

I normally don't like e-newsletters or weekly updates from companies that tell me I need to see/do/go/buy something. Then again, who does? I usually end up deleting them if they even make it through the spam filter to my inbox. This past week I got a newsletter (from a company that will remain unnamed) about some writing classes that were being offered this summer in NYC. In addition to advertising their courses, they also include workshops (sometimes free) they might be offering (which I have taken a few of) & also give links to articles about writing & links on where you can find writing tips or ideas. I was skimming through it and something caught my eye. On their website they have a section called "Tips from Masters" and listed some notable names like Poe, Vonnegut & Kerouac. I was intrigued and thought well if these literary geniuses have some writing advice to give out to someone like me, what do I have to lose? So I click the link and on their site they have listed articles of interviews, essays & tips/advice that writers from the past & present have doled out to us future and oh so hopeful writers.

All of the articles were really insightful and helpful but the one that I found I most connected with was the list that Neil Gaiman had written (which was previously published in The Guardian). In case you don't know who Neil Gaiman is, here's the little blurb that prefaced his writing tips:
"Neil Gaiman has become so popular he is often considered the “rock star” of the literary world. He trades mostly in science fiction and fantasy in a variety of forms—novels, children’s books, graphic novels, comic books, and film. Among his trend-setting works: Coraline, The Graveyard Book and The Sandman series. He takes readers, of all ages, to the very edge of imagination."

Not only where his tips raw & honest, I felt that they are realistic and pretty damn funny too.

Neil Gaiman's 8 Good Writing Practices

1. Write.
2. Put one word after another. Find the right word, put it down.
3. Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.
4. Put it aside. Read it pretending you’ve never read it before. Show it to friends whose opinion you respect and who like the kind of thing that this is.
5. Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.
6. Fix it. Remember that, sooner or later, before it ever reaches perfection, you will have to let it go and move on and start to write the next thing. Perfection is like chasing the horizon. Keep moving.
7. Laugh at your own jokes.
8. The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you’re allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it’s definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I'm not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter.

So I came to this conclusion: spam email isn't always bad - it can be good for you sometimes. But spam in a can? yeah, that shit is ALWAYS bad.