Monday, September 18, 2006

Thank You - No, Really!

I was working on a huge task today - thank you notes. That's right, those polite missives Miss Manners adores. The kind printed on cardstock, requiring you to write on them by hand, address them, stick on a stamp and mail them. In a real mailbox. Actual letters have become so passé that my grown son had to ask me how to mail a letter at his apartment complex. Now, he's a smart kid, but mail is something he and his generation simply see no need for.

For those of us over say, 25, mail used to have a certain mystery. You never knew what would show up in the mailbox. Or from whom. Ever receive a love letter in the mail? The care, the thought that went into crafting the letter, addressing it and mailing. And the waiting! Waiting is not necessarily a bad thing (unless you are a writer, of course). The anticipation that follows when someone calls to say, "I sent you something" is exquisite. I'm afraid my children will have little opportunity to experience this pleasure that is almost pain in their lifetimes.

Let's face it, e-mail is fast, easy-to-use and imminently accessible. But it's not romantic at all. E-mail has all the glamour and mystery of a tater tot. Want to woo someone? Write them a letter - by hand. Show you care by spending 39 cents on a USPS stamp. Get the mooshy ones with cooing doves and hearts on them. Guys, trust me on this, letters are dead-on sexy, even if your spelling and handwriting are horrible (like my husband's).

So, I crab about writing thank you notes and Christmas cards, but I keep doing them. I know they matter. Even if they don't buy me anything tangible, they are stamp-bearing ambassadors of good will. That's why Miss Manners wants us to keep writing them. It's why I will go finish mine now. Does anyone else still send actual mail?

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Sunday, September 03, 2006

Slogging Through

I have set a self-imposed deadline of Halloween to finish my current book, "CrossTalk". I have a request for the full from Next, so I am motivated to keep plugging. But somewhere just past the midpoint of every book, the joy of the "new story" wears off and it becomes a bit of a slog.

The only cure I've found for what is not "writer's block", but more like "writer's disenchantment" or "writer's fatigue" is to log butt in chair time. Preferably without teenaged children or their cute-but-slightly-obnoxious bears bothering me. Yes, the bear thinks she can type and keeps attacking my keyboard. You may think my teenager is behind this, but I believe it's the bear (code name "Rainbow"). The bear has just put her tiny panties on her head in a bid for attention. I'm not kidding.

So, bears and teenagers aside (the bear now claims to be "Underwear Girl"), it is hard to stay in the chair and be productive. You know, as opposed to playing Chuzzle or downloading music from iTunes. But, I'm trying to persevere and get some pages in. I need 3 a day to stay on track, so I may be up late tonight. At least there is no work tomorrow because it is Labor Day. Hoorah!

Enjoy your holiday and feel a bit sorry for those of us whose evil second jobs (jobs of the heart) force us to work on national holidays. I must go get the panties off the bear's head and try to clear the room so I can write. Something besides a blog, that is.

Am I the only one with bear problems?