T: Talking, Timing, Typewriter, and Turpentine

#atozchallenge another week. We're on the downhill slide of April   

T: Talking      The less said the better - Jane Austen/ Sense & Sensibility  Indeed, as a writer, it's often better to listen. You can pick up so much good material.

Timing - There is a time for departure even when there's no certain place to go - Tennessee Williams
That's true of some characters - best to write the loud obnoxious sidekick in small doses. Television series on cable have made it a bloodsport - favorite characters are killed with abandon. It surprises the audiences and keeps us intrigued. I'm still not over Adrianna being executed on The Sopranos.

Typewriter - We got this IBM from Ray's folks - grimy & filthy from sitting in their garage. It's now in my office looming above my head, filled with noir tales of old.

Finally, I chose Turpentine. There are far more lethal T poisons, however everyone has turpentine in the garage. It rarely kills because it's painful to breathe or swallow. But, it's a great red herring - make a life appear to be threatened.

Old School

The writer is an explorer: Every step is an advance into a new land - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ray's folks gave us this old typewriter, collecting dirt in their garage. We cleaned it up as best we could and now it sits atop my office shelf. As I click away on my keyboard, I can imagine the huge clack sound of those keys and the steady electric hum, then the ka-chunk noise of the carriage return. Creating on a typewriter just sounds grandiose.

I want to escape the unrest, to shut out the voices around me and within me, and so I write - Franz Kafka

Inspiration and perspiration = writing.

A good rule for writers: do not explain overmuch - W. Somerset Maugham

April Fool

April Fool's Day, 2005. I embarked on my new career as a writer. I deemed it an appropriate date to begin this adventure. Was I crazy for attempting to fulfill a dream? Was my husband absolutely nuts for suggesting I quit a perfectly good full-time job with matching 401k? He was weary from my job complaints ( he knew the guys I worked for were slightly berserk and they added a third musketeer to their team), but it took me a year to get the nerve. Since then we've still been able to eat, travel some, and enjoy life. I'm happier. Ray's happier because I'm happier. And since I do like money - I have an excellent part-time job in documentation for a lab. I type up a storm.

It's good I do live in the age of computers. See this lefthanded smeary mess. Back in Jane Austen's day, my manuscript would have been rejected as illegible. Go further back in time, and I would have failed if I had to chisel my words in stone. I'm generally not allowed to use tools. So, here in 2009, with the click, click, click of keyboard keys, I pursue my dream. I am a published writer - see links on the side. I'm even a paid writer - thank you Chicken Soup (that check's long been spent). Thank you, Ray, for pushing me and supporting me and cheering for me and consoling me...and...for putting up with your April Fool.

Joanne