Thursday, November 11, 2010
by Amanda.
The fiction class I took last fall was one of the most inspiring things I’ve done post-college. It felt good to look harder at stories and figure out what made them work. Or didn’t. Or almost did, but not quite.
The writing voice is definitely cultivated, but it also invades you. It’s nature and nurture like anything else. You discover your voice as you write. When it starts making you uncomfortable - and stops sounding like whatever author you know makes a ton of money - you’re probably getting to it.
I recently read Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self, Danielle Evans’s debut short story collection. Name ring a bell? I don’t mean the Danielle Evans who won America’s Next Top Model.
Posted in: Overbooked, Writing.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
by Amanda.
When I visited the “Knitting is for Pussies” exhibit at Christopher Henry Gallery last month, I was immediately smitten with Olek’s use of color, whimsy, and of course, texture. I wrote a review of the crocheted chaos for Verbicide and went on my way.
Then last Friday I heard that Olek was looking for a model for a Paper Magazine photo shoot. My boyfriend (it feels weird typing that - boyfriend, boyfriend, boyfriend) alerted me and put in a good word. Then I found Olek on Facebook and volunteered. She said, “It’ll be fun. See you Monday.”
I knew I’d end up in a crocheted bodysuit, looking like the creepiest Dr. Seuss character in history. On Sunday night, I laid out my most flesh-colored underwear and started to ponder… How would I get crocheted into the suit? Would it be tight? Itchy? Would I feel really exposed? Am I officially artsy now?
Posted in: Great Adventures, Liberal Arts - Holla, Mentionable.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
by Amanda.
Grrr.
I didn’t have sufficient time to blog about my crocheted bodysuit modeling tonight, but it’s all because of other good things happening. I got home later than usual, due to a party at Hunch headquarters. I’ve also got some fast approaching deadlines and then a trip to Vermont and Montreal this weekend.
Speaking of action, I’ve got a Nerve feature out today called “The Ten Funniest Action Movie Trailers in Cinema History.” It was really fun to write - I’m no action movie aficionado, so I just watched a bunch of trailers and turned my smartass knob all the way up. Please watch, read, and Like. Or just do the first two.
Posted in: Everyday, Writing.
Monday, November 8, 2010
by Amanda.
Remember when I wrote about the artist Olek a while back?
Today I got to model one of her crocheted jumpsuits for the December issue of Paper Magazine!
So yeah, that green yarn-person is me, and I’ll tell you more about it tomorrow.
In the meantime, check out this piece I wrote about why I love Conan O’Brien, even though I’ve never seen his show (and don’t plan to).
Posted in: Liberal Arts - Holla, Mentionable, Writing.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
by Amanda.
Here’s the thing about getting your writing published: You can read about other writers’ experiences until you think you know what you’re getting into, but no one prepares you for how often you won’t get published.
So I’ll reiterate. Aspiring writers, you’re going to write a lot of pieces that will be read by no one but yourself and maybe one editor who didn’t like what you wrote enough to accept it. If he or she reads it at all. I’m not a writer who’s “made it” by any means, and I can tell you that.
Posted in: Work, Writing.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
by Amanda.
Love Cee Lo’s new single “Fuck You”?
Of course you do.
The album comes out Tuesday, but you can listen to it for free on npr.org until then. I would’ve told you sooner, but I was too busy dancing in my underwear at home.
Posted in: Fluff, Mentionable.
Friday, November 5, 2010
by Amanda.
The people in my life are tags on a mattress. I leave ‘em on, despite knowing the law is antiquated and unenforced. I give favors, though I owe nothing. I’ve done my investing, but can never own enough to grab and tear.
This is why I tutored after work for years, despite being completely exhausted by commuting from the southernmost tip of Manhattan all the way to the tippy top two to four times a week. It wasn’t a lucrative side gig. I loved the kids, and I waited until they all got to high school and left me. It felt right.
Posted in: Lurve/Luff/Like, Ties that bind...and gag, Tutoring.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
by Amanda.
I have a piece on Conan O’Brien due tomorrow morning, so I don’t have much time to blog.
The good thing about deadlines is that you have to write. Speaking of which, here’s the origin of that compound word that haunts just about everyone:
The word deadline first appeared as an American coinage that referred to the line around a military prison beyond which soldiers were authorized to shoot escaping prisoners. According to Lossing’s History of the Civil War (1868): “Seventeen feet from the inner stockade was the ‘dead-line’, over which no man could pass and live.” This use is also found in Congressional records as early as 1864: “The ‘dead line’, beyond which the prisoners are not allowed to pass.” The citations for this use dry up at the end of the 19th century.
Posted in: Work, Writing.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
by Amanda.
1. Today I published a blog post on Nerve about how the Harry Potter books have been blamed for the disappearance of wild owls in India. Supposedly, kids want owls as pets, because they’re cute (and carnivorous and good for casting spells). Obliging parents are buying them on the black market or trapping them themselves.
Can you imagine the guilt-tripping going down if this really happens? “When I was a kid in Delhi, no one was catching owls for me. There’s wasn’t some J.K. Rowling with the magic stories. I had to read the Bhagavad Gita…”
Posted in: 10/4, Everyday, Writing.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
by Amanda.
A few weeks ago, my second piece of fiction ever was published on Verbicide.
It’s a short story called “A Symptom, Not the Cure,” and it has nothing to do with vampires. Sorry.
Here’s an excerpt:
Posted in: Mentionable, Writing.
