AFDOC 10, Music & 50s Tidbits

The buds are bursting open all over Mobile! Spring is here and daylight savings time is upon us. This is my absolute most favorite time of year! Can you tell? Like me, my granddaughter loves the outside, so she's already spiffed things up on our patio table and chairs and candles are in the ready for a lovely meal tonight. For those of you still huddling inside with several feet of snow at your doorstep, take heart, it won't be long before you too can sit outside to review a book or eat meals from the grill. And the exciting news for you is that you will be able to do that for months while in short order, those of us on the Gulf Coast will be huddling inside to escape the humidity defying heat and swarms of mosquitoes.

AFDOC continues. I had three productive meetings - to say nothing of the excellent luncheons - when I met with my critique group and the Lyrical Pens and my good friend and editing buddy this week and got wonderful ideas for expanding the tension in the story. I ran a few plot ideas past them and came flying home to get all their excellent suggestions into my notes. It's important for all writers to excel at note keeping. Doesn't matter whether it's a composition book, notepad, or pc, don't lose those ideas as they're popping. I keep a notepad in my purse {pocketbook to you AFDOC folks} another beside my bed {where my best ideas leap to the forefront just as I'm drifting off to sleep. It's not always easy to pull myself out of that drowsy state to write them down, and I've been known - more times than I want to admit - to wake up with the pen and pad nestling next to me much to the consternation of my Cavalier Spaniel, Hannah. She woke me up one night in a frenzy. It looked like she was trying to dig a hole in the bed, but she was trying to move that dad-gum pad and pencil out of her space. I swan she frowned at me and gave a big disgusted sigh. But I digress.

Note the price of burgers

I have a notepad on my desk and folders full of articles from magazines, pictures from style books and catalogues, etc. from the fifties - all to keep me in that time period and seeing things from that perspective while I write. Hanging above my computer are two class pictures from 1950, an original ad from McDonald's and on and on it goes. One of my all time favorite wall hangings is from cj. You'll have to read AFDOC to find out why, but she brought brownies to my house covered in strips of aluminum foil {nee tin foil} and Scotch tape. It hangs next to my pc, bringing me a good laugh and keeping Caroline firmly planted in my head {as if she needed any help.}

A year or so ago, I downloaded music from the fifties, and ever anal, I have disks with upbeat dance music and one with music to grieve by - Tennessee Ernie Ford's Amazing Grace and a collection of Mahalia Jackson are perfect. Try it for whatever time period you're writing in. It is a great mood setter.

Okay, off to the races. Mahala