Tag Archives: projects

dolo-iglesias-487520-unsplash

A Capella Podcast Blues

by

dolo-iglesias-487520-unsplash

There’s a song that’s been haunting me since just after Thanksgiving. It’s a lullaby that some people think is a Christmas song. It’s not; it’s really just a lullaby. But when songs get stuck in my head, what that usually means they’re sparking a story.

I know that doesn’t seem like a problem, but it became when I realized two things:

1) The story I’m working on will have to be part of my podcast this month.

2) Since I can’t find a podsafe version of the song, I have to record it myself.

Well, okay. I can sing. I’ve been singing since before I could walk – literally. I can also play the cello, koto, dulcimer, autoharp, and musical saw, but I sold my cello a year ago when I realized my carpal tunnel had gotten too bad to play it, and I don’t own any of the others. (Well, we own a saw, but not in my key.)

What I cannot do – could never do – is play the piano.

It’s not for lack of interest.

It’s for lack of ownership. To play the piano without a piano, is kind of a trick.

So, I’m trying to learn this song well enough to do a decent job of singing bits of it as punctuation to this story I’m writing, but there’s this weird key-change in the middle and I can’t find a version to sing with (for practice) that’s in a key where I’m comfortable. (The perils of being a lyric mezzo / belter, and not a true alto or true soprano.)

My frustration led to the following exchange with my husband about an hour ago:

Me: Fuzzy, if you hear singing, ignore it. I need to be comfy with this song so I can use it on pod.

Him: I don’t hear a thing.

Me: Keep it that way. (beat) I really need this about a third lower.

Him: You can’t find it in a key you like?

Me: No. I want a holographic accompanist for Christmas.

Him: I’ll get right on that.

And this doesn’t even take into account that I don’t really have my full voice back after two weeks of sinusitis, pneumonia, and pleurisy (but at least I’m done with the medications).
And on that note (pun absolutely intended) I’m going to make a hot toddy and take myself to bed, so I can sing another day.

 

 

It’s that time…

by

Mermaid Lounge It’s that time again. That time of year when I join the insanity known as The Dog Days of Podcasting, and commit to doing a podcast a day for thirty consecutive days.

This year’s project began on Tuesday (which, coincidentally, was my last day of The 100 Day Project), and continues through September 4th, and you can find my stuff at The Bathtub Mermaid, but I’m also in iTunes. (There should be an itunes link in the collection of social media icons in my sidebar.)

In previous years I’ve had oodles of essays and flash fiction to share, but I’ve been busy on other projects this year, so I’m mixing it up with interviews, creative non-fiction pieces written earlier this summer, and pieces inspired by the 100 notecards currently adorning the front and sides of my refrigerator.

The things is, my creativity always wanes in July, but my birthday is in August, and as soon as the calendar page flipped, I was inspired again.

So watch out – and listen to my Tales from the Tub – you might be pleasantly surprised.

14 Days In

by

14 Days In

So I’ve completed the first 14 days of the #100DayProject on Instagram. I’m doing #100DaysofNotecards, which involves me writing a scene, sentence, or fragment of fiction on a 3×5 post-it index card every day, and posting it to my instagram account. (For just the images from this project, click HERE; for my entire feed follow @Melysse on Instagram.)

I’m also sticking the cards on my refrigerator door every day (that’s why I chose post-it index cards), so I’m forced to confront myself with the evidence of my own creativity every time I walk into the kitchen, and I’ll confess, there are some days when looking at the increasing number of colorful bits of paper makes me really happy, but there other days when I look at it and go, “Why did I write that? That really sucks. This project is stupid.” So far, however, the positive reactions outnumber the negative ones, so maybe this project will be good for me in many ways.

I’m finding that limiting myself to just ONE notecard a day is making me much more prolific when it comes to other writing, and I’m also finding that I look forward to the few minutes I spend on each composition. Sometimes, I even take the time to make the pictures more than just a flat index card, although that really isn’t the point of the exercise.

I’m also having a great time viewing the stuff all the other participants are posting.

I had something much more profound to say, but it’s 6:43 in the morning, and my youngest dog woke me at 4:48, and then the big dogs, who usually sleep til ten, got me up again an hour later, so now it’s not even seven, and they’ve eaten, and I’ve had some yogurt and a vitamin drink (no, no coffee yet), but I have nowhere to be this morning, so I’m going to click “publish” on this entry and toddle off back to bed for a bit.

Be well, and happy Sunday.

100 Days…

by

Show Up | 100 Day Project

It was Deb’s idea, actually. She’s been listening to me whine that I feel disconnected from my writing, and especially from my blog.

She’s also been fielding my email messages about how I keep having ideas for things to write about but can’t find the right image (because blogging is ALL about the art now, and never mind how good the writing might be, right?) or had to finish wrangling dogs/cooking dinner/doing laundry/whatever and lost the thread of what I wanted to write.

Now, she’s a pretty patient friend, but she’s also a fixer. I mean, you wave a problem in her face and she wants to solve it. I love that about her, but the thing is, you have to want the solution.

And sometimes it’s easier just to whine.

But then the sent me a link to Elle Luna’s 100 Day Project, and at first I thought, “well, the thing I would like to try is kind of similar to what she’s already sort of doing,” but I was intrigued.

I was really, really intrigued.

So I emailed Deb and said, “I’m kind of thinking of doing something with post-it notes.” And she thought it was different enough, and ME enough that I should go for it.

Since that conversation, I’ve decided that either 3×5 or 5×7 notecards might be better, though I’m still planning to affix them to my fridge. Then, after the 100 days are over, I’ll use them for blog- and fiction-fodder.

But at least I’ll be doing something I can complete, and that will keep me interested in amused.

For more about the project, in general, follow the link above (you can click on the image in this post).

For my stuff, specifically, you can follow me on Instagram: @Melysse.

What would YOU like to do for 100 days?

Dog Tired

by

three dogs

It’s just after midnight in my time-zone, and I haven’t even done much all day – except drop off paperwork with the Shelter 2 Rescue folks (Dexter’s final paperwork from when he was adopted last week), eat enchiladas, go to the comic book store, watch Fuzzy vacuum and steam-clean the downstairs carpets, finish reading a book, go to dinner with some of Fuzzy’s co-workers and some of their local friends (Hibachi scallops – yum), and help empty a closet and sort through the contents.

It doesn’t seem like a lot, but last night was a late night, and today I’ve felt over-tired and dehydrated even though I’ve been drinking water like crazy, and I think I just need to chill tomorrow, but I have more to accomplish.

I should want to curl up in bed with a book for the next hour or so, but somehow, sleep is calling, and I want to be up early enough to go to mass tomorrow.

My dogs kindly managed to all be still-ish at the same time, in the same room, earlier this week so I could shoot the picture in this post, allowing me to use the title Dog Tired, which I am, and so now, I’m off to bed.

Holidailies 2012

Welcome to the Word Lounge (Version 2.0)

by

Desk Part 2 Last week, I wrote about some household Re-arranging we were doing. Today, I took pictures of my almost-finished Word Lounge (version 2.0). This post is image intensive, but I thought you might like a tour…

Desk Part One The first picture on this page – the one with the dolls (or action figures, as I’m told the cool kids are calling them these days) – is the part of my desk that doesn’t have a computer on it all the time. I try to keep that surface free for bringing my laptop into my writing room (it lives on my nightstand) or for doing things that require pen and ink, instead of a keyboard. This is the OTHER half of my desk (excuse the mess), and it doesn’t face the window, but at least my back isn’t to the door either.

Bookshelves These bookshelves are from the furniture I bought in California in 2002 or 2003. I gave away the glass and brushed aluminum desk that went with them, when I originally moved OUT of this space in 2008. Now that I have warm wood furniture in here, in a completely different configuration, I find I like the space again.

Credenza Originally, I kept a fax machine on this credenza (the actual cabinet part, which is mostly below frame.) Currently, the inside holds reams of paper (and I do mean reams), and I don’t even own a fax machine any more. The shelves on top, which have paint kits that Fuzzy brought back for me from Japan, among other knick-knacks, were purchased at Target in 2008. He said they wouldn’t fit, but I love the way they work. On top, propped against the wall so it’s easier for me to alter it, is one of my two “inspiration boards.”

Corner Desk This corner desk is one that we bought for temporary use when we moved into this house in 2004, and were waiting for our furniture. Eventually, it’s leaving my room (and being replaced by a futon/couch thing- probably in March), but for now, it’s holding extra monitors, my Harry Potter books, and (though he’s quite blurry, thanks to Max trying to ‘help’ me take the picture) my Severus Snape action figure. As soon as I clean the typewriter (vintage Remington) I just bought from a friend, it will be filling the empty desk space. There’s no chair in front of it, because the dog bed is on the floor right there.

Reading Chair Every room needs to have a reading corner. Mine is at the window. The chair was my grandfather’s. When I was a baby he would sit in that chair and hold me, or read to me. The table is one that a friend needed to find space for when she was emptying a storage unit. As soon as I iron the white table-cloth my mother gave me for Christmas last year, it will go on the table, along with a candle-wreath made of shells from my mother’s beach.

File Cabinet Finally, tucked into the corner near the closet, is a file cabinet, which came from the same friend who supplied the round table. Unlike in one of my favorite children’s books, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiller, this file box holds mailing and shipping supplies. My Keurig machine might eventually live here; but then it might not.

Oh, and for those who are wondering what’s in the closet, it’s lined with bookshelves, all of which are overflowing with books. Obviously.

Holidailies 2012

30 Days to Creativity

by

30 Days to Creativity

Are you bored with your blog? Does your journal need juice, or your diary need dressing up?

We all fall into creative slumps from time to time, sitting at our desks and feeling like the blank page or screen is taunting us. What we need, we think, is a jump-start. Something to get things flowing once more. Something to reignite the creative spark.

What if I offered you just such a tool to rekindle your flame?
What if I promised thirty days of interesting, creative blog/diary/journal prompts?
What if I told you that with my friend Debra Smouse, I’ve created a course called 30 Days to Creativity: Inspirational ePrompts to Unleash Your Creative Spirit that launches Tuesday, February, 7th, with a focus on better blogging (or diary/journal writing)?

What if this was more than just “what if?”

Experts would tell you that it takes about 21 days to form a habit.

Debra and I invite you to spend 30 days forming a habit of daily writing. Whether you’re a blogger writing for an audience, someone who just wants their journal to be a little juicier for posterity, or a budding novelist looking to hone your skills, these prompts will give you a month of creative fodder, and our challenges will help you find the creative fire that might, sometimes, seem more like so many wisps of smoke.

30 Days to Creativity: Inspirational ePrompts to Unleash Your Creative Spirit is 30 days to better blogging.