Previously, I discussed my cold sensitivity in Ice Cream Emergency. Watch video below to get a visual of the debilitating cold effects.
Love & Kisses,
Bridget
(for those of you not in the know, Kryptonite is BAD for Clark Kent aka Superman. Also, it is green and it glows)
Clip Credits: Smallville Season 6 Episode 11 “Justice”
Written By: Steven S. DeKnight
Directed By: Steven S. DeKnight
This clip features actor Tom Welling
Air Date: January 18, 2007
Recently, I got an email from one of my darling cousins about writing. She was asking about getting motivated to write, especially after having taken a break — in her words “get back on the ol’ writing horse” and how to complete projects and make writing a more integral part of her life. 
This comes up a lot with writer friends, so I thought I’d post my thoughts for you all (if you mainly read my blog to check on my health and are not a writer, I’m doing great, thanks! Feel free to skip this post).
I have to admit that I hardly feel like an expert in many areas of writing (as you can see by my random punctuation) and I’m always learning a lot from other writers and from my agent, but the one element of writing I feel I have managed to whup into shape in the past eight years or so is the Getting a Lot of Writing Done and Finishing Projects aspect of writing. Even and especially when I’m busy with a million other things.
The busiest year of my life, I was a full time grad student, had three jobs, made the movie The World’s Fastest Librarian, and belonged to loads of various groups and things (because, I’m embarrassed to say as it does nothing for my teen street cred, I am a “joiner” and can’t help signing up for things). I still wrote a novel that year and worked on revisions for an earlier one.
Different things work for different people and I will be the first to admit that my methods might not work for everyone as I march to the beat of a really crazy drummer who has quite possibly taken too much acid. But they work for me and maybe they will work for some of you (especially if your drummer has similar issues to mine).
This is a longer than usual post so we’ve created an audio recording of the following for those who can’t be bothered to read so much. 
Or for those who, for some reason, want to hear me reading to them.
My Sort of Naughty Methods For Getting Writing Done: Click here to listen.
1) I am a sneaky writer. I like to think of writing less as something that should be done (and done with a capital “W”) and more as something sort of naughty that I absolutely should not be doing because there are other capital letter (and lame) things to do like Cleaning.
I think it’s sort of like the Catholic school girls (like the one who raised me) sneaking out for a smoke. It just feels a bit bad and yet oh, so good. Writing when you shouldn’t is just like eating cake for no reason at all.
After a while, it seems like writing weaves itself into your life and you don’t realize that you are spending all of this time Writing with a capital “W”.
2) I write whatever crazy thing comes into my head — even sometimes when I’m revising something. Because, well, it’s fun to write scenes like that, but also that crazy thing might actually be good. If it’s REALLY crazy, the next time you try to write the scene, the pressure is off because nothing can be as off the wall as what you wrote last time and you’ll probably write just what you need to.
3) I never force myself to sit down at a desk. It feels naughtier and less like Writing to write in random places. I sometimes end up at a desk after a while, but I like to just “play around” and take my laptop or notebook wherever seems like the most fun at the time. Right now my favorite sneaky writing spot is at the table on the back porch with a big pot of tea (and a lot of cushions under me), but sometimes I write in bed with a cat cuddled up with me or on the couch (ignoring the dirty laundry) and I used to write all over Madison depending on when I had a little break between jobs, classes, etc.
4) Rewards. I am a huge huge huge believer in rewards. For big things, little things, in between things. If I write so much as one word a day, I get a reward. This sounds so impossibly inefficient and yet I can look back and say it must work because I’ve written quite a few novels with this method. Some days one word is enough. Usually, my reward for writing is to spend some time reading whatever novel I’m currently in love with. I get bigger rewards for finishing things. Like cake! (Reward Cake is not to be confused with No Special Reason and Feels a Bit Decadent Cake — both are good but you enjoy them differently).
5) Deadlines. This sounds anti-fun, but it’s kind of nice and can actually take the pressure off. Being in a writers’ group, you just have to get your behind in gear and get SOMETHING done before you meet. And if it’s a good group you get fired up to work on revisions after you leave.
Getting submissions ready for conferences is a nice deadline too.
I also make up arbitrary deadlines like how I currently want to finish the revisions of the novel I’m working on by mid-October. This is a pretty random deadline so I made up a reason. My birthday is November 2nd and I will want to lounge around and have parties on my birthday so I can’t write then. Also, the birthday extravaganza will take some planning so I better damn well be done two weeks before so that I can idle away time researching what cake I’m going to make (or buy or talk someone else into making) and what I’m going to wear.
6) I make separate time slots for the “business” part of writing. Right now I’m working on revisions for my agent so he can get on with business and spend my “business” time blogging but when I was querying I dedicated usually one day a week (more or less depending on what was going on) to work on queries, send queries, do industry research, create website content, update my submissions records, and log all of the kidlit books I’d read recently with notes on who published it etc.
Even if you aren’t looking to be a career writer and don’t really feel all that hot to get published, I think this is important. You learn a lot from the responses you get from editors and agents and I think it helps you want to write more because it’s a challenge — you keep going until your work is good enough to get an offer. And once you’ve found someone who wants to work with you then you have even more motivation because you’ll have feedback to work on.
I wish you all happy (and sneaky if you think it could be your thing) writing!
Bridget
Picture Credits:
There are days when I’m just not up to much more than laying in a patch of sun and dreaming about baking and pumpkins and whatnot.
Then the mailman comes. It isn’t that I’m not fond of UPS and Fedex — though they don’t ask after my health and well-being like the mailman does, they just knock firmly and leave before I make it to the door. They say that the mail is the high point in any bored person’s day and, while I wouldn’t describe myself as “bored”, I definitely look forward to the mail on days when my body and mind are at a low ebb in the treatment cycle (a note here — I watched the video Barrett made and realize that I greatly dislike the word “chemotherapy” as it doesn’t sound like any fun at all and was thinking of replacing it with the word “bagel” like they did for the word “recession” on West Wing, but decided that might be too confusing for readers. So you get “treatment” instead).
I LOVE getting the mail in a way that I never did before. It was sort of an after thought in my former healthy person life. But now, so many of you send me interesting things and even my slow jelly brain can appreciate them.
Last week, I got the Bunky’s Film & Food package — the checks are awfully nice and the “extras” were SO fun. I got a package of lucky pennies, a journal of haikus from attendees, a journal with a crazy pieced together story in it involving scissors, and tons of cupcake and ice cream cards. Thanks Bunky’s Food and Film people!
Also, in the mail recently were baked goods with real WI raspberries in them thanks to my childhood neighbor-girl Rosie. Yum.
And I got a package for a tea party to celebrate tumor shrinkage from my cousins the Allman’s. Lots of little samples of tea, adorable cups, and the greatest platter with a Cupcake Fairy on it!
Can you see why I love getting the mail?
I hope you all are having a great week!
Love to you all,
Bridget
For those of you who were at Bunky’s tonight in spirit but not in person, here’s the greeting Barrett recorded for the event.
Trying to convince my cat Harpo that it is way more fun out here with me than inside where Barrett’s working. But he just keeps sitting in front of the door meowing at it angrily.
Well, I’m having fun at any rate. There are blackberries and flowers growing just on the other side of the screen (as you can sort of see from the blurry and over-exposed photo to the right), and I’ve got a good book (I’m on a Nora Roberts Irish stories kick) and some ginger candy. Very nice.
Thanks to everyone who sent me luck! I’m feeling luckier by the minute.
And thanks to Bunky’s in Madison, WI and all the planners of “Food & Film: A benefit for Bridget and Barrett” this Wednesday. I think they are still looking for volunteers. Here’s the info on the facebook page:
Bridget Zinn and Barrett Dowell are former Madisonians who moved to Portland, OR, last summer. This spring Bridget was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer and had surgery to remove a tumor from her colon, and is currently undergoing extensive — and expensive — treatment to shrink tumors on her liver and lungs. Also this spring, Bridget & Barrett were married, and Bridget signed with a literary agent for her young adult novel. What a year!!
Bridget and Barrett’s Madison friends are raising money to help pay for Bridget’s cancer treatment. Fighting cancer is hard enough work — they shouldn’t have to worry about the bills, too. Please join us for an evening of delicious food and screening of some of Bridget & Barrett’s short films at Bunky’s Café on Madison’s east side. All proceeds will go to Bridget & Barrett to cover hospital expenses, prescription co-pays, complementary medicine services, and whatever else they need to beat cancer!
Bunky’s is generously donating food and non-alcoholic beverages. (Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase.) Films will be screened throughout the evening, so come when you can and stay as long as you like.
Learn more about Bridget’s story by checking out her blog at http://www.bridgetzinn.com/blog or reading this article from the Portland Oregonian: http://tinyurl.com/ocoda5.
Questions about this event or how else you can help? Join the Facebook Group, “I want to help Bridget & Barrett!” or email cailin o’connor.
You can find Cailin’s contact info on the “I want to help Bridget & Barrett” facebook page or the “Food and Film: A benefit for Bridget & Barrett” facebook page.
Love to you all,
Bridget
