How to Spot a Writer at a Party

This post over at Not Your Usual Suspects made me chuckle. From the looks of the comments, I'm not the only anti-social one out there. Phew!

How to Spot a Writer at a Party

Studs of the '80s: Ooh La La or Not So Much?

Photo by Gage Skidmore

A little weekend guilty pleasure:

Studs of the '80s: Still Hot Today? - Photo Gallery - LIFE

A nice then-and-now gallery. I have to say Denzel Washington and Bruce Willis definitely hold up (Bruce was one of my first celebrity crushes and it's never faded). Jon Bon Jovi has actually improved. Some of these other guys have definitely gone in the other direction. David Hasselhoff (another early crush) just makes me shudder these days.

I'm reading: Don't Believe The "Lots Myth"

Don't Believe The "Lots Myth": "You see, money doesn’t make us smarter; it just amplifies what we already are. If you’re a mess with a dollar, chances are you’ll be an even bigger mess with a million dollars. If you’re wise with a nickel, chances are you’ll be great with a thousand nickels."

Not one perfect draft, but many imperfect ones

From my evening's reading last night (boldface is mine):

Plot Whisperer for Writers and Readers: More than One Draft: "Do you understand that writing a novel, memoir, screenplay involves not just writing one draft but many?...Get your ego out of the way. The more you are able to tolerate imperfection, the more quickly you can finish a draft and every draft makes the story better."

How true. As much as I think I "know" that the first, second, maybe even the final draft down the road won't be perfect, something in my head digs in its heels knowing I have to get words on the page imperfectly in order to make progress. I think this is why I did so well on NaNoWriMo in 2009 - I had permission to write a messy first draft.

I need to remember to give myself permission to write imperfectly on a daily basis or I'll never get anywhere. Just in case you need it: I give you permission, too.

Cross-posted at Heartland Writers Group

Reading: 80 years of marriage

Great story!

80 years of marriage: "'They all said it wouldn't last.' But Elza and Vivian Moses surprised them all. He is now 102, and she is 97. They have become minor celebrities in central Illinois since September, when they reached an astounding milestone of marital longevity: their 80th wedding anniversary."