December 15, 2005 | Writing

I’m definitely in purge and writing mode. Purging all old papers, filing workshops, important emails, Sloane’s recipes, that kind of thing. I’m also line editing my romance. I had to take a 48 hour break from that. Beth, Sharon, and I met Tuesday evening, it was a late night but we worked through my chapter, an article Sloane is writing, and as usual, our Two By Four Leader, was our greatest cheerleader. I invite you to join me in purge mode. I’ll be posting on my Writing, Humps, Dumps and Lumps page, rejection letters writers have received this year. Send yours to YasminePhoenix@aol.com and I’ll post it this month. Make it brief, and include your response, your positive growth response, people. I’ll go first and post my favorite later on today.

December 13, 2005 | Writing

My horoscope for Tuesday December 13 states: You know you need to get back to business, but you can’t help being distracted by what you’d rather be doing. Hey, you’re only human. Bribe yourself with something special – if, and only if, you finish your work.

Well duh, I guess that says it all. I attended my Chicago North monthly meeting last night. I really like these women. I’m the only ‘dark woman’ of color in the group and they’ve always made me feel a part of the group. One in particular, doesn’t really know me, but damn if she isn’t always pushing me to succeed, to not settle for okay, go for the best. It’s like she sees something I don’t see as clearly. It’s also probably got something to do with the fact she shares my daughter’s name. So far, everything she’s told me has been correct. Guess I should listen to her, huh? The President has a lot of potential and quiet energy, could be wrong on the quiet part. She’s going to be published next year. There is inspiration and success in this group. Between them, my online fellow writers and friends, and my critique partners, I suppose my horoscope is on target. So back to work, I can think of a few things I want to reward myself with. And no, I can’t bribe myself with tennis this time, that’s part of my life.

December 11, 2005 | Inspiration

Richard Pryor died this past weekend. I was sadden hearing about his death. For me, he was a great comedian. Not like Bill Cosby, although one could argue Bill’s kinda moving in Richard’s direction as he gets older. Richard was raw, his humor biting, but he hit the truth every single time. Raunchy yes. But not the way other comics tried to imitate him by using profanity for profanity’s sake. Chris Rock comes close to being a new Richard Pryor. Racism, poverty, drug and alcohol addiction, Richard could dig out the pain, mine the humor and make one laugh and think. Richard had many movie roles, but as Piano Man in Lady Sings The Blues, he was awesome. When his character died I remember holding my breath and crying. When he almost died in real life from freebasing cocaine, and had the nerve to deny his drug addiction to Barbara Walters and then later tell her he lied to her, I cracked up when he took his addiction and turned it into standup that demonstrated how powerful drugs can be. In Richard Pryor Live on Sunset Strip, his comic genius was in full force. He talked about how drugs made him believe he could fight Jim Brown and tell him where to f**k off. Interesting how the talking drug pipe sounded like Richard Nixon. At the end of the concert he lights a match and tells the audience he knows what people have been saying about him. He moves the lit match around and says, ‘Yeah, there goes Richard running down the street.’ He turned the mirror on himself and saw what everyone else saw. He wasn’t pathetic he was damn funny. I forgave him for movies such as Superman IV(?) and The Toy. His comedic partnership with Gene Wilder was hysterical. I didn’t know he helped write Blazing Saddles. His ability to act out his talent waned in the multiple sclerosis that weakened his body, but the mind still appeared to be active. In 1998, he received the first Mark Twain Prize for Humor. Richard’s gone, but MudBone lives forever.

December 9, 2005 | Writing

I’m beginning to sound like those ads for Christmas shopping. “You’ve only got 16 more shopping days.” I think it’s important we organize ourselves and focus on what we can accomplish next year, but continue to write now. Don’t wait, work on your goals now, so you’ll be prepared in 2006.

I’m taking a Feng Shui class through Passionate Ink. I mentioned it before. It’s taught by Bella Andre. I’ve got to tell you, the class is great! My critique partners are no clutter women, me it isn’t clutter unless I have to step very high over it. But thanks to Bella, our class has been experimenting with organizing our space to get control and be productive. I’ve moved my desk, sorted through three piles of papers, filed the important ones, thrown away the useless ones, and found coupons for Bed, Bath and Beyond. I’ve still got about a day and a half of cleaning to do, but Bella stresses that we should take our time, see what works for us. I’ve got editing to do, so I’m multi tasking, and those darn Christmas decorations need to go up this weekend.

Have a writing good day!