fiction – Page 9 – Britt Skrabanek

That Aha Connection

Sometimes I have these surreal interruptions – “Aha” moments, if you will.

Like a group of determined children, they tap my shoulder, tug at my clothes, or even grab my face to win my erratic attention.

Hey, lady! STOP.

So, I do…and it changes me.

Those running in my social media circle heard about the recent death of my Kindle. She was a trusty companion – knowledgeable, entertaining, and just an overall good soul. Until Hazel the cat rubbed her out, knocking her off the highest ledge in our apartment.

Alas, the Kindle was no more.

Being that I don’t possess the financial superpowers to replace my beloved Kindle currently, I took a field trip to the library. My first time in over a year. (Free books….yay!)

Blogger gal pal Gabriela Blandy at The Sense of a Journey, pointed me in the direction of Raymond Carver, spartan wordsmith extraordinaire.

Always the literature mutt, I decided to give him a whirl.

Whilst pouring over “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love“, I came to a dog-eared page from somebody who had checked out the book before me.

And, I stopped.

Another person had left their mark, a folded corner for me to find. Why did they stop reading just then?

Did they set their alarm, turn off the light, and go to bed? Did they sigh and head into the kitchen to wash the dishes? Did they stuff the book in their bag and board a plane?

From that point…we were connected. The dog-ear was my “Aha”.

Just like the time my change was shoved into my hand at a drive-thru. At a stoplight, I looked down at my palm and noticed Washington’s smirk was littered with poetry in red ink.

Aha.

Just like the time I had this indescribable urge to name one of my characters Sal. Months later I looked down at the right corner of my desk and noticed this carving was there the whole time…

Aha.

We zip through our lives half the time, don’t we? Eat, sleep, work, play. Repeat.

But when it all comes down to it, we are connected in so many ways. And, it’s absolutely magnificent when we stop and breathe it in.

We live side by side – none of us are really that different. Sometimes we need the “Aha” to make us pause, to see how damn incredible this thing called life is.

Advice for those leaving for college, as well as the rest of us

Check out this incredible post from Stan Mitchell, which I meandered over to via good pal Tim Dittmer.

The importance of breathing life in is crucial to our enjoyment of its awe-inspiring beauty. The more we rush, the less we absorb. Every day, every damn moment deserves our full attention.

So, inhale and hang onto it, Lovies. It’s a keeper.

Love Thy Editing

Say it with me…I

love

love

OK, guys. Here’s the toughy…editing.

silence

editing (she repeats in a firm, but encouraging tone)

extreme silence

Alright, writer pals. We’re getting there. Baby steps.

I just so happen to be one of those weirdos who doesn’t mind the editing process. (Notice I still didn’t say love.)

When it comes to a systematic approach, mega details, and cutthroat decisions devoid of emotion. Well…meet my dark side, folks! The editor.

On a less intense note, I see editing as something to cherish. Because at the end of the day, you just wrote a freaking book.

A novel is no joke, pumpkins.

The love, commitment, and devotion put writing a book on par with the most important people in your life. That book is the buddy you tell all of your secrets to, the lover you think about endlessly, and the spawn of your imagination.

It’s your soul in written form.

Man, oh man. There’s just something magical about seeing your first draft all printed out.

Sure, it looks like shit. But that shit is yours.

Currently, I’m working on my second draft of The Bra Game. In other words, I’m murdering my baby with a cheap red pen.

Now I don’t claim to be an expert, nor am I anything in the vicinity of a bestseller. In fact, I’m a self-taught writer who gets her jollies by bending the rules.

But, I do have three books under my belt, so I’ve learned a thing or two about editing.

Specifically, how to try to love it a little.

Change location Rather than being chained to your desk with a sad face, take your printed baby outside. Fresh air will do your pasty ass some good.
Check out some resources As writers, we will forever remain students. Recently, I picked up “Self-Editing for Fiction Writers“. Some parts boosted my confidence, while others slapped me on the wrist. But, it was all good. I learned some shit.
Read it out loud For the sake of your loved ones, try to do this in private. But, do it. When it comes to the rhythm of your writing, especially dialogue, it is crucial to mouth off.
Sporkforge Hey, what’d you just call me?! I stumbled across Sporkforge from another writing blog once. It’s ghetto as hell, but it’s a life saver. The word counter/text analyzer is a free online tool that dishes out your repetitious words and phrases. I’m sure there are fancier programs you can buy to do the job. But, Sporkforge is free for us poor indies.
Use caution with find and replace One time I replaced “purse” with “handbag” throughout my entire fourth draft. Let’s just say, my editors and I had a good laugh over “handbagged her lips” instead of “pursed her lips”. Whoopsy!
Marry it, then divorce it You will live with this story every day – you will get into spats and you will comfort each other. No matter how much energy you put into it, you will never be satisfied with the finished product. Never. So put your big boy or girl pants on, sign the divorce papers, and go your separate ways.
Pat yourself on the back You wrote a damn book for crying out loud! Pat yourself real good.

Challenge Accepted: Show us your shelves

“There is no friend as loyal as a book.” – Ernest Hemingway

Oh, Ernest. You were a feisty son of a gun, but you said some mighty things.

So, my rad blogger pal Letizia over at Reading Interrupted posted something super fun last week, a “Show us your shelves” challenge that’s been traipsing around the blogosphere.

I just couldn’t resist unveiling my dusty ass shelves.

Like many of you, most of my current reading is of the ebook variety. Obviously that would be the most anticlimactic picture ever.

Hey, look at my Kindle bookshelf screen, everyone! (And, cue crickets.)

Please excuse the insanely crooked pics. When you live in a shoebox apartment, you literally squeeze your belongings into every nook and cranny. Taking straight pictures when the corner of your desk is jamming you in the arse is impossible.

OK, Britt. Enough with the disclaimers already.

OK…

These classics are so cool, they always accessorize…

You might be wondering if that is a giraffe’s butt in front of the Hitler biography…

Indeed, it is a giraffe’s butt.

Meet Henri, our guardian of the ratty books and keeper of the giant headphones. Originally from France, Henri enjoys reading Ken Follett books, practicing Yoga, and listening to excellent tunes.

You didn’t think there would be a book shot without a cat around here, did you?

Aww…

Alrighty, folks. It’s your turn. Let’s see those dusty ass shelves!

Hu…hello? Is there anybody out there?

“Hu…hello?” a small voice echoes into the cyber abyss.

Unbearable seconds pass in the darkest of silence, the kind where there is an endless nothing. Feeling sassy, the voice kicks it up a notch. “Is there anybody OUT THERE…OUT there…out there?”

Well, I freaking hope you guys are out there, because I’M BACK!!!

Two whole months. No blogging. No social media. It’s the modern day equivalent to social suicide, but I promise I’m alive and very, very well.

I’ve gotta say I was feeling some serious pressure with my comeback post. So many of you seemed to think I was doing something on the brink of prolific. Then I realized, in our media driven era, taking a hiatus from the digital presence is sort of prolific.

A lot of you said you couldn’t wait to hear what I would discover while I decompressed. Some of you probably thought I was nuts for taking my writer persona off the grid. Some of you might have some questions like…

BRITT, WERE YOU KINDA LOST?

Totally. The first official day of the hiatus, I came home from my day job and stood in the middle of my kitchen, pouting and absently eating cashews.

BRITT, WERE YOU KINDA LONELY?

Totally. I kept thinking I pissed off everybody in my life, but I couldn’t remember what did it.

BRITT, WERE YOU KINDA LAZY?

Oh, come now! Don’t you know me at all?!

I silently toasted myself for my one year blogiversary, since I couldn’t share it with my usual community of blogger besties. (Cheers, ya’ll!)
Mr. H and I seamlessly made it another year…eight years, actually. We celebrated with our annual high five. (Yay for love!)
I annoyed the holy shit out of my two cats. (I’m sure of it.)
I have been unleashed into the Yoga teaching world after obtaining my 200-hour certification last weekend. (More on that later.)
Lastly, I finished my first draft of book trois, The Bra Game. It looks like shit run over twice, but I’m still proud. (More on that later, too!)

Phew! So yeah, I was a little lost and a little lonely, but I found something previously fleeting in my life. And I’m not gonna tell you what that is until next week’s post when I go into the why and how of taking a media vacay.

Aw, Britt!

I know, I know. I’m a tease.

But today, I simply wanted to poke my head out and say thank you all for standing by me. Your awesome encouragement was very much needed and I missed you all like you wouldn’t believe.

Aw, Britt.

I know, I know. I’m really just a big softy.

So, SERIOUSLY! Is there anybody out there? Give me a shout out down below, so I can “see” your cute faces.