Day #18 — I Know All About It

Today I joined Twitter, and Kim Moldofsky told me to "say goodbye to productivity." I'm lying to myself committed to using my Twitter account only for writing good, not procrastination evil. To prove it, I will now continue my uninterrupted streak (18 consecutive days) of 10 minutes of free writing per day. This writing prompt comes from Lisa Romeo:

Prompt: I Know All About It

I do not want to hear one more freaking word about Ellie and Nate's wedding. I know all about it. Gawd, it's all my mother can talk about. She tried to talk me into going to the shower. Like that was going to happen. All those happy, sparkly people talking about tulle and shit. I don't even know what tulle is.

I know, I'm Kate the Bitch, capital B, for not going. But I have good reasons — excellent reasons for avoiding that freak show. 

1. I hate that Ellie and the whole fam-damily still insist on calling me "Katie". I'm Kate, damn it. I've been Kate since the eighth grade. My business card says Kate. Just because Ellie is an "Ellie" and not grown-up enough to be Eleanor, that does not mean they can all revert to the diminutive when addressing me. I'm an adult for God's sake.
2. I. Can. Not. Stand. Nate. Just hate him. He was a pompous ass when we met at college. He's still a pompous ass. And the way my mother fawns over him. It's embarrassing. "Katie, sweetheart, I only hope you find such a nice boy some day." Ugh, it makes me want to rip out his eyeballs.
3. Showers are a pointless waste of time. Why can't people buy their own stuff? And don't even get me started on shower games.
4. It was a couples shower, which means that people brought dates. Can you imagine a worse date than going to someone else's wedding shower? Talk about pressure. Talk about scrutiny. Talk about the shortest relationship in history. I would never submit anyone I was dating to such torture.
5. My dad was probably there. I don't know that he was there, but since it was for couples, my mother probably forced him. 'Nuf said.

Don't get me wrong. I'm happy for Ellie. Really, I am. I mean, we've been best cousins since she was born 15 months after me. This is what she's always wanted, and I'm happy for her. But if I have to hear one more time: 

"You're next, Katie!" 
or
"Is there anyone special?" 
or
"I just know you'll find someone, dear. Maybe you should try losing a little weight. Or online dating. I hear it's the latest thing for single gals like you."

The Aunts are marching one by one — all over me. 

Time: 11 minutes

So, this is the other side of the relationship I first wrote about on day #4. I thought it would be fun to explore the same situation from a different character's point of view. You can see the relationships beginning to flesh out; how no matter who you are or what the situation, it's always all about you. That's a good thing to remember when writing; a good perspective when choosing a point of view.

The Kids Table — Day 4

Today's prompt from Lisa Romeo is "The Kid's Table." So many thoughts come rushing in over those words — first the hysterical "Friends" episode where Ross has to dance with all the little girls at the kids table (who all want to stand on his feet) so he can impress a girl. My first idea was to write from a kid's point of view, but I kind of liked the voice of the bride on the Day 1 prompt (with pleasure), so that's where I'm starting. 10 minutes — go.

Prompt: The Kids Table

We had our wedding shower yesterday and it was so beautiful. Katie did not come (thank god), but sent a note that said her gift would arrive soon. Who does that? Her mom was there, though, and it was a bit awkward. I know she and my mom talk all the time, and I really love Jean, but it's hard to talk to her and avoid the subject of Katie.

The biggest surprise of the day (other than Aunt Fran's gift — more on that later) was little Janie. Only, now she's not-so-little Janie. She's a senior in high school now and just magnificent. I remember her as kind of a tomboy, so it was quite a shock to see this tall, poised young woman with a lovely dress and red lipstick! She looked more put together than I did.

You can so tell that Janie is Lacey's granddaughter. Side-by-side, even though Janie towers over Lacey, you can see the resemblance. It's not so much that they look alike, it's really a matter of how they carry themselves — ramrod straight posture, feet posed like a starlet on the red carpet, perfectly coiffed and accessorized. Lacey must be in her late 70s by now and she is still stunning. Maybe it's the cheek bones. They both have marvelous bone structure — strong, yet some how delicate and feminine at the same time. Lucky Janie — she'll probably never need a face lift.

The three other little girls looked so cute in their party dresses. The twins are almost 7, both blonde, one curly, one straight. And baby Amanda will turn five the day before the wedding. They absolute worship Janie, who was kind and gave them attention, but you could see that she was dying to be considered a part of the adult conversation.

Now I don't know what to do. I can't stick Janie at the kids table. Oh, to be 18 again, and trying on all those adult personas. She'll feel ridiculous if she has to spend the whole reception sitting with the little kids. Hmm, where to put her? I can't put her with Nate's cousins — those rowdy frat boys. I can't believe he's from the same family. They would probably eat her alive. No, maybe not. I bet Janie could hold her own. Still, those morons are more immature than the little girls. Maybe I should put them at the kids table. 

I'll have to talk to Nate about this, although he still thinks we should let people sit wherever they want. Clearly, he does not know my dad's side of the family. A good thing, too, or he'd go running for the hills leaving me stranded at the altar. 

Time:  11 minutes. Maybe I should just call this the 11 minute writing series, since I never seem able to stop at 10. I need a timer with an alarm.

Do you remember that time between childhood and adulthood. My daughter is there right now. I remember feeling so flattered when the adults (especially the young adults) included me. The gossip was so seductive. Then the older relatives made you feel like a stupid little kid again, asking all the same questions over and over: What grade are you in? Where are you applying to school? It was a heady time, walking that fine line before tripping over it into grownup land.

Thanks, Lisa

So Lisa Romeo Writes  is my favorite blog for writers. On January 3, she offered to send her readers daily writing prompts for all of January. I knew I couldn't refuse — it seemed just what I needed to get into my imagination, but what would I do with these prompts? I've tried to keep a journal, but my handwriting is just sad. Then, I was poking around some other blogs and read a post called Shitty First Draft and voila — SFD @ 2KoP was born. (SFD — Shitty First Draft — comes from Anne Lamott's great memoir on writing, Bird by Bird .) Enough expounding. Time to get to my first SFD. (Ed. note — the prompted writing will be in this green text; all asides will be in this grey text.)

Prompt: With Pleasure

I got the response card in the mail today. She had checked off the "Will Attend" box and then added "with pleasure". Who is she kidding? I know she doesn't want to come to my wedding. She hates me. Always has. Always will.

And I hate her, that smug, know-it-all, bottle blonde … Stop. Don't. I do not want to taint my wedding — our wedding as Nate is always reminding me — with nastiness from the past. Breathe. Think Zen thoughts. 

My wedding will be beautiful.
My wedding will be serene.
Everyone will get along.
She will be green with envy over my gorgeous dress, my fabulous smart beautiful husband, my newly-skinny body.

OK, not so Zen.

Also in the mail today — three response's from Nate's friends and family and lots of bills. God, this simple wedding is turning into an expensive affair. Not by most standards, mind you, but by our standards.

Nate and I both agreed that we would NOT go into debt trying to compete with some TV idea of what our wedding should be. We want simple, elegant and reasonable. And green. Our invitations were printed on recycled paper. We paid a little extra for the stamps that made a donation to breast cancer research. That was Nate's idea, what with both his mom and his sister going through the hell of treatment at the same time. This is just one of the 8 billion, 367 million reasons I love Nate.

And green. The bride's maids dresses are green (my favorite color). We went to a regular store and bought kind of fancy party dresses. I wanted Jill and Allyssa to feel beatiful, and since they are both so different, I couldn't inflict my taste on them, so I let them each pick out their own dress. Jill's is a halter-neck with a tiny waist and full skirt that falls just below the knee. She has the most fabulous neck and the dress really shows it off. Allyssa's is cap-sleeved with a high neck that kind of looks like a choker. It hides her scars. I think she's still a little self-conscious. Their dresses are the same color and they decided on the same shoes — silver strappy numbers that you wouldn't catch me in on a bet.

Time — 11 minutes

Oops, meant to keep it to 10 minutes. I have to come up with a new timer for this. Mine currently only measures elapsed time.

I have to say, this was an interesting experience. The mind just races ahead with ideas. I found myself fighting the impulse to ask "What's the point?" "What's the plot?" "Where's this going?" I seem to worry a lot about plot. Wonder what else I'll learn about myself and my writing in this experiment?