Monday, April 02, 2012

Laundry, pool parties, 12 year-olds and writing tools


By Pamela Moeng

My 7th grader son pleaded with me a month ago to have a pool party at the start of the term break. Being the soft-hearted mom I am, I agreed. Saturday was the big day and he could hardly contain himself. Would anyone come? Would they have fun? Would there be enough grub for pre-pubescent hoovers?

Yes, yes, and yes. He whispered in my ear at one point that everyone was having fun, even though some people didn’t bother to come. He’s learning early to see it as ‘it’s your loss if you don’t want to be with me’. The house and garden have been full of laughter, mysterious thumps and bumps from boys bang against each other, but they’ve been well behaved and it’s been a great day.

What’s that have to do with laundry and writing tools? Being ever the efficient mom, I decided to hang the laundry while the sun shines, so I gathered it up and kept glasses clean and debris dumped in between loads.

And since laundry doesn’t require much brain power or presence beyond the sorting and stuffing into the machine, I researched writing tools and style guides while waiting for wash, rinse and spin dry cycles to finish.

When I know I won’t have the focused time to write, I research writing tools, tips, interviews with writers, or information for WIP. Today I checked out various style manuals and guides: The Chicago Manual of Style, the AP Style Guide and the Harvard Style Guide. I also downloaded a great tool for planning marketing campaigns and other projects. The best part was it was free. Yep, it cost me zip, nada. It was mahala, people.  Check out the website.

All in all, it was a fruitful day, and I made a 12-year-old very happy, by keeping my promise to keep a low profile and not skulking in the corners. The guests were well behaved and the host had a good time. You can’t ask for much more than that. It’s a wonderful world!

8 comments:

Lori said...

Sounds like a great party, Pamela! I'm checking out the marketing link. Anything that makes it easier is okay in my book -- especially the free stuff!

Lori said...

Ah, you used Jenn Mattern's sheet. I've had that a while -- she's excellent. One of the more brilliant writers I know when it comes to running a business.

Damaria Senne said...

Lori, I also like Jen Mattern's sheet. Very useful.

PJ said...

You see, I'm behind the times. But I loved the sheet. I've worked in a marketing/communications environment for the past ten years and it is one of the simpler templates I've seen. D, maybe Lori could do an interview on Storypot about other writing tools that she's used. What do you think?

Damaria Senne said...

Good idea. I'll ask her.

shavonne mckinney said...

Wow!! This post was nice, and very informative at the end. Can You send me a copy of you ebook? Thanks

Damaria Senne said...

Sure, Shavonne. What's your email address?

Damaria Senne said...

oh, i forgot.send me an email at damariasenne@gmail.com instead of writing your email address here. Don't want spammers to bug you:-)

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