When An Article Doesn't Work

I'm fortunate in that most of my article-writing skill comes easily for me. I research and interview and put in the time but for the most part I don't struggle to pull an article together.

Not so with this week's project. An editor friend asked me to write a humor article for the medical cat journal she produces for a University. A lot of the articles in the magazine are straightforward, fact-based text. She liked the idea of adding a dash of humor to the mix. We decided I'd do a sort of Letterman Top-1o list about why cats bring humor to our lives. But she also asked I interview a few experts and sprinkle in their opinions, to give the article a bit of weight.

Honestly, I expected to toss this article out in an afternoon.  Hasn't happened. I have been playing with this thing for 3 days now and it's still not coming together. The problems are several-fold:

1. I always tense up when writing for a friend. I have that whole "need to prove I didn't get the work just because it's a friend and therefore I must submit genius-level work" complex.
   
2.  I'm having a much harder than anticipated time melding the "funny" and "serious" aspects of the article.
3. Word Count. A simple 1000 words is usually no problem. But for an article that revolves around a Top 10 list, I'm struggling to fill the space.
   

I was hoping to submit the article this week but it's not in the cards. I need to just stick the article away for a few days and come back to it with a fresh perspective. Frankly, I have the nagging feeling my best bet would be to scrap what I have and start over. I'm working too hard to make things flow which is a red flag that the pieces just don't fit together.

A few dear writer friends have offered to read what I have and give suggestions but egads--I'm so unhappy with what's there I shudder to hand it off to anyone else. Might be time to put the ego aside and do just that though. 

Docile Kitty?

No no no no no no no no.  NO.  Uh-uh. This can't be happening. My Olivia, my baby, my kitten, my silent-mewing sweetie-pie, just barked at me to pet her. I swear it was a full out "You will do it NOW - ROWR!"  cat bark.  But this can not be. Olivia is my gentle soul of a cat. She never makes a peep, just sits and stares at you with wide eyes until you do her bidding.  Silence is her constant companion.

To the contrary, Lucy, our tuxedo cat, won't shut up.  If she is in need of anything--water, food, playtime, combing, fresh litter, by God, you will hear about it.  And she doesn't even pretend to be nice about it. Her voicings have a definite "move your ass" quality to them.

What if Lucy has tainted Olivia? Dear Lord, I can't handle two of them bossing me around. I depend on silent angel Olivia to temper the storm that is Lucy-Cat. I always thought I wanted them to be friends, but now I'm not so sure.

I better cut this short and go comb Olivia. I'm afraid of what might happen if I don't.  

Decorating Diaries - Still Holding On

A friend pointed out to me the other day that I've dropped the ball as far as updating you all on the status of our master bathroom renovations. Apologies all around. Here's the scoop:

It's fair to say that the bathroom is finished. All plumbing is operational, the heated floors work and after 8 1/2 months of tears, threats, lies, and four-letter words sworn into my pillow at night, the contractors are but a memory. Which is not entirely a good thing. We still have no floor divide between our bedroom and bathroom floor and my front bedroom still holds the cabinet and tile samples that belong to said contractor.  Every time I pass them I get an evil urge to dump them.

What the bathroom needs now more than anything are the finishing touches--tissue and toothbrush holders, artwork on the walls, and fluffy new towels in a yet-to-be-determined-color-because-this-whole-process-has-rendered-me
incapable-of-making-even-the-smallest-decision.

I like the bathroom.  I might love it after we add the towels, window coverings, etc.  One thing that bums me out is we forgot to move the showerhead to a higher height. In our old bathroom, the showerhead is VERY low - maybe at the 5'7 level.  In our other bathroom renovation, the plumber moved it to the top of the shower wall so it rains down on us like a shower is supposed to. This one wasn't moved and continues to sort of be at face level for me, chest level for Blair. Poor guy has to about bend in two to rinse shampoo out of his hair.

But really, I think the whole renovation experience put a sour taste in my mouth that given a little time, will dissipate and I'll come to love the bathroom.  

Here's one little problem to be resolved. Look at the photo to the left. There is a large full-length mirror leaning against the back wall of the shower. It's leaning instead of hanging because when we went to drill holes for the screws, we discovered the previous owners had put a metal sheet in the wall.  Our drill can't penetrate it so I suppose I'll call our neighborhood contractor to come hang it for us.

There's always something but overall, I'm pretty pleased. (And thank you, God, that it's over).  

Setting Boundaries

This month and I suspect the upcoming months are going to present a challenge for me in terms of setting boundaries on my time. It's come to my attention that my volunteer and non-paying activities are starting to outnumber and take over my income-producing activities. Someone showed me a T-shirt in a catalog that said, "STOP ME FROM VOLUNTEERING AGAIN!"  That's me.

The problem is, I really like a lot of my non-paying activities. They include:

• Attending a weekly networking meeting
• Participating in a Toastmasters group
• Mentoring two young women as they start their own businesses
•  Reading to middle-grade kids through a disadvantaged youth program
• Teaching Networking skills to women at a non-profit Women's Resource Center
• Serving on the board and as a group facilitator for our local writer's group.
  
• Serving on the board for our local Toastmasters group
• Serving on the board for the International Cat Writers Association
• Attending networking events through our Greensboro Merchants Association
• Meeting with my critique group for children's writers
  
• Blogging
• And soon to include more work on animal rights and establishing a shelter! =)
  

Part of my issue is I think, "Oh, it's only an hour's meeting. I can do that," forgetting to factor in 1 1/2 hours drive time, the fact that meetings run long, and the "to-do" list of things I'll emerge from the meeting with.

I'm taking baby steps to remedy this. I've announced I'm leaving the board of my writers group and stepping down as facilitator.  I'm also (after one more visit, because I promised) going to stop reading to the kids. A good cause, but it's over an hour away and that's just too far. My Toastmasters group asked me just this week if I would serve on the awards committee and mentor a new member and I said no to both. It was hard--I'd love to be on the awards committee and I'd enjoy mentoring a new speaker. But there's just no time.

Some things won't go away because I don't want them to. I love blogging. I love my networking group and my children's writers group. Being on the Board of the Cat Writers brings me contacts and income, since I write for a lot of pet magazines. But I may have to take a hard look at some of the other items.

It's a good problem to have, being interested in so many different things. And it might be a little more manageable if I didn't live so far away.  And it's not that I have a hard time saying no to people as it is I really want to be a part of all these things. But I'd also like a little more balance in my life.  We all would.