The Past, The Future, and Don Hollinger's Typewriter

It's 2020, so that means I'm compelled to examine the progress I have made in 2019 and use that to determine what's going to take the highest priorities this year.

2019 -- The Year of the Almosts

There was a lot of things I almost accomplished in 2019. I almost hit my goal of publishing four new pieces. I published three, but that was only because much of my time was getting existing projects into better shape, including 53 total poems in Pieces on Wattpad. I almost hit my Goodreads reading goal of 100 books, but I was four short, even with all of the children's books I read. I almost took a vacation. I almost stuck to a strict budget--until the holidays came around. I almost received one last payout from Textbroker before I said goodbye for good, but couldn't quite hit the minimum payout before the requirement to switch to Payoneer. So now $8.16 is in limbo, and it will stay there until Textbroker realizes what a mistake they have made and returns to providing a PayPal option. I'm not holding my breath for that one, but I just can't click the Close Account button with money on the table, as insignificant as it is.

The Inspiration to Keep Going

I would love to say that the past two weeks have been filled with writing, planning about my writing, and more writing, but it wasn't. I was binge-watching That Girl as it expired from Hulu. It's been three days since I finished it and like all good shows, it has left me with a bit of an emotional hangover from not being able to immediately rewatch it, though it is back on television as of today if I need to get back to it. I haven't felt like that since I watched all six seasons of Community three times in a single year.

What surprised me about watching the show was what my brain chose to focus on. There are so many things it could have been: Ann's super-mod wardrobe, her ability to assert independence when the times didn't call for it, the fact that she could afford a super-cute East Side apartment on haphazard pay (similar to a freelancer's life), or that this show has many similarities to Get Smart, aside from both shows sharing Bernie Kopell. No, what my brain decided needed a laser-like focus was Don Hollinger's career. It makes sense. He was a writer.

But that's still not what really inspired a renewal of effort to get back to my writing. It was the dude's super-cute portable typewriter.

This typewriter only appears in like three episodes--and I should know. I watched 138 episodes in fourteen days. I can't get enough of how adorable it is. I'll certainly be on the lookout to buy one someday, but what the typewriter did was get me to think about how much time I spend not writing, and why I can't fill in some of those gaps. Also, it made me think about all the female writer characters on TV, and I had a hard time quickly coming up with a list. It took me ten minutes to remember Carrie Bradshaw was a writer because her lifestyle--considering her employment--was ridiculously fictional. And all of that leads me into 2020...

2020--The Year of New and Exciting Adventures (Fingers Crossed!)

The first project on deck for the year is one of my pilot scripts. Both of the pilots that I wrote first drafts of have a female lead who is or wants to be a writer. I think that it's important to tell these stories, so I'm going to do everything I can to get at least one script to the point where I can receive script coverage. I want to see where I really stand. Hopefully, I can get a recommend rating that takes the project outside of my hands and on to the next phase.

I'm also looking to not sit on content. I do write a lot of content, and often it goes unseen. There are a lot of factors that go into that, but sitting on a short story for a year before submitting (which I tend to do) is not productive. That's not going to happen anymore. I'm going to keep my goal of published pieces at four for the year, but I intend to post a lot more content on Medium this year. I'm going to merge my love for sitting in front of the TV for a little too long with my ability to write reviews.

2020 will also be the year I get more rejection letters. I don't mean that I'm looking for them, but there is no reason I need all of these unpublished pieces sitting around, not being considered.

In terms of adventure, I'm putting myself on the strictest budget my little life will allow so that I can finally do something big--a vacation, a relocation, attending a conference, participate in a residency program. I don't know what it will be yet, but I know that this is the year I have to do something, otherwise I don't know if I ever will. I'm inspired to do great things and I don't want this feeling to subside, so I'm grabbing it and holding it close. Let's hope I don't end up smothering it.

Happy New Year! I hope everyone out there has big dreams of their own and we can all accomplish them together.

Awkward...

The Professional Awkward

Yesterday was one of those odd days. First, I received a rejection letter for a job application. Huh?

I had already assumed that the company was not interested in me because more than two weeks had passed. That's the standard. It seems weird to get one, especially since the wording was that the job position had been closed, rather than saying it had been filled. Don't get me wrong, I'm used to rejection letters. I just didn't know that companies ever notified you when you didn't make it through the initial application process.

There was also encouragement to apply for positions at the company's other imprints -- this was for an editorial assistant position at an imprint in one of the large publishing companies. But I doubt that will get me anywhere. Though because of applying, I have been left with weekly emails for similar job listings. Maybe I'll try again, but if my resume doesn't change, I'm not too sure interest in my resume will change. I'm thinking even for an entry level job, there's going to be a who-you-know element. Time to network...

The Surprising Awkward

I've been spending what free time I have trying to finish up Here's Lucy because Hulu is going to expire it in a few days. It's been helpful in my research for my latest project, especially when it comes to fashion, but then I had to sit through this episode yesterday (awkward...)

The Not Awkward

The writing. The writing is fully grown and wildly confident--she left that awkward stage long ago. I've signed up for Medium and have started to upload some of my previously published pieces. "Second Shadow" is up right now, along with "Tuesday Morning Hangover." I'll be adding more in the coming weeks. Hopefully I will be able to get new pieces up soon.

I know I sing the Patreon song a lot, but if you are interested in getting a new poem from Pieces tomorrow, go ahead and sign up to get exclusive access.There will be a new piece up tomorrow, and more to come soon on Wattpad.

That's all for now. I'll be over here, working away and hoping the next great idea doesn't strike me just yet... I've got too much piled up for that!

Big Dreams on Tiny Shoulders

Thoughts Hulu's Tiny Shoulders

I wasn't sure I wanted to watch Tiny Shoulders when it came up on my screen while browsing through Hulu. I didn't want to watch mostly because I didn't know what angle the documentary would take, whether it would be to praise the global phenom that is Barbie, or whether it would be a tool to continue to tear it down. Quite simply, I didn't want my memories of playing with Barbies to be sullied by someone else's opinion.

Thankfully, Tiny Shoulders is a relatively balanced look at the history of Barbie and how it has fundamentally changed in the last couple of years. It covers everything from Ruth Handler's initial struggle to get anyone to design and manufacture the doll to today's dolls that come in varied heights, sizes, colors and hairstyles to better represent the girls that are playing with them. 

My Barbie collection, 1991

The biggest question that the documentary poses is the struggle on how to see Barbie. Is she a vapid Valley Girl with nothing better to do than wear fabulous clothes and keep her stunning figure? Or is Barbie one of those accidental feminist icons—after all, she's had hundreds of careers, she makes her own money, and she doesn't need poor little Ken to marry her in order for her to feel worthy.  

Paging Dr. Barbie.

The documentary does set out to correct the record. In the beginning, Barbie was a progressive toy. It was the first doll for girls that she didn't have to take care of like a baby doll. She wasn't using Barbie to learn how to be a wife and mother. She was using Barbie to explore all of those other options out there, like having a career that is fulfilling beyond family life. There are plenty of missteps in Barbie's history that do point to her as being more superficial and not as progressive as originally intended, but the fact that this toy continues to evolve is a testament to its original intention. 

Barbie and Ken as ice skaters.

For me, Barbie was just always there. It was something I loved playing with, but not because I thought I was going to grow up and be a six-foot-tall tan supermodel with blonde hair. I loved Barbie because she had so many options—when it came to clothes, accessories, and careers. Not so much with the look during my peak Barbie years (late eighties to mid-nineties). That's why even though I loved Barbie, I always wanted the other, lesser known dolls. Where I went to pick out Barbies—I have to sadly say that it was at the now-defunct Toys'R'Us—seemed to never have Barbie's brunette friend, but always had her redhead friend. So instead of just picking up Barbie's friends, I gravitated toward Skipper, Courtney, and Kevin. 

Kindergarten graduation presents, All-American Barbie and Babysitter Courtney.

Skipper was supposedly Barbie's teenage sister. I bought that story for awhile, but when I got into my last months of playing with these dolls, I was convinced that Skipper, along with Stacey and Kelly, were not sisters but Barbie's kids, because what forty-something year old woman didn't have kids? Sexist idea, I know. Forgive me. I was thirteen, growing up in a conservative Midwest, and trying to hide the fact that I still played with Barbies. I had my own issues to deal with. 

The latest in Skipper accessories.

Skipper had this friend named Courtney. She was what I considered the perfect doll because she wasn't blonde, she didn't have the pointed toes to wear high heels, and she was a teenager. Because at six years old, that's the next huge milestone you are looking forward to. I, like most children, wanted something I could really relate to. Hair color might be superficial, but her having brown hair was the reason I loved her so much. I even loved the fact that Kevin, Skipper's boyfriend, came in both blonde and brunette varieties. I had both, which worked out well because that meant Skipper and Courtney could both date guys named Kevin, who by the way was captain of the basketball team (the blonde one, not the brunette—that one was a skateboarder). Win-win! Out of every doll and accessory I had, Courtney and brunette Kevin were the only two dolls I have kept all these years.

I also enjoyed the Stacey and Todd dolls. That's because I liked having a doll that was around the same age as me while I played with it. They had awesome soccer uniforms, party clothes, and had fun accessories (I would have killed to have a real-life version of Stacey's loft bed that I had with the wardrobe/desk combo underneath). I ended up getting a couple of Kelly dolls as well, but that's when the fictional bubble burst for me. Barbie and Kelly had a 30+ year age gap. No way were they sisters. But because of that, I started making up better and more complex stories when I played. At the ripe old age of eleven, I decided I was going to be a writer. For the next two years, Barbie and all of her friends, sisters (“sisters”), and all of the other players became a way for me to storyboard all of the things I wanted to write.

And that's why I played with my dolls for longer than was socially acceptable. It was simply a tool to make up these stories, to see where I wanted it to go before I wrote it down. Those last few months of play are what make Barbie special to me. It was fun, and I'm glad that even though Barbie as a brand has had its ups and downs, it doesn't take away the joy that any of us had exploring the world with them.