Come Join in the Frenzy

Tomorrow begins the second annual ScriptFrenzy. This is related to November’s National Novel Writing Month, by the Office of Letters and Light, but for scripty things rather than novels.

I wrote my very first screenplay during last year’s Frenzy, and it was a blast. I learned so much about my writing style, about constructing dialogue, about ways to organize and visualize a story.

I’ve drafted three novels as well, but my first ScriptFrenzy is easily my favorite piece of writing.

If you have any sort of writing inclination whatsoever, you should check it out. Even if you don’t have any writing inclination, go check it out. Recommend that your friends and siblings check it out. Ileana, tell Patrick to check it out. ;) Make a donation while you’re there to support their young writer’s program, which provides curriculum and instruction ideas to put writing into the classroom for students of all ages.

This year, they’ve opened up the possibilities to include comic book scripts, radioplays, television scripts, and shorts. The goal is to write 100 formatted script pages during the month of April. That’s just 3.3 pages per day.

You could do that.

Seriously.

Give it a try. I’m “eglentyne” over there too if you want to add me to your writing buddies.

A Calculus of Silly

Overheard:

Sonar X5: (gigglingly skeptical) That’s completely silly.

Sonar X7: (serious and thoughtful) Nothing is completely silly. Some things can approach complete silliness, but nothing is 100% silly.

Overweening Mama Pride

Sonar X7 won a first place ribbon in the school science fair today and earned a spot in the regional science fair in May.

Can I just say how adorable it was, the Sonar’s modest surprise and light-up-the face joy when the first place ribbon was announced. *big happy sigh*

He gets it from me. (annoying smugness)

For those of you who would point out that the genetics in question include a healthy donation from someone who once spent several years working on a Ph.D. in Biochemistry before oppressing the masses in public education I say (with a surprising lack of modesty and maturity). Pshaw. Though I was more mathy than sciencey, with at least a decade of math geekiness under my belt, I did earn a Biochemistry degree before switching allegiances to the humanities. Partner, bless his soul, experienced adult-onset geekiness. AND more than half of that heritable genetic material is from me. Seriously. Go look it up. Then brush your teeth.

As the Germ Turns

Partner has pneumonia. Sunday and Monday he looked like death warmed over. A chest x-ray from Monday afternoon shows that it was just *barely* pneumonia (is that like being a “little pregnant” I wonder?) and he felt fine though coughy and returned to work Tuesday.

Sonar X5 started to droop Tuesday night. We thought initially that it was also going the way of an upper-respiratory virus, but alas, took a turn toward multi-textured and -sourced digestive efflux during the night last night. Nothing like a shivering sobbing child in the tub in the middle of the night followed by nasty midnight laundry. After some dry-heaves this morning, this bug has settled back to mild cough, mild fever.

Sonar X3 started to droop last night, but has thankfully acquiesced to a naptime with actual sleeping. But first we had to do the daily banana rules.

Background first. Every day before what we have ceased to call naptime and now call quiet time (what with the general lack of actual napping), I chat or read quietly with each preschool Sonar for a few minutes. Each Sonar has developed a unique settling routine that invariably involves a personal script of silliness that is recited each day.

For Sonar X3 this includes a list of things to remember during quiet time, a.k.a. The Banana Rules, wherein we take regular things to remember and add the word banana.

1. Be quiet becomes Be quiet, banana
2. Get some rest becomes Get some rest, banana
3. I love you becomes I love you banana
4. Stay in your bed unless you need to use the toilet becomes Stay in your banana unless you need to use the toilet, or Stay in your bed unless you need to use the banana, which is giggling corrected by the Sonar to Stay in you bed unless you need to use the toilet, BANANA!
5. Don’t put your feet on the wall (he’s a wall-kicker) becomes Don’t put your feet on the Bananas, which is gigglingly corrected to Don’t put your BANANAS on the wall, in a surprisingly funny twist on preschool humor.

Funny kid.

Sonar X7 is healthy and competing in his school science fair today. Making the world a better place for toothpaste and hard-boiled eggs.

I am feeling a bit weary, so I’ll complain. Scriptfrenzy begins April first, but the detailed plan I had planned to make is so far nonexistent. I haven’t had a chance to Run in more than two weeks. These facts are combining to make me grouchy. In addition, Family—a sane, sensitive, thankfully unfastidious contingent—arrives for a four-day visit April fourth. I am looking forward to this visit, but, you know, there are things to get ready, and I want everyone to have a nice time. And these are good relationships, but they are relationships in repair after long-term damage, a some time source of anxiety.

On the bright side, there is an abundance of salad greens waiting to be picked in the back yard. The preschool Sonars and I harvested baby broccoli and cauliflower this morning to make some soup. And there is the most amazing bushy cluster of blooms and buds on our tiny avocado tree.

Now, if only I can keep myself from getting sick.

Love, Thank Yous and Vacation

Hey, for those of you who have sent messages of outrage and support and cheering and comfort and silliness, both publicly and privately….

Thank you so much. Seriously. Together with the love of other family and friends, I feel surrounded (in a good way), soothed, buoyed, strong, and positive. The anger and despair I felt when I posted about the dismissive and painful remarks directed toward me recently has softened into something that feels much less overwhelming. I no longer feel buried. No longer feel that this one conflict has undone my progress toward healing, merely that it was an upswelling of emotion, and a brief side trip that has reminded me that the love in my life is so much bigger and more powerful than than the negative emotions that remain.

So I’m ok. And I’m on Spring Break, visiting family, knitting, reading, playing with puppies and looking at wildflowers, dying Easter eggs and knitting, making long lists, reading magazines, and knitting.

Good stuff.

The best therapy.

And yes, my house is very very clean right now. ;)