Sunday Letter: 10.14.18

Dear Sunday Letter friends,

As I write today’s Sunday Letter, I realize we have a special sort of Sunday morning relationship going on here. With my first cup of coffee steaming on the side table (a table that once belonged to my Nana), I claim my favorite spot on the corner of our couch, sink beneath the quilt handmade by Aunt Rena and Aunt Lavern, and divulge a few of my burning thoughts to you. (Haha, sometimes not so burning, I know.)

I’ll start with a confession. I have a football hangover leftover from watching part of Florida/Vandy + Tennessee/Auburn and all of the Baylor/Texas + Arkansas/Ole Miss games. I saw a little of the neon, star-bright Oregon game, but those uniforms nearly made my eyes bleed.

Both of my favorite teams lost but neither should have.

It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game.

Whatever.

That works for t-ball.

Morning is my Favorite

Sometimes I envy the night owls. Those wide-eyed folks who stay up into the wee hours watching late night television or reading by the glow of a bedside lamp. Me, I’m an early bird. I can’t sleep late even if I try. As youngsters, my sister and I didn’t sleep late, even in summer. There were cartoons to watch, bicycles to ride, fields to explore. Later, during our teen years, we tried to sleep late but Momma wouldn’t have it. The closest I came to being nocturnal was during college when there was a smorgasbord of fun to be had and sleep came at the tail-end of the list.

Now, habits are ingrained, and I wake early every morning. As the days shorten, I can get at least an hour of writing time in before sunrise. Maybe two.

But morning really is my favorite. I step outside when the sun is just beginning to peek through the trees. Often, the sky is pink or a pale shade of lavender, the color of promise and wishful thinking.

Soon the grass will be glazed with the season’s first frost.

3 Ws of Writing

I often hear about the 3 Ws of writing—the why, what, and when of writing. I have my own set of Ws completely different from those. These are the Ws no one tells a new writer about. The Ws that come after the why-what-when of writing a manuscript.

The interminable WAITING. I wait for responses to query letters or submissions to contests. I wait for feedback from my editor. I wait for reviews from book club readers who promised to write one and seemed genuinely excited to do so. I wait for deep words to come when only shallow thoughts skim the surface of my mind.

I wait for inspiration to strike as I walk Lucy and Annabelle through the neighborhood, during trips to the grocery store for milk and apples, while I plant happy-faced pansies beside the front sidewalk.

In between the long periods of waiting, there’s lots of WONDERING swirling inside my head.

I imagine my editor far away in Israel (that’s where she lives) reading my words, words I’ve pondered, changed, tweaked, rearranged again and again during the past two years. I wonder if she uses a red pen, and if she looks forward to working on my manuscript after cooking dinner for her family, taking out the garbage, all those things she has to do in a day.

Way down deep, I wonder if my writing is any good, if this next manuscript will ever truly be finished, published, on bookshelves.

I wonder if anyone will read it.

The third W is the most critical of all, a must-have for any type of creative to succeed. WHEREWITHAL. The wherewithal to keep writing during all the long stretches of waiting and wondering. And I don’t mean financial wherewithal, although that’s part of it. I’m talking about having the want-to, the drive and passion to show up daily to a blank piece of paper or an empty, glowing, taunting computer screen and write, even when the waiting feels like a snowfall that never comes, and the wondering rattles my brain like a brittle wind.

Now you know the other Ws.

Another Star is Born

This past week we saw A Star is Born. I barely remember seeing the Streisand/Kristofferson version when I was a kid, and I don’t remember being blown away by it. But this latest version?

Oh my heart.

♥⭐♥⭐♥⭐

Did you know the newest remake is the 4th version of the movie? The original debuted in 1937 and starred Janet Gaynor and Fredric March. In 1954, it was remade with Judy Garland and James Mason. I’ve not seen either of these. Must.Remedy.This.

When you watch the new version, note that Bradley Cooper did his own singing. He spent months taking singing and guitar lessons. He worked with a vocal coach to lower his voice to sound gravelly and more like a country singer. And he nailed it.

Another adorable thing… Bradley Cooper cast his own dog Charlie in the movie.

Lady Gaga reveals a completely different, real, raw side of herself. In a word, she is stunning.

Something I learned from A Star is Born—the actor (Cooper) is a singer, and the singer (Gaga) is an actor.

Go see it today if you haven’t already.

Milo and Me

Look at this cutie.

For a few days while Milo’s Momma is away, I get to take care of Milo during the day. We walk, play, visit neighbors. Lucy and Annabelle love Milo so it’s fun for them too. Charles Schultz said happiness is a warm puppy.

I believe it. Don’t you?

What Momma Said

I wanted Lady Gaga to end up with that guy from Chicago Fire.

***

On Tuesday night, I’ll be in Rolling Fork, Mississippi talking about The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee as part of the Lower Delta Talk series. Spread the word to your friends in the Vicksburg / Greenville / Jackson area, pretty please. (Check my author website for ALL upcoming events | click ==> Talya Tate Boerner. )

Same time next week friends,

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]Another Sunday Letter with Lady Gaga and my 3 Ws of #writing – #SundayMorning #SundayLetter[/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:

Shallow, Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper