Kick Start and Tag Team

Yesterday I was complaining about my muse, or the fact that she had gone off to shop the latest boot collection at DSW instead of helping me write my latest story. But, sometimes working on something else will work to tempt that muse to drop the lined boots and return to the stable. In search of that magic bullet, I decided to enter the Bechdel Test Challenge as proposed by Aliana earlier this month.

I had read the premise - the story must have at least two female characters who talk to each other about something other than men - and the fact that she wanted the stories submitted for this to be action/adventure in nature. I had told myself that I wasn't really interested. But my OC character, Helyanwë, rapped at my head and asked to play. She hasn't been active for a while, so opening her door and letting her express her exuberance of life again is turning into a true pleasure. I brought my laptop out into the main sales room yesterday afternoon, connected to the wireless internet, and started writing. Yes, I like where this is going, and because I'm working on two things now, I can Tag Team.

By Tag Team, I mean that I can work on one story until I feel bogged down, then switch to the other until a similar feeling comes over me at which time I can bounce back to story number one. I love working this way because it keeps my interest levels high and allows me to maximize my production. So, I now have two stories I'm working on, one for the Bechdel Test Challenge and the other for the LOTR Community Potluck Challenge. The characters, time frames, and foci are different, and I once again can stay interested. Since it is my day off today, and the roads are icy, I can do the grocery shopping and then settle in to do laundry and write until I phone Aearwen later this afternoon. All is good.

On a more sober note, I want to note the passing of Jeanne Manford, the founder of PFLAG, on January 8th. PFLAG, Parents, Friends and Families of Lesbians And Gays is a national organization that was inadvertently founded by this woman who loved her gay son and was unafraid to proclaim that love in a public setting. Her courage in carrying a sign in 1972 that stated: 'Parents of Gays Unite in Support of our Children' in New York's Liberation Day March was the first stone rolling down the slope. PFLAG was founded in 1973 and today has more than 350 chapters world-wide who operate on a grass-roots level to advocate for LGBT rights. Thanks to one mother's love the world is a better place today, even though there is much that still remains to be done.