Update Summer 2017

I am now blogging here:
https://lucyrodriguezhanley.wordpress.com/
The wordpress blog is where I store the shitty first drafts of my non fiction writing.

I hope to revive this blog when I make another film.

xoxo,
Lucy

Life Change

Yes, I finished my first draft. I kept to my deadline and was a few days early. I finished it the week of ThanksGiving 2015. I have not written much since then. I needed a break from writing because this happened.

The Universe Sending Me Signs

So yesterday, this happened.

I took this as a gigantic sign from the universe that my memoir is going to happen. I’ve been working on a visual project for my nonfiction workshop – the memoir in pictures/images. I took the project one step further and created a soundtrack. I was playing this song all day.

RHCP song Cabron

I told Chad that Cabron captures the spirit of the memoir. He sang a few seconds of it for me. Totally made my day. It’s such a nice feeling when someone whose work inspires you turns out to be a humble, grateful human.

It’s very gratifying seeing the memoir taking shape. I’m a bit ahead of my timeline so I’m going to play around and organize the memoir both chronologically and thematically and see what works best. I still have the last part to write but I have written some flashes (500-800 words nonfiction pieces) about the scenes that make up the last section.

I want to make another movie based on my massive love affair with LaLa Land (what the end of the memoir is about).

xoxo,

Lucy

Inspiration from Junot Diaz

Writing Update

I should be further along in the memoir but I'm happy with my 130 pages.

I've been taking two writing classes simultaneously, I don't know what I was thinking but I survived, mostly because the Novel II class (where I'm working on the memoir) had a 4 week break, we start back up this Thursday for four more weeks.

My CNF class just wrapped. I workshopped 10 pages (one piece) and 25 pages (3 pieces), the last piece is ongoing and will be my next memoir. In this class we had to write a flash (500 words) piece every week. So I have 8 flashes and got a total of four pieces workshopped. I'm going back to another CNF class at the end of July.

It's been crazy taking two classes (a lot of reading, critiquing, full time job & 2 hour commute), I used the Novel II class to work on my memoir and the CNF (Creative Non Fiction) to develop other work that is not in the memoir. When I complete my first memoir, I will be close to finishing the 1st draft of the second book/memoir/creative non-fiction.

I've started submitting work - fingers crossed my stories find a home.

As much as I love to beat myself up for not doing enough, I have to say I'm pretty pleased with myself.

Lucy

PS - I've been taking these classes at Writing Workshops Los Angeles
My teachers (Seth & Chris) are fantastic, I wholeheartedly recommend this place.

Sunday Night Wakefulness

There's something about Sunday nights that riddles my body with anxiety and I'm lucky if I get 4 hrs of sleep. I don't want to be dependent on NyQuil or Tylenol PM so I join the land of insomnia and on Monday mornings I have a Diet Coke to get me through the day. 

Memoir Update

92 Pages or 27,150 words. I'm taking two classes from Writing Workshops LA; a private NF workshop with Chris Daley and Novel II with Seth Fischer. I got stuck with the memoir and needed to work some things out before I could continue. I wrote other stories until I figured out what the memoir needed and today I went back to it. The goal is to write 50 pages by the end of June and an additional 100 by August so I can start the 2nd draft in September.

I met a group of fabulous women, we get together once a month for a submission party and submit our work to literary journals. I've submitted three pieces, they were not ready to go out into the world yet but I have nothing to lose.

I am grateful for the muse and my drive to get this done.