Out Damn Spot

I write stories all day in my head.

Sometimes I feel like I’m living in the moment, just to write about it later. Everything is a story to me. When I’m in the moment, my mind is trained to look for details to remember to write about later.

I remember smells, tiny knick knacks, people’s facial expressions, colors of clothing, all because I know the details make the story better. It’s not just a habit, it’s a lifestyle for me. It drives me. Sometimes it feels like a burden.

It kind of rules my life because rarely am I just chillin and enjoying myself. Even when I’m involved in pleasurable activities, I’m memorizing every moment to replay and record again later. I have a very good memory involving stories. I don’t remember random facts. I’d never be good on Jeopardy, but if it’s an experience, I can sit back, inhale and relive it at my convenience.

Sometimes I can write a whole story about something that happened and just…erase it. I don’t need it. It’s etched in my brain. I can always write it again and I can ENJOY writing it all again from memory.

Even with the great ideas that I come up with. I don’t give a damn. I can give them away. I have plenty more where those came from. PLUS- If it’s MY idea, no one could ever do it the way that I could do it, so you can try if you want to and it could be good but it won’t ever have the Ms. Tee touch. The touch of love and devotion that is personally crafted by my hands and revitalized by my heart. That’s why I want to be some sort of counsel to people who have heart but just don’t have direction. I can help build upon your idea. I love to sit and write down plans. I don’t know what to do with all of this.

When I’m really happy or proud of myself, I reward myself by writing. When I’m heavy hearted and emotional, I relieve myself by writing. I write everything. Sometimes I sit and make up songs. I’ve written children’s books. Two, for my babies. I’ve written raps. LOL! I really have… Sometimes I’ll just come up with alternate catch phrases for different products or magazines. I’m very critical of bad story tellers who are published because that annoys me. I love to be impressed by a writer. But sometimes, even when their language and style is excellent, you can tell there’s no heart behind it.

I love GQ magazine. I love Playboy. Ofcourse I love Essence too. O has good writers and Readers Digest will ALWAYS be a source of a good hour’s fun when I have the time. The one thing that frustrates me is that magazine covers seem to cover the same topics over and over again. It’s a formula. They teach it to us in school.

There’s always gonna be a number. 69 ways to please your man

There’s gonna be some reference to sex in one of the coverlines

At least 3 fonts and three colors.

There will always be a directive. CHANGE THIS NOW!

Covers are supposed to promise you something life changing or intriguing is locked inside. Only $3.95 to unlock the magic.

I love the whole graphic part of designing a magazine. If I had some time and money I’d go back and learn that too. It’s funny how graphics and text are so reliant on each other but very rarely will you find a person who is talented in both areas.

To me it’s fun to sit down at the computer with a blank screen and then fill it with good quotes. Then I just visualize how I want the story to flow. I put the quotes in that order on the screen. Then I think of the most fantastic part of the story or the most interesting characteristic of that person I’m writing about, and I come up with a creative way to illustrate it. It’ll be either with a visual explanation or a narrative example of the interesting point, or it will be a guessing game where I make the point mysterious just to lead in with the answer in the next paragraph in a way that pulls the reader in.

Then I connect the quotes with my own narrative, always making sure to keep “I” out of the story. I don’t know why but I’m not really fond of that when I read an interview. It makes me feel like the writer is trying to co star in the story. Especially when their presence did not add to the spice of the story.

I love magazines. I read them bitches from cover to cover.

I feel satisfied when I’m done.

I’m watching the Logo channel. They have some good videos on this channel. Like this one…

It reminds me of my friend Ruby. I miss ya girl!

Well…duty calls. Let me go handle some more business.

Pray for a sista because I am in the hot seat!