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Tag Archives: radio interview

Proudest Moments

14 Friday May 2010

Posted by Jane Bretl in Motherhood, Writing

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

anthology, book signing, CBS Sunday Morning, Christina Katz, Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop, Jane Friedman, radio interview, The Prosperous Writer, The Ultimate Mom, There Are No Rules, Writer's Digest

One person’s humor can be another person’s yawn.  One person’s proud can be someone else’s embarrassment.  On either side of the fence, I find that most things in life are not as they appear on the surface, because there exists the chapters before and the chapters not yet written, and all we see is a snapshot.

Profound?  Maybe.  Prophetic?  Confirmed.  Pedantic?  That’s your call.

(Forgive my lack of an obvious segue here — hang with me),  I recently completed a writing course with author Christina Katz called Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff.  I want to make some money as a freelancer, with a side benefit of feeling more comfortable calling myself a writer when I have more clips.  I know, I know, it is not necessary to be published to be a true writer, but truthfully there is some ego involved.  And freelancing is my next challenge.

The class was a fantastic experience — a wealth of information on writing list articles, how-to pieces, fillers, tips, cover letters and much more.  Most importantly for me, it was a kick in the pants.  I willingly signed up for a kick in the pants and I am so glad I did.

I have been following Christina’s blog and reading her newsletters for over a year.  I own two of her books, and am ready to purchase the third.  I respect her advice.  But it was one of her most recent posts that touched me more deeply, one where she asked “writer mamas” to share their Proudest Moments.  I think it is a great read whether you are a writer, a mama, both or neither.

After reading story after story, here is what I chose to share in this on-line conversation about pride.  Because I am still a self-handicapping procrastinator budding deadline embracer, my contribution is in the comments section (umm, missed the cut-off):

This collection of Proudest Writer Mama moments left my heart on my throat. I am so touched by these stories of accomplishments, ones that society may consider large or small, but are each huge to all of us that have this goal. Thank you Christina for inspiring each of these writers to post these experiences, and to each writer for sharing the private insight into their dreams.

My proudest moment came the day I received my copy of the anthology “ The Ultimate Mom“, in 2009. My essay “The Impromptu Birthday” was my first published piece, and was not just a shot-in-the-arm of confidence, but really the I.V. drip that kept me going through my self-doubts. I held that book in my hands with the late afternoon sun streaming in the windows, looked at my name in print and smelled the pages as I let them riffle. Then I looked at the mountain of dirty laundry in the dining room and the sink-full of dirty dishes still left from breakfast, (and quite possibly the previous night’s dinner) — and felt a sense of accomplishment, a quiet peace that after many years and multiple careers, I had finally found what I wanted to be when I grew up.

Subsequently, things started hopping. I appeared twice as a guest blogger on Jane Friedman’s Writer’s Digest blog “There Are No Rules“, was invited to do a radio interview about my story, did a book signing at my local Barnes & Noble (did you know you could do a book signing by being a contributor to an anthology? I didn’t!) and most recently appeared very briefly on CBS Sunday Morning as an attendee at the Erma Bombeck Humor Writers’ Workshop. No matter that my published story of motherhood is about poo and lying to my kid to accelerate the potty training process; the radio interview was broadcast from a nursing home-based radio station with a broadcast range of approximately five miles; at the book signing I sold 11 copies, with eight of those purchased by my friends; and on my seven second stint on national TV, I inadvertently uttered the words “incontinence problem” and “recovering valedictorian”. There’s a lesson in there somewhere, that lots of things in life sound far more impressive to others until they know the details.

But I am proud of these moments, even though a disturbing number of them involve bodily functions. The real pride blooms from this: each and every time, I had pushed myself far beyond the edge of my comfort zone, and laid myself bare with as much authenticity as I could bear.

…it is that same authenticity that I feel in these Writer Mama stories. We can all feel proud.

Other than being a mom, my best job ever, nothing has been as personally fulfilling as being a writer.  Wife, daughter, sister and friend are treasured roles…  and in all these areas, I have been unbelievably blessed.  But, writing?  I can hardly wait to see what happens next, (and it will not be the missing component of the body function trifecta, I promise).

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3…2…1 and we’re live!

03 Monday Aug 2009

Posted by Jane Bretl in Motherhood, Writing

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Frazier, public radio, radio interview, WKRP in Cincinnati

So, the radio interview went well.  It was exciting and a bit nerve-wracking — especially when the very kind host called me at home right before I was leaving for the studio, to tell me that she had inadvertently left all her notes at home, and since she did not have her pre-prepared questions, did I know what I wanted to talk about?  “FOR 30 MINUTES”?

LIVE?

?????

She was so apologetic, and I could tell that she always prepared well for each interview, and she was now wondering how this one would turn out.  For some reason, this put me oddly at ease immediately.  I realized I was comfortable winging it;  it was not knowing the questions she might ask that had my stomach doing flip-flops.  And, it turns out, as she started telling me some of the questions she could recall off the top of her head,  I DID NOT HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT I WOULD HAVE SAID TO ANY OF THEM.  It would have been a disaster.  Well, as big a disaster as an interview can be if no one I know hears it.  Seriously, as far as I know, NO ONE I have ever met heard the actual broadcast.  I did mention that this interview was broadcast on a very small public radio station?  The one with the distinction of being the only official public radio station in the U.S. that broadcasts out of a retirement community?  Still, I had been nervous, even if it was possible some of the audience may have been people who could not get up to change the station.

The broadcast booth reminded me of the one on Frazier, except there was no Roz, rather a very encouraging grandmotherly woman instead.  And there was no psychiatrist.  But other than that, it was a lot like the show.  The room had a big control panel with lots of knobs and levers, and people wearing headphones talking into humongous microphones.  The Panel-Operator-Guy did count down “3…..2…..1 ” then point dramatically to us that we were live.  That was a heart-skipper.  Actually, in retrospect maybe it was more like WKRP in Cincinnati.  With no Les Nessman or Herb Tarlek.  Or Loni Anderson.  But otherwise it was a lot like that.

I received a copy of the show on CD in the mail the other day.  I don’t think I wanted to write about the experience until I heard it myself.  Of course, my voice doesn’t sound anything like it does in my head — it had a distinctly northern Wisconsiny nasal quality that is uncomfortably close to Palin-esque.  Like I could almost see Alaska from my old house.

But all in all,  it turned out to be a great experience.  I got to talk about about my funny motherhood story, and the experience of being published for the first time.  I talked about what a kick it is to be included in an anthology, and how it opens doors for interesting experiences, like being where I was that day.  The host could not have been more kind or encouraging.  She has authors lined up to interview each week through November, and has done this show for many years, so I was in good company.  In fact, the author on the second half of the hour-long program was a fascinating man who lost his sight in college when hit by a stray bullet, and the book he has written about the inspirational life he has led since then.  I listened to his interview on the drive home — it kind of put my little story about poo, lying, and chocolate cake into perspective.  The show was very professionally produced and conducted.  And it was just fun.  Before I did it, I kept thinking of it as my “first practice interview”, which makes a giant leap of faith that there will be more opportunities like this in the future.  Even if I never get the chance to do it again, the experience is something I will always remember.  I felt honored to be there.

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jane, candid

In 2009, I started this blog to share my sometimes thoughtful, sometimes funny, occasionally irreverent thoughts on motherhood, writing for publication and myriad creatures that got along as cats and dogs.

One day, I felt like stepping away from living out loud for awhile. Eh, life happens.

Fast forward five years -- I'll gloss over the details for now -- save to say that lucky for me an unexpected detour has provided some new material.

So here I am, standing at the corner. I've been here before, wondering which way to go. This time I choose living.

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