Squawk Radio
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
INTRODUCING...COUNTRY ELOISA
Everybody here knows I have two careers, right? By day a tough-grading Shakespeare professor, by night a oh-so-nice writer of romances?
Well, More Magazine thought it would be fun to ask me to write an article on taking on a second career -- but with a twist. They want me to check out THIRD careers! And write an article about it. When this was initially approved, I was happy as a clam. I know loads of women who envy me for having a second career, and who would like to dump their work in the insurance company/Walmart/bank and find something more fun, more creative and more along the lines of Eloisa. Seriously. Women tell me that all the time (especially professors, sadly enough).
Anyway, More asked me to go on a couple of Vocation Vacations and write them up. This company runs a great program in which you try out your new career under the careful eye of a mentor. I got to choose from a huge list. Some were easy to cross off. Dog Training I signally failed to do with our darling, pee-around-the-house Milo. I can barely get myself dressed, so Fashion Designer seemed like a stretch. A bed and breakfast sounded like fun -- I signed up for that. And then I needed one more, so in a fit of...I don't know what...I signed up for -- wait for it:
COUNTRY MUSIC WRITER.
Back then, my thinking went along these lines: Hey, I know how to write about love, right? And there's plenty of time to figure it all out: I have all summer!
Have you noticed that I do not write Sunday music blogs? Liz does. Occasionally Teresa, owner of thousands of CDs, does. There's a good reason.
Last night I dreamt over and over that I was on my way to Nashville (because--gulp--that's where I'm going in early September: to meet a record producer and show him my--gulp--SONGS!). In my dream, I kept missing the plane. I would show up wearing nothing but a white towel, or without underwear, or without my computer. Finally I woke up and faced my demons.
I need to write a country western song.
NOW.
I will leave the abyss of my knowledge of country music to your imagination. I will say that I really liked the movie Nine to Five and I once saw Keith Urban in a hotel and thought he had amazing shoulders.
In the middle of the night I came up with one line.
YOU SAY I'M DESPERATE AND I THINK YOU MAY BE RIGHT.
hmmm.
Help! Help oh brave community of Squawkees! If you know anything about music! Here's my questions:
What's your favorite country music song and why? Can you put 2-3 lines of it in the comments? How long do you think the refrain should be? If that was your first line, above, what would the second line be? If you really know something about music: is a person supposed to count out the syllables of a music line, the way you do when writing a sonnet? (Why wasn't Sonnet Writer one of the company's possibilities?)
And finally, has anyone ever walked into a situation as unprepared as I am -- and what happened to you??
Can you believe that I got an email from the music producer talking about STUDIO TIME? HEEEEELP!
If you have the country western writing bug yourself, check out my Bulletin Board under Writing Stuff (http://eloisajames.net/board/index.php). Anyone who wants can pitch in on a group-written song. Who knows? Maybe that song will make it on the charts!
Well, More Magazine thought it would be fun to ask me to write an article on taking on a second career -- but with a twist. They want me to check out THIRD careers! And write an article about it. When this was initially approved, I was happy as a clam. I know loads of women who envy me for having a second career, and who would like to dump their work in the insurance company/Walmart/bank and find something more fun, more creative and more along the lines of Eloisa. Seriously. Women tell me that all the time (especially professors, sadly enough).
Anyway, More asked me to go on a couple of Vocation Vacations and write them up. This company runs a great program in which you try out your new career under the careful eye of a mentor. I got to choose from a huge list. Some were easy to cross off. Dog Training I signally failed to do with our darling, pee-around-the-house Milo. I can barely get myself dressed, so Fashion Designer seemed like a stretch. A bed and breakfast sounded like fun -- I signed up for that. And then I needed one more, so in a fit of...I don't know what...I signed up for -- wait for it:
COUNTRY MUSIC WRITER.
Back then, my thinking went along these lines: Hey, I know how to write about love, right? And there's plenty of time to figure it all out: I have all summer!
Have you noticed that I do not write Sunday music blogs? Liz does. Occasionally Teresa, owner of thousands of CDs, does. There's a good reason.
Last night I dreamt over and over that I was on my way to Nashville (because--gulp--that's where I'm going in early September: to meet a record producer and show him my--gulp--SONGS!). In my dream, I kept missing the plane. I would show up wearing nothing but a white towel, or without underwear, or without my computer. Finally I woke up and faced my demons.
I need to write a country western song.
NOW.
I will leave the abyss of my knowledge of country music to your imagination. I will say that I really liked the movie Nine to Five and I once saw Keith Urban in a hotel and thought he had amazing shoulders.
In the middle of the night I came up with one line.
YOU SAY I'M DESPERATE AND I THINK YOU MAY BE RIGHT.
hmmm.
Help! Help oh brave community of Squawkees! If you know anything about music! Here's my questions:
What's your favorite country music song and why? Can you put 2-3 lines of it in the comments? How long do you think the refrain should be? If that was your first line, above, what would the second line be? If you really know something about music: is a person supposed to count out the syllables of a music line, the way you do when writing a sonnet? (Why wasn't Sonnet Writer one of the company's possibilities?)
And finally, has anyone ever walked into a situation as unprepared as I am -- and what happened to you??
Can you believe that I got an email from the music producer talking about STUDIO TIME? HEEEEELP!
If you have the country western writing bug yourself, check out my Bulletin Board under Writing Stuff (http://eloisajames.net/board/index.php). Anyone who wants can pitch in on a group-written song. Who knows? Maybe that song will make it on the charts!
Eloisa James, 3:15 AM
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