Special Guest Post With Kristin Bair O'Keeffe

Thanks to WOW! Women On Writing we have Kristin Bair O'Keeffe, author of Thirsty, here with us today.

Kristin's written an amusing structural parody of a Greek play so if you have any thoughts on the topic of "writerhead" please feel free to leave a comment!

Ssshh…I’m in Writerhead

Kristin Bair O'Keeffe

Setting: an apartment in Shanghai, China, April 2006

Characters:

Kristin Bair O’Keeffe (happy American newlywed; writer; recent transplant to China)

AJOK (brand-new husband; Irish engineer; recent transplant to China)

Chorus (yep, yep, there’s a chorus)

Props

a Pilot P-500 pen (black, 0.5, extra fine)

a black Moleskine journal (8 ¼” x 5”)

a brand-new MacBook Pro with Intel Core 2 Duo processor (ooh, baby!)

(4:45 a.m., hazy light peeks through the curtains, rustling sounds as Kristin wakes)

AJOK: Good morning, sweet new wife of mine. [rolls over and slides a hand across Kristin’s ____ ]

KRISTIN: Ssshhhhh. [pulls gently away from AJOK’s grasp…so far she nearly tumbles off the bed]

AJOK: Sweetie? [presses a hand to Kristin’s _____ ]

KRISTIN: [pause] Ssssssshhhhhhhhhhh. [leans on one elbow; reaches for the pen and journal that sit on the bedside table]

AJOK: What do you mean sssssshhhh?

CHORUS LEADER: It is clear this woman is in writerhead. It has been this way since she was eight years old. She has no thoughts of others in times of writerhead. She means no malice, but cannot see beyond her own imagination.

CHORUS: [to audience] It is not the mind the new husband desires.

AJOK [to the CHORUS LEADER]: What do you mean “She has no thoughts of others in times of writerhead”? What about me, her new husband? And just what the hell is writerhead? [nuzzles Kristin’s ____ ]

KRISTIN: [writes furiously on the right-hand page of the open journal; shies from nuzzle]

CHORUS: Look. She cannot even write on two sides of a page despite her commitment to reduce, reuse, recycle. [Jack Johnson’s “3Rs” plays softly; the Chorus sways and shimmies] Her writing routine takes precedence over all else. Especially early in the morning.

AJOK: [looks] But early in the morning I like to…

KRISTIN: [draws a strange shape in the corner of the page]

CHORUS LEADER: Ah, she sinks even more deeply now. She always draws this shape when she is in writerhead.

AJOK: She does? It’s weird. It looks like an amoeba or a chromosome.

CHORUS: [to audience] She’ll color it in now. The husband should go back to sleep.

AJOK: [determined] Sweetie, are you really writing now? Right now? [reaches for Kristin’s ____ ]

KRISTIN: [doesn’t look up] Sshhh. I’m in writerhead. Didn’t you hear [gestures wildly] them?

AJOK: [to Chorus Leader] Is she serious?

CHORUS LEADER: I’m afraid so. Didn’t she tell you about writerhead before the wedding?

AJOK: No, I’m pretty sure I would remember it.

KRISTIN: [whispers to self about the dream she is writing down] Now…after I saw the bear cross the meadow, something moved in the trees. What the *&#(#! was it? An elk? A badger? What the &#%^ was it? Ah, I got it. A mountain lion. Yes! [writes furiously again]

AJOK: She sure swears a lot in writerhead.

CHORUS: [nods]

AJOK: How long will this last?

CHORUS LEADER: At least a couple of hours. She’ll let you know when she’s ready to interact.

AJOK: Oh, okay. [leans back on his pillow and folds his hands]

KRISTIN: [gathers up her beloved Pilot P-500 pen (black, 0.5, extra fine) and her black Moleskine journal (8 ¼” x 5”) and heads to her office where her brand-new MacBook Pro with Intel Core 2 Duo processor waits; mutters to self on the way] Blue, maybe. And kind of mushy, I think. [mutter, mutter, mutter]

AJOK: [watches Kristin go; hope—along with other things—rises and falls]

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Kristin Bair O’Keeffe is the author of Thirsty. She is also a happy mom, an engaging teacher who believes in “telling the best story you can…believing in your writing…and working your arse off,” a passionate wife (truly!), a fierce advocate for the end of domestic violence, and a writer who spends as much time as possible in writerhead.

To find out more, visit www.thirstythenovel.com or Kristin’s blog at www.kristinbairokeeffeblog.com.