Ang Shaef Writes

My dad was my original protagonist. The hero of my story. He died the summer before my first novel writing class and I was obsessed with the process of grieving. I missed sitting next to him on his saggy leather couch, blanketed by his flannel shirt as he hugged me close. I missed his thoughtful answers to all my questions, how he was always happy to see me, the way he teased and made me laugh. . But my five siblings and I were also processing disappointments, his parenting short-comings, the times he wasn’t gentle. Add to that the grief of his second wife and their three teenage boys who lost a dad too soon. It was the first time I saw first hand how everyone grieves differently and it was the foundation of the story I wanted to write.

Recommendations for the guys in my life: The Dog Stars , by Peter Heller and Bear Town , by Fredrik Backman A man alone in the Colorado mountains after a pandemic has killed his wife and friends. He has his dog, Jasper, and his Cessna. Colorado, the Cessna and the dog reminded me of my father-in-law.  I passed it along to him and he passed it along to his oldest son, Marty, and several years later when Erin was clearing the shelves, she passed it back to me thinking I would like it, not seeing the post-it inside with my original note to my father-in-law.  Bear Town is a gritty story of two small towns where hockey is everything.  Relatable on so many levels -- to parents raising teens and teens living with parents. Especially those who get how deep the need to win runs in youth sports. I recommended Bear Town to my brother-in-law, Brent and he was hooked. I liked these books so much, I've read everything else by these authors and recommend them all. The Bear Town trilog...

  Sometimes-- a lot of times --on my writing journey, I've had to silence the inner critic. For several years I didn't even tell anyone I was writing a book.  Because who knew how far I'd actually get? What if I never got past the first chapter?  Or the first draft? What if I found out I was a crappy writer and never got better? Or what if I never found the time to work on it so it just stalled out  as little more than a few scenes scrapped together? No one wants to announce a goal just to have it fizzle out,   imagining the whole world wondering what ever happened with their big idea?  Or worse, confirming the whole world's suspicions you'd never be able to do it. But after I finished a first draft, started my writer's group and had some positive feedback in classes, I became more brave in telling people I was writing a book. Now I've got a finished manuscript, and though it still needs work--lots of it-- I've got a path and a plan. But there's a re...

"If it's not one thing, it's your mother." Been on both sides of this! 😂  

She paused to look in his room. The afternoon sunlight coming through the window made a yellow stripe across his carpet. As a child, she loved lying in the warm reflection on the floor. Like being enveloped in a cozy cocoon, the brightness forced her eyes closed and she could drift away into her imagination. If only she could forget the basket of laundry on her hip and lie down in the sunspot right now. But some things you can't do when you're old. When you're a mom.  Inspiration while reading On Writing (Stephen King) and the closest paper I had to scratch some ideas.

A few great true stories highlighting women who made a difference: The Radium Girls , by Kate Moore Warriors Don't Cry , by Melba Pattillo Beals The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down , by Anne Fadiman Add to this list The Woman They Could Not Silence , by Kate Moore Radium Girls is especially timely considering the conflicting voices over the last few years with how to approach Covid 19 and mandatory vaccinations. Some people are super comfortable with science being irrefutable. The infallibility of medical doctors Or the word of a large corporation over a few no-name employees. I struggle with the irony of "my body, my choice" when it comes to abortions,  but not when it comes to vaccinations. Or, "believe victims" unless they are victims of an illness that hasn't been scientifically proven.  These issues aren't directly approached in Radium Girls, but the parallels are obvious. Warriors Don...

I entered the NYCMidnightShortStoryChallenge and got assigned the genre: mystery, a main character needed to be an "undercover cop" and the topic that needed to show up in a big way was "wind borne."  I love mysteries but I never believed I could write one with all the fun layers that make a story that keeps you guessing -- red herrings, storylines with twists, and multiple suspects. But here I was with an assignment to writes something different than I'd ever written before and I wanted to give it my best effort.   Brainstorming what could work as "wind borne" was great fun as I came up with a long list of possibilities and a few I gravitated too. In the end, I chose a balloon.  I didn’t finish in time to submit, but surprised myself by actually coming up with a pretty good little caper. With the encouragement of my writing group friends, I plan on finishing it and maybe will start another. I found How to Write a Mystery at Strand Bookstore and could...

I’m not sure if every mother imagines every worst case scenario so you can be prepared mentally and emotionally just in case it happens. Or if its just a certain type of personality, like mine. In any case, yes, I get this.   

I'm re-reading Stephen King's On Writing .  It's very validating to schedule a couple of hours each day for reading  and get to call it working! I've been in classes for the last five years and my personal reading time has really taken a hit.  (And of course the before-bed curse of being drawn to surfing social media and the news and weather and whatever the hell else entertains me. Pick up a book and read it, Me! What's wrong with you?) What's wrong with me is I've been distracted by writing assignments and feedback assignments--which I love--so I haven't made time for reading on top of that. Plus my book club dissolved during the pandemic. I was surprisingly ready for a change from book club, anyway. But I miss the book recommendations. This semester since I'm not in class, I'm getting back into reading again.  And going to try to break the damn habit of picking up my phone before bed!

Logline: A family boating trip turns tragic when a surprise storm capsizes the boat and an eleven-year-old boy drowns. His grieving mom becomes preoccupied with fears of losing another child, fears that are magnified when her teenager rebels and pushes her away. Pitch: A family boating trip turns tragic when the boat capsizes in a surprise storm and Jill’s eleven-year-old son drowns. Preoccupied with keeping her other two boys safe to manage her guilt and blame, Jill tries to control their family life; but, the more family time she plans, the angrier teenage Jake becomes. Making matters worse, her husband always takes his side.   Meanwhile, Jake thinks his mom only wants to spend time with him on her terms and he hates that she’s trying to pawn him off on a therapist. He starts sluffing school, stealing the car, and acting cagey about his whereabouts which fuels Jill’s worries that she’ll lose yet another child – especially when she learns Jake is hanging out with a kid who seems l...

If you came to my house and asked for a book recommendation, I'd take you to this shelf first. My all time favorites. I found To Kill a Mockingbird ( Lee Harper )  on my dad's bookshelf when I was 10. I was so confused as to why he'd have a book about killing mockingbirds, and I cracked it open worried I might expose a dark secret about my father. Maybe he secretly hunted birds, Once I started, I couldn't put it down. This was nothing like The Hardy Boys or Ramona and Beezus. A child was telling the story, but the story had so much more depth, and even in fifth grade, I picked up on the nuances of complicated human nature and I was hooked. When I turned in book report and my teacher found out I'd read To Kill a Mockingbird , he recommended Lord of the Flies and then A Day No Pigs Would Die .  It was then that I fell in love with books that made me feel. I've read  Charms for the Easy Life  (Kaye Gibbons)   so many times. I think my sister-in-law, Jo, recommende...