Category: Writing (Page 3 of 6)

Never Trust a Writer

March 13, 2015 / Claire / 0 Comments

It’s a common conception that whatever you say, whatever secret you divulge, or oddball behavior you reveal around a writer, it will inevitably wind up in a story. I admit that bits and pieces of many interactions, encounters and observations have worked themselves into my stories. That’s what inspiration is. A kernel of something concrete or ineffable that finds a home in your mind and flourishes—often into something new.

Inspiration pops up where you least expect it. Plenty of times no people are involved. You can find it underfoot, high up on buildings, and splashed exuberantly on walls. You just have to keep your eyes open.

underfoot

splashed on walls

Please let there be a space, Jessica prayed to the parking gods while turning the BMW coupe onto busy California Street, in the heart of the city’s financial district.

Transamerica Pyramid angles upward

intricate wrought iron on California Street

Corinthian columns of capitalism

Penny burst out of Jessica’s office where she had been hiding. She fought through the crush, waving coupons. “People! I’ve got vouchers for a cable car ride and free hot fudge sundaes at Ghirardelli Square. Any takers?”

where chocolate fantasies come true

2 spoons and side of guilt

Award-dinner beauty prep was about to take up the rest of Jessica’s afternoon. She wolfed down a few chocolate truffles from a massive box sent by an appreciative client, then blew out of the office to Rincon Spa.

A former post office now a mall maintains its modern details

Chelsea sat on a planter in front of a brick office complex … She was about to leave when she saw a harried woman emerge from a building, face glued to her phone. She moved to intercept her.

Levi Strauss Plaza: where denim is king

originally Frederick Griffing’s wharf

She rang the buzzer, then looked up at the industrial façade. It seemed like a fitting abode for him: masculine, formidable. Why haven’t I been here before?

Rules of the Flyer

February 6, 2015 / Claire

Old school marketing for music shows and events is alive and well in the Mission District. Many flyers and posters are typically glossy and slick, but the hand-drawn ones have a low-fi, punk charm. Come upon a vertical surface— telephone poles, construction barriers, boarded-up storefronts—it’ll likely be covered with notices. During my political activist Berkeley days, groups of us would go “sniping.” We’d affix campaign posters and rally flyers everywhere with a staple gun. We had an efficient system: one would hold up the flyer the other would staple it with the gun. We’d arrange them in grids for maximum visual effect.

There was this unwritten rule that you’d never tear down other people’s stuff—that’d be uncool (unless they were Republican campaign posters—we rationalized they were doing it to us Dems). So we’d only cover up the ones that were out-of-date. Now that practice seems so quaint and idealistic given that these days competition for consumers’ attention is so fierce. But that’s not what’s happening as evidenced by the layers upon layers of flyers in these photos. It’s nice to know that the “rules of the flyer” still apply.

Penny rounded up a crew of skateboard rats and bike messengers and enlisted them to plaster every telephone pole and construction site barrier with Hayden Korr Band posters.

Foodie Lovers Paradise

January 23, 2015 / Claire / 0 Comments

San Francisco is purported to have over 7,000 restaurants, making it the highest number per capita. This means you’re either in foodie heaven or foodie hell. There’s a sublime macaron, artisanal ice creamery or roasted, cheesy, buttery something or other lurking around every corner to tempt, taunt and turn your resolve to eat healthfully into mush.

For Love Match’s Jessica Durrell, restaurants are an essential part of her matchmaking business. Putting her clients in the proper environment is most conducive to romantic success. A restaurant’s lighting, décor and especially the food all help to heighten the palate and the senses—thus setting the mood for love.

Here are a few foodie destinations that inspired Love Match’s romantic hot spots and references.

new & improved Tosca on Columbus

“Mars … was just the sort of person to book restaurants, limo pick-ups, and stylist appointments, so clients could focus on the task at hand—falling effortlessly in love.”

Financial District eatery

The Original Cold Day Restaurant, est. 1849

“… Penny grabbed her arm and tugged her inside the Mariposa Grill—a classic San Francisco restaurant of snotty career-waiters and artery-clogging steaks and chops.”