Crowd-source post: The Facebook Edition

A little while ago I wrote a post decided by Twitter. It was late. I was full of melted cheese. I couldn't think of a blog topic, so I turned to Twitter.

Today, it was the turn of Facebook to come to my rescue. This is how it began:

"Sitting here, trying to think of a blog topic for today. Suffering from Sunday brain. So I think I'll open up to requests.

Give me a topic people. Anyone? Anyone? Anything? "

And here are the responses. And my responses to the responses in order.

Lorna Gordon suggested that John Hughes films were a great topic, confessing that she quotes Pretty in Pink to her husband and they laugh every time. She's right. John Hughes film are a great topic. Personally, I love The Breakfast Club. That thing Ally Sheedy did with her dandruff? That thing Molly Ringwald did with her lipstick? The fact that Judd Nelson managed to remain cool despite clumping about in boots that appeared to be four sizes too big for him? Loved it all.

Jenn M McLeod was trying to describe 'horseshit in a poetic way'. I admit that I can't help in this area, though I had a conversation recently about the, er, verdant nature of cow manure. Not sure I could construct an entire blog post around that one though.

Sandra Reynolds wanted to know about dealing with writer's block. So here's where I admit that I don't really suffer from writer's block. I think it's because I'm usually working on a few things at once, so if I stumble with one project, I just move to the next and wait for the obstacle to disappear. They usually do when you're busy thinking about something else. The only time I ever have a major sticking point is when I'm writing a novel and something really unexpected happens. Like a whole new character strolls across the page. Or my main character goes and does something completely out of character, which requires a bit of rethinking about her whole characters.

But these are problems that would probably would not occur if I planned my stories out more. So we won't talk about that...

Bri King asked: "As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?" For most of my early years, I wanted to be an actress. You can read all about it here. When I was 15 or 16, I decided that I'd like to be a journalist. So I organised to do work experience at the Sydney Morning Herald. One week's work experience was enough to convince me that I didn't want to be a journalist. I didn't realise at that age that you didn't necessarily have to be a news journalist to be a journalist. I thought you had to stick microphones in the faces of bereaved parents and ask dishonest businessmen probing questions to be a journalist. Fortunately for me, I found another route into journalism and ended up in features. But I am still not a movie star. In case you hadn't noticed.

Fi Robinson's son Jay wants to know why all toilets use fluorescent tubes. Well, Jay, if the fluoro lights are blue, it's to make it harder to find a vein (if you need to know more about this, ask your mother). If the fluoro lights are normal fluoro light colour, it's because fluoro lights have a much longer 'life' than incandescent bulbs (this means they last longer between changes) and so are the most efficient form of lighting for public spaces. If you need to know more about this, ask Mr Google.

Allison Rushby would like to know more about my shy friend Allison Dobell, whose first erotic novel Alice's Wonderland will be published on November 6. I can tell you the following:

• She has a cat. Even though part of her is allergic to cats.
• She can be very two-faced.
• She has four children.
• She is tall, but in a short way.

Lisa McLean asked for a letter to my ex. Given that my last 'ex' vacated my life more than 15 years ago, I'm unable to complete this task. Nothing to say except 'thanks for the memories'.

Bill Harper wanted to know what I'd be doing if I had a normal job. Good grief. No idea. Every once in a while I toy with the idea of finding a job with regular hours and a regular pay cheque. The Builder and I discuss it. He says, 'well, what do you want to do?'. I say 'no idea, I like what I do'. He says, 'well, there you go'. And I go back to doing what I do. Which pretty much says it all, I think.

Lisa Heidke had several suggestions, all requiring at least 1000 words each. So I will choose her first:  "Finish this sentence: I'm at a pay phone..."

"I'm at a pay phone. It's 1991 and I am 21 years old. Today. The booth stinks of cigarettes and booze and urine. There's a tattered phone book chained to the wall, most of the pages torn out. The phone in my hand is black and heavy and wet with my tears. I am 21 today and my boyfriend is breaking my heart."

Fact or fiction? You be the judge.

Okay, so that's tonight's crowd-sourced post. Thanks to everyone who participated. The image was taken today at The Old Girl. When in doubt, add lemons. 

All that's left is to ask you some questions. So:
1. What is your favourite John Hughes film?
2. When was the last time you were at a pay phone?