So okay this year I want to: finish this freelance assignment on time, write that other novel that’s in the works, and finish also the first draft of that very exciting other novel, do the next assignment I said I’d do, get a few more stories published, get an agent FINALLY, go to the summer … Continue reading »
Monthly Archives: February 2008
Older, Slightly Wiser, and Stuffed Full of Blueberry Pancakes
I am one year older today. All the things I’d wanted to accomplish this year didn’t happen, but I’m not beating myself up over them. I thought last year might be “my year”—but now that I’ve been through it, I can tell you it wasn’t. I’m not down about it, though. I think it helps … Continue reading »
Loving It
Sometimes you have these moments when you’re well in it. You’re carving your sentences into these perfect shapes, you hit a new word, and BAM, all is exposed. Your character is sitting across the table from you—she loves where you’re taking her. She even winks. You read over what you have so far and your … Continue reading »
Why Not?
Early this morning, when I stumbled out of the bedroom all bleary-eyed second-guessing my idea of getting up before the sun has come up, I sat myself down at the table to check my email. It’s a little maneuver I do to keep from going back to sleep on the couch. This morning my email … Continue reading »
Make-Believe: My Day as a Full-Time Writer
It occurred to me this morning, while heading out to my usual weekend spot on a day that happens to not be a weekend, that it’s almost like I’m a real writer just for the day. I know my definition of being a “real” writer changes depending on my mood—a “literary” writer, a “successful” writer, … Continue reading »
10 Signs a Book Might Be Written by Me
Charlotte at Charlotte’s Web tagged me for this meme, which honestly, as memes go, seems like a very worthwhile thing to do as a writer. This is not a distraction at all! So, do I have a distinct style, one that would be recognizably me? I hope so. Let’s see… I will try to be … Continue reading »
Alone Time
There’s this quirk in my personality: I desperately need time alone. Sometimes this desire—this need—gets exacerbated by daily existence here on the bustling island of Manhattan: partiers in the apartments just below and above us, commuting on the subway, work, and, like this weekend, a sold-out showing of a very long movie at the big … Continue reading »
Online vs. Print
Related to what I was musing about below when I confided how old-school I am when it comes to print publications, I just happened upon this post on Kelly Spitzer’s blog: “Online vs. Print Publishing.” It may be time to rethink my whole idea of what being “published” means. Agree? Continue reading »
How Books Save Me
I love books, always have. And by that I mean the physical object of a book itself: thick pages, crisp black type you can feel beneath your finger, that hard binding, that tough spine, how when you flip through the pages they fall in a cascading arc, blindingly quick, and the air fills with that … Continue reading »
All the Things I Just Don’t Know
The AWP conference (see the last three entries) was a real jolt to me—in a good way. I felt inspired and energetic, after recovering from my physical exhaustion of course. But Monday morning, my first day back at work, was also a jolt. I had a nightmare early in the morning that I was about … Continue reading »
