Every writer reading this (both of you) should log off, drop everything and buy a copy of Anne Lamont's "Bird by Bird," a great book that offers some of the best writing advice I've ever read. It really puts writing (especially the quest for publication) in perspective.
Don't ask me why, but for some reason I felt compelled to read Heaney's translation of Beowulf and Stephen Mitchell's new translation of Gilgamesh, both great works that I will definitely read again. Gilgamesh was a little harder to get into, but after finishing it, it's the book I want to revisit first. It seems to have more beneath the surface (not that Beowulf doesn't) that intrigues me. But now I'm jumping ahead just a few years with Neil Gaiman's "Coraline," a really creepy children's book.
My Texas-football-fans-meet-weird-guy-in-the-median story is going slowly, but the pieces are locking in nicely. Stories have to come in their own time and I know that in the past I've been rushing them. In the last few days I've found a patience and calm that allows me to take my time, step back and look at not just writing, but everything. Things are happening and I'm learning about writing and living. I know, it sounds like I've been meditating on a mountain in Tibet, but I'm very pleased with how things are unfolding.
A new, serious temptation has appeared: The opening of the new (two-story) Odenton library mere miles from my house. (What kind of life do you have when you get this excited about a library opening?)
Mood = Good, in spite of the pathetic play of the Dallas Cowboys yesterday.
Now Playing = Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player - Elton John (courtesy of the Odenton Library)
Weight = 170!
1 comment:
Oops. Anne Lamott, not Lamont. Sorry, Anne.
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