March 8, 2009
This weekend wasn’t the ultimate in productivity, but I’ve had worse. I did hit my Daily Grand word count, which makes me happy. I also did some long-delayed editing on the current novel, applying notes from my First Reader and wife, Wendy. It’s a great feeling having that off my to-do list. I even wrote and sent a query to an agent, which is also a good thing. Of course, yet again I did not even touch my taxes. When I’m going to get them done is beyond me. Every weekend, I resolve to start them at least, and every weekend, I have the identical result: no progress. The good news is, at least I do a decent job of record-keeping all year, so I won’t be starting from scratch, cobbling together scattered receipts. Maybe I can make some baby steps on that front this week.
Looking ahead, I’m feeling good about the writing possibilities in the week to come. I feel a lot better about the current novel since I changed my goals and decided not to rush the book for the May workshop. It turns out I’m not a complete speed demon on the writing front. I do work well when pressed, when given a deadline and forced to deliver; however, I need just a bit of breathing room to develop a quality product. I’m not talking years, I’m not even talking six months…but I need enough time that I can be aware of the overall picture, if you know what I mean. Properly develop and balance all the elements without losing track or giving any of them short shrift. And that’s exactly what was happening there for a while, when I was rush-crushing the current novel. I was missing stuff, forgetting stuff. I just didn’t have time to think about what I was writing or flip through the completed prose and check for continuity and balance. Now, with just a little extra time, I can do all that. I think the novel will be stronger because of it.
By the way, speaking of novels, I hope you’ll remember to check out the excerpt from my crazy novel, DICK, on the Authonomy website. Here’s the link: http://www.authonomy.com/ReadBook.aspx?bookid=6998#chapter
I’d appreciate it if you could drop by the site, register for an account (it costs nothing but a little of your time) and check out my book. It would be even better if you could hit the button that enables you to “back the book,” which will add it to your virtual bookshelf and increase the chances that an editor at HarperCollins will take a look at it. Thank you, as always, for your help!
Now for today’s travel photo! This one’s a shot of Wendy and me at an outdoor cafe in New Orleans, Louisiana, from 2003. It’s kind of bittersweet, because the photo was taken before Hurricane Katrina tore through the city. I’ll never forget watching the coverage on TV, especially of the aftermath. I hope we can return there soon. I miss the beignets and the fais do-dos! See you tomorrow!
New Orleans, Louisiana, 2003
