A Tribute to My Biggest Fan

A sad post tonight, dear readers, as your numbers are one less.  Last Tuesday I lost my biggest fan: my father passed away, both suddenly and not.  He battled a terrible illness, but we thought he had a few months left.  And so I write this post in his honor, as I struggle to find a reason to keep writing.  At the same time, I know that writing is the thing that will get me through this difficult time. 

I had always hoped that my parents would share my success, and the idea of that joyful moment, of seeing my book on the NYT Best Seller List...will it still feel as sweet without my cheerleaders enjoying it with me?  What will keep me motivated?  How do I find satisfaction in doing it just for myself?

Somehow I'll find a way.  I owe it to myself, first and foremost, to pursue my dream, and I owe it to my parents, who aren't able to pursue their own dreams in this world anymore.

So thank you, Big Dawg, for having believed in me for 39 years, without fail.  I was so very lucky to have had you as my father.  I'll do my best to be the best 'me' that I can be, and I thank you for all that you did, all that you taught me, and all that you gave up so that I could have every opportunity. 

Inspiration Strikes

It was an exciting late-morning walk with Bella.  Exiting the building, I had ideas for a few characters for a new satire piece about higher education.  I know, writing books with college politics as setting is a bit of a niche market, but it certainly is 'writing what I know'.  Just hoping to keep momentum in my brain for the next week, as work obligations will not allow me to really invest time in writing.

But at least I have some ideas to put to paper now, and to keep mulling on the dog walks. 

Thrilling when it strikes!

Anecdotes about favorite college experiences and professors welcome!

Gregory Maguire: Damn, I Wish I Thought of That

I am reading yet another Gregory Maguire book, and once again wish that I had considered the concept that is making him millions: Re-writing well-known tales from a different character's perspective.  My God, Wicked even turned into a smash musical!  And really, such a simple concept!

But I give him due credit: while the 'stories' aren't necessarily as well-imagined, since he's using the framework of an existing story and building on established characters, he is an excellent writer.  His prose is beautiful, and his vocabulary...well, I am pretty word-savvy, and yet I have to stop and look up words sometimes!

What a gold mine!

But it begs the question: how does he feel about it?  Does he feel boxed in now?  Does he feel (or does his agent feel) that the only style people want to read from him is the twist on the fairy take?  Does he pine to write a whodunnit, or a courtroom drama?

What books would you like to see reconsidered from an alternate point of view? 

Getting in Touch with my Inner Belle

So I finished 'The Book Thief' and have started Kathryn Stockett's 'The Help' a confection of my favorite kind: literature of the American South.  This one started in early 1960's Jackson, Mississippi.  (Or, Mi-ssippi, in the slow drawl of the characters.)  I adore fiction about the South: the descriptions of weather, flora, and fauna; the written dialect; completely off-the-wall characters; funny turns of phrase.  It's all so lush, rich, and languid.  It even makes this life-long New Englander slow down just a touch.    Truman Capote, Rebecca Wells, Carson McCullers, Kaye Gibbons, the goddess Eudora Welty...they are all masters of the genre.

Here's the really sad part:  I've never been south of the Mason Dixon line!

It's my favorite genre of literature, and I have zero experience with the actual region. Even my precious DOG is technically from Alabama.  She's been down South, y'all, but me...not so much.

Time to get cracking on some travel plans, mayhaps?  Or would I be terribly disappointed by the reality of something that I enjoy so much on the page?  (Putting aside the obvious negative issues around race and discrimination.  That is NOT entertaining or romantic, and I don't mean to imply any endorsement of such!)

Perhaps I should ease into it, and start in the Carolinas rather than head straight to Tennessee...

What do you think, readers?

And do pick up a Southern writer if you haven't: it's a perfect antidote to the February malaise.  Start with Capote's 'The Grass Harp'.

My Friends are Real Characters

I can't count how many times I have listened to a friend's anecdotes, stories, adventures, or philosophy, and said 'I couldn't make that ind of stuff up!'  And then I grapple with the ethical question:  since I like my friends, and they are so interesting, is it OK to turn them into characters in something I write?  Do I have to tell them first?  And then, is it less 'creative writing' and more simply documenting their stories?  Is it flattering, embarrassing, or cheating?

What do you think, readers? 

Legacy: Dead or Alive?

I've been consumed lately by worrying about my 'legacy'.  As a single with no designs on having children (why would I?  My dog is perfect!) I wonder what I'll leave 'behind' as a legacy.  Of course, a giant body of amazing literature would be great, but that's a stretch.  I need something more realistic to wrap my head around, to feel like my being alive served some sort of purpose.

But I've been thinking: perhaps my legacy isn't something I'll leave behind, but rather the difference that I can make in people's live NOW, today.  Small acts of courtesy, thoughtfulness, acknowledgement...maybe that's what I am here to do.  Maybe making small differences in people's everyday lives is enough of a legacy.  After all, what does it matter to me how I am remembered when I am gone...I'll be gone! 

I heard it put best like this:  try to be someone's miracle.  You never know what's going on in other people's lives, and someone can be having the worst, difficult, trying day of their lives.  That one small gesture, kindness, smile, whatever, might be the the best thing that happens in that person's day.  What a gift, to be responsible for making a difference to someone else.

Readers?  Do you worry about such things? 

No Excuses!

I have been quiet for far too long (well, I suppose that depends on whether you think I have something worth saying) and with no good excuse.  I had a sick spell, sure, but who hasn't this season.  Work got really busy.  So what?  Personal issues...aren't those exactly the things that inform writing in the first place?

Thank you, followers, for being there for me and continuing to encourage me.  It's a good reminder that if I really have 'write that damn novel' as a goal, I have to commit to it each day, regardless of the life's obstacles, intrusions, interruptions, and demands.  Only my own lack of commitment can cause me to fail. 

Onward and upward, and back to regular notes to you all!

As for my reading life, nearly finished with 'The Book Thief'.  Next up, Mary Karr's latest installment in her memoir series, 'Lit'.  What are you reading?

New Inspiration

So today my friend Pam read the blog, and wrote to tell me that she was born in Seoul, and described the street food vendors, for whom corn on the cob was a regular offering.  And just like that, I have a thread with which I can work to weave out the story about the woman on the T.  Thank you, Pam!

Stay tuned for a character sketch about this scene. 

This was such an exciting development:  I was devoid of any inspiration at all yesterday, and now...a long-dormant image has information that can bring it to life.  Thrilling!

Books on Writing

I seem to have a hoarding problem:  I collect books about writing.  Many, many of them.  And how many have I read in their entirety?  Oh, I would guess about one-fifth of the collection.  I seem to believe that just having them on my shelf, the spines of the books watching me as I sleep, will somehow imbue me with inspiration, inculcate me with ideas, provide me with capacity to produce pages and pages...maybe instead of working on a novel, I should be writing about writing!  At least I would buy my book, in that event!  I've even gazed titles at bookstores, picked them up, flipped through them, gotten halfway to the register, and realized, 'Oh.  Wait.  I have this one.'

What's prompted this confession?  The new addition I received today, "Making a Literary Life" by Carolyn See.  But this was a legitimate purchase!  It was recommended to me by my PUBLISHED AUTHOR friend Judith Jaeger ("The Secret Thief".  Read it.)  And, I used a gift card, so...

I hope that the A&E network doesn't find about this and create a new series, 'Hoarders Of Books About What They Should Be Doing Instead of Just Collecting Books About Writing'. 

How Do People Come Up With These Things?

One of the things that makes me terribly envious are writers who are able to come up with very unique means of telling their stories.  I am one of those first-person narrators, story told chronologically, sort of writers.  A bit vanilla.  But some people are so clever with the ways they tell their tales.  Right now I am reading 'The Book Thief', which uses death as the narrator, and has all kinds of funny breaks in the action to do asides to the reader.  When it's done badly, it's just annoying, but when it's done well, it makes the book unforgettable.


What about you, readers:  Any favorite alterntative tales out there? 

I've Always Wanted To Write About...

True story: many years ago, when I was still living in Boston, I was taking the T to work one morning, and there was a Korean woman, probably in her 50's, sitting in a seat facing me.  She opened her purse, and removed a Ziploc bag.  The next thing I knew, she had opened the Ziploc bag, and was eating a piece of corn on the cob.  Corn on the cob, on a train, for breakfast.  I've always wanted to fold that into a story somewhere, but it seems completely contrived.  Unless I write a piece that's entirely about this woman, and what I perceive the rest of her life to be like.

Corn on the cob, on the train, for breakfast.  Who knew?

Musings from a First-Timer

About ten years after it was fashionable, I am entering the blog-iverse. Why now? Why not, I suppose. I want to be more serious about my writing in general, and perhaps a mini-audience (I'm pretty sure my dad will read this...) will keep me inspired, give me a testing ground, and be a reminder that I need to keep working.

What will I talk about? Everything, I imagine. I'll try to keep the dog stories to a minimum, and focus instead on literature and writing. Of course, I could post the dog stories in story-form, which would make them literary. I'm just sayin'.

Why would anyone care? Sometimes I am terribly funny. And, my dad likes me, so I'm pretty sure he'll care just because he's my dad...right, Dad?

And yes, the blog title is from Truman Capote's breakthrough book. Extra points if you got that.

We'll see how it goes. Suggestions welcome.