Hopefully this post will be tolerably coherent. I make no promises: I am sated on fresh air, superb food, good alcohol, and good conversation. I am in a fairly advanced state of bliss, which is contrary to my usual state of obsessive focus.
Not that I’m complaining. I’m just saying.
The month is almost over. The 50,000-word goal I set for myself at the beginning of the month is in reach – I’m on track to finish a day early. And the novel is going better than I thought it would. It’s taken on directions and depths I never would have imagined if I’d tried to plan it all out. And I’m enjoying it all more now that I’m not trying to shoehorn it into doing what I want it to do: no amount of will is enough to turn a tomato vine into an apple tree.
I’ve learned things about myself. I’ve learned things about writing. And I think once I’ve done the requisite editing, polishing, and fleshing-out I’m going to have something worth shopping around. So look for that to happen in the first half of next year.
Also look for more writing to happen. I’ve built a habit of writing around 1700 words a day, which is good not only for getting writing Done but for keeping my mind healthier. And I’m enjoying it a lot. Watching a story take shape is a wonderful thing.
I think I’m going to keep doing this. 
I think one of the reasons violence is so prevalent in our entertainment is that it’s easy. It’s a kind of shorthand for conflict, an easy way to get a strong reaction from the audience. You don’t have to have particularly compelling characters or strong writing. You can get your audience engaged by throwing up a fist-fight and some explosions. Works for books, movies, and television.
I get a little petty when my buttons are pushed. (It’s the stage preceding the desire to annihilate.)
Today at That Other Place someone made an argument that Reagan was the last real leader we’ve had in the White House, that he was the “penultimate leader”. A couple of others politely pointed out that this was the wrong word, that penultimate means next-to-last. To which the person replied that he had in fact checked with Word’s thesaurus, which said it meant “last but one” and that he was therefore correct. I pointed out that “last but one” means there had to be one more after Reagan, which is the opposite of the point he was trying to make.
He restated his argument that “last but one” was what he meant: there have been no leaders after Reagan, so he was the last but one. Both his usage and mine were correct.
Except not so much, I thought. Continue reading
Today’s expedition went better than yesterday’s. I sat down in the middle of the shop with my back to the door, futzed around with my iPad and read a book on and off. I tried to make eye contact with everyone I could, especially if they were pretty (is it spring again? it’s autumn, right?). I smiled whenever I succeeded in making eye contact.
When a guy sat down in the chair across from me, I smiled and said “hi”. He smiled and said “howdy” and read his football magazine. Nobody frowned and walked away, no one alerted the authorities. Everything was fine.
Also there was an absolutely stunning girl sitting in the sunniest corner of the shop. Twenty years ago I’d have been in love. Now I just feel sorry for the boys her age – there’s going to be a lot of floor-scraped chins wherever she goes.
