Quick blog post…
Read/Reading:
Finished Let The Great World Spin by Colum McCann. Amazing book.
Now reading Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. The voice of the narrator is irritating me. (Update: Got to page 81 in the book, the moment of The Big Reveal. Yes, now I realize why the narrator was irritating me: she was KEEPING A SECRET FROM THE READER. I wanted to hit her).
I am reading with an unparalleled desperate neediness; my novel revision is off to a slow start and thus I’m trying to find inspiration in reading. The last book to inspire me as a writer was 2666 by Bolaño. The things that man did with his craft! What’s the best novel you’ve read that also brought you insights on the craft of writing?
Wrote/Writing:
Finished the novel. Not inspired to write a short story. Thus, beginning revisions on my novel–but…tough going. Fixing something that I found difficult the first time around is…difficult. Wow, I sound like a real bummer–but that’s what my writing is these days. And yet, I still do it because get this: I LOVE IT. There’s nothing else I’d rather do.
Viewed:
My dogs licking themselves over and over and over.
The Olympics’ figure skating events. I haven’t watched figure skating in several years, and so all the names (Lysacek! Plushenko! Johnny Weir! Yuna Kim!) are totally fresh and new to me. The fact that they’re all still drama queens has not changed.
That said, I’m SO glad the Olympics is OVER.
Also watching L O S T. Anticipating how the series and character storylines will wrap up. Please writers, don’t let us down! I’m learning a ton about flashbacks (and writing flashbacks effectively) from the show.
Memorable eats:
Oranges. Lots of oranges. Mrm.
Ate Out:
Pizzaiolo. Tacubaya. Gordo burritos. Yum yum.
Cooked:
Oeufs a la neige (surprisingly good!). Curry chicken (the Japanese kind). Homemade ground beef tacos (well, the hubby cooked these). Radish and tofu soup (better than it sounds).
Happenings:
- Running. I ran ON the ROAD for the first time ever! Around Lake Merritt–it was a good enough experience that I want to do it again. (My overall goal for this flurry of fitness is that I want to look/feel better at 40 than I did at 30. I’ve got 3 years to make good on this goal).
- Two inches closer to my waistline goal. I fit into my “dream jeans!” Now I have to get to a point where I can wear my “dream jeans” without a muffin top.
- Prepping my vegetable garden. Nothing as therapeutic, really, especially when my writing hits a nadir.
- Dreaming about my novel. Really, I do.
- Dreaming about travel to NYC and specifically, Queens, where my novel is set, to do some novel research. I want to explore Little Bay park and Throgs Neck bridge and Flushing…
- Released ladybugs into my garden. Eat aphids, little ones!
- Spring is almost here. Ahchoo. I’ll miss winter.
- Teaching has its unique challenges this semester. I hope I live up to them.
- Dreaming of summer–and I detest summer. But I’m a teacher now, and summer means vacation! Yay! I plan on revising the hell out of my novel throughout the summer. I’ll be pale and non-sun-kissed, but I don’t care.
- Snow snow snow snow snow up in the Sierras. Guess what, this snow lover is actually SICK of snow. I don’t even know what the East Coasters must feel like right now, with all the snow they’ve received this winter.
- I like going to open houses. Walking around in other people’s homes inspires me as a writer. I went to an open house this afternoon–a gorgeous mansion in disrepair. I imagined Miss Havisham traveling the grounds.
80,000 words 
Ha ha! I knew you would get sick of snow. Now just imagine it in a place that is not particularly beautiful! 😦 (*please, save me*)
What are your aphids eating? Try spraying them off with the hose. That usually does the trick and hey, it’s free.
Read, read, and then read some more! It is funny how you can find a writer or book that just inspires you to write. I have found that if I read a couple of TC Boyle stories before I work I am way more productive.
Going to open houses out of curiosity seems like a very eccentric, i. e. writerly thing to do.
Big props on the running BTW!
Thanks on the running! Now I need to do it more often, because I’ve actually been slacking on the running frequency for the past few weeks. Still, running on the road was a big milestone. I will be doing it again.
As for snow–I know, I can’t believe it. I thought I’d never get sick of it. But meanwhile, by the Bay, aphids are destroying my brussel sprout plants. They’re quite thick, and spraying them with a hose hasn’t worked–thus, the ladybugs (who are now merely huddled together in a mass, ignoring the aphids).
Check out the open houses. They can be inspiring to the imagination.
You should get a special medal for running in the East Bay –just thinking about all of the changes in elevation makes my knees ache. Combining exercise and being outdoors is pretty nice though.
I used to hit an open house once in a while, but I felt too guilty around the desperate realtors. It seems like a great canvas for the imagination –when you think about it that is the whole point of an open house.
Maybe try thinning the aphids out by hand, once those numbers go exponential they will breed faster than your ladybugs can eat. Hopefully, your huddle mass turns into a ladybug orgy and you’ll have help from lots of hungry (flightless) larvae on your plants, but it wouldn’t hurt to level the playing field in the meantime.
Alright, I’ll stop worrying about your bug problems, I’ve got bug problems of my own! Going to start my seeds (indoors mind you) in couple of weeks and I’ve got lots of bee equipment to repair before spring.
Congrats on running on the ROAD! And it’s funny that 40 got you going. I think that’s what got me going, too.
fear is a great motivator. i like to mitigate my fears. 🙂