Trofimuk, on writing...
July 19, 2010
I like the idea of a writing log here. I may try it for a week or so. See how I feel about sharing the journey. Not sure how much juice I have left at the end of a day of writing but perhaps there will be value in this…Hemingway said something about never talking about what you’re going to write because once it’s out, you might not get it back, and you might not get it on the page. So, this is not talking about what I’m going to write. Rather, it’s a log of what I have written.
July 7. 2010
Pinsky on the airplane today — maybe an hour and a bit into his flight. The woman next to him has been studying jaguars in Belize for the past nine months. He asks questions. They share wine together. He finds out more about jaguars than he ever thought he would. Here’s the thing…I didn’t think it was going to take off, this section…but it did…and it’s not bad. Tomorrow, back to the Scottish book. Not thinking about publishers or agents or readers, just having fun with story…seeing where it’s going to take me…seeing what’s going to happen next…
July 8. 2010
Wrote 2,000 words on the Scottish book today. The writing started slowly. Thought I’d never make it to the 1,500-word mark but then it took off. Ended up in an odd, mildly erotic, and a bit scary, place. I think I was teetering on the brink of soft porn — at least it was bloody erotic. I kept pulling myself back from the edge. It surprised me. I’ve been looking around this bedroom and never saw the hook in the ceiling until today. Also, this seems to be a happy marriage. I’m writing a happy marriage.
July 19. 2010
Spent the weekend in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, at the Saskatchewan Festival of Words 2010 edition. What an utterly brilliant festival this was!! Big, enthusiastic and smart audiences. Very well organized and attended. Kudos to the team of volunteers!! A small list of the writers includes Jack Hodgins, M.G. Vassanji, Pasha Malla, Mariko Tamaki, Judy Fong Bates, Richard Scarsbrook, A.F. Moritz, Sean McGarragle, Yann Martel, John Lent, Steven Galloway and Lorna Crozier. I met so many wonderful people, including the mayor of Moose Jaw, Glenn Hagel – one of the most gregarious and lovely men I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. More on the festival later. I wanted to share – as part of this writing log – the news that I read from the new Mexico book (The World is Three Days) at the Moose Jaw Fest and it flew. Very well received and ergo, encouraging. Wrote more than I thought I would, on both projects – the Mexico book, and the Scottish book.
2 Comments
1. elena Ray had this to say: Jul 09, 2010 ~ 21:32 ~ #
July 8 is a very interesting day ;~)
ck out Anias Nin?-she’s the only “real” author I’ve ever read who can write about sex w/out well, you know, making the reader feel bad for the author. anyway, maybe it’s just me… all those abstract things made concrete in words: tough oneI’m heavily into Alejandro Jodorowsky right now. Do you know his work? A filmmaker mostly but I think you would like his newest book “Psychomagic”.