Derry, Northern Ireland

Derry, Northern Ireland
A book I'm working on is set in this town.

Saturday, December 6, 2014

How do I do this?

I've jumped back into ...Owen Taylor and been cutting and combining through the first four chapters...yet somehow I've added a hundred words. How the hell does that happen? I thought for certain I'd have dropped at least a thousand...but no. Looks like the story's found its length and will stay there, come hell or high water.

I had debated adding a prologue to briefly explain what went on in RIHC6, prior to this story...but instead I worked it in by reworking a couple of paragraphs and decided to let the previous story be revealed as things went along. So far, I'm happy with the changes...but then, I haven't gotten into the areas that will require heavy cutting, yet. This is all just prep.

I reread some of Bobby Carapisi before starting, to remind myself that I do know how to write and to stop worrying about OT being perfect just yet. That one took a couple of years for me to finish, but now I'm proud of it. Even Allan's erotic dreams parts.

I guess I still fluctuate between having a writer's ego about his work and writer's uncertainty about it. Guess I always will. That could be good or bad...or both.

Monday I'm off to Chicago and into what looks like a difficult job. The only positive thing about dealing with book people when you're packing books is, I'm also a book person so I can talk to them in ways they understand. I'm finding that's not exactly what my boss wants, because he thinks it's revealing too much information or something along those lines.

Which doesn't make sense to me. All a book person wants to know is that their books will be handled with care. They don't see them as merely objects to enjoy but as part of their family. Their being. That's why Adam constantly says, in The Alice '65, "Books are my life." They are.

They're mine, too.

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