Derry, Northern Ireland

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

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Not all that bad

I'm weaving my way through "Internal Flaws" to polish it and clean up the grammar, and so far it's not all that bad. I found some inconsistencies and a few spots where my timeframes didn't work out, and of course I edited and reworked a couple of moments. Seems I can't get away from that. But I'm about a fourth of the way through it and won't mind it being shown to publishers.

I will say, I like the chatty way Vinnie is telling his story. It jumps around a bit, like a guy who's explaining himself in a bar as one event reminds him of something else that happened but has relevance, somewhat meandering but always getting back to the thread. I guess we'll see how this goes, now.

I'll be in New York City the 9th through the 12th. I was only supposed to be there till the night of the 11th, but I booked my flight on the wrong day and decided the hell with it; I haven't just wandered about NYC in years. Haven't gone to a museum or gallery. Never been to the Guggenheim. So I booked my hotel for the extra night and will just enjoy myself, that day.

It's funny, but the first time I was in NYC was the summer of 1979, and the city damn near overwhelmed me. I'd been accepted to NYU's Graduate School in film but was not at all ready, emotionally, to take it on. I tell myself now that I copped an attitude, but truth is, if I'd stayed I'd have lost it. I was deep in debt from my undergraduate studies, not just student loans (which didn't have to be paid back, yet) but also credit cards. I could not have handled school, work, projects that needed to be done and paid for, and living day to day.

Now? After living in LA for 16 years, I can treat it like a vertical version of that town. I basically know how to get around...when I pay attention to what I'm doing. I have enough tools in my psyche to handle the city, now. Of course, it might just be arrogance talking...but now when I walk around, I don't feel lost or oppressed. It's just a big town, like London or Paris or Berlin or Hong Kong.

Hmph, world traveller Kyle.

No comments: