Well, it’s day 4 of Nanowrimo and so far I’ve written every day – though I’ll admit that my initially impressive word count has begun to slip a little bit. My first drafts are relatively lazy and impatient creatures. I think this is because I’m working from an outline and because I am a lazy and impatient creature. The transitions are inelegant and the voice is uncertain, but I’m eagerly moving from one scene to the next, no time to stop and take care of things like rambling dialogue or description or any of that. But I think that shows I have some momentum moving me forward. All of the other details are things I usually fill in during revision.
I’m really enjoying the excitement of writing a brand new draft of a brand new thing. It’s making me think about other projects that I’ve let languish, untouched, for months – I wonder if I could turn this same bang-it-out-fast approach to them, and then have something to work with, to revise? This thought (along with having a Gogol Bordello song in my head) kept me wide awake last night. My enthusiasm for this whole first draft business will wane in a week or so, but at the moment it is invigorating.
So – how are my fellow Nanowrimo-ers out there fairing thus far?
This Saturday I attended the first annual Boston Book Festival. There were a series of events with a huge variety of authors talking about their books, as well as about writing, publishing, online promotion, and all sorts of other literature-related stuff. All of the daytime events were free of charge, and there were tents set up in Copley Square where publishers, literary journals, newspapers and local organizations (like the wonderful Grub Street Inc.) set up their wares. As if a day spent talking about books with fellow book-lovers wasn’t enough, Brigham’s was giving out free samples of Paul Revere’s Rocky Ride ice cream (yum!) and Legal Seafoods was giving away free chowder.
Some of my favorite talks included a discussion with John Hodgman (otherwise known as PC from the Mac commercials) author of a book of fake trivia, The Areas of My Expertise and Tom Perotta who wrote the novels Election and Little Children, among others. These two were hilarious. I also loved hearing R. Sikoryak talk about his book, Masterpiece Comics, a compilation of his comics of literary classics. His stuff was amazing and if you like comics (or classics, for that matter) I encourage you to check it out: 
The last session I attended was “Writer Idol” for which writers were invited to submit the first 250 words of an unpublished work. The submissions were then read (anonymously) by an actress and a panel of four agents (including mine, as it happens) raised their hands to indicate when they would have stopped reading the submission. I thought the agents did a great job of being honest and helpful in their critique. Agents get inundated with so many submissions, you really have to hook them! Here were some useful ideas I picked up from their critiques (and yes, I’ve totally made at least one of these mistakes, without a doubt):
Lauren and I first met in writing class at Emerson College taught by Prof. Stuart Kelban, one of my favorite writing profs. (This was also where I met my friend Lesley Jenike, whose second volume of poetry, Ghost of Fashion, has been published.) Lauren and I didn’t really become friends in class, though we did admire each other’s writing. The following year we were living in the Netherlands in Emerson’s abroad program. And – poof – we were kindred spirits, heading to Prague together for a long weekend. Since then we’ve connected and understood each other not only as friends, but as writers.
Writing is a solitary endeavor, so it means a lot to me to have Lauren in my life – someone who not only listens, but understands my writing woes. We writers – not to mention friends – need to stick together. I’m so glad that we have. Lauren lives in L.A., but we still communicate by email frequently every week. Now she’s got her own book on the shelf and I couldn’t be more proud. Congratulations, darling!
We wandered around the Bizarre Bazaar, where I’ve had a booth up selling books in the past. I was a little sad not to be among the sellers this year – maybe in the future I’ll set up shop there again. Still, it was nice to be able to wander this time instead of being locked in a booth.
New Hampshire is absolutely stunning at this time of year – peak foliage season. We had a little river rushing by our back deck; we would have spent more time out there enjoying the view if only it weren’t so chilly.
It could be a nice place for a little writer’s retreat, I think. As long as we brought some very, very warm clothes and figured out some way to make tea. I find views like this lovely and inspiring, but I don’t know if it’s really conducive to getting work done. I admitted to someone (another creative soul) that my ideal work space is pretty much a windowless cave, and she tilted her head and peered at me in that curious, my-you-are-a-strange-one sort of way. But there it is.
