1. It was a weirdly disjointed weekend. I finished These Dreams of You on Saturday during the girlchild’s nap and then spent the rest of the day in a sort of Erickson-induced haze brought on by watching everything fall apart and then come back together again in a way that should have felt predictable but instead felt true. I can’t think of a single thing to say about this book that isn’t a spoiler, other than Read It.
2. Kiddo’s kind of milking the injury thing a bit, as is his due. He’s asking me to do all sorts of things for him “because I have a broken arm.” Like I could have forgotten the broken arm. But still, I do a little more for him than I normally would without letting him totally regress into a pampered pet. It feels good to be able to do these small things for him. Eases the guilt of having failed to stop the runaway skateboard from twenty feet away.
3. Eight more days until the cooling-off period ends and I allow myself to pick up the first draft of the new novel (which needs a new working title) and see what the hell I’ve done and then figure out how the hell to make it work. I’ve passed through the antsy stage and straight on to twitchy. May these eight days pass quickly, and may I not be too horrified when I look under the hood.
4. In the meantime I’ve been working on a new story. I don’t write short fiction often, but every once in a great while I find one tugging at me. This one grows from the same seed as the new novel (though in a very different direction), and as I near the end of its first draft I’m realizing that it actually wants and deserves to be called “Cold Black Stars” much more than the novel does. That title suited the novel when it lived only in my brain, but once it started to take shape it was no “Cold Black Stars.” Not at all. So I don’t have to find a title for the story, which is awesome because I suck at titles. But I now do have to find a title for the novel, which is rather more important and which is unfortunate because I suck at titles. I have a few bouncing around in my head but they must not be very good because I don’t want to tell you what they are.
5. I have nothing more to say, but I mistrust the number four, so…
I do believe your numbered, random posts are my favorite. Also, hello from a few blocks away. Bwahahaha!
Okay, I’ve been reading way too much non-fiction lately and it’s time for a treat. I put These Dreams of You on my To-Read list, even though I have several other novels waiting on the coffee table.
I’m enjoying reading about your writing process. I didn’t realize that writers put so much thought and energy into the process of writing; I thought you just DID it. I thought writers sat down, and dumped everything out on paper, and then came back later when they had more to say. Like taking a crap… 😉
I hope the eight days pass quickly for you!