On getting down to the writing work.

My nephew Jack turned 11. We had ice cream cake and went swimming, and it was just a really nice day. I’m learning to appreciate those more and more. And I think I’m finally finding my groove here in the Sunshine State. I still have to be adaptable and be able to shuffle priorities, like this week when I stayed at Missy’s to help out because Maddie’s nurse was on his well-deserved vacation. Between the appointments and cleaning up vomit and spending time with the nephews, there wasn’t a lot of time for reading and writing, but I managed. That’s all life is, really: a balancing act.

I made progress in the two books I’m currently reading: How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines (Revised Edition) by Thomas C. Foster and Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them by Francine Prose. I’m nearly done with Prose’s book and though its tone is pretentious, and her references and examples are outdated and obscure, she does provide valuable nuggets of knowledge. And to be fair, she relies so heavily on examples from older novels because “You can assume that if a writer’s work has survived for centuries, there are reasons why this is so, explanations that nothing to do with a conspiracy of academics plotting to resuscitate a zombie army of dead white males” (15). She makes a point, but I find little to no value in discounting modern literature simply because it exists in modern times.

She implores writers to slow down and read every single word as they read because that is how the words got on the page in the first place. And the words that are left out, what is unsaid, are just as important and that’s why such care and attention must be paid to the words and the language on the pages. Word choice is obviously crucial, but books should be read for pleasure as well, so again—there’s that balance I’ve been looking for. Prose strikes that balance when she emphasizes that “…any set of ‘rules’ offers only the loosest of guidelines” (95). So what a writer really needs to do is make a series of decisions and to make sure those decisions are informed and intentional.

I guess I find Prose’s book frustrating because she pontificates—at length—about writing rules with outdated, pretentious examples, and then negates all she’s discussed by asserting there are no real rules. Weird flex.

On the other hand, I am thoroughly enjoying Foster’s book. While it wasn’t specifically written for writers, approaching writing with an analytical and critical eye will help every writer. These books are helping me in my writing craft and my teaching craft. But I’m not feeling as inspired as I’d like to be, so I’m planning a Barnes & Noble run to buy some fiction and put what I’ve been learning to use. I want to buy The Colorado Kid by Stephen King, anything by Joan Didion, and Where the Crawdads Sing. I’d also like to pick up Taylor Jenkins-Reid’s latest, too. I’ve got to get busy turning some pages.

Zoom in for spoilers!

I’m SO HAPPY to report that I’ve been busy making pages. I remembered what I learned from Robert Olen Butler at a conference in St. Augustine and I threw all my major plot points onto index cards and organized them. My next novel is what I’ve been working on for my dissertation, and because of the nature of the courses and the workshops, I’ve had to submit small sections out of order. I won’t end up with a complete novel unless I keep the big picture in mind.

I have a meeting with my dissertation supervisor next week, the one and only Donal Ryan, and I have to send him work in advance of the meeting. I have the section selected and I’m feeling pretty confident. I’ll let you all know how the meeting goes.

And my second novel, Moody Blue, comes out in LESS THAN A WEEK! How exciting! Keep an eye out for purchasing information.

Miracle Maddie

Maddie Girl continues to do well during physical and occupational therapy at Ability Plus Therapy in Melbourne, Florida. She went in the pool with her family for her brother’s birthday and she showed amazing trunk control! She was also tracking family members and really showing off! She also showed trunk control during her speech therapy appointment, and she definitely was alert and engaged. She’s been doing more sensory work and getting in her stander more, and she just always makes us proud.

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