In praise of ugly ducklings

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I've been having a beastly time with the chapters I'm working on now. My characters are not speaking to me. That's a writerly, romantic way of saying I've lost contact with them, I'm not seeing them.
I've hit that patch of despond every writer knows:

"I should give up writing."

"I'm no good at this."

When not writing (that is, wrestling), I've been compulsively reading a wonderful novel: The Lovers by Vendela Vida. It's a short, elegant, emotionally gripping story.

And word perfect — the sort of ...