Writing Retreat, Part 2: Two Views of My Novel

Last Friday I wrote about my recent writing retreat on Cape Cod. I have a few more thoughts that I’d like to share. Today’s is mostly visual.

Every day I was there, I took a beach walk. I found this rock on the first day of my retreat, a sea-scoured nugget of quartz. It seemed to me a perfect metaphor for my first draft: a gem (or crystal, anyway) in the rough, all of its facets and inner beauty temporarily concealed. I probably won’t polish the crystal, but I will polish the novel. In fact, w...