For seven days it was mine: time. I woke (meaning I slept!), I read, I wrote, I cooked, I took long walks with my son, I watched movies with my husband, I finessed my syllabus for Penn, I saw and talked to friends. It was otherworldly—a strange, delirious slow—and inside that time I came upon an understanding of story that I had not had before, found a way to write a novel that has eluded me for years: one thing at a time, and don't forget the poems, and remember the canal, remember the boy, K, remember the dancer. 16,000 words into this new novel, and I would give anything for another week, or two, of time, another 16,000 words.
But the e-mails come in. Responsibilities.
Published on January 03, 2011 06:51