So I had a really lovely reading on Monday night at Webster's Bookstore Cafe in State College. My mama made some very pretty white cupcakes with white cake mix and white frosting and white sparkly crunch sugar stuff on top and they were like CUPCAKES FROM HEAVEN ABOVE, and my sister was down from NYC and we had a big dinner beforehand with some friends and then, since I knew that about half the people coming had already been to my reading at the State College Barnes & Noble a few weeks before and I didn't want to read the same exact passages to them, I decided last minute to just read a couple of short scenes from Godmother and then read two big chunks from my mermaid book, from the opening two chapters (and the only two chapters written!). And as I was reading them I was thinking oh this is too long, and I should be reading from Godmother, this is a mistake, and then to my surprise it seemed like everyone afterward only talked about how much they liked the mermaid stuff. Even people I didn't think would like anything and were just there to be supportive. I think people reallly like mermaids. Not to mention mermaids swimming in big storms with shipwrecked men dropping around them, trying to save themselves a prince. WHICH IS AWESOME.
Speaking of mermaids, it looks like that book will probably come out next summer, 2010.. If not then, maybe a little earlier. And I have some due dates for handing the book in, first the opening 150 pages and then the whole thing, that will completely require me to WRITE EVERY DAMN DAY and actually be disciplined and hard working for once. It's exciting, because there's no reason I shouldn't be writing pages and pages a day (actually I only need to write about 2 pages a day to meet these deadlines), I just don't. And I'm feeling especially lame about that since lately I've been answering all these interview questions and everyone always asks about my writing schedule and I always say UMMM WELL I ASPIRE TO HAVE ONE and then they always say "Oh you just write when you're inspired" or "You need to wait for inspiration to come" and that's completely not true, actually, I can always sit down and write, I know what I need to write, especially now when I have a whole book to write and I know exactly what the book is -- and if for some reason I'm stuck.. the way to get unstuck is just to sit and write, anyway -- the fact is I just don't write in a disciplined manner because I'm not disciplined. So now I have to be, which is good. I've not really been in this position before... I mean I wrote and sold Rain Village and Godmother when I had a full-time job and now that writing is my full time job I gotta start treating it like one.
Oh! So I should be turning the book in October 1, and after that I shall immediately turn back to my Dante book and get a proposal together for that.
In other news, last night I saw Sunshine Cleaning, which was quite good.. Tho when a guy selling a van tells the main character's kid that if he talks into a CB his words will go "out in the heavens" you know there's going to be a cheesy ass scene on the way where said kid talks on said CB to said heaven. Which was bad enough. But then in a climactic moment the main character also talks on a CB to heaven -- "mom, can you hear me?" -- and THAT IS JUST DOWNRIGHT INEXCUSABLE.
NO CB CALLS TO HEAVEN!
That is my hot writing tip of the day. That, and be more disciplined than yours truly.
Now I am at my sister's and I have no plans today except to WRITE TWO PAGES and then luxuriate in the bath and in front of the tv because tonight is my NYC Barnes & Noble reading and it is a little nerve wracking. And then Saturday morning Joi and I head to the highway and into the wild blue yonder.
The end.
Speaking of mermaids, it looks like that book will probably come out next summer, 2010.. If not then, maybe a little earlier. And I have some due dates for handing the book in, first the opening 150 pages and then the whole thing, that will completely require me to WRITE EVERY DAMN DAY and actually be disciplined and hard working for once. It's exciting, because there's no reason I shouldn't be writing pages and pages a day (actually I only need to write about 2 pages a day to meet these deadlines), I just don't. And I'm feeling especially lame about that since lately I've been answering all these interview questions and everyone always asks about my writing schedule and I always say UMMM WELL I ASPIRE TO HAVE ONE and then they always say "Oh you just write when you're inspired" or "You need to wait for inspiration to come" and that's completely not true, actually, I can always sit down and write, I know what I need to write, especially now when I have a whole book to write and I know exactly what the book is -- and if for some reason I'm stuck.. the way to get unstuck is just to sit and write, anyway -- the fact is I just don't write in a disciplined manner because I'm not disciplined. So now I have to be, which is good. I've not really been in this position before... I mean I wrote and sold Rain Village and Godmother when I had a full-time job and now that writing is my full time job I gotta start treating it like one.
Oh! So I should be turning the book in October 1, and after that I shall immediately turn back to my Dante book and get a proposal together for that.
In other news, last night I saw Sunshine Cleaning, which was quite good.. Tho when a guy selling a van tells the main character's kid that if he talks into a CB his words will go "out in the heavens" you know there's going to be a cheesy ass scene on the way where said kid talks on said CB to said heaven. Which was bad enough. But then in a climactic moment the main character also talks on a CB to heaven -- "mom, can you hear me?" -- and THAT IS JUST DOWNRIGHT INEXCUSABLE.
NO CB CALLS TO HEAVEN!
That is my hot writing tip of the day. That, and be more disciplined than yours truly.
Now I am at my sister's and I have no plans today except to WRITE TWO PAGES and then luxuriate in the bath and in front of the tv because tonight is my NYC Barnes & Noble reading and it is a little nerve wracking. And then Saturday morning Joi and I head to the highway and into the wild blue yonder.
The end.
posted by Carolyn Turgeon at
10:13 AM
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