Notes on the Writing Life

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I'm in the middle of so many books it's crazy: The Hour of Our Death (a history of attitudes toward death—excellent); The Plot against Pepys; a book on 17th century French cooking; three or four books on writing; a novel; a book of short stories. Like a bee in the honeysuckle, I fly from one to another.

I'm also ordering books, because fall is coming, and we're approaching that period of time when we move to Mexico for the winter, where it costs quite a bit to order books in. The problem will soon be deciding which books to take, and which to leave behind. I need to finish some of the research books I'm reading, and (this is the hard part) record notes onto computer.

I've complained of this before. The day before yesterday, I recorded notes from two text pages to the Timeline and the Research Notes — it took an hour. (In large part because I became absorbed.)

I'm going to try a new method: computer dictation. I've ordered the software, but will it help or hinder? That remains to be seen. If it does work, it might also prove way to rewrite a second or third or zillionth draft: by reading it into the computer. I always find reading my work out loud changes how I see and hear it. I hear the redundancies, the unnecessary phrases. I've read pages from a work in process out loud, but never an entire draft — although, with every book, I tell myself I should.

Today: packing. I'm going to California for my sister's wedding: my sister and her female partner of over twenty years. It's a joyous summer in California this year, so many couples leaping at the window of opportunity to legally bless their union. Certainly, Robin and Betsy's wedding is going to be a big "hats off!" whoop of joy. People are flying in from all over. My blind, 90-year-old dad will be proudly walking (hobbling?) my sister down the aisle, my brother's band playing.

I will try to blog while away, but I might disappear for a week or so. My father doesn't have Internet (torture!) and even the connection at the local Starbucks is slow and frustrating.

Did I write my scenes yesterday? No. Have I written my scenes today? Yes.