Posts (page 2)
so everyone was stunned that i was so overly self-motivated with writing my book as journalists are known to be procrastinators when they don't have an immediate deadline. and people who've written books kept remarking i looked far too happy for much of this year.
well, everyone, i am not immune to procrastination or author angst it seems. for whatever reason i just get it in the editing phase. chapter 2 is totally annoying me and i will do almost anything to get away from it. movie anyone? sigh.
geoff thinks it's a very "me" expression, and that only people who know me professionally think i'm smiley all the time. my mom, similarly, insists this is an expression she has seen re-occur throughout the years. she's trying to deconstruct exactly what it means... but in the mean time, she's ferreting out photos with a similar "set of the mouth" expression. she sent me this one today.
i think i look far more serious as a kid!
Show us your favorite writer.
assuming it'd be far too cocky to say me, i'll say margaret atwood. i don't know that she's my uncontested fav, but "oryx and crake" is one of my favorite books of all time. there are things she does in that book as a writer that just make me PISSED because they are so subtly genius and i didn't write them. atwood is also an absolute master at totally changing style, voice etc with every book. i mean- COME ON! isn't it enough to be proficient in one writing style/voice??? you need to hog several? that's just greedy, margaret!
i should also mention kazuo ishiguro. you probably know him as the author of "remains of the day" -- which is the least of his accomplishments. i actually like ishiguro way way better than atwood on the whole- but as a writer i give
her more props for sheer skill. ishiguro's books contain a lot of the same techniques over and over. but in his most recent book "never let me go" he toys with the fact that you think he knows where he's going with things. i also got to meet him at the signing for "never let me go." my brother who worked in a bookstore at the time had snagged me an advance readers copy of the book so i'd already read it by the signing. ishiguro just read from the beginning because he said he'd gotten grief for reading from the middle or end and ruining some of the book's surprises. he didn't think it particularly mattered. i went on a ten minute riff about why he was absolutely wrong and he was still nice to me afterwards!
What makes your best friend so special?
Submitted by Jessmiloo.
that he's also my husband!!
but here are some other reasons (appropriate since this wkend is our wedding anniv.)
- he not only makes me laugh, but works at it. he says he plans little IM witticisms all day hoping for an "lol"
- he always knew i'd write a book, making a deal with me three years ago that if i didn't take his name i'd have to dedicate said book to him
- he's absurdly adorable
- he's a good dad to winnie, vinnie and boo
- he likes TV and the A's as much as i do
as i do book edits on the negative affects of only a few media companies controlling all outlets, i'm watching an episode of charmed where "evil" is infiltrating earth by taking over an investment bank in san francisco and pushing through a merger where one internet-provider would buy up all the other ones.
does this count as plagiarism? do i need to credit aaron spelling as a source?
for the penguin's spring/summer catalog! woo hoo!
maybe book jacket too... i like it! geoff took it and (thankfully) airbrushed all my lines and wrinkles from writing a book away. some people say it's too serious....but i'm a very serious author! my friend megan had the best comment, "I'm imagining this is what people see when you realize they have something to tell you and they're stalling." ha! that's actually a far meaner face!
thoughts?
I AM ACTUALLY WRITING A BOOK. THAT WILL BE PUBLISHED. AND BE ON SHELVES. AND PEOPLE WILL HOPEFULLY BUY IT.
it's all no longer theoretical. and this is dawning on me this week. not only is the first pass of the manuscript done, but i saw the first version of the COVER complete with my name in big letters at the bottom. and am proofing the stuff for the catalog and penguin salesforce this wk. i have to send in my PHOTO that will go in the catalog and on the jacket.
eeek. in a good way, but eeek.
sigh. starting the fun world of incorporating line edits and fact checking. i have to admit, i've had more fun in my life. but it's still better than a real job right? i probably shouldn't complain.
in other news, watching an episode of the simpsons for the first time in a long time. i've forgotten how funny it is! still not funny enough to make me rush out and see the movie though. i just can't believe it's good.
not sure. but i feel *horrible*
i gave up the idea of going to the gym, trying now to muster the strength for a shower and a lunch meeting. ugh.
lots been going on lately. filed the first full version of the manuscript and got back edits this week. (all good stuff) having a lot of interesting discussions with people about what to do after the book. (again, all good stuff) it's just overwhelming.
since i have little interesting to say, here's a cute photo of geoff with a dog. she looks like winnie, who apparently had a nightmare last night because she started howling at about 4 a.m. geoff went in the bathroom (where vinnie and winnie sleep) and she was on the counter screaming. his first thought was maybe something happened to vinnie so he woke the poor guy up to make sure he was ok. vinnie wasn't happy. "IT'S FOUR AM!"
so this weekend i have been like the Tasmanian devil whipping around the house. Everything is C L E A N. super clean. i even mopped the porch. how silly is that?? geoff and i also tore into the downstairs room (aka my office) taking out more boxes of junk. We even re-arranged furniture-- we moved a love seat into the living room and moved some chairs that had been in its place down to my office on the first floor. Sadly, our once charming "orange room" looks desolate, but it's all according to plan because we're going to buy a day bed (or just second bed) once Penguin sends me another check. anyone reading this who has ever stayed with us is rejoicing right now. YES! you will have a REAL bed to sleep on!! making the offer all the more attractive, it's the one room in the house the cats never go into. despite being in our 30s and having a three bedroom house -- we have forced guests to pick between couch or air mattress for the five-plus years we've lived here.
i've also managed to work out for at least an hour both days this weekend, and do at least a few hours work. geoff asked if i had a sudden, secret meth habit. (he doesn't see me during the week, when i'm similarly manic) i think it's a weird form of nesting. this week is MAJOR. i am sending the first pass at my entire manuscript to my editor on friday and i wanted a clean house and clear head going into the week.
It's hard not to feel this week is somehow momentus (although months more work will be done on the book). my dream, for my 10-year journalism career, has been to write a book. i rarely spoke about this, just quietly plowed away at my own little checklist of accomplishments that might make this possible-- one day. you know? maybe when i was 60? the few times i mentioned it to co-workers i was mocked. It's after all, almost every journalists' dream. very few of the ones who get it enjoy the luxury of taking a year off to do it. i have been well aware of my good fortune everyday of the last 9 months or so i've plowed away at this.
The whole thing has almost been too insane to focus on-- it's a lot of pressure after all. i may very well never get another shot. so month-after-month, i've just thought about the task at hand. This chapter, getting this research done, etc. but it's hard not to get carried away now. i have a few more chapters to plow through and brighten up, then it's, well, done. At least the first pass. (loads of editing, legal, copyediting, fact checking etc in store until the real due date in oct)
still, come friday, i will be looking at some 80,000 words that i wasn't sure this time last year i could even write. thank god, it's not that "time of the month." i'd be a nostalgic sobbing mess!
