While walking to the post office last week, I listened to Stephen King’s On Writing. My favorite part of the book describes the days just before King sold Carrie, his first published novel. So I’m listening to King’s reflections on this difficult yet inspiring time, when my iPhone sounds its Pavlovian bell, letting me know I have a new email. I check the message (with Stephen still reading in the background) and find a treasure.
Recently, my husband has become a huge fan of Ray Bradbury. As always, he dove head first into researching the author’s life. Steve had found a video (see above), which led him to write me a simple and perfect email. In it, he shared Bradbury’s quote: “Go to the edge of the cliff and jump off. Build your wings on the way down.”
My quick trip to Woodstock was energizing and inspiring, as always. I drove up on Wednesday night and headed back to Charm City on Saturday morning. Woodstock’s tourist season is winding down, which for me is a relief. As I packed up the car on Saturday morning to head back to Baltimore, I was thankful for the opportunity to visit such a peaceful and magical place so often (not to mention the creative souls who live here).
On Friday, Kris and I indulged in one of our guilty pleasures, New Moon. No, it wasn’t a great movie. But it was a heck of a lot of fun. Although it was difficult to take the movie seriously while surrounded by the screams and laughter of teenage girls, I did my share of giggling too. It’s nice to stop taking myself so seriously all the time. Side note: I saw 2012 with Steve on Saturday and it was AMAZING. You won’t be disappointed.
Since arriving back in Baltimore, Steve and I have been doing some major brainstorming for the next book. We got started at The Papermoon Diner, which has many tasty vegan options, I might add. It’s exciting to think about this new project and I may take a stab at the first chapter tonight. I was so afraid that I’d used up all my good ideas in the first book. I’m learning that’s not the case (I hope!) and it feels like such a gift to have all these new characters swimming around in my brain.
During the drive to and from Woodstock, I listened to Stephen King’s On Writing. It is easily one of the best books on writing that I’ve ever read. Thank you, Stephanie! I have always shied away from King because I’m a wimp when it comes to horror films and books, but after reading On Writing, I had to see what he’s all about. We stopped at Salamander Books on Saturday (by the way they are moving to Mt. Vernon- this will be a sad day in Hampden) and I picked up The Bachman Books, which is a collection of his first four novels. He published these books under a pen name, Richard Bachman.
Did you know that King’s first published novel, Carrie, was almost lost forever when he threw out the first few chapters? His wife found the pages in the garbage and convinced him to keep going. I teared up when King talked about the integral role his wife has played in his success. If I ever make it, I know I’ll feel the same about Steve (and a few other amazing friends and family members!).
I pulled Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style off the shelf today. Actually, Steve dug it out of a box in the basement. I wasn’t keen on the idea of wrestling with spiders to find the book. I’ve attempted to read this several times, but I think it might resonate more this time, since I’ve written the first complete draft of my novel. Off to read and write…
