Love these word pictures. I was there. In San Diego it's seeing violet Jacaranda blossoms everywhere. I miss that. No scent but still. We get Jasmine too, but not like that.
Coming back to this. At 41,000 words I got the feedback last night that a few of my threads are already unraveling. And that a certain meet and greet needs to take place earlier in the novel. Think I need a step back to tidy those lines.
This makes me feel happy & hopeful. I also enjoy going places where the light is beautiful and perfect, and I love the image of your bar & your friends that I have in my mind now.
I found out the editor passed on my revisions this morning, but we are going back out next week with the updated version which isn’t a total loss. I got my office set up this weekend and start a workshop for a few weeks this evening which will be good. I need to break the space in.
Still struggling some with my YA but your Scars essay in I Came All This Way to Meet You was really helpful thinking about that and even now with this news. I am proud of myself for taking advantage of an opportunity, working even a short time with an editor at a publisher, and coming out the other end with a solid revision and feedback even if there’s no offer. My agent is wonderful and we are still very much aligned and hopeful.
I enjoy meeting friends at places by happenstance, I went to a local community event and had a similar experience last weekend. It was so nice. Being able to know a place and its people is more valuable than traveling all over for me. Though that probably has a lot to do with my disability and anxiety too 😅
A place truly feels like home to me once I can randomly pop into places and find friends--or even just randomly pass a friend on a street and catch up a little. The best feeling.
Thank you, Jami, for sharing the permission for an early draft to be messy! Why DO some first drafts come out more polished and others don't? This newsletter is the first place I've ever read anyone else talk about all the internal / headspace / dare I say "liminal" work that comes from writing fiction. It always feels so great to read that other human brains experience this, too!
Thank you for this. I was just pouring tea to sit down to my writing and somehow this was all exactly what I needed to read - a reminder to meet it where it is and where I am and be with it as we are in this particular moment :)
I felt so much gratitude in your words. But then a bit confused. You give permission to write the messy draft, but at 15,000 words you want to stop and reread what you have. I have found courage in the going forward until I come to the end of my draft. I have no idea how many words I will have then but I need to keep writing to the truth of the story.
Your ability to build new novels so quickly astounds!
Love these word pictures. I was there. In San Diego it's seeing violet Jacaranda blossoms everywhere. I miss that. No scent but still. We get Jasmine too, but not like that.
I have nothing deep to add to this except to note that this was one of the more evocative pieces I've read in a while! I love these essays.
Coming back to this. At 41,000 words I got the feedback last night that a few of my threads are already unraveling. And that a certain meet and greet needs to take place earlier in the novel. Think I need a step back to tidy those lines.
Apropos of nothing, I needed to send a New York friend a gift, so I ordered a Books Are Magic gift card (a place I know of only because of you!).
This makes me feel happy & hopeful. I also enjoy going places where the light is beautiful and perfect, and I love the image of your bar & your friends that I have in my mind now.
I found out the editor passed on my revisions this morning, but we are going back out next week with the updated version which isn’t a total loss. I got my office set up this weekend and start a workshop for a few weeks this evening which will be good. I need to break the space in.
Still struggling some with my YA but your Scars essay in I Came All This Way to Meet You was really helpful thinking about that and even now with this news. I am proud of myself for taking advantage of an opportunity, working even a short time with an editor at a publisher, and coming out the other end with a solid revision and feedback even if there’s no offer. My agent is wonderful and we are still very much aligned and hopeful.
I enjoy meeting friends at places by happenstance, I went to a local community event and had a similar experience last weekend. It was so nice. Being able to know a place and its people is more valuable than traveling all over for me. Though that probably has a lot to do with my disability and anxiety too 😅
Oh man. This: "The first draft is the one thing that does not have to be right in your life. It only has to exist."
I just posted that to my FB page, so I don't forget.
A place truly feels like home to me once I can randomly pop into places and find friends--or even just randomly pass a friend on a street and catch up a little. The best feeling.
Thank you, Jami, for sharing the permission for an early draft to be messy! Why DO some first drafts come out more polished and others don't? This newsletter is the first place I've ever read anyone else talk about all the internal / headspace / dare I say "liminal" work that comes from writing fiction. It always feels so great to read that other human brains experience this, too!
Thank you for this. I was just pouring tea to sit down to my writing and somehow this was all exactly what I needed to read - a reminder to meet it where it is and where I am and be with it as we are in this particular moment :)
I felt so much gratitude in your words. But then a bit confused. You give permission to write the messy draft, but at 15,000 words you want to stop and reread what you have. I have found courage in the going forward until I come to the end of my draft. I have no idea how many words I will have then but I need to keep writing to the truth of the story.
Your ability to build new novels so quickly astounds!