The Danger of Dialogue, wild raccoons, frivolous entertainment and the desire to be in front of the page all make today a great day to be me. I've been reading Water of an Undetermined Depth by Richard Chiappone and I have to say that he has inspired some great thoughts. His use of dialogue in his stories, combined with his quirky plotlines make for a great read. Thanks, Pete.
I've spent the day helping my father alongside my brother and uncle, napping in the afternoon with my wife and baby, mowing the lawn and reading some great short stories. The afternoon is fading quickly into evening and my wife and daughter are at the in-laws having dinner and I can sit and dwell on issues of craft and art in my own living room. I've taken to writing in libraries and there is a certain disconnect from my day to day life that has allowed me to be very productive in that environment.
I find that there is a tradoff to that productivity though and it is not being emotionally attached to the objects in the immediate vicinity. I use so many of the objects in my house as details in my writing and I think it adds a certain grounded touch to the stuff I write at home. With the addition of the new baby, it is more difficult to find the space to write here. It is not a bad thing, I am not disparaging my wife and daughter for occupying the space, it just makes me appreciate the opportunity.
I've been really writing at half strength this semester and I'm getting frustrated with it. I think Pete feels that way too but he is very nice about giving feedback that is pointed specifically at improving what is there on the page. The first two stories I wrote this semester were in bars and Pete had a good suggestion: Get out of the bars! So, the story I wrote this week is very different from the previous two. It is also shorter. I find that a lot of time I'm almost writing to fill pages like there is a certain length a short story needs to be. This last story is about half the size of my previous stories but I think it has some kick in its brevity. I'm pretty excited about it and I'm looking forward to working on it a little tonight and also tomorrow night at the library.
It's going to be a good week. I got the lawn mowed, which was stressing me out (no time = nice weather, free time = rain). When the clouds cleared this afternoon, I mowed and now I feel like I'm a little caught up. The space is cleared and I'm free to relax this evening, write a little, cuddle with Shea and chat with Tracy. A good day.
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