Five O'Clock World

Yes, I'm grooving to the Vogues again this morning. Love this song!

A very nice relaxing (and productive) weekend. I outlined a short story, brainstormed a revision on the essay, and organized my to-read piles. We hid from the world this weekend, after a fun Wii party with friends on Friday that left us wiped out. We caught up on laundry and vacuuming and dishes and tried to move TiVo stuff to a VCR to no avail.

I'm amazed at the advice I'm getting from experienced writers to just trust myself while writing. They insist that's half the battle and it's very liberating. It's true that if you are uneasy or timid, this will come through in your writing voice, diluting the power of your narrator, for both nonfiction and fiction.

The most important thing for an essay is a strong narrative voice that knows itself--doesn't matter if the essayist doesn't know themselves, but as a writer, if you want an essay to work, the voice must be consistent and stay within the essay's boundaries.

Thus my revision for this week. Extending the word count past 800 words and making sure the narrative voice is solid. A good project.

I'm also beginning the short story that I've had simmering for a month. It's probably flash fiction, but the premise comes from a recent movie/very old book and because I love the biblical story of the Exodus, the situation just resonates with me.

Happy Monday!

Currently reading: Ron Carlson Writes A Story (Ron Carlson)
Currently listening to: San Francisco (Global DJs)