Tuesday, November 2, 2010

...I have a new story, "A Man and His Train" up at Troubadour 21 and here under "Words in Print." The story is a fable. Fables are often hard sells with editors, but I like them if they're smart and twisty. I think we can learn a lot from well written fables and parables.

...I just started reading, "Be More Chill" by Ned Vizzini. It's a Y.A. and teen novel by the guy that wrote, "It's Kind of a Funny Story." I also got Tara Masih's collection, "Where the Dog Star Never Glows" and Matt Bell's new collection.

...I started the new novel yesterday. I did not get very far. I am behind the game already, quite far behind. I'm not worried, though. After writing my other novel this year, a small 50,000 word book isn't quite as intimidating. Of course, that may change once we slide into week two.

...The new bruno mars cd is so catchy. close to cheesy, but catchy.

...I run. I run a lot. I have a marathon next month. I think there are a lot of lessons to be learned from long distance running. There are all kinds of parallels between marathoning and most tests of diligence, including noveling. Here's an excerpt from "Runner's World" about marathon racing specifically as it relates to those god-awful, final six-point-two miles. It's quite good:
"Why go through it all again? Because what lies between mile 20 and the finish line is the answer to that question asked by nonmarathoning spouses and friends: 'If it hurts so much, why do you do it?' I've never found the answer, so I keep running that final stretch with my eyes on the ground looking for it.
What I have found is that the last six miles separate distance runners from those who are merely obsessive or have a high tolerance for boredom. They are the crucible from which come molten, freshly recast marathoners, and each one of those miles is a distinct trial to conquer, and reason to train, and reason to boast, and as such, in truth, I love them, because though you'll never know exactly why you do them, it's over those last six miles that you finally find out if you can.
I'll tell you something, though: the last .2 miles is a killer." -- Peter Sagal

"The final third of most runs and workouts count the most. The first two-thirds gets you tired so you can work harder from there." -- Brett Gotcher, marathon racer

3 comments:

  1. Good luck with the nanonovel! Even a start is better than nothing!

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  2. hi dawn,
    i clicked on your name and got sent to a site called "hanging laundry in the rain." is that yours?
    i have this writing disease where a word or phrase or picture will trigger a story or poem. this is what i just wrote after clicking.

    Laundry

    She hangs her laundry in the rain,
    off sagging wires.
    The clouds crush
    and spark a war overhead
    but she doesn’t notice.
    She has her wooden pins
    and a bundle in a basket.
    I watch from a safe distance.
    I can’t tell if those are tears or rain
    but I do recognize that sweater
    and our boy in it
    when he was still here,
    the day he squealed on a merry go round.
    I remember his smile,
    his baked potato smell,
    his hand so small and soft when I kissed it
    and thought what a fine man
    he’ll be.

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  3. My takeaways from this whole post was that you run! you run a lot! i wish that could end up inspiring me to move my bumm from this sofa.

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