writing weirdness…

i swear that every time i work on a line that has a siren in it, something with a siren rolls by. this has happened at least 3 times in the past couple of weeks.

get your grub on

have you met mr. bryant terry?

sometimes the universe gives you a big ole kiss on the mouth to let you know that you’re on the right track. if you’ve read this blog lately you know that i’m in year seven of noveling. you should also know that i *heart* chefs. somehow stalling (uh, researching) on the internets i found my way to this recipe for double mustard greens and roasted yam soup. i couldn’t believe it when i read on to find out that bryant is a native memphian (like me), graduated with honors in english at xavier in new orleans (where i reside) and has an uncle who worked for hi records (maybe you’ve heard of al green?) and wrote i can’t stand the rain. maybe you know “rain” as the sample underneath missy elliot’s the rain, but in memphis we have old school sundays on the radio so all of my contemporaries generally think of the version by ann peebles.

brother isn’t simply a chef. he’s a food activist, author and superhero.

now that’s plenty, but when i stopped to stall (uh, research) i was writing a scene with a character who sings that song. seriously. i had to tell somebody, so i e-mailed the man himself. he was really sweet (good home-training!). so you all need to buy a copy of his book grub. and then buy the new one when it comes out.

fess up friday

the happy birthday to me edition….

the book is fully in charge of me…use me…use me…

saturday 5/17:
4 hours revision (big picture of elvis in the lady’s paper across from me–novel ends w/ elvis dead)

sunday 5/18:
4 1/2 hours revision (man across from me has on stax t-shirt as i am listening to a stax mix)

monday 5/19:
3 hours revision (boy in columbia’s publishing program asks me to “watch” his book; asks me about modern day versions of ellison’s invisible man–i give him an earful)

tuesday 5/20:
2 hours revision

wednesday 5/21:
2 1/2 hours revision

thursday 5/22:
0 hours–travel day. on the road from new orleans to memphis

friday 5/23:
5 hours revision! on my birthday (walk into coffeeshop and see original writing mentor/ literary conjureman arthur flowers also home in the delta. arthur is the only human being alive to see my very first raggedy draft five years ago. in spite of that he told me to keep going.

new moon daughter

people who really know me know that i am a firm believer in moon phases. at the new moon i experience such a rush of energy; at the full moon, i admit i can feel a little wacky. i was beyond pleased when i realized my daily diary included the moon phases.

tomorrow is the new moon, so i decided that i would wrap up my plotting extravaganza today and begin THE DRAFT on tomorrow. i had an amazing work day. one of the girls at the coffeeshop was wearing a memphis t-shirt (my novel is set in memphis). later, i was perusing this stax compilation online since music is playing a larger and larger role in my work. i look up and there is a guy sitting right outside wearing a stax museum t-shirt.

now, as i wind down there is a show on a&e about children with psychic powers. my central character is a child with psychic powers.

being a writer is often so uncertain that days like this are a treasure.

onward.