« one more thing | Main | Curiosity's hand »
pen and ink
Today I sat under a tree on the campus of Boston College with a yellow lined pad and a really cheap pen. This, because I left my computer back at the place we're staying and I had an hour to kill. I had no real thought of writing a scene or anything of that order, and found, as I sometimes do, that pen and ink are a good way to break through problems.
Hannah is in a situation just now and I have been unsure of her actions and reactions, but after writing just a few sentences -- or really, questions to her directly -- it suddenly sorted itself out in my head and I found the whole scene ready to be birthed. Right there on that rather uncomfortable bench on a hot summer day.
I don't really understand why this works sometimes (and other times, does not work) but it's a nice surprise when it does.
Tomorrow the others are going to run around Boston, and I'm going to sit down and write. I lived in Boston for a year and I know it pretty well and really, I'm not so interested in seeing the tourists stuff themselves into Faneuil Hall. So I'll ice my very sore knees and write and hopefully get all this stuff in my head down in a form that works.
And then we're off to Manhattan.
July 15, 2005 03:00 PM
Comments
I think it is a wonderful idea , that being said I also doubt if the publisher will agree. My children have a book with just that sort of thing The Jolly Postman by Janet & Allen Ahlberg It is truly wonderful and I find myself gravitating to it if I get a choice! Every 2nd page is an envelope with a letter from a character inside, great gift if you ever need.
Posted by: louise at July 16, 2005 07:37 PM
Ah, but how could you resist the bookstores in Cambridge, specifically Harvard Square?
Wordsworth's, the Harvard Coop (where I found 2 editions of Jack Zipes' critical fairy tales collections I'd never seen before), and the Harvard Bookstore -- and lunch at Mrs. Bartley's, where they have the best. shepherd's pie. ever.
There is a labyrinth of used booksellers in the streets around Harvard, too.
And then top it all off with Newbury Comics, in the Garage.
Boston, London (Foyle's Bookstore, three stories of nirvana), and Philadelphia are my favorites.
Posted by: murgatroyd at July 18, 2005 10:59 AM