Comments on May in the Bay: The trouble with finishing a coming-of-age novel, ...

Friends, I love and adore you. That's the shor...

2011-09-26T16:01:05.998-07:00

Friends, I love and adore you. That's the short comment.

This entry reminds me of two things ... one, Dave ...

2011-09-24T12:02:14.147-07:00

This entry reminds me of two things ... one, Dave Jauss's Alone With All That Could Happen, especially when he quotes Flaubert: "It is a delicious thing to write, whether well or badly—to be no longer yourself but to move in an entire universe of your own creating." It doesn't surprise me that a writer would be wary of ending or be unsure as to how to dismount. Subconsciously, we want to remain in that delicious space! Two, to make this a Dave Jauss medley, I'm reminded of one brilliant Jenni Eaton whispering to me in the back of Dave Jauss's lecture on knowing when we're done with a piece, "It's like raising a child. At a certain point, when they're 18, they might not be 'done' growing up. But it's time to get them out of the house, to let them go." I paraphrased that. Her statement was way wittier. Anyways, an interesting new venture for you this fall! Good luck as you re-enter the novel universe and look for an approach to landing!

It's so good to hear your voice again, Mayumi,...

2011-09-23T09:32:32.673-07:00

It's so good to hear your voice again, Mayumi, and to empathize and be physically moved by what you write.

I don't have an answer to your "what about endings" question, but as for this line--"what is that but the writer’s job in a nutshell: to keep trying to answer that question of a hundred not-yous"--I say YES. I say it is curiosity and the desire to move, even within ourselves, that keeps us alive.

May, you're back! I didn't know you had a ...

2011-09-23T05:04:29.301-07:00

May, you're back! I didn't know you had a novel hiding up your sleeve...how exciting. And yes, writing is the best way to deal with curiosity and restlessness and the desire, always, to be someone and somewhere else. Not to get too "out-there" on you, but my Venus is in Gemini which means I'm completely unfaithful and always yearning for something other. My astrologer's advice: write!
xo