Brainstormed online with friends Mary and Michael about Michael’s story, worked more on the revision of “Saint and Cynic.” Did homework for tomorrow night’s Tem workshop, which resulted in a new poem called “The Words Not Spoken,” an experiment based mainly on Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” I borrowed the form from this poem, and the title was inspired by “The Road Not Taken” by the same poet. It was a fun experiment; I haven’t written a good poem for a while. (Some would say I’ve never written a good poem!) I also attended Stories for All Seasons. Busy day for creativity.
Monthly Archives: May 2002
Any noun can be verbed
Lunched with Michael Main. (There I go, turning a noun into a verb. Shame on me!) We discussed “Saint and Cynic” briefly, and discussed progress on one of his stories as well. In the evening, I worked on “Saint and Cynic” briefly, but quit in favor of spending some time playing Magic: The Gathering with my son. Will complete the revision tomorrow at lunch and in the evening.
Full day, no pay
Critiqued four chapters of a novel, two short stories and two poems for the Old Possum’s workshop. In the evening, I went to the Old Possum’s workshop. Full day.
The Sweetest Thing
Mother’s Day. I didn’t do anything creative today, but I did go see a movie (The Sweetest Thing) with my wife.
More Cynic than Saint
Worked on revision of “Saint and Cynic.” I’m beginning to hate the piece, I think. When I originally wrote it, I went for a parable tone, and people responded positively to that before. But when I read it now, I don’t like that tone. It feels flat and lifeless. However, I don’t have enough time to completely change the tone of the piece, so I guess I’ll just have to grit my teeth and make the small changes for now.