Enumerated Update

My Little Writer

Happy Monday, friends! A show of hands, please, of those who enjoyed an extra hour of daylight yesterday? Admittedly, I like fall and winter, but sunshine is enjoyable, too -- at least until the scorching heat settles upon us.  Spring, I'm keeping an open mind... let's make it a long one, yes?

Anyrate. Here's the skinny:

1) Jejune: Skip pointed me to this interview with Tom Wolfe. I like his comment about falling in love with certain words and, as a consequence, overusing them. I remember being struck by his frequent use of "jejune" during his early writing. If I remember correctly, he was particularly fond of "insouciant" while writing A Man in Full.

2) Related: David Foster Wallace's posthumous release, The Pale King, is similarly interesting because it was minimally edited following his demise. The unedited writing gives some insight into his writing process... the list of words he had identified to incorporate in his writing... the overuse of words that would have been edited out during the rewrite process.

3) Overhead Lighting: Simply? I'm not a fan. It's much too harsh and reminds me of high school gyms.  This essay by David Sedaris reveals a similar antipathy toward overhead lighting.  While I like a good lamp and prefer to have rooms lit in the evening (even if empty), Sedaris is more comfortable dashing from room to room by flashlight.

4) Amtrak: In keeping with the literary theme today, have you seen the buzz about Amtrak offering free rides to writers?  This notion makes me imagine Steinbeck climbing aboard a train and traveling across country, writing with every mile. I love this idea.

5) Self-Publishing: I went to a little workshop at the Apple store recently and stumbled onto information about self-publishing (it was merely mentioned as an aside). Do you know that self-publishing a book in iBooks is shockingly easy? Do you have a novel in you? Get to writing, friends!

And that's about it for us. What is happening with you?