2010-06-02 - 11:11 p.m.
Jury duty tomorrow: show up at 7:45, with an orientation at 8:15 sharp, the summons says. I'm to enter via St. Paul Street, and not via Lexington Street, so as to not get waylaid by the metal detectors. There are certain entrances for jurors, and certain entrances to avoid. There are rules, in other words. This is to be an official engagement.
I talk a lot about the writing, I know. But, real optimism, now. I've printed out a whole draft and am 40 pages through a line edit. Lots of ink, through those first 40, but it feels good to have the whole thing there in front of me, hole-punched and resting in that binder. I carry it around with me, three pounds of paper at my side, the binder's edge digging into my hip. Also, an old friend sent me an email today. She said: I'm reading the new McEwan, and it's a nice reminder to see that sometimes the story's enough. I feel that same thing, often. That the story's the thing, that to go deep and to entertain while you're at it is the trick. It helps to remind yourself of that. It aids the black pen, when you remind yourself of that. Cutting, sometimes, equals revising. And to add depth is to add the stuff you're scared of talking about. To combine both of those is, well, the golden ticket, isn't it?
I've been biking a lot lately. I like what it does to my legs.
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