As AWP Turns: Fourth And Final Day

“I never knew that writers existed in crowd form.”

                       Martin Amis, reading at AWP 2008

Snippets from the day’s meetings:

4 Truths of Writing (According to Gail Scher)

1. Writing is a Process
2. Writers Write
3. You don’t know what you’re going to write until you’ve written it.
4. The only failure is not writing.

What creative writers bring to comp teaching (according to Lad Tobin)

1. Extensive experience as practicing writers.
2. The abilitiy to imagine what the text can be.
3. The ability to read for potential and possibility.
4. Willingness to let the text remain within the writers control.

One Night Stand Writing= Writing from first to final drafts the night before.

A story is the rescuer of time like fish from a moving stream. Joan Silber

The menu that results if you go to the bookfair hoping to score some free lunch:

1. 2 Hershey mini chocolate bars.
2. Handful of candy conversation hearts.
3. 1 mini York peppermint patty.
4. 1 vermont maple sugar candy.

Eeeck.  Even a 20 oz. diet coke couldn’t counteract all that sugar.

Note to Tim:  Fortunately, AWP is usually NOT in NY.  Next year it’s in Chicago; year after that Denver, then Washington DC then back to Chicago.  Also, post all you want, but I have some stuff earmarked just for you outside the giveaway.

Three more flights tomorrow (NY-Cincinnati-Atlanta-Little Rock) and I am HOME!

Will:  When are you coming home, Mommy?

SV: 4:30.

Will: In the morning or afternoon?

SV: Late afternoon.

Will:  Oh, late afternoon.  You mean when it gets all yellowy in the sky.

What do you think?  A writer’s kid?  Maybe?

Big news at home.  Younger brother beat older brother in a Yugioh duel  in which it was “every man for himself.” When you consider that for the last several years at  our house most of these battles have ended  with 1. the “I won again,” cheshire cat grin and 2. “I’m never dueling with you EVER again,” declared through frustration and tears, this is truly a momentous occasion.  

Boarding plan:  We weigh my bag first.  If it’s over the weight limit (remember, I had 39 lbs to work with but hotel rooms do not come equipped with scales) I shift a bunch of stuff to John’s bag.  Fingers crossed!

Bye y’all!

SV