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January 10, 2018:

SURVIVING ANOTHER CRAZY DAY

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, this week is flying by, like a gazelle riding a streetcar named Desire. Yesterday was a crazy little day, but I survived it, so that’s a plus. It began early, with the hard drive that contains the Levi video footage arrived. Then Muse Margaret called. I could tell right away she had some problems with the new book – I can always tell. She first asked me to remind her where the book goes in its second half, which I did and which she loved, and that information helped clarify her problems, most of which were early in the book. So, that’s what we began with and it mostly boiled down to a few instances of writing where she stopped liking the character who is the focus of the first half. I understood her point and she was very specific about which lines or words made her not like the character. But all during pointing that out, she was telling me all the things she loved so that was immediately good to hear. In the end, it really was just about ten instances or removing a line or a few lines or even a few words.

Once she hit about page twenty, there were only one or two more instances in the entirety of the seventy-one pages she’d read. So, I wrote all of that down and then rather than mush on, I went back and made all those adjustments and it was indeed better and even cleaner without that extraneous and unnecessary stuff. It took about two hours to do that, but it was pretty simple. She’d also asked me to add some dialogue to a couple of sections, and I did that, too, as well as some descriptive stuff. Once I was finished with that I dealt with some of the usual merde, got a brief respite and miracle, which at least let me breathe easier for a day or two, and then I began futzing and finessing the previous day’s writing. I spent an hour doing that, adding stuff, removing a few things, expanding on a few things and writing only one new page.

Then I went and had a bacon cheeseburger and too many fries at Islands, then came right back home. I dealt with more stuff, wrote a couple of pages of new material, dealt with more stuff, did some research, and wrote another page or two. Then I sat on my couch like so much fish.

Last night, I watched a documentary on the Flix of Net about the band Chicago. It was very interesting and I enjoyed it very much. They had so much success for so long, and yet there was such drama along the way – and they’re pretty interesting fellows and even though it was just under two hours, I was with it all the way.

After that, I wrote more, took a hot shower, added some material to an early section, but will still write at least two more pages after I post these here notes.

Today, I’m hoping Muse Margaret will call in the morning so I can read her all the little changes and make sure she’s okay with them – that will be very helpful. Then I’ll futz and finesse and then write new pages. I’m hoping that the annoyances will be few and not terrible and of course am hoping still for a couple of major miraculous miracles, so do keep sending those excellent vibes and xylophones, if you’d be so kind. I’ll eat, I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, I’ll write, I’ll relax, and I’ll write.

The rest of the week is more of the same, plus I have a very belated birthday lunch with Kay Cole on Friday. I may try to see something this weekend, just to get out of here for a while.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, hopefully read Muse Margaret the adjusted material, I must futz and finesse, I must write, eat, hopefully pick up packages, write, relax, and write. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have survived another crazy day.

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