Finally, an opportunity to write! I apologize to my blogging readers, but that’s what I’m here for, after all. I’ve been able to put in full days on the Houdini/Margery play-within-a-book. At the moment I’m on chapter 9 of Part 1. Part 2 is the finished play itself, which I more or less completed a year ago. More on that as it develops.
Still, I do take time off from typing to enjoy the sunsets, like this one:
Observations: Only one post this week, but I thought it would prove thought-provoking as well as bright. I was right. Several people commented on the shoes-on-or-shoes-off question. That reminded me to try to ask questions to elicit responses at the end of a post. I back-edited some previous ones as a result.
Interaction: That interaction was entirely on my Facebook page, so you won’t see it here. One Friend commented that she can be protective about newly cleaned carpets. Eventually she reaches a certain level of ennui, or perhaps wee-wee, as bladder urgency takes precedence over ditching the shoes. Another enjoys the freedom of bare-footin’ at home. A third opts for slippers. (I’m not sure whether he, like Sherlock Holmes, went for the whole slippers-and-pipe thing.) Our daughter-in-law from India says that her family dons flip-flops (called Hawaiian flip-flops over there) around the house. A sensible solution.
Professional development: I continued listening to the podcast about writing a novel, and picked up a number of useful tips among the general advice. And I’m pressing on with William Zinsser’s “Writing With a Word Processor” just for the fun of it, and a possible review.
This just in …
Oh, yes, and then there’s this new arrival as of noontime today. This is a 1956 Royal Quiet Deluxe manual portable typewriter, the same model Ian Fleming used when writing his James Bond books at “Goldeneye.” Appropriately, his typewriter was also golden.
What color is mine? I’ll let you know when I spill the whole story in a few days.
Next week: More work on “Harry Houdini and the Witch of Beacon Hill,” plus a post on why I’m following in Fleming’s fingertips. Stay tuned!
In case you missed it …
-
Budding Writer, 1980: Country Journal?
Reading Time: 3 minutes He had a reputation as “the finest historian of the American Revolution.” I was merely a smart-ass Dartmouth undergrad interm at the time.
-
Journeyman Journalist, 1980: Coalitions and competition
Reading Time: 2 minutes I didn’t even know my rival was living and working right in our coverage area. That’s a failure of competitive intelligence.
-
Journeyman Journalist, 1980: Missing the mark
Reading Time: 2 minutes A little spare time can be a dangerous thing. It can even become addictive.
-
Journeyman Journalist, 1980: Things in common
Reading Time: 2 minutes I’m not the kind to burn my bridges, but I have been known to walk away and let them rot. In fact, I was thinking about doing just that
-
Budding Writer, 1980: Mastering the craft
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Journeyman Journalist was nearing the end of his journey. The Budding Writer was ready to bloom again in the spring.
