Week in Review

I finished the first Harry Bosch novel by Michael Connelly on Monday and will gladly read more. My current read, though, is Knots and Crosses, the first John Rebus novel by Ian Rankin. What I look for most with any book is a smooth, confident style of writing. With such writing, I can relax and follow the author's lead, knowing we'll end up somewhere worthwhile.

To round out the week, I've written three pages of a new draft of "Home." Back in May, I documented revising a piece from my second creative writing class at Hofstra for submission to Charlie Stella's issue of Hardluck Stories Zine. The story was rejected, and I've spent the past three months deciding whether to keep at it or move on to a new project. This process is much like testing the waters. What kind of activity are the conditions right for today?

I'm also reminded of a quote from the evil Donovan in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: "It's time to ask yourself what you believe."

Does this idea have staying power? Am I willing to accept a story's smaller measures of a success, not being able to see the exit for a while, as opposed to the quicker pace of a poem?

These questions eventually answer themselves: I'll try to focus on a poem, but still be thinking of "Home." I work on whatever makes the best case for itself, whatever floods my imagination at the moment, making other items seem less important.