Jubilation

Thursday, June 17, 2004

Wow, what a high! We critiqued my story “Where the Vultures Feed” today. Many people liked it, some were confused by the title and had some questions, but they were good questions. Suzy really liked it and said that it’s publishable! Man, I was riding so high I was silly! It feels so good to know that you can do it and that a professional writer has given you the recognition that yes, this is a good story! Yes, I’ve written one! I feel like a real writer, even though I haven’t sold anything yet. Suzy warned me that I have to be careful; the next story may stink! But if I’ve finally written a good story once, I can do it again. She suggested that I try to write a completely different story, which I am going to do. I just kind of walked in a glow all day long. And it felt great!

Tonight we went to Suzy’s reading at Archive Books. She read several very touching selections from her non-fiction book about her dad. It’s all about dealing with aging parents. Her father was a frustrated artist (painter) who spent his whole life painting “derivative” paintings, imitating others. She said he finally did paint something original, but it was a 6’x 10’ canvas. When he moved to live with them, rather than move the painting, he cut it up and threw it away. Such a tragic story, but beautifully told.

Suzy has been incredible. I have such a tremendous respect for her and her work. Her comments this week have been invaluable. I didn’t think Nina could be topped. I don’t think that you should really compare the instructors; each one brings something different to the table, but I have really been blown away by her knowledge and way with people.