Been sick in tired lately, as Fitzgerald would (and did) say. Which is a great segue to a word about my “hour every day, no matter what”. I came up with that because I was afraid I’d start and then just stop. I think I’m far enough along now that I can bend those rules comfortably now without too much concern that I’ll abandon the project. I’m in the habit now, and most importantly, I’m invested in the story and the process.
So for me to push through an hour of terrible writing just for the sake of doing it is a waste of words, and (frankly) time when I’m either too sick or too tired to be effective. I took a few “me” days, simply because I was too drawn out to do much of anything else. But I’m back at it now, still reaching for that 100,000 words…! Very much in sight now though; two more sessions, and I’ll be there.
In other news, Barney’s Version was released today. I think this has to be my most anticipated movie since Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. But I won’t be seeing it anytime soon. Despite what the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) website says, it is not in “wide commercial release”. As I found out, it is only in release in Toronto and Montreal.
The irony of the fact that I can go today and see film adaptations of foreign books like Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Harry Potter, Gulliver’s Travels, and even Yogi Bear is not lost on me. (Editor’s Addition: Also, True Grit, which began life as a book by Charles Portis, one of the New York feature writers around the time of Tom Wolfe…)
In any case, I’ll have to wait — I’m actually kind of buoyed by the fact that there is a pre-release in those two cities. These days, they only do that when they know the movie is good and will survive the first waves of reviews. It’s the bad ones that are pushed through to 3.4 million screens to collect as much money as possible before people find out it’s a load of… Anyway.
Another fun fact about Barney’s Version – the titular character is played by Paul Giamatti, who of course was the lead in Sideways. Trading in his wine for scotch, I guess. Not who I would have envisioned, but it could be a very good choice.
(BTW, if you haven’t read the book, it’s by Mordecai Richler, and I highly recommend it. Of the ones of his I’ve read, his best I think, and one of my all-time favourites.)
Anyway, I’ll be posting tomorrow with any luck, but in case you’re not here: Merry Christmas to all — hope Santa brings you all you’ve asked for!
~Graham
(Novel Writing Totals)
Hours Today: 1
Words Today: 1,701
Hours Total: 72
Words Total: 98,005
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