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i finished my novel*
*Draft four. Saying “I finished draft four” doesn’t make a snappy title. People! I finished the fourth draft draft of my novel! I’m not being hyperbolic when I say I didn’t think I’d ever do this. I wrote the first real draft (I’ve been kicking around these characters + this story for over a decade)…
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how did we wind up with so much stuff?
I never thought much about the stuff I owned until I needed it haul it across my city half a dozen times last summer. I have so much of it. So much clothing. So much kitchen gear. So much hand soap. (Why I own so much hand soap is beyond me). So many books (but…
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when the magic moves: putting away my first novel for a second
Yesterday I put away my first novel. Packed up the printed drafts that I work off. Collected all the scraps, post-its, note cards, ideas scribbled on the back of receipts. I folded up the timeline and scene lists. I emptied the table I work on, and I arranged the entire life of my novel in…