Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant

I picked up Anne Tyler's Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant yesterday afternoon - I couldn't put it down again until I finally reached the end at one in the morning.

Tyler doesn't just paint an intricate picture of each scene; she constructs a lovingly rendered three dimensional arena for you where all five senses are stimulated, like experiencing a lucid dream. And not one word of description or dialogue is superfluous. Every character was fully formed in my mind's eye with a few beautifully crafted sentences.

Those were my impressions as a reader. My feelings as a writer were mixed; on one hand I was both jealous and intimidated but on the other her writing spurred me on to improve mine, to strive to stimulate the senses and emote.

After all she's a writer's writer, nominated by both Roddy Doyle and Nick Hornby as 'the greatest novelist writing in English.' And when a novel not only comes alive in my imagination but also inspires me, I can't help but recommend it to everyone.

Horsey Prescriptions

My stomach is no longer beating me up, thanks to the prescription my doctor gave me. When he first mentioned 'Buscopan' the name was so familiar that I spent many an hour searching my addled memory for the answer. Finally it came to me. Vets give Buscopan to horses suffering from colic. You can thank my misspent youth reading Jilly Cooper for that trivia gem.

So I'm back to the editing grindstone today. I managed ten pages before my hand gave up the ghost - story number four is one of my favourites and parts of the first draft isn't in bad shape, so the notes are coming too fast for my squashed fingers. A great complaint to have!

The Ours is taking Friday off to make it a four day weekend. We're both determined to keep our weekends as quiet and unassuming as possible for as long as we can bear it. There's talk of a trip to Howth again, having lunch at Aqua and a leisurely stroll around the place, but the weather forecast is looking a little dismal. So another weekend spent lazing around could be on the cards; not that I'm complaining!

Shine

As you can imagine I have a very quiet weekend ahead. But the sun has come out and with it, another chance that this summer might be a good one...

Have a fantastic weekend, especially if you're one of the lucky ones with a bank holiday tacked on, and I hope the sun will shine on you wherever you are.

Distractions

Writing and editing has slowed as I've been having nasty stomach cramps since Monday morning. I can't stand up or bend over without slamming shut like a clam, but otherwise they just come on without warning - some cause me to treat my pillow like a punch bag to take my mind off the pain. I don't have any other symptoms that might suggest food poisoning or gastric flu so I'm out of ideas.

Hence the heavy Battlestar Galactica watching on my laptop in bed, it's a great distraction. I've reached the end of season one and Paddington is sending me seasons two and three plus Razor via The Ours. (They work at the same company and are lunch buddies.)

I'm going to the doctor in an hour - I'm glad as hopefully I'll find out what it is, but I'm not looking forward to the walk there.

Drained

Got the mini-series and first season of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica from Paddington - I blatantly stole from his huge DVD collection on Sunday. I've never watched it before but I'm already hooked! The writing and characters are compelling and, most importantly, it's not cheap n' cheesy like other sci-fi shows (including, may I say it, Doctor Who at times...)

This week also marks the end of a crazy month of birthdays and other nights out. The Ours and I have decided to impose a pub-ban for the next few weeks to avoid:
a) getting as big as a house and
b) having to go back to work early due to a completely drained bank account.

Third Story - Done

I was so determined to finish this story that I wrote over 2000 words this morning. It is finally done.

The feeling of relief is amazing! I knew even when I finished the first draft that the story needed a lot of work, but I had completely run out of ideas on how to improve it. Sometimes a break makes all the difference, and in my case the longer the better.

So onto story four tomorrow. As always I'll be editing on paper first, then I'll rewrite onscreen; a bit like doing two edits. Hopefully I'll be happy with the overall result.

Sunday

Happy birthday Theodore Black! He is currently working on 51 poems based on different international poetic forms - no mean feat - and you can have a look at them here.

We're off to a BBQ today so I've decided to make a batch of fairy cakes (known as cupcakes in the States). The last time I made them I thought McGyver was the best thing since sliced bread, so please wish me luck.

Am all hopes that I'll finish my third story tomorrow...

Have a wonderful Sunday everyone.