[narcissism, vanity, exhibitionism, ambition, vanity, vanity, vanity]

27.2.08

RIP, ARG

au revoir, alain robbe-grille. for the final joke, read all the way down the page ... "this obituary has been updated and revised since the obituary writer's death"

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posted by Diane @ 7:12 AM  0 reports from other planets links to this post

15.2.08

The Lion and the Crown

[a story by Jane]

"Once upon a time there was a king who didn't have his crown, because one day a lion came and stole his crown while he was sleeping. The lion came for dinner. Because he was a very nice lion and he didn't have any food in his cupboard. And because he took the crown, he wanted it for his best friend, Tiger. And that's why the king was mad. But his dear wife did not know about it. You see, that's how it went in that castle. Until one day, someone came and took the queen's crown. And that someone was ... her sneaky friend, Sneaksnock. And Sneaksnock was a very sneaky tiger. Oh, that Sneaksock, he was sneaky. But then, he gave the crown back to the queen, and for a little money, she gave her husband to buy a new crown. And that's how it went in that castle. I don't know the rest. But I think it's time for the end of this story. THE END."

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posted by Diane @ 3:54 PM  0 reports from other planets links to this post

14.2.08

Closing In, But Not Closed In

In the off-hours, I'm completing a last (truly) pass through the novel, clearing up lapses in the fictional dream (as well as typos). Something's happening: the psychological texture of the book is coming out in higher relief, is more coherent and consistent.

Soon, I will have to stop: there is a point beyond which further editing of this sort risks choking off the reader's flow of association -- which, once established, is guided by the text but separate from it -- so the book becomes dull and controlling.

A delicate operation, this business of knowing when to stop.

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posted by Diane @ 8:14 AM  0 reports from other planets links to this post

10.2.08

Mise en Place

"One of the reasons I love the world of the kitchen is because so much of the work of cooking has a metaphorical component. I believe that cooking well, or striving to, is a metaphor for living well. Having good mise en place is a metaphor for being organized in your life and in your mind. Its goals are to ensure preparedness and efficiency of action." Ruhlman.

I love how this observation deepens the idea of "getting things done," makes it seem more wonderful, more meaningful, and less about the metrics inevitably attached to "what gets done".

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posted by Diane @ 10:56 AM  0 reports from other planets links to this post

8.2.08

Printed.


My book.
Originally uploaded by quiet.eye.
130,000 words. Not only that: characters, structure, plot, story. Whewwwwww....

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posted by Diane @ 9:32 AM  0 reports from other planets links to this post