First: Hi, new followers. There are many of you and I’m overwhelmed and humbled and excited. That reply button is enabled for a reason, so please use it and tell me about you.
Next. This week has turned into one long conversation about craft. Wednesday, I saw Adam Ross speak about Mr. Peanut on a panel at Housing Works. I read the novel earlier this year, and by the end, couldn’t really pin down my feelings about the actual book, but what I did notice was the way it was crafted: three narratives in one, strung together thematically, with distinctively contrived structure. He spoke about what was behind piecing together a novel so complexly, exactingly structured and researched.
I’m also at the tail end of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close after putting it off for many years (I’ll blame Park Slope and a bad experience with Illuminated for the delay), convinced to read it by a friend whose opinion I respect. I’m reticent to comment before having completed the book, but while I find parts of it grating, I’m still fascinated by its craft and, to put it modestly, its self-conscious assembly.
While I don’t have an O Wise One universal to share from this week, the conversation has kept me focused as I navigate the continued structural curation of my manuscript, due date looming. If you’re not thinking about how deliberate (or not) you’re being with your words, consider stepping back and thinking about it.
MT
