I am, lucky me, in London right now. It’s sunny and bright and the millions of little parks are abloom. I’d never thought of myself as a London person, but this trip has been so delicious that I’m beginning to think that maybe I am.
I’m in London to do a little legwork on a book idea. I’m not being coy but I really can’t say more yet, since I am not sure whether I’m doing it or not. Deciding to do a book is about as momentous as getting married. You are wedding yourself to a topic that will dominate much of your waking life for the foreseeable future, and it will determine where you are and how you spend your time. It will define you, to some degree, especially if the result is successful; it will become part of your identity. You will become “the person who wrote Such-and-So”.
Committing to a book project is a little scary—just like getting married is a little scary, although most of us push that thought out of our minds when we’re at the altar. But the stakes are almost as high. It might be an idea that, as much as it woos you initially, loses its luster midway. It might prove to be incredibly hard to do. Even if you begin by thinking it’s the best idea on the planet, you might come to find it boring, or vexing, or impenetrable. Or it might be annoying in ways you can’t anticipate. When I was working on my book Rin Tin Tin, I was seized one day by the feeling that if I ever typed that name again I would shoot myself. For one thing, autocorrect hated it, and for some reason automatically switched “Rin” to “RIN” which I had to correct. Then it would switch it back to RIN and I’d fix it again, cursing; this would go on for what felt like eons, a hell loop of illogic. In addition, Microsoft Word would always put “Rin Tin Tin” in red, indicating it was a spelling error, and even though I added it to my Word dictionary—the only fix I’m aware of—it would still ding it as a mistake. I don’t know about you, but when there are red highlighted words in my manuscript, I find it as irritating as if I had an eyelash in my eye, and I correct each one even though it’s a giant waste of time and it doesn’t fucking matter. I am so peeved by the sight of those red words that I can’t bear it.
Fortunately, my other books have had frequently repeated words and names that didn’t give me such grief. Word let me type “orchid” without torturing me.
SHOW NOTES
—Continuing my turn away from contemporary fiction and embracing older books I happened to have missed, I’m in the middle of DELTA WEDDING by Eudora Welty. It’s so great.
—I’m announcing my book tour schedule August 11! Stay tuned here: I’ll post the schedule. I’m also trying to cook up some nice treats for paid subscribers and my most precious FOUNDING SUBSCRIBERS. I’ll let you know in advance so you can adjust your subscription accordingly.
—I’ve left London and am now in the south of France, where it is blindingly hot, but of course beautiful. I spent a summer here during college as part of an art program, so I have the fondest memories of the region. I had a lot of firsts that summer: First time I’d ever eaten yogurt (I’m not five hundred years old, but I’m old enough that I remember when yogurt wasn’t omnipresent in the US). First time I’d used a hand-held shower (and did it so badly that I flooded the bathroom). First attempt at sculpture (limestone; a valiant attempt but not museum-worthy). First time I smoked unfiltered cigarettes (Gauloises, of course, and now that I think of it, it might have been among my earliest cigarettes in general). It was a great summer.
—Fashion-wise, here’s what’s on my mind: Melitta Baumeister. Glassworks (a cute Korean-inspired British label). Teva Voya Infinity sandals—cheap, comfortable, and you can fake that they’re a bit dressy in a pinch. Gap relaxed denim shorts. Also, the new GapStudio everything; very, very sassy and wearable.
More soon, especially when I get into better WiFi! I couldn’t add any photos because we’re out in the middle of the French countryside, where there is more pastry than Internet.
XSusan
This long-ago Orlean follower just happened upon this piece and had too comment on the confusing altar-alter problem, "a" being the noun that cements the marriage decision and the "e" being the verb of change agent. I suspect that many a male would have relished being the latter.
I enjoy your writing. I've got 'My Kind of Place' on Audible. I'm going to resubscribe when I can afford it. So many outgoings,so little money. I'm going to pre-order your next book but via my local independent bookshop. Even if THEY get it via Amazon,well it's still business for them.