>Thanksgiving at VCCA

>I realize that the holiday is actually tomorrow, but our Thanksgiving feast is tonight so that the staff, or most of them anyway, can spend the holiday with their families. So in about an hour we’ll sit down to a meal that should be pretty amazing, based on the quality of the regular meals. (Rhonda, the new chef, is terrific.) Thursday, though, will be a work day for most of us. I plan to come out to the studio as usual and get as much done as I can. That’s what I’m here for.

Last night was quiet. No readings, no parties. And today has been quite warm which, I think, contributed to my lack of writing energy. I futzed around in the morning, figured out what the story I’m working on needed, but didn’t have the energy to actually do it. So I read instead. After lunch I took a walk in the woods and thought through the plot completely on that story and when I came back I jotted all that down and now I know exactly what I will do with it. But instead of working on that story, I turned to shorter piece that I brought with me unfinished and in the last couple of hours I wrapped that one up. It will need polishing now, but at least I’ll have a complete draft to work with.

And that’s it for today. And maybe for a couple of days. Happy Thanksgiving!

[The picture is of the pond along the hiking trail on the VCCA grounds.]

About the author

I am the author of three novels--THE LAST BIRD OF PARADISE, OLIVER'S TRAVELS, and THE SHAMAN OF TURTLE VALLEY--and three story collections--IN AN UNCHARTED COUNTRY, HOUSE OF THE ANCIENTS AND OTHER STORIES, and WHAT THE ZHANG BOYS KNOW, winner of the Library of Virginia Literary Award for Fiction. I am also the co-founder and former editor of Prime Number Magazine and the editor of the award-winning anthology series EVERYWHERE STORIES: SHORT FICTION FROM A SMALL PLANET.

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