>VCCA Days 8 and 9

>Thursday at VCCA just got weirder and weirder. I worked reasonably well in the morning–since I had done what I set out to do on the new story collection, I was concentrating on the novel and in the morning I “finished” it, which is to say I got the end of a draft that needs a lot of work but tells the story I wanted to tell. It will be something I can work with and is currently 82,000 words, about 290 pages. It is likely to get longer before it gets shorter.

Lunch was strange because we all felt strange. Four more folks left during the morning–one of the remaining composers and 3 writers. In the afternoon I took a walk and then worked on the mini-review I owe VQR. I absolutely must finish that before I leave for Mexico on the 30th, so that will be my focus until it is done. Dinner was quiet–meatloaf!–and most of us played scrabble for a while. I didn’t win, but I didn’t lose either.

On Friday morning it was time to say goodbye. No one was staying for lunch so I worked a little on my review and then I called it quits, packed up and hit the road. The weather system that has moved in and stopped draped fog on the Blue Ridge, so driving on Rte. 60 from Amherst to Buena Vista was interesting–not as bad as I thought it might be, but it slowed some drivers. I got home in under an hour and a half, picked up Bikkhu, got the mail . . . and I’ve been trying to get organized since. Back to work on Saturday morning!

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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