Good morning

I am going to ban myself from internetz for as much of today as possible! I have a lot of writing-related things to do and then I have my one-on-one session with Dr. Nunez this afternoon which I am very nervous and excited about at the same time.

Two of my favorite writing books arrived in my boxes yesterday. One is called Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. I got this book probably over 10 years ago, but I read parts of it yesterday and it was like I was reading it for the first time! She is so good at getting inside the psyche of us writers, all our neuroses, fears, insecurities, special worlds, etc.

The second book is more practical. It's called The Writer's Journey. I call it my "plot bible". I loved it so much that I got it for two of my other writer friends years ago, too. It basically talks about the mythic story arc and about character archetypes that have been around since cavemen were telling tales around the campfires and how most good stories follow a basic outline and why it works. It's written mostly for screenwriters, I suspect, but it's just as helpful for a novel-writer. Anyway, I find it an EXCELLENT way to get past blockages in plot. And it's written in a very simplistic unassuming style.