deep dark nights of the writer's soul and the generosity of fellow artists

Yesterday I heard back from both my readers. I talked on the phone to the friend who was looking at my Labrador project (poems, fragments) and she had some great ideas of where to take it next - things I had not considered about how it might be constructed - exciting things. We will meet up in Nova Scotia and I will talk to her about a project she's working with and she me about mine. We have worked together before on writing design projects and love to spark off each other. I wrote another poem last night to add to the manuscript and will polish it and probably start a few more...

Late last night I opened an email from the friend who is looking at Bright Angel. She had some major concerns and all of them are more than valid. As soon as I read them I realized I had been in some sort of denial about the work needed to get it ready to go out. So I pondered the how as I lay in bed. I think I've figured out the approach and today will begin. I'm not going to say that I can do it in the ten days I have left here but I can at least get it going. I might be able to - I'm just wary of my own optimism at this point!

I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the generosity of fellow artists when it comes to this sort of feedback. People who will take the time in their packed schedules to read and reflect and craft helpful and penetrating responses to your work are treasures. I am in a place where I don't have folks that understand what I'm up to on the ground. I need to reach them through email and phone. I don't have my writing group here or the cadre of humans that I was used to seeing on a daily basis that get what I'm trying to do. My partner is fantastic but this is still rather alien to him and while he is great at the copy edit stuff he doesn't get my agony and ecstasy so much! Probably why he is the perfect guy for me. I need him to be there for me in so many ways but I really don't give him stuff when it is too new and raw (or I am).

This is all to say thanks to the community of writers and readers who inhabit this virtual and real world. Generosity is the virtue that produces peace. True dat.

here is yesterday's foggy day...