Tuesday, May 07, 2002
For a long time I've feared that this journal, at least that portion of it that pertains to the writing of Low Red Moon, must really be boring as hell. The daily report of numbers. How long can that go on without becoming absolutely mind numbing? But I also understood from the start that I wouldn't be able to discuss the story itself, the day to day evolution of the characters, the big plot snags and the days when the storyline inevitably becomes something new and unanticipated. These are all the exciting facets of writing a novel, not the drudgery of this many words, this many pages that is all I'm really able to report here. Of course, it's also true, as I've said again and again, that novelizing is pretty goddamn boring most of the time. In that respect, these report are entirely accurate. So, I'm scrounging about for interesting tidbits that I can relate from time to time. For example:
In the elevator with Gwenda Bond at World Horror in Chicago and she says something about how much she likes the title, Low Red Moon, and I have to confess that, though I love it myself, as does my agent and editor, I have absolutely no idea what significance it has to the novel. Gwenda laughs and I laugh, but in the back of my mind I'm thinking, You know, it can't go on that way forever. Sooner or later, it has to mean something beyond its original inspiration. Which was, of course, the Belly song. One day in November or December I was making notes for the book and listening to Star and I thought what beautiful lyrics and how I'd love to try to capture one small fraction of the album's sad, spooky earthiness in prose. Since Chicago, I've figured out the other reasons it's called Low Red Moon, much to my relief.
I'll try to include more anecdotes of that sort as the weeks and months go by. They happen and I tend to just let them sail by, unnoted. But they have to be at least as interesting as word counts. Speaking of which, I did 1,028 wds. on Chapter Six today. Doesn't that get you tingly?
Oh, and Sophie, the WBC, went to the vet today and was pronounced perfectly healthy for an old cat of indefinite age, except she has to have a right upper carnassial tooth pulled soon.
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