Something Almost Unlooked For, Something Given

Saturday, September 20, 2008

I spent the day being frustrated with myself—despite the gorgeous weather, despite the gift of time, I wasn't hitting the right rhythms with my new book. I was stumbling over sentences, fixing them, destroying pages. Taking out chapters, starting again. I kept watching the birds and the skies, taking deep breaths. Finally I came back inside.

And then I did something I vowed never again to do. I typed my own name into Google.

Was it procrastination or some heavenly hinting? I'll never know. But what I found when I did that was this most incredible gift—a Boston Globe story about House of Dance and Undercover. Written by the impeccable writer Liz Rosenberg, for whom I have such respect. I learned something from this review—was reminded of what I must do going forward, of what I must try to avoid, if I can. I'm grateful beyond measure for the time Ms. Rosenberg took to think out loud about the stories that I write. For rescuing me from this day of thwarted story.

http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2008/09/07/lessons_for_teens_and_an_anxious_cat/

5 comments:

Jena said...

I'm glad your googling led to something wonderful! It's nice when it works out like that. :)

PJ Hoover said...

Totally agree with Jena and that you are always looking for the positive! Life works out when you expect it to.

Anna Lefler said...

Oh, this is magical. I love it. Larger, deeper things afoot that guide our hands (more specifically, our index fingers *click*) and hearts.

BTW, the few times I've googled myself, my takeaway has been something along the lines of, "Dang, I have a big nose." Wait a minute, is that a possible book title? Hmmm...

[FYI, I'm working on a sidebar message to you through Goodreads, Beth...trying to get my arms around the Last Comic Standing story, and other miscellaneous replies, etc.] :^)

Beth Kephart said...

Jena, you are such a sweetheart. PJ, you are, too. You don't even know how much I need those words right now. I'll just tell you, and in a few days, I will tell you why.

And, Anna: From what I can see your nose is JUST the right size. I can't wait to read your GoodReads post. Will it include something about Josh Blue?

Melissa Walker said...

Catching up on blogs--what a wonderful google to find! And so deserved.

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