East of Eden conference

Thanks to everyone who attended my sessions at the East of Eden Writers Conference. I had a great time and got motivated.

The speakers were fantastic. I laughed with Chris Reich, Betty Auchard, and the self-depricating Tod Goldberg (who gave an equally funny workshop on dialog, he ejaculated emphatically!). Then there were the serious speakers: Jean Auel, James D. Houston and Dorothy Allison. Wow. Adrienne Barbeau spoke about her new book, but I missed part of her speech because she was one of the morning speakers--and I don't do mornings well. I was there, but I was out of it after just over 5 hours of sleep. (I drove home after midnight and then returned by 8am--it's just over an hour drive each way.)

I'm working on structure of the novel now. The hardest part is the beginning. I have a few ideas, but I'm going to need a lot more work to get it right.

I'm teaching The Kite Runner in class. The first chapter is only three paragraphs, but the entire story is right there in that first chapter, that first paragraph, even the first line:

I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975.

Not much else to say other than I'm making baby steps...at least it's forward progression. Onward...