Aging

I have a great book that I use for teaching creative short fiction called On Writing Short Stories. In the book, several authors are profiled, and their work is studied. One author, Andre Dubus, was asked how he writes. "I gestate," he answered. Ahh, to be blessed with that kind of time.

Everything needs to gestate. Food needs to be digested. Romance needs time to flourish. Words need to be measured. And book-length writing needs time in the bottle, time to develop flavor and character the way good wine does. It's one of the many intangible things that can't be taught about the craft of writing.

The Innkeeper's Husband has been sitting in the cellar for most of the summer. I've taken it out, and worked hard on it the past few weeks, polishing, crafting further what shape I want it to take. I did something unusual for this book, something I've never done before: I allowed the person I trust and respect more than anyone else in the world to read it: my wife, Chantal. I did this before I began the revisions. Her frank assessment of the book was like fresh air to me, helping me see things I missed, giving me the energy I needed to complete the work.

So now it's ready. Let's find out if everyone else it ready for it.