Top Ten Things I've Learned so Far @ WWW:

10. Like photographers, painters, and musicians, writers are artists. Seek inspiration everywhere.
9. Always be sensitive, but protective. If you can’t cry, you can’t write.
8. Note to Self: Do not ask CW during dinner “what he is doing after.”
7. Neck ties are not just for decoration.
6. As humans, we are the only species who need to remind ourselves who we are. That’s our job as writers.
5. It’s all about the “want.”
4. It takes Colson Whitehead 6 mos to a year to outline and brainstorm a novel.
3. Writing apprentices need to write everyday. And…
2. It’s okay to make mistakes. Revision is imperative-- even when it means throwing pages out.
1. Writing is a hallucinatory act. If you can’t see it, no one else will either.

I'm finally beginning to understand what it means to "live the life of a writer." After starting this internship, I feel like Gonzo in "Muppets in Space," when he lands on a faraway planet that's filled with other Gonzos. "There's more of me!" I'm glad to be sharing such a unique experience with some delightfully hallucinating peers... I especially liked attending the reading last week, and hearing Russell's voice create a clear image of "the fish," and its blood red gills expanding and searching for air. I feel like I'm finally discovering my own source of oxygen...

I should have been an English major...
Al :)

Banks Cranked! (no, no, this ain't sarcasm!!)

To begin, I'll just say I'm glad my role as a "traffic cop" didn't confuse the WWW-hungry masses to the point they were knocking into each other aimlessly like flesh-and-blood bumper cars in the chill evening air. I'll just let the credit fall to the other "traffic cops" stationed throughout the concourse. Everyone, big t'anks!
Russell Banks? Great evening, great revelations--great stories! I've got to admit I think I got a little depressed afterwards, and not just due to the evening's inevitable finish. Compared to Banks's life, his experiences, I felt a nagging tinge of "do I have the right to write?" After hearing Banks tell of his sprawling life--schmoozing with Castro, chumming with Nick Nolte, adventures in the film industry (such peerings into the film industry, so many, in fact, it felt as though we were listening to a full-time denizen of the film community)--I felt oddly full and empty at the same time. I felt I might hop a train after I got home. Rather than this, I wrote for a few hours once I got home and in front of my computer--'til around three a.m., actually!
This, I'm happy to report, is the effect I'd hoped to take home from this internship.
It couldn't be helped--Banks's advice (yes, I'm a card-carrying 'frontloader") echoed--still echoes--in my head.
More later.

"Making a movie with Nick Nolte? How cool was that?"

IMHO, the master class and readings yesterday with author, poet, screenwriter (what am I leaving out?) Russell Banks went swimmingly!
I'm jealous my story didn't get Banks' personal attention. His comments and suggestions on Luke's and Allison's stories were given gently and in kindness and gave insight into both Banks' writing process and his feelings about what makes up a good story -- and he's sure got enough "literary horsepower" to back up his opinions!

At the evening reading, the only slight snafu was some confusion about exterior lighting (and Karen rescued the situation - Thank You!). Before a nearly-full house (in spite of "terribly cold" - grin - Florida weather) in the beautiful new venue of Tiedke Concert Hall, Banks read two short stories and gave fun, behind the scene stories about working with Nick Nolte on the film Affliction, screened at Enzian Wednesday night and based on Banks' novel of the same name.

Check out Winter With the Writers for information on the rest of the season.

That's all from me for now. If you attended either event, please post your thoughts.