Riding the Wave of Summer
Yesterday was an awesome day of writing, the kind of day that makes me love my job. Today, instead of continuing the momentum, I have both Things home. So, I'll be doing some cooking this morning, prepping stuff for the rest of the week. And this afternoon, we're going swimming at a friend's.
Actually, the kids will swim and my friend Kelly and I will sit in the shade sipping ice-tea (or maybe a mojito) and yakking. She's a relatively new friend, but it doesn't feel like it. I knew she was a kindred spirit when she said, "F*&K is my favorite word. It's so expressive and cathartic." *laughs*
She's a fantastic photographer, and one of her projects is a website devoted to her eldest son, who has autism. (She prefers that phrasing to "is autistic", because the latter implies that his condition defines him.) She's also the volunteer coordinator for in-home services for military families with children who have autism, and does a fair amount of speaking locally. She's been repeatedly approached about writing a memoir of the last 8 years, since they first noticed a small, blond patch in her infant son's otherwise dark hair. But she claims she can't write, so she's asked if I'd like to collaborate.
I've never written non-fiction, but as The Queen of Tidy Prose reminded me, it might be a true story, but it's still a story. I said that I'm in, once I finish the WIP. I want her amazing pictures to tell the narrative, and we'll build the timeline around it in blocks of esposition mingled with family interviews. Her son doesn't typically say much to strangers, but he took a shine to me and I'm going to include his perspective as much as possible. Because he sees the world in the most unique and beautiful way. And we're agreed - this will be a celebration of their family's journey down a different path, rather than a tragic tale of woe, because that is not how she sees it at all. It will certainly have its moments, and I expect to go through significant amounts of tissue in the process. But it will be an honor and an incredible experience to share this with them.
We're going to start going through pictures today, so I suppose that counts as working. =) With mojitos, by the pool. Gee, reminds me of meetings in L.A.
Actually, the kids will swim and my friend Kelly and I will sit in the shade sipping ice-tea (or maybe a mojito) and yakking. She's a relatively new friend, but it doesn't feel like it. I knew she was a kindred spirit when she said, "F*&K is my favorite word. It's so expressive and cathartic." *laughs*
She's a fantastic photographer, and one of her projects is a website devoted to her eldest son, who has autism. (She prefers that phrasing to "is autistic", because the latter implies that his condition defines him.) She's also the volunteer coordinator for in-home services for military families with children who have autism, and does a fair amount of speaking locally. She's been repeatedly approached about writing a memoir of the last 8 years, since they first noticed a small, blond patch in her infant son's otherwise dark hair. But she claims she can't write, so she's asked if I'd like to collaborate.
I've never written non-fiction, but as The Queen of Tidy Prose reminded me, it might be a true story, but it's still a story. I said that I'm in, once I finish the WIP. I want her amazing pictures to tell the narrative, and we'll build the timeline around it in blocks of esposition mingled with family interviews. Her son doesn't typically say much to strangers, but he took a shine to me and I'm going to include his perspective as much as possible. Because he sees the world in the most unique and beautiful way. And we're agreed - this will be a celebration of their family's journey down a different path, rather than a tragic tale of woe, because that is not how she sees it at all. It will certainly have its moments, and I expect to go through significant amounts of tissue in the process. But it will be an honor and an incredible experience to share this with them.
We're going to start going through pictures today, so I suppose that counts as working. =) With mojitos, by the pool. Gee, reminds me of meetings in L.A.