Jan Update: Unexpected Encounters
And our intimate strangeness
Hello again from the depths of my writing cave. Current word count: 75,000 good words. Roughly 300 pages. Hey, that’s a novel!
Am I there yet? Almost. There are holes in certain chapters. There are details that need to be triple checked.
Writing about 1935 with the eyes of 2025 has been interesting.
I hope my novel creates illuminating encounters with the past and how we understand the now. That’s all. That’s the point really. For the reader to encounter something that strikes them as true but never truly known before.
Inevitably, and often unexpectedly, it all grows personal.
At one point, while researching my novel, I looked over at my husband (D-Man)—I leaned into his face, stretched my eyes as far as possible and said rather dramatically: I am realizing I have fascism in me….I am encountering an unexpected map into why I do what I do. And fascism is in there.
I HAVE FASCISM IN ME
Writer Lauren Elkin: I have gone to literature, to art, to help me see the things that aren’t there, but also to give me courage to say this is what I saw.
Where else can an expanded view on history, community and self be explored, made legible and shared? Art is our container.
And would you believe me if I told you that while I was writing this post about art’s ability to generate magical encounters, an NHL hockey player with an Italian last name entered the cafe I was in and sat across from me.
He ordered soup.
More unexpected encounters in Dormer Window world:
The ATHLETE/ARTIST CONNECTION: The only writing routine that’s working for me right now is the one I learned about in the NHL documentary Faceoff. The athletes, who are at the pinnacle of their craft, rely on super strict routines—eat at 7:07, tie skates at 8:08—to conserve all mental energy. Which means I’ve been writing at 9:09! Don’t think about writing, a Post-It says on my laptop. Just do it. Everyday. Like an athlete.
Our INTIMATE STRANGENESS: Poets are writers who are trying to reach me with their intimate strangeness, says writer Matthew Zapruder. This statement left me speechless and then caused me to create this graphic:
DORMER WINDOW STUDIO WRITING GROUP: I’m leading a new writing group in the Dormer Window Studio. We met in January, and after some quick prompted writing exercises, we shared creative work, books and mantras to keep the creative juices flowing. We discussed Claire Keegan’s gem of a book Small Things Like These. Here’s a great interview with her. A snippet from the interview: he knew what love was, and so he was able to offer it to others when he was a grown man.
My little guy contemplating Italian fascist propaganda in the Dormer Window Studio before our guests arrive. And a song! I can’t stop listening to Juliette Armanet.
Lastly, I’m shifting the Dormer Window newsletter into a monthly format for 2025. Thanks again for following along. I hope some of these thoughts/encounters are pumping up the creative muscle inside you as well. Maybe a little?