{"id":528,"date":"2011-08-28T19:21:00","date_gmt":"2011-08-28T19:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elitemporaryblog.wordpress.com\/2011\/08\/28\/ohio"},"modified":"2015-12-24T17:26:16","modified_gmt":"2015-12-24T22:26:16","slug":"ohio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orangette.net\/2011\/08\/ohio\/","title":{"rendered":"Ohio"},"content":{"rendered":"
I am writing to you today from my friend Ben<\/a>\u2019s dining room. If you\u2019ve been around for a while, you might remember that he used to live in Seattle, where he was like a Kramer<\/a> to us, but he moved away for a job. Now he\u2019s in Ohio, and for a week, so am I.<\/p>\n I needed to get some work done on Book 2<\/a>, and I missed my friend, so I rolled the two into one and called it a writing retreat. I wasn\u2019t sure how it would go, but turns out, it\u2019s like summer camp – only there are no counselors to keep us down, and instead of doing archery and riding horses and gathering around the campfire to sing \u201cDown by the Old Mill Stream,\u201d<\/a> we sweat painfully over our computers eight hours a day, and then Ben puts The Twist Goes to College<\/a><\/i> on the turntable.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the schedule. Late each night, we set a time to have coffee the next morning. Then I go to my room, and Ben goes to his. We yell goodnight. We sleep. When the correct hour comes, we meet in the kitchen, where Ben makes Americanos<\/a> and English muffins. Then he walks the two blocks to his office, and I go to mine, the aforementioned dining room. I untangle the cord to my headphones, put something on repeat (mostly, it\u2019s been Temple of the Dog\u2019s \u201cHunger Strike\u201d<\/a>), and smash a mosquito with my copy of Bird by Bird<\/a><\/span>. That book is even more useful than I had given it credit for. A couple of hours later, Ben comes back for lunch. Because it\u2019s very loud here on Planet Hunger Strike, I don\u2019t notice his arrival until he walks into the dining room and I scream. We make lunch. After that, we go back to our desks and work until early evening, when he goes for a run and I go for a walk. At 8:30 pm, no earlier and no later, I make a round of Negronis<\/a>. Then we cook dinner, and then we do it all over again.<\/p>\n The current tally of mosquito bites is 13, and I\u2019ve added about In any case, no matter where I am, I keep a running list of things to tell you, and today, August 28, this is what\u2019s on it:<\/p>\n – More sage advice<\/a> from Anne Lamott – Inaki Aizpitarte is a fine-looking man, a very fine chef<\/a>, and<\/i> he\u2019s got style<\/a>. (Don\u2019t miss the handwritten Q&A at the bottom of the page.)<\/p>\n – Speaking of France, Bill Buford wrote a wonderful piece on Lyon<\/a> for The Observer<\/span>. A great read.<\/p>\n – The team at More & Co. are friends of mine, but I think I\u2019m still allowed to say that I really like their blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n – Why do I always forget about \u201cCover Me\u201d<\/a>? Man.<\/p>\n – I went to Jeni\u2019s Splendid Ice Creams<\/a> yesterday, in Chagrin Falls! It was AMAZING. I\u2019m a giant fan.<\/p>\n – When I was in the late stages of writing my first book, I listened to the Into the Wild<\/span> soundtrack<\/a> on repeat every day. Especially \u201cNo Ceiling.\u201d<\/a> But I was surprised to find that I can\u2019t listen to it while I write my current book, because it takes me back to the way I felt when I was writing the first book, which is not the same as the way I feel when I am writing this book. I don\u2019t know if that makes sense, but it made me sort of happy.<\/p>\n And to those of you who were visited by Irene: I hope you\u2019re alright. I\u2019ve been thinking about you.<\/p>\n Have a good week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I am writing to you today from my friend Ben\u2019s dining room. If you\u2019ve been around for a while, you might remember that he used to live in Seattle, where he was like a Kramer to us, but he moved away for a job. Now he\u2019s in Ohio, and for a week, so am I. I needed to get some work done on Book 2, and I missed my friend, so I rolled the two into one and called it a writing retreat. I wasn\u2019t sure how it would go, but turns out, it\u2019s like summer camp – only there are no counselors to keep us down, and instead of doing archery and riding horses and gathering around the campfire…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":643,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[281,280,155,398,225,125,165],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n<\/a><\/p>\n
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3,000<\/del> 7,000 words to the manuscript. If everything goes the way I want it to, the former should hold steady, while the latter hits 6,000<\/del> 9,000 (Updated at 6:55 pm, Monday, 8\/29<\/span>). I go home on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
, found via someone on Facebook. Wish I could remember who<\/del>. Thanks, Emily<\/a>!<\/p>\n