One of America’s literary icons died yesterday, Tuesday, Jan 27, 2009. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his work. If you haven’t read him, you might take this opportunity to try his Rabbit series. For a taste of his style, the NYTimes has posted some excerpts here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/books/28excerpts.html?ref=books

Character, plot, story, setting, style, voice, point-of-view…. We can have all that, but I think there’s something else that makes a short story or a novel good. It’s the ability of an author to make the common uncommon, to make “moment” out of the seemingly mundane.

When nothing’s happening and when you, the author, are waiting for something to happen, at times one can feel utterly lost, even when surrounded by well-wishers. It’s just part of the process.