Vacation

On vacation all this coming week. No posts. Then a BIG trip to Florida with pictures.

Chopping and Lopping

I think I've mused before about the importance of transitions in writing before--I was working hard last night on finding the separation between the penultimate chapter and the final chapter.

The separation point thematically and chronologically.

It can mean all the difference in the world in clarity and emotional force. Early in the book's days, I had pondered the notion of making self-contained chapters. Soon I rejected that in favor of a regular book form.

The average book reader starts at the first chapter and finishes with the last. Momentum builds to a crescendo; then collapses in decrescendo. And so on and so on...

A book of self-contained chapters is a series of short stories I suppose. For a memoir like Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! that works brilliantly.

But let there be no doubt, one must read the preceding chapters to grieve Chiles' funeral in the final one.

Miami!

When I visit Miami in late August, do expect pictures courtesy of my new digital camera. Apart from that, it's gonna be text from here on out...

Two interviews today.

Scheduling Away

Lots of interview logistics today. Some interview transcription yesterday. Pretty much the rest of the summer is booked up with now with final interviews.

Interviews, Interviews

I now have as many untranscribed interviews on file as transcribed--totaling about a hundred. More interviews next week, then a lull. Then another trip to Florida in August.

The photos are coming fast and furious still.

Publishing Timetable

For those you stalwarts to this blog, those of you who've gone through at least a pair of metaphorical boots in awaiting this book, I salute you.

As I've discovered, timing biography is unpredictable. But to my best prediction, I think the manuscript will be ready to send to publisher in December. I've never felt more confident in my prediction than now.

It's coming together!!

This Week and Next

Busy week; busy next week.