The Water is Wide

September 24, 2009 at 9:39 pm (Uncategorized)

I can’t believe it has been another week and I can’t believe that George O’Malley is dead. 

It’s been a week since I went to the NYFA workshop and I’ve started a bio but that’s it.  I’m afraid that November 1st deadline is going to sneak up on me.  I hope I can get some work done on it this weekend.  I’ve been working on just thinking through the different peices of writing each morning to help me stay focused, but I’ve forgotten to include the application.  I’ll have to add that to the list tomorrow.  I’ve definitely decided I’m going to use a writing sample from Devolution but I want to edit it again.  Just not sure how to attack it.

This afternoon a patron came into the library and wanted a biography about a teacher.  The first one that popped to mind was The Water is Wide by Pat Conroy.  It’s about his time as a teacher in a very poor school on Yamacraw Island, off the coast of South Carolina.   I remember I found it very inspiring.  I was young and idealistic, an English major.  I’m still fairly young, not quite so idealistic, but still hopeful that I can make a difference.  Thinking about the book reminded me of my hopes to do that by reaching out to teens through my writing.  Books helped me make it through my teen years.  Sometimes I look back and think it’s a minor miracle that I did.  Maybe remembering that will help me focus my writing with Devolution.

Oh yes, and George O’Malley is dead.  Bailey and O’Malley were my two favorite characters on Grey’s Anatomy.  It’s a TV show, not exactly high art, but if I can write something that touches people as much as I’ve seen that show do for people, I’ll consider myself lucky.