Starbucks, One Bad Metaphor and Some Annoying Teens

I spent four hours at a Starbucks yesterday working on the memoir. It felt exhilarating to pick back up where I'd left off. If I learned anything over the past year at New School, it's that I need to import more story arc and linger more with the characters in the memoir. I'm starting to do that and I'm starting to see things take shape.

I'm still stuck on structure, but that will come later. For now, I'm getting the bones out and later, when I revise the manuscript, I'll set them in place and give them a full body from which to breathe. I'm cringing at that metaphor. You can too. It's god awful! Oh the horror!

The National Book Critics Circle Awards are being held tonight at New School. I'll be attending. I'm hopeful that Cormac McCarthy will show up and not send a minion in his place. I'm also psyched to see Daniel Mendelsen and Kiran Desai.

Oh, and by the way, beware of Starbucks come 3 o'clock. It's when all the annoying, loud teenagers descend upon it like leeches. I had to turn the volume up on my iPod and send scathing looks their way. Eventually, they finished eating their Subway sandwiches and left.