Poof!

Well! It seems I have a new writing project and it may be a novel of stand alone paragraphs. (Explanation: This means writing a paragraph that is a whole story in itself. It may serve as a 'chapter' to a larger story, but it doesn't need to and might not. )

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How it turned out that this is what I will write for some or all of Novel 2 I cannot say, but I am excited about it. I do know that it is going to demand that my writing is concise, colorful, fair, and focused. For a week now I am scribbling paragraphs in my moleskine, on napkins, on grocery store receipts, even in my appointment book while I drive.

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I will try to post once a week or so, but I'm not certain if I will or won't. Please keep in mind there is no order (yet) to this story; the characters come from me, not from the law of the universe; and perspective is everything. The most important goal I have is to make every word count, to avoid using words that do not carry their own weight.

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Thank you as always for taking the time to read this and anything else I write. You have no idea how much your comments mean to me.

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Poof!

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One day Catherine was there and then she wasn’t. In her own way she gave ample warning: she boasted of six marriage proposals and over the years she had had at least three best friends, none of whom were still around. She relied on her own version of generosity, which was well received as long as demands were not made of her. She enticed through pure adoration, showering the object of her affection with playful provocations and softly spoken devotion. She possessed a rare intelligence and a passion so strong that it was all too easy to believe that her blood could not flow, her hands could not paint, her mind could not find peace without her chosen muse and sage and some version of lover in absentia. She would maintain this intense and singular focus for a year or two even, until she was fenced in by expectation. And when that occurred, her exit would be swift and absolute, matter-of-fact and callous. She had no problem identifying her reasons for leaving. She simply threw her head back and laughed: hahaha, she said with obvious impatience--any one who knows me would have known I was just having fun. You're the one who spoiled it. And poof! She was not-so-merrily on her way, in search of her next best friend.