The universe sends me a sign

After grumping about my latest audio book yesterday, in which Shakespeare's Globe Theatre burns down twice (once for real in 1613 and then the modern re-construction sometime contemporaraneously) the Misses Book World came home from school with permission letters for a trip to ... the reconstructed Globe Theatre and a request for parents to help out on the trip.  Such requests for parents to act as additional chaperones always accompany school trips and I have never, never been tempted.  Within five minutes of signing the permission slips I had written a letter (in my best handwriting) to the head of drama offering my help with this trip. 

A passage I marked in the Joyce Carol Oates biography I read recently comes to mind.  As an unpublished writer JCO stayed home one day reading a work of fiction by a popular author and concluded that it was so bad she was convinced she could do better and immediately set to work on a novel (which was completed in, typically, six weeks) thus proving that reading bad novels can be good for new writers who might be discouraged if they read nothing but outstanding work which they couldn't hope to emulate.

I feel (in my 'hmm horoscopes can be very insightful' heart) that the universe is sending me a sign.  What that sign means is entirely opaque to me at the moment.  Other than perhaps, to try and avoid dropping lighted matches if I do get to go on the trip.

Comments

[JCR]

Interesting... I used to havea grad school professor who told me one of the best unknown ways of becoming a novelist was to read a bunch of remainder books and try to make the plot better, flesh out the characters, etc. I never really did try it, but he swore by it.

I am going to China from the 16th to the 27th... I won't have Internet access then, so I'll miss your blog until I get back. I hope all is well with you. I really enjoy reading your blog, but often I have little time to post a comment... sorry.