When I set out to learn about my mother's bridge club, the Jewish octogenarians behind the matching outfits and accessories, I never expected to fall in love with them. This is the story of the ladies, their game, their gen, and the ragged path that led me back to my mother.Going on vacation. Plan to write my ass off. Like carpal, back pain, skin decimation, self loathing/love, seven day sweat pants, and couldn’t be happier. Being alone writing is the sandbox, mesmerized by the sand slipping through your hands, the fine dust lit by the sun. My idea of fun is begging the monitor for a simile. Oh, I love similes, the more knitted in the better. For all this yakking, I’ll probably choke. Not write a word worth saving. Why does talking about a project seem to sap it of its essential oils?
Are you superstitious about writing?
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Betsy Lerner 
“Are you superstitious about writing?”
Not much. But I do believe that time and energy spent in talking about doing something is time and energy taken away from the actual doing of it. I remember what one of Michael Herr’s friends told him about his cache of Vietnam War stories: “Don’t piss it all away at cocktail parties.” He didn’t.
Cocktail parties. Do those even still happen? When they were happening, did the participants consider the connotations of the cock and the tail? Their close proximity in the term? In the practice?
How could they not?
Maybe many were not writers, wordsmiths intoxicated by the play of language.
Write on, Betsy.
I believe I am, now that you ask. I tend to think if I believe it’s any good it’ll be the worst pile-o-crap I’ve ever written – and vice versa.
Once I broke a metaphor and had 7 years bad luck.
Things never sound as good as when they’re in your head.
Words are gifts; the songs you hum.
It is bad luck to ignore the writing impulse The words hide, ideas die, the river is damned.
I you’ve had the experience, is it superstitious?
Talking about it means it’s been done once. Thinking about it, done over and over. Writing it? Didn’t I already do this?
Hi Betsy, Not superstitious about talking about writing, just experienced. I have come to understand that every project has a certain amount of “communication every.” If you talk too much about the project, you’ll use up the communication energy, and you won’t write it.
When I first began writing (for The Monkees) and people started asking my what I was working on, I made up a phony book to talk about, that I wasn’t working on. The “ book” is titled, “Hamburgers on Atlantis.” I still talk about it.
One book I actually did write is one I just finished two weeks ago. It is titled, “Black & White: How To Have Our American Conversation About Race.” It’s an Amazon Kindle ebook. Take a look.
David Evans evansdavid43@yahoo.com Psychology Today Blogger psychologytoday.com “Can’t We All Just Get Along?”
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