I think I need to designate someone (someone who's always on-line) to be my cheering section for when I finish stories. Their sole responsibility will be to immediately write back to me and tell me how much they loved the new piece, and recite a few of their favorite lines. If they didn't actually like any of the lines, they can make some up. I'll pretend not to notice.
Any volunteers?
Seriously, though, it was a very satisfying day. Taught well -- I think my poor frazzled kits now have the basics of HTML. They just have to not panic while they try to finish their web pages by Monday. Came home kinda tired (workshop/writing late, then got up at 4 a.m. to grade), rested a bit. At around 1, Paul came and got me and we went to S.L. Coffee Roasting for the afternoon and theoretically work. Actually talked for at least two hours, but at least an hour of that was actually related to my writing, so that was okay. It's research or something. Did a little actual work in his company -- around 4 he took off, and I settled down to writing. By 7 p.m., I'd finished the first draft of "Sister Mary". It was especially satisfying because a) I almost gave up at 5, but then stuck it out, and b) I had three half-finished stories, which was driving me crazy -- now I only have two. ("Pieces of the Heart" and "The Student" (titles subject to change -- I'm not excited about either one)).
Oh, someone asked me today what the names of the stories were in this Sri Lankan cycle. He wasn't sure he'd gotten all of them. So in case anyone else was wondering, here ya go:
- Season of Marriage (Raji - Colombo, Sri Lanka 1981)
- Interruptions (Savitha - Oakland, CA 1999)
- Bodies in Motion (Chaya - Evanston, IL 1999)
- Lakshmi's Diary (Lakshmi - Hyde Park, IL 1969-99)
- Pieces of the Heart (unfinished) (Leilani - Hyde Park, IL 1966)
- The Light at Dawn (Maenaka - Hyde Park, IL 1989)
- Ramesh's Story (Ramesh - New York, NY 1997)
- Lulu's Husband (Luluah - Hyde Park, IL 1981)
- The Student (unfinished) (Arvind - Hyde Park, 1952)
- Seven Cups of Water (Medha - Colombo, Sri Lanka 1948)
- Sister Mary ("Mary" - Colombo, Sri Lanka 1949)
- unwritten but plotted (Raksha as young teen - Massachusetts 1967)
- A Gentle Man (Suneel - Massachusetts 1979)
- unwritten but plotted (Ashok - Colombo 1983)
- unwritten but plotted (Vincent- Colombo 1983)
- Challah (Roshan - Boston, MA 1998-9)
- Minal in Winter (Minal - Hyde Park, IL / Massachusetts 1999-2000)
Okay, I *could* stay up waiting desperately for someone to read the story and write me. But I think I'd best go to sleep instead. Or at least watch News Radio.