Had a terrific hour+…

Had a terrific hour+ conversation with Ben this morning about Arbitrary Passions (there are advantages to being up at 4 a.m. if you want to get writing feedback from Switzerland, although I still think Anand really didn't need to wake me up demanding his ducky at 4 a.m.). The conversation was great, and gave me a bunch to think about re: the book. It was perhaps perilously close to therapy in some ways, but I think that's to be expected when you're working on a memoir. And luckily, Ben is married to a psychiatrist, and he seems to have picked up some therapy skills in the process. The book will be better, when I go back to it.

But right now, I want to dive into the SF book. I actually finally wrote a bit on it today, after a long hiatus, and it was sort of chaotic, but I think that's okay, since the character is completely drugged-out, and I want him incoherent. Like this:

when that letter came, printed on real paper, she'd been so excited, so sure she'd gotten in. and then no. not a chance, not even wait-listed, not even close. it was cruel of them to print the lists, to show you just how far you'd been from having a shot at a way out. oh cassie. and they said it had nothing to do with skin color, they said everyone got a fair shot, but it couldn't be a coincidence, could it, that just 'bout every man or woman he saw in the university town was brown. pale brown, medium brown, dark brown, but brown. cassie, she was pale as moonlight, orange-red hair and bright blue eyes. blue as momma's had been.

There's a bunch more along those lines, 615 words total, which is a pretty tiny word count for a day, but I've been away from writing for quite a while now. I guess I'm easing in, and more importantly, I like what I wrote today. The shape of the world is coming clear to me -- this boy's a farmer-type, and where he comes from, no one can afford much in the way of genetic modification, and there's no reason for the aliens to go out there either. I hadn't really expected when I started this book that class issues would play a big role, but they're becoming more and more present as I go. All right then.

I think I've also made some progress on the title, after feedback from Facebook folks -- I've narrowed it down to:

• The Stars Change (with this in italics on the title page: Sidere mens eadem mutato: The stars change but the mind remains the same)

• These Days of Peace (ditto: Haec otia fovent studia: These days of peace foster learning)

• Above All, Be Human (ditto: Modalu manavanagu: Above all, be human)

I think the last may be a bit too self-consciously ironic for this book, though, so it'll probably be one of the first two. Unless I come up with something new and brilliant. But I plan to have a new working title, at least, by Thursday, when I make the pre-order page live. And on we go! Tomorrow, hopefully a lot more writing. That's the plan, anyway.