Bye bye Borders

I'm sure some folks are happy that Borders is probably closing after "what they did" to local bookstores. But I think the departure of any bookstore is sad, and I liked Borders better than most because they had a larger inventory, were more comfortable to browse in, and had coffee and reading events for kids. And the truth is quite a few Borders, Barnes and Noble and Books-A-Million stores went into smaller markets there was little or no competition to begin with.

But it's now about economics, technology and market demand. And I'm partly to blame. I didn't think I'd be in this position, but I'm growing fond of ebooks, and there are millions like me and growing. I still love books and hanging out in bookstores--all kinds of them, but the bigger the better--but the fact is there is bound to be less of 'em. Obviously I'm a bit at odds over this. I'm fully aware that my grandkids could pick up a book one day and say, "What is this thing?" then proceed to give me funny looks when I say, "Well, uh, it's a book, you see, you take the page here and turn it..."

Wrapping things up

I'm struggling with the last chapter of the novel. The main trouble is trying to maintain a consistent voice from beginning to end. I know I've strayed and might not nail it on the first shot. I think that's OK.

Concurrently I'm reading a book on writing fiction that is heavy on examples, including full short stories, and writing exercises. I've read it before for a creative writing class. I want to finish it before I start revising, then go through the entire thing and ask myself whether I'm providing the right details. It will be interesting see how my first instincts play out.

I'm of the belief that fiction -- and all art -- should communicate first. And yet, it's such a weird thing writing a novel. Internally you run up against all sorts of crazy stuff -- motivation, ambition, memory, etc. -- that is all a bit mysterious.