We’re starting the mornings with breakfast foods laid out, but people on their own. Some crazy fools went jogging this morning. My feeling is that running is appropriate if something large is chasing you, otherwise not so much.
We had three presentations today: One on brainstorming story ideas by Luc Reid ((I skipped this one because I still had some reading to do for critique sessions tomorrow,. Other people report favorably on it.)) one on reading aloud (by me), and one on Medieval Studies, by Michael Livingston. I learned that people in the Middle Ages did bathe, that the Bubonic Plague was the first germ warfare and went horribly wrong, and that knights in armor actually could stand up if they fell down.
For lunch we had sandwiches. I know. You’re thrilled.
Then two novel critiques, which was interesting. It’s the first time I’ve done a novel critique session and find it the same as and also quite different from a short story critique. Mostly we dealt with Big Issues and not so much on line notes.
For dinner, now, that’s a beautiful thing. We went to Couch’s barbeque. This place has been there since my Dad was a child. It is one of the things for which I will gleefully break my pose as vegetarian. We were having really lively conversations until the food hit the table and then everyone became silent. Mmmm… A couch’s bbq sandwich with hot slaw on it, sides of baked beans and cole slaw. It just doesn’t get any better.
Tomorrow we have the first of our sessions with Ellen Datlow. Should be fun.
Yes, well said, running is appropriate if something large is chasing you. Jogging, on the other hand, not so appropriate when chased by something large.