Today’s writing group was well-attended despite some SkyTrain shenanigans that delayed the arrival of some. A fire or something fire-like led to service being closed between New West and 22 St. stations, meaning anyone at Columbia had to take a special bus to Edmonds station. For those not familiar with the SkyTrain network, this is what qualifies as a major pain in the butt, especially since we meet at the Waves Coffee one block away from, the New West station.
I only faced the minor inconvenience of getting off at Columbia and having to walk a few extra blocks. I was first to arrive and apparently the drizzly weather was a major turn-off for people as the place was empty (business picked up as we moved into the afternoon).
We had seven total, though one had to leave early for a spontaneous house-viewing (don’t you hate it when that happens? I’m speculating because I never knew such a thing could happen.)
My plan today was to write the chapter where Christian goes to his first AA meeting but despite turning out over 2,000 words he has yet to attend because I found myself putting him through mind games instead. Specifically he can hear what may be the tinkling of the beer bottles in his fridge calling to him. He dismisses the thought and heads off to a local bakery…where he hears the tinkling again.
Then Rachel–from the house party–shows up. I’m not sure what happens yet but I’m eager to find out.
He’ll eventually get to that AA meeting.
I have been subtly reshaping bits of the story to create more ambiguity on whether Christian is actually experiencing things or merely thinking he is because his drinking and current mental state are such that he can never really be sure.
In all, a productive outing. I am still amazed at how gigantic most of the others’ laptops are. One person has a purple Dell laptop that I’m pretty sure you could land a Cessna on. I still think my MacBook Pro at slightly over three pounds could be lighter and these behemoths probably cause permanent damage to your muscle tissue if you actually try placing them on your lap.
Still, if the tool works for you, it works for you.
