What I Read:
Reread Sophocles’s Oedipus trilogy (Oedipus Rex: 429BCE, Oedipus at Colonus: 401BCE, Antigone: 441BCE).
Milan Kundera’s Identity (1998).
Jerry Pinto’s Em and the Big Hoom (2012).
Graham Greene’s 21 Stories (1954).
Halfway through Dostoevsky’s The Idiot (1869).
Short pieces and podcasts:
Elizabeth Gilbert’s interview on The Tim Ferriss show.
What I Wrote:
Redrafted “The Sacrifice” from a revised outline created last month. Reread; sent it out; received crits and implemented the suggested changes; couple more rounds of editing. This story is ready for the collection.
Edited “At Play” and rewrote several scenes, notably the climax (entirely redone); the pre-climax also needed substantial revision. Reread the revision once again, once again, after the usual decent interval; sent it out for crits; got the test results back. Unfortunately this piece, the collection’s title piece, might need another rewriter. The 12-year-old protag reads far too mature (since it’s me at 36 writing it, and I don’t know kids), so I will probably rewrite this, as per the suggestions of two astute and trusted critique partners, in past tense.
Began redrafting “To Decide or Not to Decide” from an outline created last month. Was supposed to finish this redraft this month, but kept putting it off, and barely made a start. I believe my reluctance was partly b/c of length. The original draft from 2021 was 11k; I had planned (i.e. hoped) for the redraft to be a 7k; from redrafting part of the first section per the new outline, I realised it would be at least as long as the first draft. The new outline itself is very long, which must’ve been why I was hesitating. Longer stories are harder to place in mags; plus this collection already has two stories longer than 10k: “At Play” and “Shoes.”
Received crits on the revision of “Retreat”; one CP suggested a new outline for a more conventional plot arc; another rewrite needed.
Received crits on the revision of “Getaway”; made the suggested changes. This story is ready.
Worked, a bit, on rewrites of: School Trip, retitled Field Trip so that I can republish in another venue this somewhat longer, hopefully much improved piece; and The Last Laugh, unpublished retitled “Audience” b/c this title fits better. Had hoped to finish rewrites of these two pieces, too, but not even the new outlines are ready.
In this final phase of finishing my first book, my life’s been all revisiting, rereading, replanning, revising, rewriting. Re-re-re! Do-re-me.
Reread and edited one final time: Holiday. Ready for the book.
What I Published:
My short story “Courage Anniversary,” previously published in three other magazines, was republished in Literally Stories: https://literallystories2014.com/2023/08/24/courage-anniversary-by-amia-basu/comment-page-1/
My microstory “Fun” in Fairfield Scribes Issue #32:
https://www.fairfieldscribes.com/issue-32.html
My short story “The Sacrifice” was published in Rollick: https://rollickmag.com/the-sacrifice/
My short story “Retreat,” previously published in Constellations Vol. 12, was republished in The Metaworker: https://themetaworker.com/2023/07/31/retreat-by-amita-basu/
How I Fared:
A slow month. I struggled to write, pushing myself, pushing items on my to-do list from day to day and week to week. Finally I gave up struggling. Got some reading done, but didn’t do much else. A rather horrible month. I managed to keep myself out of the bottom of the depression trough, which is progress — but it took a lot of effort, and resorting to many of the tactcis I’ve developed over the years. Well, that’s what they’re there for. My mood and energy are now slowly renormalising.
Watched Vice (2019), b/c Christian Bale is in it. Some interesting info, and many shockingly simplified dramatisations of real-world events. The irony of the tone and narrative is thick as pate. Like the people behind this film’s vision, I too am opposed to capitalism, war, American interventionism and imperialism, and to the American Republican party – but I do not understand why you’d make a movie about a person when you so clearly and proudly lack any interest in trying to understand their views and motives. This film is content to depict its subjects simply as power-hungry greedy manipulative monsters. What does this add to our understanding of the opposition? This film is made for liberals to pat themselves on the back, is made to alienate even moderate Republicans.
Watched Pretty Woman (1990). Watched the first half of The Nice Guys (2016). Rewatched the following movies, in full or in part: Erin Brockovich (2000), Notting Hill (1999), The Ides of March (2011), Up in the Air (2009), Gone Girl (2014), Good Will Hunting (1997), La-La Land (2016), Easy A (2010), and Crazy Stupid Love (2011).
Yes, I watch more stuff when I’m depressed. Maybe that’s part of why I dislike and despise watching stuff when I’m well: b/c I associate the audiovisual medium with my own failure (to focus on my own line of reading and writing). I do objectively dislike most films I’ve ever watched, b/c they don’t delve far enough into human psychology — which isn’t quite fair, since most films don’t aim to do so.
Here’s hoping for a better September.
Amita Basu 