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November 9, 2005

A Clearing in the Trees

Well, then. The morning light filters down through my tall windows and fills my livingroom, softly, with pale blue. Amon Tobin is on the iTunes, and it will stay that way for now. I have an emerald thicket to jump into; a dark, smiling figure to animate; a small boy to guide, and a creepy character with long, black bangs to aggravate. But that is all I will say! I simply cannot be giving away secrets here. You must wait for the book!

21 days until the manuscript is due. Three weeks. How I do wish I could shut everything out of my life—dentist appointments, trips to the city, walks to the store—and just write. Just lock myself away from the world and write. There is something about bringing your mind to a place where you can shape faces like clay, erect entire towns, raze mountains, birth antagonists, and wend plotlines like vines. The deeper you are into that world, the more difficult it can become to interact with the everyday world around you. Maybe that is why so many writers end up in a cabin in the woods! Anyway, I'm not really complaining. I am practically shut in and away from everything while I write this. It's nice to be alone with my work.

The more this story comes together, the happier I feel. I remember, when I finished writing SCARY: A Book of Horrible Things for Kids, what a nice marker that was. To hand the manuscript to my editor (gail), and then to throw myself into the illustrations. I look forward to that point again. Something so nice about knowing the text is all sewn up. I guess that is because when you are making a story up, part of you wonders just where it is coming from...wondering if it will keep being shown to you so you can write it down.

Back to that, now.

--JRH

joaquín ramón herrera writes for children, adults, and other humans found elsewhere in the continuum of development. He is also an illustrator, musician, and surprise protagonist. If you have found his glasses, wallet, or keys, please contact him here.

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