24-Mar-2006

Tonight would be the perfect night to curl up with a fifth of Scotch and a good novel.  Alas, my trip to the library must be delayed until tomorrow, but I am very excited, because finally, finally, finally, the book I had on hold, written by one of my fiction professors at Vanderbilt, has come in.  Seems a lot of people are checking it out here on the West coast.  You should too, if you can find it.  Her name is Leah Stewart, and the novel is called "The Myth of You and Me."  Her first novel, "Body of a Girl," is an extremely vivid account of a female reporter who becomes obssessed with a murder victim (another woman her age) whose death she's investigating.  There's procedural drama, there's the indie music scene, there's even a spellbinding portrayal of first-time heroin use.  Not only is Leah an extremely talented writer, she was hands-down the best writing teacher I've ever had.  See, it's hard, in college, especially a snooty-ass, type A college like Vandy, to foster a constructive environment for writers.  Everyone is at the age and skill level where they're so insecure about their own work that they have no idea how to properly articulate a critique of another's.  I have my own rule that I use now, which I think is helpful - I never point out a problem unless I can offer potential solutions.  This keeps me from giving general notes like "your characters aren't well-defined," or "your structure could use some help," or, my personal favorite, "you suck."  And I think a lot of this was generated by Leah, who, although she made us read our work aloud, kept insecurities at bay and gave us some sort of safe haven to create.  Granted, there was fear.  There will always be fear when you're sharing something you care deeply about, but Leah made sure the class was making our work better, not making us afraid to work.  So if you have a few minutes to kill, stop by her website ( www.leahstewart.com ) and see what all the fuss is about.