11p.  In bed, with the monster’s buttons.  No Lit Lunch today.  Was nice to have a bye in my practice, all to appreciate my regular writing hour, mid-shift.  Most significant event of day:  tasting Katie’s and my Cab with Mom and Dad.  Katie left a sample at their house, a conservative sample she pulled on the 16th.  Moved it around in glass quite a bit.  We all were surprised by the theatrically confident strut of the wine.  Color, gorgeous.  The wine can’t hide its youth in the nose, but even still there’s an attractive herbal tea ripple, coupled with dried berry and wild-ish fruit.  Nice palate display, soft tannin and finish.  Dad commented that the fruit was a bit excessive in the finish.  Not sure if I agree or not, but I can see how a consumer, a READER of my bottled character, would say that.  In my aim for producing a calm Cabernet, I think I’m well on my way.

Oftentimes I compare writing to wine.  Tonight, in my tasting, I thought just the antithesis.  Katie and I completed our work, or book.  Now, we need to edit.  Go through each chapter and adjust unevenness.  Perhaps wait a bit, then return.  The same needed for an actual book.  Just gather the pages, no matter how messy.  Actually, sometimes “messy” is marvelous, what many revere as Aesthetic, as I’ve said so many times in my journals.  In this revelation, unintended lesson, I printed two more pages tonight.  Glancing through them quickly, with the anxiety still circulating, I saw many waves that need confrontation.  If I don’t act, there’ll be no sips.  Wine IS Literature, as the Lit is vino.  This is always reiterated to me when I connect with Katie’s and my project.

Rain on the way.  No wine for me tonight.  Well, none after the tasting, but that didn’t count.  How can I say that?  Of course it “counted.” Going into the 19th of this year’s first month with 3 pages of a best-selling novel, more swagger (I think), and more assurance of what I want, how simple it is–wanting to write books.  Doing more writing, gathering of pages, than just wanting to do so.  Bonne nuit …

[1/18/12 – W]