Side Vaginas and New Potential Life Plans

Friday afternoon was mild, so I decided to take a five mile walk home from work despite the threat of rain. Along the way, I used my cell phone to call my friend who is a literary agent to see what he thought of some work that I sent him. As we spoke, the sky opening up, both literally and metaphorically, and I huddled under the awning of an apartment building in Greenwich Village as he told me that what he read was not good writing.

By the time I hung up, the rain stopped and the sun shone brightly (but only literally, not metaphorically at the moment). I walked the remaining three miles home and burst into tears when I walked through the door into the dank sanctuary of my apartment. (We always keep the curtains closed because we live on the ground floor.) Husband was returning from his trip to California that night, so I decided I'd put on my pajama bottoms, eat enormous quantities of junk food, watch the Mets game, and sulk around the apartment for the evening.

Long story short, Dr. H called and cheered me up. She reminded me that it takes hard work to become good at whatever you do, no matter what your talent level is to start. I ran over (i.e. – took a cab to the other side of the park) to the Upper East Side to have a quick late night snack with her and Dr. P. We laughed over calzones about different types of deformed uterus structures (some people have what Dr. H called a "side vagina") that Dr. H was studying. Then I ran back (i.e. – cabbed it again) to be home for Husband.

I spilled my guts to Husband immediately about everything my lit agent friend said. (I couldn't help myself.) He thought it over, then gave me some very good pointers about the specific places in the work that he felt that character development was lacking, among other thoughts. Once he said that, I felt better. Knowing exactly where the text was lacking made me realize that I could address it. It also, for the first time, made me understand the value of an MFA program. Having consistent feedback from other writers and writing professionals would be very valuable to me. When I finally drifted off to sleep on Friday night, it was in a calm state of mind. I had a new potential plan.