The gray whales are migrating past La Push, and 2nd beach trail in Olympic National Park has reopened. So at some point this weekend, we want to hike down to the beach and whale-watch. Not sure how well the weather will cooperate, but we’ll try to pick our window of opportunity.

I need to buckle down on writing. I’ve done lots of story development and research and I’ve got the early chapters of Fallen done, but it’s time to move forward faster. I’m finishing off MLH (yes, still, and yes eventually Angie will pry it out of my fingers while I scream if I don’t just hand it over), too, so I’ll be switching off and using my timer this weekend. I’ve been playing the playlists and that helps a lot. Also thinking about the community in both books, thanks to the Crusie/Mayer community workshop.

It’s a pretty important aspect of both books. Miss Lonely Hearts has a bar at the center, where everybody knows everybody (and interferes in everybody’s life). Cass becomes a member of this community, and I think the point where she interferes in somebody else’s life might be the thing that underscores how completely she’s been absorbed into the community.

Fallen has opposing communities, so it has more of a supernatural Romeo and Juliet dynamic. Minus, you know, the tragic ‘everybody’s dead’ ending. The community role in each book is very important but it’s a totally different role from one book to the next. In one the community is sort of the relationship cement and in another it’s a wedge to drive the relationship apart. Anyway, if you haven’t been following the Crusie/Mayer workshop, this is a good one to go read from both perspectives.