Timing is on my side! My report on the Tourco Thread Fracas has earned me rave reviews from my friends/readership, which leads straight into today's Maudit Artist and the overarching theme of The Importance of Having Someone Believe in You.
First, if you haven't picked up one of Elinor's novels, you really should. Her appeal is broad. She is smart, witty, cross-generational, and probably the finest character-driven fiction writer I can think of. If you want intelligent, quirky, multi-layered female protagonists forced to change their line of thinking when a new (or old) person appears to shake things up, she's your gal. And if reading ain't your thing, her first novel, Then She Found Me, has been made into a movie starring Helen Hunt and Bette Midler and will be premiering in the spring!
Elinor taught the class "Writing Short Stories" in the Spring 1997 semester at the Ladycollege. There was an admissions process and I submitted my short story about a Smithie from 1928 who uses all her money to take a cab to Amherst to ask a boy on a date only to get laughed at. I was admitted along with about nine other students of varying age and ability. Some of the students wrote really well, I thought, but for the past ten years, ask Elinor who her finest student in that class was and she will answer sweetly, "Oh! Monique, of course!"
Sometimes I just want to sit down and cry when I think about how lovely and supportive Elinor has been to me over the years. Writing is a tough thing, even though I love it and would never dream of doing anything but finishing my novels. I get discouraged, I question myself, I wonder if I have the talent and the hustle to get this published. Whenever things in my head start to get really dark, I remind myself, "Mo, if you sucked, would Elinor still be after you? She would have dropped your sorry ass if it were sorry, but in a very kind and sweet way, because Elinor is the kindest and sweetest woman ever." I have to sing it to myself, like a Gregorian chant: "ELLLLIIINNNOOOOOR....BEEELEEEEVES...IN...YOOOOOOOOO..."
And I believe in Elinor. Faithfully I have run, not walked, to my local independent bookstore to purchase her newest books the minute they drop, hardcover. I used to pass them along to my mother, but now I keep them for myself and wait patiently until the next time I go to Northampton and see her, so I can ask her to sign them. She always writes the most wonderful and encouraging things. Even if I didn't know her personally, Elinor Lipman would still be one of my favorite authors, so you can imagine how blessed I feel to know her, and to know that she's cheering for me and my novel. I love you, Elinor!
Posted by Zerd at November 15, 2007 09:42 AM