Last week was a mini-bonus life in a house full of writers with good food and good views: the writing workshop at Doe Branch Ink in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains:
To give full credit, the shot above of the group from the third floor landing was taken by novelist/site manager Nick Roberts.
The ones below are part of my record of the week, and my parting exploration of the neighborhood: the wide French Broad River, the 800 person nearby county seat of Marshall and its quirkily rich Lapland bookstore, plus the blazing fall color and blue sky.
Bold Bonus Life Tip #8: Make a record: a journal or photos or blog posts or saved emails or podcasts or some combination. That way you'll have your extra tucked-in life in fuller detail. Otherwise a lot of memory will simply slide away like the fast French Broad.
And you never know what use you might find for such a record. I got my novel Sister India out of my bonus life in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi.
BTW, I do plan to lead a group again next fall at Doe Branch Ink. Let me know if you'd like to join us. If you can't wait that long, the admirable Craig Nova will kick off the 2011 spring-summer season in May.
