Day Ten – A Bit Monastic, Actually

Today, all but seven us took a field trip to the medieval town of Troyes. I had considered going on the trip, and it looks like the residents who attended had fun. However, I chose to stay and continue my work. The chateau was very quiet, which created an opportunity for me to do my laundry (I did not pack three weeks’ worth of clothes). I continue to write my first draft of “The Dinosaur Thief,” and also began a revision of a television pilot about a high school teacher with PTSD–something I know a bit about. The pilot is called “Secondary.”

This was by no means my quietest day as a writing resident. Back in 2021, I was a writer-in-residence at Trailwood, the home of nature writer Edwin Way Teale. Teale has been sometimes referred to as the “Thoreau of Connecticut,” and I spent an entire week living in his house on my own. Even though Trailwood is on the grounds of a Connecticut Audubon site, with beautiful walking trails, I saw no other human being. I did see a snake, though. Today’s sparse attendance did give me the opportunity to get to know a couple of the residents a bit better than I would have normally. When there are approximately 25 of us sharing meals, with studios and sleeping chambers spread out throughout the entire property, you don’t have an opportunity to get to know everyone. Happily, that wasn’t an issue today.

I did get a chance to spend time by the pond, hang out with Dusty (of course) and even encountered the largest fly I had ever seen. I named the fly “Al,” and in spite of how quiet the house was, at no point did I hear Al scream “Help me!” Some of you will get that reference. All in all, a quiet, productive and lovely day.