FRIDAY NOVEMBER 6th, BERKELEY

"Berkeley, Berkeley, Take Me In..."

Crossed the 10,000 word mark today amidst pear cider and onion rings at Ralleigh's (now Manny's!) on Telegraph in Berkeley, while it rained gently outside.

Since arriving in Berkeley this morning, I have felt increasingly relaxed and inspired. Meetings with old teachers and discussions about art, commerce, politics, and spirituality help immensely. I feel like I could die of nostalgia here and be reborn. I can't come to Berkeley without feeling like I've got my finger on the pulse of something vital - the secrets of the universe, human potential, my own unrealized self.

Have been working all day on chapter 2 - which departs from the "treacherous-desert-journey-and-dangerous-alien-technology" and goes back in time 5 days to describe a day in the life of Anka in her village, before she finds the "relic."

I really feel like I'm hitting my stride as a writer with this material, describing an entire tribal culture and ecosystem. I worry that it's becoming too "literary" in it's descriptions of peaceful village life and a generosity-based economy - but conversely, I also scratch my head at how much sex there is in this chapter!

With tasteful but detailed prose Anka is described having sex with two different men (her good friend Trevor at the harvest festival years ago, and then her sparring partner Boris in present time, just before she finds the relic.) Anka's sexuality is as much the subject of the chapter as the description of her village. This shocks me somewhat but I don't feel at all like it's moving in the wrong direction - in fact those scenes were the first things about the second chapter to come through clearly.

But isn't this supposed to be a science fiction story about dangerous alien technology? Yes! So then what does Anka's sexuality have to do with anything? I don't know! Ask me again at 20,000 words, maybe I will know then...

I think if I could choose where I would die, I would choose to die in Berkeley.

TOTAL WORD COUNT: 11,007.

Words to be written: 38,993