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Continuing to work on my outline. One by one, I'm yanking out all the super hero elements of the novel. Not sure how I feel about this, though it works better as science fiction, and there's less about it that's "swirly," as we used to say at Clarion West. I think that some of the stories I wanted to tell in the original world--the romance between Phoenix and the Rook, the story of Gates and his daughter--work better as short stories and make more sense in a world that isn't this one. But what story do I have left to tell? That needs work.

I have all sorts of New Year's Resolutions, some of which I still may be able to hold to if I act now. :-)

Big things:
- Write a novel that I'm proud of
- Continue to eat well and get plenty of exercise
- Learn enough Japanese to hold a conversation
- Get a new full-time job and/or pick a school/program to apply for
- Be more social and get better at keeping in touch
- Learn to say "No"
- Join a community band
- Plan at least one trip for 2010 (and finish my travel journals/photo books for the last two)

Try to:
- Write something each day (including a haiku to go with the next point)
- Keep up with Project 365 and take a photograph for each day
- Read a short story each week
- Try to get books from the library or read books I already own; only buy new books very rarely

I know I'm probably leaving a few out, but here you go:

( Books Read in 2009 )

That makes about 60 total, including the graphic novels. I would have read more, but I haven't listened to as many audiobooks this year due to driving a lot less. (I've only had a commute since mid-October.)

The danger of being bored at work: having all sorts of time to look up books on the library web site and reserve them. In addition to the ones I mentioned yesterday, I've also got Robin McKinley's Sunshine on reserve as well as A Drifting Life by Yoshihiro Tatsumi. (The latter is apparently 840 pages long. How could they not find it on the shelving cart?!?!) This is how I'm getting around my "no new books until I've read a chunk of the ones I've already bought" rule for 2010.

Spent the time on the treadmill today reading about feng shui. I really wished I had something else; serious boredom set in after about 20 minutes. Or maybe I just had a terrible book? It looked promising because it seemed to have a lot of information (The KISS Guide to Feng Shui--not the band, the series), but it's presented in an odd order that makes it difficult to get a handle on. Anyone know of a good basic book? I'm more interested in the history/philosophy/science than I am in interior decorating. And yes, it's for the novel.

Today is a day with much less fail. Not to say that I got much accomplished (other than day job stuff) beyond reserving A Simple Trick of the Mind and the first volume of The Umbrella Academy at the library (I heart you, library!), but I feel much more stable. Needed: plot, a better handle on characters, a good sense of the history of the world. So I'm taking a few steps back and trying to assemble a map before I charge back out into the void.

This made me smile today:


See more Lolcats and funny pictures

And, since I got cash for Christmas, I'm rubbing my hands together with glee trying to decide how to spend it. If I want some mature and professional work clothes, for example, I think I'll go with this.

Started writing Draft 1.0 of the novel today. My self doubt has officially reached critical mass. Currently working on putting together a decent draft of Chapter 1, after which I'll be sending it off to my writers group to evicerate.

In the process of starting to work on this novel, I seem to have completely forgotten how to write. I honestly don't know what's wrong with me.

Sundays: leaving me depressed and anxious since (at least) 2001.

Well, the weather outside was truly frightful (dangerous blizzard/wind conditions up around Duluth and constant snow down in the Twin Cities), so we ended up not going up to Duluth on Christmas Day. Instead, we hung out at my mom's place and watched basketball until heading home...

...to find that our snowblower was broken (we tried the electric start, but it didn't work) and that the snow was very heavy and very wet indeed. So I shoveled the driveway of several inches of snow for the second time in two days (though this time Mike did most of the work).

In the end, we're home safe. I'm exhausted. Mike bought me a Snuggie, so I look like a member of a Smurf cult as I type. Tomorrow, we're checking out the new Sherlock Holmes movie, which serious fans of Holmes--like my friend Martin, who made his name as a writer creating new Sherlock Holmes stories--have apparently loved.

All in all, it's been a pretty relaxing weekend.