Friday 18 January 2013

Brief writing update

Mid-January is always a good time to reflect on how well you are adhering to your New Year's resolutions. If you've fallen off the horse already, you're going to have to put in a lot of work to get back on and stay there.

So far, I'm doing a good job of following the writing resolutions I decided on the other week. I have drafted the first 'novelette' on my list (it was an 8,000-word short story in the end, not a novelette). I am close to finishing the outline for the next novelette, and I should start writing it tonight or tomorrow. This one will be longer than the first. It may even be a novella.

So far I am ahead of schedule, because I wasn't expecting to start novella 2 until the 24th. It's not just because the first novelette came in short: I took a 5-day break from writing to listen to A Memory of Light and to read Lindsay Buroker's new Emperor's Edge novella, Beneath the Surface. So all in all, I'm pleased with my progress so far, and I hope I can keep it up.

Did you make New Year's resolutions? How are they going so far?


Tuesday 1 January 2013

On 2012, and why I'm glad it is over

I stuck my foot in my mouth last night, as I always do when hanging out with my husband's friends. Whenever I do, it reflects badly on him. When midnight ticked over, I said with some relish, 'Sayonara, 2012!' And then someone turned to me and said, 'Yes, it must have been awful for you, getting married and all.' I tried to recover the situation by pointing out how stressful planning a wedding is, plus there were bathroom renovations, etc. etc. 

Now it is morning and I have slept on it, I still stand by my relief that 2012 is over. Yes, some of the best things that have happened to me occurred in 2012. And no, nothing truly awful happened. (There were layoffs at work, but I still have my job.) But my lasting impression of 2012 is tiredness. The year ran me ragged.

Why was 2012 so hard? Because almost all of the facets of my life transitioned into a new phase. New marriage. New house. New decade of life. Finally moving from talking about wanting to be a writer, to actually doing it. These things are all awesome, but because they all happened at once, I haven't had a chance to fully enjoy them. And that is why I am so happy 2012 is over: because I've been looking forward to 2013, when I'll finally be able to enjoy the new life I created for myself in 2012.

What is your lasting impression of 2012?