Too early in the month to post? Perhaps.
What am I writing?
I am back at Resistance! I set The Bartender outline aside; I hit some major storyline and character motivation conundrums that I need to reconcile. It was painful to spin my wheels on planning without writing. I had intended this winter to return to Resistance, and perhaps write the last few thousand words needed for the Saga. In returning to Resistance, I remembered how close I got to finishing the novella. My excitement for the project has returned, and after a few big writing days, I feel very close to finishing the first draft. It will need revision. But I am proud of the project and excited to have another work published sooner than later.
What am I reading?
I am almost through Arcanum Unbound. Brandon Sanderson’s book provides some background into his thematic universe called the Cosmere among some “short” stories of characters and worlds within it. I follow Sanderson as a fan and look to him for mentorship (he has generously uploaded an entire lecture series to Youtube for writers). He speaks about craft in a way that helps me, and I love his work. Anyway, I’ve known for some time that his fifth (of ten) books in the Stormlight Archive will be released at the end of this year. I never made it through the fourth book, and I’ve spent some years away from them now. Much is forgotten. I felt a reread is necessary, so the plan is to read all four stormlight books before the fifth is released in December. They are incredible and worth the reread. I intend to annotate and study them. I don’t like being so beholden to one author, so I’ll probably mix in some Pratchett and other, shorter works this year. But also, Stormlight is so good and worth my time to study and enjoy.
I also started listening to Iron Prince while snow blowing last night. Grace has begged me to start this for a while now, and she has great taste. She hounded me to read The Way of Kings for months, and I just wrote a whole paragraph about how I plan to methodically reread and study it this year. I am not good at audiobooks, though. Physically reading helps my memory so much, and my mind wanders while listening. I couldn’t tell you the names of the characters, and I fear I will miss imperative details. So really I’m just listening and riding with the ~vibe~ of the story. So far its great. Maybe I’ll have to read parts of it. I don’t know.
What do I recommend?
Sorry, I feel weird even writing this. For January, I’ll recommend Gratitude. Barfs aside, it is too easy for me to get stuck on negatives. Especially with as little sunlight as we get in winter. The world can feel chaotic, and I am prone to dread and anxiety. Life is change, and change is unrelenting in its approach. It comes to our lives abruptly at times, in between the slow erosion of our routines, and speeds through years before our eyes. There is only so much we can control.
I recommend taking a breath and looking at the good things. I have a great life. We don’t have everything sorted out. Plans for the future seem to come and go with the weeks. Life has felt so fragile to me lately. If I can’t enjoy my morning coffee(s); if I don’t play with my dog in the snow; if I don’t spend one last minute in the hot shower; if I don’t have that extra scoop of ice cream, or stay in bed an extra ten minutes while I can; then what’s it all for? Living is tough. That probably won’t change. I’ve gotta enjoy the coffee and be so, so thankful for what I have.
Z