Unintentional Radio Silence

Sorry for the stale blog I've been dishing out for the past three weeks. First I was sick (really sick - I came down with bronchitis two hours after getting to the cabin for my writing retreat. What should have been a week of uninterrupted writing time turned into an endurance test of me actually getting work done despite feeling totally awful and having a coughing fit about every five minutes), then I was recovering, then it was winter break for the kids, and then I was writing again.

So, this week, I'm finally getting back to my normal routine. Was in with the eighth graders today teaching them about different types of lead paragraphs and will be doing the same with the seventh and sixth graders later this week. I'll be meeting with the home-schooled high schooler, too, to talk about the Odyssey some more, which means I'll probably get to the Odyssey blog post I promised. I need to write that post, actually. While I was away, I talked to one of my professors and told her my observations about the way the Odyssey is constructed. She suggested I put together a course proposal and submit it to the department because it would be wonderful to have a course using the Odyssey as a model for contemporary writers. So...that's now on my to do list, as well.

I had a brief shining moment, at the end of December, where I actually completed my to do list. There was, quite literally, nothing left to do (with the exception of the ongoing novel revisions). I've never done that before. Then the new year started and a whole bunch of new tasks came and populated my to do list and seem to be procreating and making even more tasks. And they're big ones, too. Like applying for grants and residencies and writing class proposals and a proposal for a nonfiction book I want to write.

The novel revision is going well despite the bronchitis and this past week's migraine - I'm starting to look at physical incapacitation as a challenge, something to overcome, rather than a reason not to write. It seems to be working quite well. That small change I made on page 3 has reaped huge benefits in the way it opened up the first 50 pages of the novel, and I'm quite happy with the way things are going. Although I love how this novel has developed, I can't wait to start the next one so I can put to work everything I've learned about first drafts and revision.

Well, back to work.