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Great photo essay at pamie.com about first draft writing.

Half of my WIP is on Draft 3. The other half is on Draft 2. Don’t ask. I am liable to take your head off at your knees. The goal is to have everything up to Draft 3 quality by Christmas. Yesterday I expanded chapter 19 into three chapters. This morning it is clear that chapters 24 & 25 should be combined into one. The universe craves balance, I guess. At 10 pm last night when I wailed that this was going to be a 400-pound, I mean 400-page, book, BH patted my head and suggested that maybe I needed to sleep.

I don’t want to sleep. I want to stay awake for the next 1000 hours and fight my way through this sucker.

I guess I’ve entered the Fear and Loathing Stage of the writing process.

At least it’s snowing out.

(Still looking for healthy muffin recipes. My Aunt Barb came through for me. Anyone else? Muffins just might be the salvation of this book!)

The F-M girls cross-country team won Nationals. That is amazing!!!!!! (If you read the article, you’ll see reference to stotan… I wish they would have referenced Chris Crutcher.)

We had ten cords of wood delivered on Saturday. And we are expecting nine inches of snow. I love it when it works out like that.

Trying to crank out many, many chapters this week. The DEADLINE looms. I have moved from the “feeling vaguely uneasy about deadline” stage to the “beginning of tummy upset over deadline” stage. Maybe I should write the 12-stages of deadline avoidance. But that would get in the way of actually making the deadline. I read the opening chapter of the WIP last night at a fundraiser for the Mexico Historical Society. It seemed to go over well. But everyone asked when the book would be out and I had to say, “Ah, it’s not done yet” and they all suggested that I go home and finish it.

Does anyone have an incredibly nutritious high-protein, low-fat/sugar muffin recipe? I’m looking for one, preferably with whole grain, seeds, nuts, twigs, etc.

Scribble, scribble.

Quick quiz: when was your last HIV test? And where are your condoms?

What? You don’t know?

Don’t worry. I’m not going to lecture you. You don’t want to hear it and I don’t have the time. I will just give you two marching orders:

Order #1 – if you are sexually active, you must always use condoms to prevent sexually transmitted diseases (nasty little buggers) from infecting your body. The only exception to this rule is if you are in a long-term, really committed, monogamous (i.e. no playing around) relationship. Even then, you should think about it. Nah – don’t bother. Just wrap it up.

Order #2 – Get tested. I did it. Senator Barack Obama did it. It’s fast and easy and it’s the righteous thing to do.

Celebrate World AIDS Day by saving your own life. Get tested. Use protection all the time.

And keep reading.

My least favorite part of Christmas – shopping – is done!

::dances in comfort with joy::

I loathe shopping, hate it, hate it, hate it. This is probably because I was raised by a woman (hi Mom) who loves it. My mother was born to shop. She has a special shopping gait – when she gets to a store she likes, she walks so slowly that she actually slows down Time itself. As a child, this used to make me fling myself on the floor, howling in frustration, pretending to be dying of a rare virus, begging strangers to take me home – anything to get out of the store. Mom and I don’t shop much together anymore. When we do, I am convinced that she slows down even more, touching Every. Single. Thing. in the whole blooming building, just to irritate me.

These days, when forced to shop with other family members, I am known to bring a book. It should be noted, for the record, that all of my kids love to shop. I encourage them to take Grandma whenever possible.

So now that the shards of glass under the fingernails portion of the holiday is over, I can relax. Wrapping, I like. Decorating, cooking, humming out of tune to ancient carols, feeding birds, counting stars, sitting in front of the fireplace, and ho-ho-ho? I adore all that.

If you are still shopping, consider buying original art. Or improving the world.

Happy birthday, Mark Twain!

Thanksgiving was the best ever in my whole life. Details to come when I get a photo to share with youse guys.

Today I’m off to the library to write, then off to the gym where, while sweating, I will figure out the next chapter.

While I am otherwise engaged, I figured the time had come to unveil the cover of my new book, TWISTED. It goes on sale mid-March, 2007, roughly 107 days from now.

drum roll, please…

What do you think?