reader. writer.

Checking in again on my favorite topics:

What works

Variety is the spice of life, ironic to mention when so often I find power in routine and habit. Yet sometimes I need fresh ways to tackle a task. I don’t do this all the time—too much variety slows me down, frankly. But when I feel myself wanting to avoid doing something that is nonetheless important to me, I come up with a way to do it differently, such as finding a new type of exercise, or approaching my writing differently (dictating or handwriting instead of typing, or sketching my ideas instead of using words, etc.) 

What I’m writing

I am making slow and steady progress on my revisions. Last week, I saw light at the end of the tunnel, but this week the tunnel got longer. I will keep at it, possibly finding creative ways to keep going, since it may take longer than expected (of course it will).

What I’m reading

I’ve started and stopped a few books, which I won’t name because my rule when writing about other writers’ work is that if I can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. I almost always gain a few insights, no matter what I read, including to figure out why I quit reading. I often stop when I feel like a protagonist just did something stupid that didn’t make sense in context (to err is, of course, human, but it has to make sense). In one book, I liked almost everything but had to stop because the stakes for the characters’ actions were too low. In another book I quit, the stakes were so high that I felt weighed down by all the hardships the protagonist was experiencing. Some of this may be my own shortcoming as a reader, I confess. Still, it is intriguing to try to figure out why some books pull me in so easily, and others don’t.

Democracy, yes, please

Once again, multiple shootings took place in my country, this time including the death of a right-wing political celebrity. I don’t need to know anything about the people involved to know one thing for certain: I don’t want anyone to shoot anyone, anywhere, ever. I feel sad for anyone in the world who is grieving or who is traumatized from being in the vicinity of violence. I felt that way before last week, and I will feel that way tomorrow and the next day and the day after that, forever and ever, amen.