Not really. That sounds way too formal, and more than a little binding. In short, not feline. But it is a new year, and there is nothing like a round number and days getting longer to give us all a nudge. Time to turn over a new leaf and start doing all those things we should be doing.
Psychologically, it seems right. Ironically, it probably isn’t a very good time. Statistically, January is a month of depression setting in, and there’s a point in about 3 weeks where suicides spike. I vaguely remember an analysis of it: holiday bills come in, the high of new year hopes we feel now settles back into routine, tax documents start coming in the mail, and it’s still COLD. The days are still short, the wind chill is still -3 degrees, and we know that it’s not going to be any better tomorrow. Add it all together: moods plummet. No wonder everybody goes off their resolution diet in a sugar-burning frenzy. January sucks.
Mr. Joker had some “unrealistic expectations” about Silly Putty.
Maybe the key is not to expect so much. It’s still winter, those bills are going to come in, and we do all have to pay our taxes. It’s not a NEW WORLD. But it is a new year, and maybe we do approach our resolutions with a little more rationality and a little less emotion, we’ll have a better chance of sticking with them after the chain starts to pull.
So, my Resolutions-aren’t-feline-but-if-there’s-time-I’ll-try for the online world: this blog. Writing the actual stories are still the first priority for my CT time, but will make every effort to sneak in here to crank out one update per week.
Beginning right now. The holidays seem to break us down into two groups: those with all the time in the world to kill after that last final, and those of us who need you to please-pretty-please stir the custard for the trifle, just for two minutes while we run to the ATM for some crisp bills for the doorman’s envelope—and while we’re out get a half dozen of those chocolate macaroon things for last minute thank yous—and oh yeah, find that youtube that showed how to make those curled ribbon decorations—better say five minutes. Or, eh, ten, because I used up the last of the pickled ginger, too, so since I’m out…
I fall into the latter category, so as you probably guessed, not a lot of writing gets done over the holidays. (Not a lot of email gets answered, either. If you’re waiting, don’t worry, I’ll be through the backlog by Valentine’s Day, I’m sure.)
As it happens, I did finish a draft of the final chapter(s) of Do No Harm before the holiday crazy descended, so if my beta-brainstorm buddy comes through, it won’t be too long before we see an update there. I say an update rather than a conclusion because I haven’t decided for sure if it will be presented as one chapter or two.
While there is usually all kinds of extra busywork backstage when I’m going into a final chapter, I do have a head start in this case, since I had a title and a cover on deck for the “next” story when I was finishing up Demon’s in the Details, a next story that is not DNH. The faux-flashback clip show was a last minute decision. So, unless I change my mind again (always possible, but not likely in this case), the next title/cover is all ready.
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