The Secret Life of... All of Us!

I know that I haven't written as much lately on this blog as I should. I am only about 20,000 words from finishing the first draft of COMPENDIUM. I hoped to have the first draft done by 2013 year end, but it appears like it will slip to January. Part of my reluctance to write here is the feeling that I should be finishing COMPENDIUM and not playing around on my blog. I need to go easier on myself, however, as inspiration to plug along takes many forms.

Another form of self-punishment has been not allowing myself to enjoy the writing of others. I recently (a couple months ago) finished reading Diana Gabaldon's Outlander, and I have yet to write down my thoughts about that. I have also started Dragonfly in Amber, but I have not let myself read too far. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood is another book to which I have barely scratched the surface. I have been dying to read her Madaddam Triology. She is one of the authors that I would list as highly influential in my appreciation of fictio…