Resolved... No Resolutions

Why argue with the inevitability of failure?

Rather, embrace what works and ignore the rest.

And THAT is my credo for 2010.

Yours?


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What would the end of December be without the obligatory 'got-done' list of the year? Here's mine...

Golden handcuffs... aka tenure. Yippee!

The Writing... This year I decided to write through the cruddy economy, focus instead on craft rather than continue the futile game of 'find an agent'. I learned so much from incredible writers and teachers: Rachel Kadish (Lesley University), Katherine Taylor (Gotham), Jordan Rosenfeld, and Peter Selgin (Dzanc Creative Writing Sessions). End result -- lots of words churned:

--52 poems (7 accepted for publication)
--17 flashes (6 published)
--1 'real' short story (GONE, forthcoming in 2010 in Harbinger*33)
--77k worth of PURE.
--Not to mention 94 blog posts.

The Reading... Read 39 novels, 5 memoirs, and a lot of print and e-zine stuff (The Sun, Bellevue Review, Ploughshares, Every Day Fiction/Poetry). In the end, life got in the way of reading and reviewing all 12 debut novels published by independent presses. Got 2/3rds through, but what fabulous reads -- see sidebar. I'll continue reviewing books, focusing on independent presses, throughout 2010.

The best stuff though? Really? Amazing flash fiction and poetry by writers flying (undeservedly) under the radar. Check out #fridayflash on twitter and follow the urls for super short reads. Or check out the blogs of My Fellow Crazies.


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THANK YOU for hanging here with me and my words. May the best continue to come. Peace, Linda