The Novel - and 2006

2005 was marked by the transformation of my story, which originally evolved around my alter ego Kirsten, into a story about Sarah, with a title of Perfect Girl.

Now, 2006 is here. I haven't been able to do anything about the novel in the past few weeks, due to my nasty cold and the hectic renovation of my living quarters. It's difficult to even try to read writing guides, such as Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird and my mentor Gayle Brandeis' Fruitflesh, much less get any writing done - or even the revision of my outline to reflect an older Sarah.

And while all this was going on, I missed the enrollment of UCLA Extension's Novel III class, taught by Caroline Leavitt, starting late January; the class is already full, and I won't have the benefit of working in a workshop setting with other novelists until the spring quarter.

I need to get moving again. There are ideas still floating around my head even as I write right now. Maybe on this sleepless night, I should try to come up with a revised outline, then go from there.

At least, 2005 brought me a network of mentors and friends to share the journey of writing with, and that's something I will appreciate well into 2006.