Standing at the End of Another Year

And so we close the door on 2018…

We’ve all seen more than our fair share of year-end lists, I’m sure. I won’t add to that. Instead, I’ll just say this:

During a time when layoffs at work resulted in me taking on another writer’s job, I swore to myself, “I will not work overtime this year.”

With Facebook memories and other online archives, it’s amazing how many times I’ve seen, “Whew…overtime on that project has ended. Time to get back to the book!” only to get interrupted by more overtime. (That’s not a healthy way to live.)

I know this is the kind of thing we’re not supposed to talk about online.

“What if your employer saw it?”

“What if there are layoffs, again, and your department falls? What if a potential employer saw this entry and passed you by?”

I could argue that, because I shun all office politics and do my best to avoid unnecessary meetings, that I get more done in 40-45 hours than many do in the 80 hours they claim to be working. Maybe that matters; maybe it doesn’t.

The point is I claimed my time this year, and finished the best thing I’ve written to date…something I wasn’t sure I could pull off.

(For me, a novel is not worth tackling if I think I can write it without pushing myself beyond my comforts as a writer.)

I woke up early to write and, in the summer (when my wife and I walk much later), I stayed up late. I wrote during lunch breaks. And while I spent much of the year in a strange, underlying funk, I was also the happiest I’ve been in years — maybe forever. (I realize that sounds weird.)

Obviously, I have no idea what 2019 has in store for me. I have no idea if I’ve spent years on another book that will be met with the usual rejection of:

I really loved this, but I’m not sure how to market it. I have to pass, but would love to read what you do next.

I believe A Magic Life is not only the best thing I’ve ever written, but also a book that cannot be met with, “This is great, but too quirky for me to know how to handle its marketing,” like stories that came before it. It’s the most mainstream novel I’ve ever written.

I look forward to 2019…