As cristalia points out, today is the first day of the second half of 2009. I'll take my arbitrary, manufactured symbolism where I can find it, so here's that first-line meme, this time in order of urgency:

( What are CALL ME ISHMAEL and THE PRIMROSES WERE OVER? )

If you are now thinking as how Mole desperately needs to finish something, you, sir or madam, are not wrong.

"After the Dragon"
first draft, 2600 words
After the dragon, she lay in the white on white hospital room and wanted to die.

Actual finished story--and with an actual story in it! Even if the story is not very good, this is a great improvement over the floundering and flailing and failing to finish things of the past year and change.

And I think I've figured out at least part of where I went off the rails. It's John Gardner's thing which I cannot remember well enough to quote about a short story needing a single action. What I think my stories need is a central action, an act or a choice or a conversation that is what the story is about. The short stories I'm stuck on right now, and there's quite an array of them, all lack that central action, that axis to spin around. And I think that where everything started going wrong was when I started trying to replace a central ACTION with a central THEME. For me, that does not work so well because I am no good at translating theme into action or character or any of the other things a story needs. But if I have a central action, my odds improve dramatically that the rest of the story will come trailing along behind.

So, to celebrate, here's the first line meme:
( for the kitties! )

I am declaring a moratorium: I may not start any more short stories until I've finished at least ONE of these eleven languishing stories:
( The List )

[ETA: WHOA! This'll make a lot more sense now that I've fixed the mark-up. Sorry about that.]

Another question asked more than once: What are you going to do next?
( first line meme, this time for novels only, but with annotations )
My first priority really, once my brain has grown back some, is to write some short fiction, but there are so many stories I want to write/finish, I don't even know where to begin.

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[To ask your question, go here.]

In the interests of pretending that I may, at some point in the future, ever do a lick of work again (and because stillsostrange and cristalia are my bellwethers), here's that first-line meme.

( Get comfy. This could take a while. )

I mean, a meme.

First lines of unfinished stories, behind the cut. Because I have nothing better to do.

( Really, I'd crawl out of my own head if I could. )

I did, in fact, finish with the CEM of A Companion to Wolves last night. So this afternoon I get to venture forth into the TWO DEGREE (Farenheit) world to mail it off to matociquala.

And then I suppose I can go back to The Mirador CEM. Although on a more reasonable schedule.

And I have page proofs for "Somewhere Beneath Those Waves Was Her Home."

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With all this proofing, I feel a need to reaffirm the fact that I'm still, you know, writing things. So, herewith, a first-line meme. Just to make myself feel better.
( someday maybe I can even finish some of these )

No, really. I just discovered that Wolverine (who guards my printer) can in fact be posed--so that he BALANCES--on his knees. He is by far the most genuinely posable action figure I have ever had and is a stalwart guardian--even if his true nemesis is the smaller of the two Formerly Feral Ninjas, who routinely knocks him over with her tail.

It's hard being a superhero when you're only six inches tall.

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My keyboard has returned. Loud hosannas. And I need to figure out what the hell I'm doing.

Deadline the First: October 1st, for "Thirdhop Scarp." I have 2,000 words typed in, and more than that in the indefatigable notebook (up to about a third of what I think the final product is going to be); the story has no particular word limit, but needs to be greater than or equal to 8k. I do know all, or at least most, of the plot, and, well, let's just say that I don't think 8k is going to be any noticeable hardship.

Deadline the Second: November 1st, for The Mirador revisions. Insert scream of agony here.

Deadline the Third: August 1st, 2007, for Summerdown. (It doesn't do to lose track of that one, because that's a whole novel there to be written.)

Other stuff: With the recent rash of short fiction sales, I'm down to eight stories in inventory. I need to write some more. And would in fact genuinely like to do so. And then there's that handful of novels in varying stages of completeness and/or brokenness.

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Last night, I walked into the kitchen, and there was the Elder Statescat on the stove going, "Oh shit! Quick! Look like a saucepan!"

Needless to say, this improvised effort at camouflage was not successful.

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( for encouragement: a list )

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Do I look like a saucepan yet?

Because I'm at that antsy stage of finishing a book where I'd rather be working on anything else, here's the list of all the things I could be working on:

( cut because, um, it's kinda long )
I'm not sure whether listing everything out like that is appalling or reassuring. At least I don't have to worry about a shortage.

I need a conversation about politics. My characters insist on talking about eschatology.

::facepalm::

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It's time for that thar meme again. First lines of works in progress.

( behind the cut )