encouragement.

i've been thinking lately about my attempt to make summer a writing season. understandably, summer was not the time to do it. between new baby and vacation and birthdays and a little someone in our house starting school, the season has flown. but now we are in a new season: a season with daily rituals and routines, a season that requires more order and discipline, a season with less sunshine and earlier bedtimes.

so i'm going to try again. i figured if i write 1 story per week, i could have 52 stories one year from now. it's important for me to break down big projects into little bits like that--too often i think, "i want to write a book," but that statement has no instructional value.

with all this on my mind, i found these profiles especially encouraging. i'm just getting more into the new yorker lately (seriously, where have i been?), and found that over the summer they featured stories from 20 writers under 40. i have yet to actually read a story, but have been immensely interested by the profiles. suddenly i feel much better if it takes me a year to write a book. or several years. i'll still be under 40.