Last Post?

It's nearly the end of 2009. I started this blog to write about the year I've taken off from practicing law to write. So, now that the year is over it seems like it's time to stop this particular blog. It's true I have no immediate plans to return to work, but I think I've said pretty much everything I've had to say on this topic. But I kind of like this blogging thing. So I'm starting a blog about the books I read and what I think of them. Visit me there at http://klistbooks.wordpress.com (already active).

I feel it is only right to report in on what I have actually accomplished vs. what I hoped to do:

1. "Standing Room" memoir -- completed and sitting in an enormous binder on my bookshelf. I've been sending out queries to agents since September and no bites yet, but there are several I haven't heard from and I'm deciding whether to gear up for another round in the new year. Still have mixed feelings about how important it is to me to have it published. I really wanted to see if I had what it takes to finish it and the courage to send it out and let strangers read and evaluate it. So, on the major thing I set out to do this year -- I have succeeded!

2. Read less -- a complete failure. I thought it would be important to spend less time reading in order to devote more time to writing. I experimented with trying to focus on non-fiction so that I wouldn't be influenced by the fiction style of others while I was trying to write my own. No go. I've read 149 books this year. And there is still a day and a half to go.

3. Attend writing conferences -- another success. I went to the UCLA Writer's Studio in February, the Stanford Write Retreat in May and the Napa Valley Writers Conference in July. All wonderful. I am skipping UCLA this year (in deference to a birthday trip to New York) but I hope to go to the other two again this year -- career permitting.

4. Keep a blog -- a surprise success. My sons doubted I had what it takes to keep blog content fresh. Don't know about that but it was a goal to post two to three times a week when I wasn't traveling.

5. See whether I would write when I no longer had any excuses -- another success, even though it comes as a bit of a burden. I write almost every day and I can't imagine not doing that in the future. I have come to see that I am one of those modestly talented people who can't leave the thing they love to one side and move on. It is my pleasure and my burden to get to spend time inside my head everyday, to the detriment of exercise, professional development, home-cooked meals, going to movies with friends. This is what I do for better and worse. And most days it feels like this is what I'm supposed to be doing. Don't know why. Don't know if I ever will know why. But there it is.