So, you’ll be seeing me around as Kate Sheeran Swed. I’m a fan of the change, and I hope you are, too!

11. Stealing Fatima by Frank X. Gaspar
12. Aspects of the Novel by E.M. Forster
13. White Teeth by Zadie Smith
14. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
15. The Selected Letters of Tennessee Williams, Vol. 1 by Tennessee Williams
16. Story by Robert McKee
17. Herzog by Saul Bellow
18. On Becoming a Novelist by John Gardner
19. The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
20. Evening by Susan Minot

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1. A Home at the End of the World by Michael Cunningham
2. The Coast of Chicago by Stuart Dybek
3. The Art of Fiction by John Gardner
4. Olive Kitteredge by Elizabeth Strout
5. The Master of Petersburg by J.M. Coetzee
6. How Fiction Works by James Wood
7. House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III
8. Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
9. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
10. Geek Love by Katherine Dunn

Words and Images is a wonderful print publication run by the fine people at the University of Southern Maine. You can buy the journal at the USM bookstore, either in person or online here.

In case you don’t know, plantar fasciitis is a condition in which your foot HURTS LIKE HELL.

It’s so easy to think – and I did – “oh, it’s just a foot. Business as usual, perhaps just moving a bit more slowly.” But everyday activities like bathing and getting to work (especially here in New York, where walking is essential) have been taking twice as long as they did last week. I have special stretches I have to do, and I’ve been spending a lot of time rolling a frozen water bottle around under my foot. It’s great.

It’s also interfering with the writing. Being in pain takes a lot of energy. Now that I’m getting the hang of dealing with the situation (thank you, 12-hour Aleve) I’ll be getting back on track. I’m starting to miss my characters. I’m hoping I’ll have some time to catch up this weekend.

On the plus side, I did get to buy some cool new Sketchers with good arch support. New shoes are always a bonus.

I think I’ll update my book list about every ten books or so. Seems to make the most sense!

1. A Home at the End of the World by Michael Cunningham
2. The Coast of Chicago by Stuart Dybek
3. The Art of Fiction by John Gardner
4. Olive Kitteredge by Elizabeth Strout
5. The Master of Petersburg by J.M. Coetzee
6. How Fiction Works by James Wood
7. House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III
8. Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
9. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
10. Geek Love by Katherine Dunn

• Went to see Jack the Giant Slayer. I went in expecting cheesy fun and was pleased to discover that it in addition to being fun, it was actually a legitimately good movie – if you like giants that are basically oversized Orcs. Yikes!

• Finished watching season 3 of Downton Abbey (also yikes).

• Visited the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine (one of my favorite places in NYC) with my parents when they came for a visit earlier this month:

We were surprised to come across a peacock in the cathedral garden

• Walked in the snow:

Recently, I moved closer to work. What used to take me at least an hour on the subway is now a fifteen-minute walk, and it’s making quite a difference.

Since the move, I’ve been leaving the apartment around 7am. I’m fortunate enough to work at a university with a beautiful dining hall, so I’ve claimed that as my workspace. It’s a large open space with dark wood paneling and lighting fixtures that look like they were stolen from Hogwarts. After testing different areas of the room to find the perfect spot, I’ve settled on a table in the corner that’s big enough to spread out my things.

I settle in around 7:15, do a little writing in what I call my “novel journal” (a topic for another day, perhaps), set some goals for the day, and get to writing by 7:30.

Mornings, for me, are a great time to write. My creative brain tends to shut down in the evening, around 8pm. I’ve only managed late-night writing a handful of times, and I can’t imagine that what I produced was much good. Even in the face of insomnia, the best I can manage is to jot down a few ideas. Getting up early is my best bet, and I always enjoy it.

Those are the basics. I’m head over heels for my novel, so once I get started, the two hours fly by. At 9:30 (or 9:27, if I’m paying attention to punctuality which, annoyingly, I usually am) I pack up and head upstairs to my office. I return to writing during my lunch hour, and I tend to do my reading for the program in the evening after work.

There you have it: my weekday routine. As a result, I’m feeling a lot less frantic this semester – 15 guaranteed hours of writing per week, even before tacking on Saturday and Sunday, will do that for a person.

The beach at Seaside, OR

A broken sand dollar on the beach

Stands of mist on the mountains

More logs for the bonfire

An afternoon off

Sunset