As you can see by my reading list, I am reading Donald Maass’s book The Fire in Fiction–passion, purpose, and techniques to make YOUR NOVEL GREAT.  It is an exhausting and slow read because there are exercises to do at the end of each chapter.  No, I don’t mean I have to do calisthenics.  I’m talking about doing writing exercises.  The brain needs exercise too.

     I’ve found that I can do the exercises, have fun doing them, and learn.  However, when I’m expected to do this sort of thing in a writer’s conference session, my mind goes completely blank.  I figure it’s because it’s daytime at the conference (usually morning and I don’t do mornings well at all) when this asked of me. 

     Hell, I’m never alert until the sun goes down.  Thus, doing the exercises on my schedule seems to work fine.  I wonder if I’ll feel the same way when I tackle his Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook.  Don’t worry.  When I do the exercises, I am using my books and it is helping with the rewrites.

     Why do I do this?  I have no idea.  Mostly I am hoping all this work makes me a better writer so you, my readers, have greater enjoyment.