The house is a mess, and the first draft's still not finished.

Now that the mild afterglow of the nano is wearing off, I'm finding myself faced with a mess of a house, and a mess of an unfinished first draft.

Had I been able to spend last month pounding myself into the routine of so many words a night, I may have continued on, but I did not, and have not.

So, here it is, eight days after the nano's close, and I've not even looked at my aftermath messes. I can already feel New Year's like resolutions swelling inside me of how next year I will be prepared, things will be different. But next year is far away, and both my home and my book need to be put in order.

Tonight, I will start chipping away at the month long crud that shows itself in dust bunnies and unwashed dishes and clothing. I may not get far, but as with everything that makes the potential routines of life, it will be a start, and eventually I will get back to some semblance of where I need things to be.

As to when I will brave cracking open the draft, and begin to sort through the chaos, I cannot say. I'm still doing a bit of writing here and there, still unpacking, and still reading. The time must be made, but right now I haven't slotted it.

There's also work to be found as well. That's something I can no longer avoid, and now that my excuse of the nano is past me, I have to saddle myself back into the trudging path of the self employed on a more full time basis.

These things too, shall pass.

And then it was December.

Despite everything I learned in my first nano, the nagging of my inner editor eats away at my victory like the odd nail in the sole of your shoe that scrapes just enough of the fibers of your socks that you just can't figure out what's the deal with craftmanship these days.

Yes, I have over 50,000 words under my belt towards To see clearly that I did not have before I found out about that interesting challenge. But it's also an unfinished mess. Not suprising, given how I barely started with a notion, forgot a decent outline or any type of to do or character list.

So there is still much that needs to be done before that body of work might ever cross the hands of anyone other than family and friends. Now the bigger challenge is fitting that sort of writing back into a life that has already been out of whack schedule wise.

I know it will happen. I just have to try to be patient until habits fall into place. It's always easiest to throw in the towel when you slip--more so than when the odds seem impossible. So that's what I shall strive to do.

Time will tell, as it always does.