This effulgent corvid has been swooping into inboxes everywhere for two years now. He’s no tamer than he was when he first took up the mantle, but hopefully he leaves less scratches on your windowsills and doesn’t demand nearly as many baubles for payment.

I always worried about starting a newsletter because I didn’t know if I could keep it going or if, after an anemic month or two, it would flit away into the sunset, cawing angrily. But, as with all resolutions, the best way to set yourself up for success is to make the goal actually achievable. Don’t swear to never touch a slice of bread again. Don’t vow to read 30 books a week. Don’t promise to haunt the attics of every house in the neighborhood.

Instead, find a format that works for you, and replicate it each month. With that said…

What I’m Working On:

The month began with a frantic Christine digging herself out from underneath all the emails she neglected over Christmas Break. My first-year students in the Camperdown MFA program are busily brainstorming their novel ideas, so I spend quite a bit of time playing virtual ping-pong with them as we work to discover the very best version of their second-year novel.

After that, I spent a week prepping for a series on Till We Have Faces that Joe Rigney and I filmed for Canon Plus. I’m quite excited for that to premiere, and I hope it sparks a new (or renewed) love for my favorite Lewis novel in others. I’ve had the idea to film something like this for several years and had been mulling over the best way to execute it. Then, a few months ago, the Rigneys came over for dinner, and I convinced Joe to co-host it with me (it wasn’t hard, he’s an equally enthusiastic TWHF fan).

After that, I read a few manuscripts for MFA students and gave them feedback, and then I turned my attention to my steampunk heist manuscript. It had a deep problem with the ending that I couldn’t put my finger on, but after I decided to cut out an entire character (thanks, Emma), I found the whole story worked much better. If you follow me on instagram, you’ll have seen the large sheet of construction paper that I used to rethink every scene in the story. I typed up my proposal and sent it off, and now I’m waiting to see what the powers that be think of the idea.

What I’m Reading:

I started the New Year out with The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. Patchett is an impressive wordsmith, and I always learn something useful about the craft from her books. This one was quite sad, perhaps not the best choice for a dreary January!

After that, I reread Till We Have Faces which only gets better each time I read it. I don’t ever reread books, so the fact that this is my fifth or sixth time through it is a testimony to the power of Lewis’s craft and the depth of the story.

Then I read Indian Creek Chronicles by Pete Fromm which was a jolly, thoughtful homage to my neck of the woods. Fromm writes honestly and with ease, as if he’s telling you his tale beside the fire with a snifter of The Dalmore 15 in hand.

Lastly, I listened to The Mother-in-Law on Audible. This seems like the type of story that is really best delivered via audiobook. It’s a compelling murder mystery with very believable fraught family relationships. I had a hard time turning it off.

A Writing Tip:

Someone asked me recently how much time I spend away from my work between first and second drafts. The answer to that, unsurprisingly, is that it varies. Sometimes I barely finish a first draft before something lands in my inbox that I have to work on immediately, and so the manuscript gets several months to breathe. Sometimes I’m on a tighter deadline and have to return to the first draft fairly quickly.

Ideally, you should let it sit for three weeks to a month. That will give you enough time to get some distance from the manuscript. You’ve spent months and months slogging your way through a first draft, and now your brain needs some R&R in the house of Elrond. You’re in no fit state to start working again, so spend the time refilling your creative well and basking in your accomplishment.

Once the time is up, give yourself one more helpful litmus test. Honestly assess how you’re feeling about your manuscript. Do you still love it to pieces because it’s your very precious book-child and it’s never done a thing wrong in its life? Alternately, do you still think it’s a miserable wretch of a manuscript which would be best improved with a box of matches? If you can’t approach your story dispassionately, then you won’t be able to see what is and isn’t working.

That’s it for January. See you next month!