Yesterday, I crawled out of the cave that was the presidential campaign, ready to click my heels, take long naps, and fritter away my free time. Maybe I would read a book, or write a poem about how great it is not to be chained to the 24-hour news cycle anymore. But then I remembered.

My MFA thesis is due in February. This thesis is my first novel. I also agreed (in May, so long ago, when I had all the time in the world, and didn’t realize CNN and its cable cabal would eat my brain) to exchange first drafts with two friends on December first. December first?!

I am pretending this is not a writing emergency, and am making time to blog about the process of writing my first novel. I’ll post about this first draft, making time to write, ignoring my procrastination monster (and occasionally letting it win), revision, and working through a low-residency MFA. I’m revising a chapter today. I’ll let you know how it goes.