Way back on the second day of the year I promised to write a blog a month. Here it is, almost May, and I'm just getting to blog #2. So it goes.

In the last blog I asked if a writing degree (MFA) was necessary for a writer. The answer is—obviously—no. Not that the degree hurts—it also guarantees nothing. Writers write. Period. Again, so it goes.

One resolution I did keep was a deadline for the first draft of a new novel: 3/31/10. I got there, I'm happy to report. I'm not so sure I'm...