So long, farewell, etc 2006

I had in draft form this post about saying adios to 2006. It was a crappy year. I'm glad to see it go. But the truth it its not quite done with me. So I really can't say goodbye yet. Lord knows I need to soon. I have things to do this year, that just aren't getting done.

I really need to work on my book, Reconstructing My Mother. I've not been writing much, except blogging, and writing articles for welding journals, which really doesn't count. In fact sometimes I wonder if I use up all my words doing these other kinds of writing... but the reality is that the memoir project is an emotional place to be and I'm not strong enough right now.

But now I have a deadline. I'm pretty much signed up for (not yet paid, so I can still get out of it) taking a Master Class in memoir at the Taos Summer Writing conference hosted by the University of New Mexico. Which is where I started this book in 2005. The teacher for the master class is the same one I took from before, Gregory Martin, author of Mountain City and teacher extraordinaire. He's already given me the OK to come to the master class. Now I need to have a first draft done. It does not need to be pretty, it just needs to be done. And done by the beginning of June. What am I nuts?? don't answer that.

Anyone have any tips on how to just do it? Even 5 minutes a day seems like to too much right now. It's like I'm sabotaging myself. I mean I just spent 1/2 an hour creating this post when I could have been working on my book. So now I have to beat myself up about it which just makes it worse. And I know I'm doing it and I still can't stop.