Z/Web

What a terrific day. Not only did I get up early this morning and finish the last chapter of my novel, but my team (the Houston Dynamo) has advanced in the playoffs to the Western Conference Final! They beat the expansion team Seattle Sounders in overtime on a terrific Brian Ching volley. Fantastic! They thoroughly deserved it, too, out-playing the Sounders with tons of possession and good passing, but it was still an extremely tight game and could have gone either way. Seattle had a great first season and I give them props, but they I’m cheering for Houston to go all the way. They need to beat LA on Friday to advance to the final. Because of the league’s silly tie-breaking rules, that game is in LA so it’s not going to be easy, but if they play like they did today, they’ll do it.

Today I finished my second novel. That’s two this year, which is a huge accomplishment. I should write more about writing because I’m understanding things in a different way. Writing a novel isn’t about the words, but the story, and I’m learning more about how to master that. No idea if my novels are any good, but that’s not the point: the point is I’m learning to walk so I can learn to run. I’m sure my work will get better. This second one is very different from the first and I think it’s a deeper novel and I can’t wait to see what my writing will be like three or four novels from now. I feel like a novelist, which is amazing. (Next I want to feel like a paid, successful novelist, but that will come.)