To-Read List 2010 Updated

I'm looking forward to summer time. I might actually be able to read a book in less than a month's time. Which would be good, considering this list is going to keep getting longer if I don't manage to get anything read.

School, thou art the bane of of free-time.

The List (in no particular order)

Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson

The Well of Ascension - Brandon Sanderson

Hero of Ages - Brandon Sanderson

Well of Eternity - Richard A. Knaak

Shakespeare's Landlord - Charlaine Harris

Shakespeare's Champion - Charlaine Harris

Dragonfly in Amber - Diana Gabaldon

Magic Blood - Devon Monk

Dragon Bones - Patricia Briggs

Dragon Blood - Patricia Briggs

Small Gods - Terry Pratchett

Vampire Academy - Richelle Mead

City of Bones - Cassandra Clare

City of Ashses - Cassandra Clare (borrowed)

The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova

Enders Game - Orson Scott Card (borrowed from brother, don't actually own)

American Gods - Neil Gaiman

Feast of Souls - C.S. Friedman

Kushiel's Scion - Jacqueline Carey

Kushiel's Justice - Jacqueline Carey (Don't actually own this one. Don't know how that happened.)

Kushiel's Mercy - Jacqueline Carey

Gardens of the Moon - Steven Erikson

Glass Houses - Rachel Caine

A Game of Thrones - George R. R. Martin

Firestorm - Rachel Caine

Thin Air - Rachel Caine

The Gunslinger - Stephen King

Prince of Dogs - Kate Elliott

The Burning Stone - Kate Elliott

Banewrecker - Jacqueline Carey

The Last Wish - Andrzej Sapkowski

Genesis of Shannara - Terry Brooks

Children of Chaos - Dave Duncan

In the Realm of the Wolf - David Gemmell

Hero in the Shadows - David Gemmel

The Becoming - Jeanne C. Stein

The Scent of Shadows - Vicki Pettersson

Dragonfly - Frederic S. Durbin

Love Bites - Lynsay Sands

Personal Demon - Kelley Armstrong

No Humans Involved - Kelley Armstrong

Broken - Kelley Armstrong

Inda - Sherwood Smith

His Majesty's Dragon - Naomi Novik

Night World Vol. 3 - L.J. Smith

Bone Crossed - Patricia Briggs

Staying in the Habit

Writing is like any other art form. It takes constant practice. For me, at least. It's not something I can do once or twice every other week or so. It's constant. The more I write, the more constant my writing sessions, the better I get. Take a week off, for whatever reason, and it's really hard to get back into the swing of things.

In French class yesterday, our teacher was talking about the Chinese calligraphy class she'd been taking. We have a foreign exchange student from Taiwan in that class, and the teacher said, "This is an art, isn't it?"

The girl said yes, it is. Her sister is a master calligrapher, to the point where she can sell her work. The teacher then said, "You play the piano. How many hours do you spend practicing?"

"Six hours every day," she said.

"It takes 60,000 hours of practice to become a master," the teacher said.

60,000 hours. That's a lot of time, when you think about it. Especially for students who have to jam in homework, a social life, other hobbies and interests, and their practice into a single day. Some students even have jobs.

My point is that it takes a long time, a lot of hard work, to become good at something. My classmate didn't say "usually six hours, but sometimes I only practice for three." It was "Six hours everyday." Everyday. I certainly can't do anything non-stop for six hours. Except reading a really good book. Maybe. Still, it's good to have a set time to write. Or at least make sure you're writing something everyday. I failed at that this week. I got hung up on the end of a scene because it could have gone several different ways. The way I wanted to take it wasn't necessarily the best way to go for the book. So I've spent the week agonizing over it.

I should have been writing. Write the different endings, the different ways it could go, then go from there, but I didn't. Now, I've spent two days trying to get back into writing, and I've barely put together 500 words.

My goal for the next week is to get back into the writing habit. No more slacking. I need to write at least 500 words. For the book. Essays and literature journals don't count!