OK, I'm out of steam. I've only written five of these 25TAM things, and as I stare down the barrel of another 20 I'm officially yelling Uncle. I thought it might be an interesting idea to involve song lyrics, but I've since discovered that most of them depress the crap out of me when the melody is stripped away. Then there's all the old, wonderfully inscrutable R.E.M. songs, with lyrics like "postcard stowaway within, pristine indigo without." What do you do with that?
I'm bored with this. For now anyway. I'll still write a list as it was originally conjured, though, because I have to admit I like the idea. I've learned a lot about the people I'm linked to, even at the outermost periphery, and I've already used a bunch of these lists to help me flesh out characters and envision dialogue. So if you ever read my novel and recognize yourself, you have my gratitude. (Unless you're going to sue or something, in which case you're out of your tiny, narcissistic mind.)
I'm looking forward to this long weekend, because the boys and I are headed upstate and off the grid. We'll be enjoying the cold, snowy peace and communing with the conifers, and I'll get to spend Valentine's Day throwing my arms around the people I will always love the most--as we hurtle downhill on inner tubes.
