S.A.D. (not) Update

So I spent most of last winter analyzing data about the shortening of the days, the inception of Daylight Savings Time, the lag between less light and colder temperatures, etc, and writing about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). That was fun and interesting. 

It was fun and interesting in large part because thirty years ago I found a good therapist, and twelve years ago, after three decades of suffering with anxiety and depression, always made worse by Northwest winter gray skies and rain, I finally acquiesced to the reality of needing pharmaceutical support. 

With that groundwork in place, this winter I've discovered that a passion, learning the craft of writing a novel, one that can be pursued under a down comforter next to a wood stove, can make northern latitude winter and it's associated blues practically disappear for hours at a time. Things are indeed better then they have ever been.

The experiment of The Winter of the Novel is going very well. Time is speeding by as I work on my assignments for the Author-Mentor Workshop at the end of February, the time winter usually seems like it will never end. I don't know if there will be a finished novel by then, but that goal fades into the background as I enjoy doing the pre-workshop homework. Partially because the homework is it's own reward.

One assignment has us delving into five or six recently published Literary Fiction novels of our choice. Books I would not have probably picked up without homework on how to develop a sympathetic protagonist. Literary fiction, I remember now, has the most creative use of language, a delicious feast for the eyes and, when read aloud, for the ears as well. Musical, magical, lyrical phrases that beg to be repeated before moving on.

Here's my list. Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult, The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje, Room by Emma Donoghue, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker, City of Veils by Zoe Ferraris, and A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan.

So nice to have a life partner who appreciates a good book and always has one on the night stand.

More later.