Or at least I was. Took an extended break from all things writing over the holidays. Minimal internets, practically no thinking about Antigoddess 3. It was nice. I read, and ate a lot. I beat the crap out of Final Fantasy 13-2, only to learn it ends on a cliffhanger until Final Fantasy Lightning Returns. Nearly punched the screen. Good times.

But, vacations end. Two days ago I started Antigoddess 3, after several hours of dinking around doing other stuff I'd neglected doing online over the break, trying hard not to acknowledge the fact that I'd only have as long as it took to open and format the new document to figure out where the book actually started. I've never written a trilogy before. It's weird. Right now all I see are possibilities, with no idea which of them will weave together to form the narrative. And where exactly they'll go when they do.

I won't really know until about thirty (or fifty) thousand words deep if I'm writing a book, or riding a bullet train to nowherestown. And the phrase "riding a bullet train to nowherestown" implies a lot more fun than is actually involved. But so far, the book is fun. Writing is fun. Not a chore, still somehow not work (even if I hint heavily that I am SLAVING AWAY to anyone who asks how the work is going) and the small magic of the process never fails to amaze me. People often ask how I get ideas, or how I develop characters, and I usually have to give these douchey sounding answers like, I don't know, or it just develops naturally as it goes along, and part of me always thinks I'm lying and have just blocked out the real process. But it's true. I was just sitting around, watching who knows what on TV, and the structure of the book was just like, "Hey! Here I am." And I was all, "It's about fricken time, I'm starting you in 20 minutes."

In non-writing, movie-related talk: who's excited for Richard Linklater's BEFORE MIDNIGHT? Before Sunrise and Before Sunset are my two favorite films to double feature with a bottle of wine and roll around on the floor lamenting the state of modern romance. And Guillermo Del Toro's MAMA. I can't decide if it looks creepy, or irritating. Also, Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters. Will I end up rooting for the witch? Because I usually do.

Thanks to everyone who entered the ARTICLE 5 Giveaway! I'm in the middle of BREAKING POINT right now, and it's really heating up. That was a total pun, for anyone who's read it already.