As I do every year, I'm taking time for some introspection and course-corrections in the form of New Year's Resolutions. (Some are more like goals. I mix and match.) A look at last year's resolutions:

• Be nicer to my body. [Not so good on exercise, much improved in regards to eating better. So this year I'll work on adding the exercise]

• Write better stories. [I'm pretty proud of "Unexpected Outcomes," which was a bear to write, and of "A Steadfast Tin Soldier," which was an idea I've had for years, but never thought I had the chops to do before. I'm still pushing myself.]

• Write joyfully. [I am indeed remembering to have fun. The Nex was all fun.]

• Sell another novel. [This went from looking like a pretty likely thing to, um, not happening at all, due largely to outside reasons related to the convulsions the publishing industry went through. I've already got a couple of books to sell for 2009, though, so I'll keep trying.]

• Publish two issues of Flytrap. On time. [Success! And not a resolution that will carry over, alas.]

• Be a good husband. [You'd have to ask Heather, but I really tried.]

• Get the house a bit more organized. [It is a gradual thing, for us, but, yeah -- we babyproofed (for given values of that word) both the living room and the office, and the entryway and hallway are this close. More to be done though.]

• Be a good father. [It's the thing I spend the most time thinking about, and I think I'm doing a good job. My kid always looks as happy to see me as I am to see him.]

• Pay off the remainder of my credit card debt. [It is to weep. I only needed one more novel sale, comparable to my last four sales, to kill the remainder of the debt, and that seemed quite likely when I made this resolution -- but, see above, re: publishing upheavals. So the debt is still there. Mocking me.]

• Learn the rudimentary time management skills everyone else learned in, like, high school, since I can no longer get by with binge-writing as deadlines loom (because of having a kid to pay attention to.) [Thpt, yeah, it was fine. I still don't have great time-management skills, but I wrote my annual quarter of a million words like always, and it didn't hurt much.]

• Travel someplace I've never been before. [We ended up going to Maui, where I'd been before, but I went to places on Maui I'd never seen before... so call this fulfilling the letter if not the spirit.]

• Find and move into a bigger better apartment. [That was indeed done.]

Many of those will carry over to next year as well. I tried to come up with some new resolutions, but I think I've got it pretty well covered -- continue to develop as an artist, take care of my family, take care of myself. Seems to cover the essentials, doesn't it?

2008 was the hardest year of my life. We'll see what 2009 has to offer.