19,000

Had me a nap, so I ended up getting my words down from 5am to 9am. Have to be careful not to lose a day when that happens.

I read the same books over and over. It's embarrassing how many times I've read some things.

Anyway, re-reading Neil Gaiman's Sandman. Destruction of the Endless paints, sculpts, writes poems, and cooks...and he's terrible at them all. It's because they all involve creation, and he's the personification of destruction.

Did I know that once, and forget it, or did I just see it for the first time?

Either way, I'm not doing that thing were I am inserting texture where it may not be. Gaiman meant to do that, I'm sure. Unlike many things from my youth, Sandman holds up really well. I still remember reading the first issues at my friend's house in 8th grade.

The Graveyard Book was pretty good, and I felt a real joy for him when he won the Newberry. I like Gaiman to the point where his strengths far outweigh his weaknesses. The man loves the hero's journey. Neverwhere, American Gods, Anansi Boys, etc. all deal with the main character discovering their origins and finding their inner power. I'm not knocking it...I do the same thing in A Monstrous War with Ithurial Styx. However, I'd love to see him write the next step. What happens to Shadow or Nobody once they know who they are? That I care shows he creates strong characters.

There is no denying the influence he had on me. American Gods might be my favorite book. If you like fantasy, especially urban fantasy and you haven't read it, read it.

Writing Thought:

Again, things I did not foresee keep happening. It's one of the things that makes me feel like a real writer, when the story creates its own twists and turns. The danger is too many tangents and hurting the pacing.