I had to make this one up all by my lonesome, but I’m sure it exists out there somewhere. Still, I plan to tag people annoyingly at the end of this, just like it was a real meme. Hah. So, without further ado, my not-very-imaginative Thanksgiving meme, 10 Things I Am Thankful For. The only restrictions here are that every even numbered item must be about writing in some way. Considering what month it is, and how tired most of us are of writing at this point, I think that’s enough of a pain in the ass, yes?

1.) I am thankful for Mr. Midnight Cowboy here, otherwise known as The Husband, who makes amazing borscht, nearly always does the dishes, and without whom the bed is wrong-shaped. I’ll spare you the more worthy details; he knows what they are, and I am sure you don’t want to.

 

2.) I am thankful for Papermate Gelpoint pens with blue ink. I firmly believe revising would be impossible without them.

3.) I am thankful for Her Dogginess, who is always thrilled to see us, even if it has only been 15 minutes, and who prostrates herself on the bed and groans so loudly when telling us about her difficult day that I feel certain the neighbor thinks we’re total pervs.

 

4.) I am thankful for pistachios and espresso. That’s two things, actually, but they go together so well they ought to be permanently paired, and I could not do my half-day writing marathons without them.

 

5.) I am thankful for good friends, without whom life would be much less interesting, and far too sober.

 

 

6.) I am thankful for this fabulous heated ergonomic footrest thingy my feet are planted on right now. It’s much easier to park my ass in front of the computer for hours at a time when I can keep my feet at a toasty 100 degrees. January is a much more bearable month now.

7.) I am thankful for my family, without which I would not know how to play drunken volleyball, how long it takes to get through a 15 piece game of dominoes, why karaoke should be outlawed in the United States, or how to write real, honest characters with lots of snark, complicated relationships, and very odd personal quirks.

 

8.) I am thankful for my beautiful new laptop, which allows me to write in any room of the apartment and in various cafes in Brunswick. Amazing what a change of setting can do. Plus, it’s so shiny.

9.) I am thankful for Raymond Carver, who wrote the first story that made me think, reading it, I want to be able to do this. And for Mr. Klofas, for teaching the AP English class where I read it.

10.) I am thankful for all my writing peeps, on AW, Twitter, Facebook, and various blogs and writer’s groups – who give great advice, work hard at what they do, and have saved my sanity more than once. Writing is hard. Trying to get what you write published is harder. Doing any of that without the support and sympathy and honest feedback of people who are on the same crazytrain would be, well, impossible.

/sap.

Now for my victims:

Gretchen, circus-opera-singer-YA-writer-extraordinaire and secret mistress of Daniel Craig

The amazing Laura and Lisa, cowriting authoresses with a fabulous book coming out in 2011

Tracey, queen of snarky MCs and UF

Debra, mistress of sarcasm, badass YA characters, and creator of the top tem reasons why revisions are better than sex

The marvelously hilarious Jan, author of some of the best Sarah Palin fanfic out there.

Tag, ladies. Kill Thank me later. 😀