I feel intimidated.

My friend, Clarion buddy, and fabulously talented writer Peter M. Ball has posted — for all to see, mind you — his writing goals for the year ahead. Before you go read them, bear in mind that Peter seems to honestly believe he is not producing in accordance with his potential. However, I must point out (to my shame) that because his list of goals includes progress so far on various projects, I can see that even the stuff he's worried about being so slack about, even just the words so far on these projects, just for one year, completely outstrip my entire life's output.

I could come up with dozens of excuses for why this is so, and murmur comforting words to myself about how every writer's life path is different and it's rash and self-defeating to compare myself to others. I could repeat the message the amazing Richard Harland gave in a talk the other night: calm down, quit accusing yourself of laziness, spending the energy doing that only slows you down more, trust yourself and your writing process. I could do all that.

And then I could look once more at Peter's writing goals for the year. Will it motivate me? Or will it shame me into immobility?

In other news, it seems libraries are hip, happening, new, now, the next big thing. (Where has everyone else been? Some of us have known this forever.)