Well. For better or worse, it's written. I don't think I've ever taken so long to write a short story in my life, and I can't really say that all the effort has paid off. It's not the worst story I've ever written, but it's not really the best, either.

It's funny: one of the reasons I stopped writing was because I was tired of the sound of my own "voice." I thought taking a break would either revive my interest in that voice or else help to change it. But my voice is still the same, and getting at its narrative flow is about five million times harder now. Clearly I need to incorporate more creative writing into my life...and write a law forbidding my own artistic complacency and/or arrogance.

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