This year has felt like at least three years — not length-wise, but mood-wise. The first part was bad (exhaustion; despair), the middle part was good (hope; reconnection), and the last part was bad again, but in a different way (loss; disappointment). These past few months have been extraordinarily difficult…

I dread trying to sum up this year in a paragraph. It sucked, you all know it sucked! My reading was weird, because everything was weird (“weird” of course is inadequate). It was harder to focus, and I worked less efficiently, but I had fewer plans — so it sort…

“It’s literally the only list I read. I hate all other lists.” — J. Robert Lennon A few years ago I started keeping track of every book I read in a document, annotating the list with mini-reviews, and then publishing it. (At the real end of the year! No cheating!)…

“It’s literally the only list I read. I hate all other lists.” — J. Robert Lennon A few years ago I started keeping track of every book I read in a document, annotating the list with mini-reviews, and then publishing it. (At the real end of the year! No cheating!)…

A couple of years ago I started keeping track of every book I read in a document, annotating the list with little mini-reviews. …

Last year I started keeping track of every book I read in a document, annotating the list with little mini-reviews. …

The Blunt Instrument is a monthly advice column for writers. If you need tough advice for a writing problem, send your question to blunt@electricliterature.com. Dear Blunt Instrument, My questions for you are about nerve and grit. I write flash fiction, short stories, am working on a novel, and I’ve been…