So live.

If a poet ever properly summed up how to die (and perhaps how to live), William Cullen Bryant did in this final verse of Thanatopsis. The full poem can be found here.

     So live, that when thy summons comes to join   

The innumerable caravan, which moves   

To that mysterious realm, where each shall take   

His chamber in the silent halls of death,   

Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,   

Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed   

By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave,   

Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch   

About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.

My new favorite word

exegesis
noun

critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially of scripture.

"the task of biblical exegesis"

Handling feedback

The work in progress (amzn.to/1950ihv) has gotten nice feedback lately, which really does change how I feel about it -- like the hard work is worthwhile because the end product isn't just for me, isn't just nice according to me. There are actual strangers who think it's well written.

This is frightening, though, because what will happen to my confidence when negative feedback comes in, as it inevitably will? Do I have the ability to read it without obsessing over it, learn from it and improve without being crushed and giving up?

Pinning

Because I wanted a place to save stock photos as well as other people's books/covers, I'm on Pinterest now as Lindsay Dawning.

https://www.pinterest.com/lindsaydawning