--- Philip Hart <philiph at slac.stanford.edu> wrote: > > On Wed, 1 Dec 2004, Steve Brust wrote: > > > ... Finishing a first novel is the hardest thing a writer > > will ever have to do [...] > > Ever try to write a non-cringe-causing villanelle? Yeah. Heck, I think I've done it (though I haven't looked at any (either?) of my villanelles for a decade or two). Ever try getting one published? > I'm not at all a novelist, but based on hearsay - is it not the case > that it's harder to write a satisfactory second novel than a first? > I figure I've got a novel in me somewhere but probably not two. That, not Steve's, was my experience. I enjoyed writing a novel (over about 6 or 8 years), but I can't imagine trying a second. I think that in the last year I wrote a short story and a poem (and a song). It might be time to take Louann's tack. Jerry Friedman regrets to inform you that nobody wanted to publish that novel. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com