Tax Deductions

I'm getting my 2009 tax information together and I'm thinking of all the things I wish I could use as a tax deduction from my writing "job".

Okay - this is a joke in and of itself since in order to reference it as a job I would need to have earned income from it, but still, I'm a dreamer.

So things I would like to declare on my 2009 taxes IF I was a paid writer:

$36.29  in Itunes purchases for inspirational playlists
$26.03 Ibuprofen liqui-gels
$158.08 Tim Horton's Iced Cappuccino's for those "mornings after"
$159.00  New printer that doesn't go through ink like a bad meth habit
$92.00  Ink for meth-addict printer before I went Office Space on it
$14.95  Ink for new printer with mild aspirin habit
$42.00  Paper for printing rough drafts
$2.99  Box of preferred pens for editing
$540.00  Year of internet service for research, access to Itunes, and AW
$125.86  Wine (aka - cheap drunk)
$24.99  Bottle of good tequila (aka - writers block)
$44.85  Jonas Brothers 3D concert movie tickets
$NOT GONNA PUT IT HERE.00 Jonas Brothers concert tickets (research people, research)
$366.00  Take out for nights I'm too busy writing to figure out dinner

Yeah... writing is fun!

Teaser Tuesday

I'm going to rejoin the living! For today's teaser I went with NORMAL again, and a little snip towards the beginning of the book.

Aly, her little sister Caitlin and Aly's best friend Jeana are hanging by the pool at a resort in Mexico on a family trip.

SNIP

Time goes by...

The goal I set for the final edit of Normal before it went off in the hands of betas was 2/15/10. I'm not sure I'm going to make that. I wanted to start querying 3/15/10. I laugh in the face of such deadlines.

I'm a very introspective person and fairly aware of my own foibles. Did I mention I have a lot of them? I'm pretty sure I'm subconsciously (and apparently not so SUB) sabotaging myself.

I know that if I never finish editing I can't send it to betas. If I don't send it to betas I can't polish. If I don't polish I can't query. If I don't query I can't be rejected. VOILA!

I'm a wimp. I want to move forward, but fear keeps me rooted. I want to be brave and go out all balls to the wall and query the heck out of my work. That is the problem though, it's MY work. Up until now I've been a closet writer. I've allowed myself to come out and share with select people. Part of that is a self motivator to be accountable to others since I am not accountable to myself. What if it isn't very good?

I'm a strong woman, at least I play one on TV, but writing has always been so inherently personal that it's hard to share. It's hard for me to even admit that I'm afraid.

Therein lies the problem. Fear. Doubt. Guilt. Fear.

I will do it. Just maybe not today.