I managed another 1000 words on the third in the Laws of Power sequence, working title Power’s Shadow, knowing all the while I may be interrupted to work on something more pressing. I’m at the point in the book where I know what has to happen, but no clue how it’s going to happen. I’ll just follow my characters until they sort it out. They always do, but one problem with completely optional projects is that you can’t give them priority, but I have no doubt I’ll get it finished…eventually. I hope to do so while anyone still cares about it other than me, but I don’t pretend to know if that will happen.
Case in point, over the weekend I was working on another story, revising after an editor’s notes and checking line edits. Contracts aren’t signed yet—one of the joys of working on spec—but I’m reasonably sure I’ll have something to announce before too long on that one. The story, even though it falls earlier in its particular timeline, feels a bit like completing a cycle. I’m not sure what comes next with that series and it’s got me a little down.
Also suffering from a bad case of GAS (that’s Gear Acquisition Syndrome. What’d you think I meant?) I have a Crafter AE mini-jumbo acoustic guitar (yeah, I know that’s an oxymoron. Right up there with “jumbo shrimp.”) It’s a great guitar, but now that I’m getting a little more experience I realize that the body depth is just a bit too much, and is never going to be comfortable for me to play. I’m gazing with lustful eyes on a used Martin custom. Gaze is all I can do at the moment. I’m also looking at the Taylor mini GS(very good and more affordable), and the Larrivee OM3R(very good and less affordable). Not that I have to decide right away, since at the moment I don’t have the scratch for any of them, especially the Martin. But a guy can dream.
Richard Parks 
FWIW (and I really hope it doesn’t seem like I’m post-stalking your site here…), I had a similar problem back before I decided to stop dividing my time between multiple activities (each done poorly…) and focus (heh) on photography, which I’ve been doing for most of my life.
I like messing with guitars, but I don’t have the ear or the ability to be a musician. Before I got that through my head, I tended to look for smaller-bodied guitars, too. Fortunately, it seems like a lot of people prefer dreadnaughts, etc., so OM/000-sized guitars tend to be fairly cheap on eBay, if you wait for a good deal. Some of the Japanese-built ones are really nice. I found a Fender F-15 for about $125, and paid only $50 for a Hohner-labelled Japanese 000 that has an irrelevant finish flaw on the back. A Takamine copy of a Martin 0-16NY was also about $100 because it had a ding in the side, but that has no effect on sound. So anyway — cheap old guitars can be really good. It’s also a form of recycling. 🙂
I’ve got nothing against the older guitars. If an old Harmony archtop or Aria fell into my hands, I’d probably go for it, condition allowing. I had a Yamaha FG-110 from the 70’s for a while, but I ended up selling it. I’ve finally learned that I need to listen to any guitar I’m thinking of buying before I take the plunge.
I’m never going to be Steve Howe or Buddy Guy, but that’s okay. When I’m recharging I need something that has as little to do with fiction writing as possible. This works for me.
Try-before-you-buy is a wise policy.
I completely understand about recharging, and music is a great way to do it–I didn’t mean to imply that you share my problem. 🙂 For now, photography is what I recharge with, especially since most of what I do is outdoors.