From now until the next round of changes in life, software, etc, this blog will contain updates about whatever I’m working on, and possibly links to interesting content around the web. The biggest news to tell about is my essay “Indecision Over Michigan,” an 11,000-word-long monster that I wrote in November of this year. It was inspired by the Generation Y Michigan project that I’m involved with at Michigan Radio. GenYMich (as we refer to it on Facebook and Twitter) is a series of news reports, blog posts, and guest essays, examining why young adults are leaving or staying in Michigan.

I think a lot about that kind of thing — by that I mean, WHY people do the things they do. Plus I have experience in the matter, since I myself left Michigan about four months after graduating from college in May 2005. I came back for grad school and have stayed thus far. But given the overall stifling feel of the state, I often think about leaving again. (Of course, last week the legislature did finally approve a workplace smoking ban, which should become effective on May 1, 2010!!!)

The first version of the essay was published on Supraterranean and Generation Y Michigan on December 2. I also submitted the essay as a creative non-fiction manuscript to the Cooperative Press. It’s a literary press run by the Traverse City group Michigan Writers, that helps new and emerging authors who haven’t had a book published in their genre of choice. I had to trim the essay by almost 2,000 words to stay under their 10,000-word limit. I’m not sure yet which version I prefer — but I’ll make the second version available for reading soon. And I’ll let you know if it goes well with the Coop. Press!