A Compromise Solution

A few days ago I asked all you readers how I should spend my working hours during the next month before I return to Baghdad. The quandary was this: should I write and publish my remaining two dispatches from the Balkans, or spend a full month working on my book From Beirut to Baghdad? I have only written one chapter so far, and there will be nine or ten in the end.
A small majority voted for me to work on the book, and a large minority want the two dispatches. So I’m going to compromise and write and publish one of the dispatches. I’ll spend the rest of my time, as much as I can anyway, on the book.
I’ll still publish this and that on the blog, I’m just going to slow down on the epic-length feature articles for a few weeks. The book needs to be written, and I have to find the time somewhere. If only I could put off sleep for a month.
By December, though, I should have a large fresh batch of pieces from Baghdad. I haven’t been there in over a year. Everything I remember is now out of date. It should be very interesting indeed when I return and take a fresh look after the surge.