Monday, September 30, 2013

723 WORDS

When they are finished, they bring me drugs that make me groggy and blur the pain, but the basic memories I have on the chalkboard of my brain are never smeared.  

Hello Friends

Here's what's going on.

I am going to finish my third novel before I turn 60.  Which is soon.

In order to do this, I need to blast through every writing insecurity/excuse/delay tactic I have embraced so fully for the last year and throw 2200 words a day onto a page.  If you need a point of reference for how ridiculously out-of-reality-based the task before me is...here's how today went:

I was up waaaay too early to take the hubs to the airport (4:30 AM), so - natch - I could not begin this morning.  I needed a little nap...at least 30 minutes.  It was 90 minutes.  I needed to walk, of course, because walking gets the creative juices flowing.  Two miles in 190% humidity. So I had to have a shower and a little bit of make-up (you know, in case the UPS man came to the door today).  Then I needed to stock the fridge with healthy foods, so...off to the grocery store I drove.  But the healthiest olive oil is only found in the toniest little shop, so...I had to go there too.  And while I was out, I really needed to stop by Mom's house to explore the beeping sound that has been plaguing her for four days...

When I got home, I realized the pool was green and needed attention.  The bird feeders were empty.  The mailbox was full.  I was hungry.

I finally got to the desk at 3 and started researching things like traumatic brain injuries and car rollovers, which made me sleepier than you can imagine even though I saw some awfully graphic videos (do not Google car rollover images).  So I needed another nap.

At 6 PM, I came back to the desk with a cup of coffee, a glass of water with an orange slice in it, and absolute determination.  But I couldn't ignore the tab I'd left open on my desktop that reminded me I needed to finish shopping for appliances for my soon-to-be-remodeled kitchen.  So I did that.

Now it is 8:45 PM, and I am happy (almost delirious) to report that I got 723 words on 2 pages today.  They are important words.  The opening words.  The starting block.  The announcement to myself - and now to you - that I am actually going to do this.

But I am a long, long way from 2200 words, and I am hungry again.  Sigh.

My proposal to you is this...if you will keep me accountable, I will feed you the essence of this book in tiny little bites.  One or two sentences a day.  I will also tell you how many words I wrote.  They will be here every single day between now and November 24.

You might want to wait until the sentences pile up to come take a look...you might want to check on me every day.  I promise not to take up your time with excuses.  There will be at least one sentence here every danged day.  The word count will be the daily blog title.  The body of the post will be my small offering of the day.

Feel free to edit when necessary.

Here's to fast reading...and even faster writing.  Thanks for sharing the Journey to 60.

Peace. Love. Miracles.