Hello Friends!
It's been a while since I've blogged. I plan to change that, but that's what I say at least once every six months. I really try to be a "good" writer like the Good Wife tries, but temptation comes and periodically one does get distracted. Yet, here I am. And I have started another book. This one is under contract, so it behooves me to finish it. And I will, but I have to admit, most of the time the thought of a book is totally different than the writing. It gives me comfort though when I read about other authors, well-known, big-name authors, having the same thoughts as me.
I just finished up my word count for this week. The total since Thursday, when I began, is 4702 words. When I received this assignment Wednesday, I sat down with a calendar and decided I could get this book completed if I wrote 700 words a day. This would allow me to even turn it in earlier than my contract will say, which will please my editor. I have completed the Introduction and am in the middle of Chapter One.
Thursday morning when I arrived at my keyboard, I sat for about 45 minutes staring at a blank page with a little blinking cursor. To say I was a somewhat overwhelmed would be an understatement. So, I did what every good writer does when one can't figure out how to begin, I took a shower.
After thirty minutes of warm water running down my back, giving myself a pep talk, and pondering several different openings, I thought I had one that was a winner. Since I didn't have pen or paper, I kept repeating the opening line to myself as I got out and dried off. While I dressed I repeated it. At one point, I almost panicked when I realized the line wasn't exactly what it was in the shower, but just as I was about to brush my teeth for the second time, because I was concentrating on my line, it came to me.
I rushed out of the bathroom and started down the hall. My husband came around the corner and opened his mouth to say something to me. I threw up my hand. I couldn't handle any distractions. "Later," he said as I darted in to my office.
Getting that first line down on paper, I breathed a sigh of relief. Even though my hair was wet and wrapped in a towel, I continued typing. After a couple hours, my writing goal was met for the day. I could spend the afternoon working on research, making charts, or writing quizzes for the book.
By the time day two arrived, I had already grown cocky. I sat down at my keyboard and wrote the most laughable copy in the world. As a matter of fact, several times I stopped writing just to laugh at what I had just written.
"And you call yourself a writer," I muttered as I read through the lines laughing at the word "apoplexy". What did a sudden loss of consciousness and subsequent partial paralysis caused by a broken or blocked artery in the brain have to do with a home based house painting business? I vowed "apoplexy" would be the first word cut when I started editing later that afternoon.
The next morning, I was a little word shy. Amazingly enough though, words flowed smoothly for the next several days. I even made it up over 1000 words yesterday.
Today, was a little more challenging, but I tapped out at 861 total. I worked on a rough outline for the rest of the chapter, so when I start back after Thanksgiving I'll know where I'm headed. I plan to take a few days off, but who knows? If I can't sleep or if I get bored watching my husband watch football, I shall be back at my keyboard.
After all, isn't that what all "good" writers do?