This Week's Total

Despite having three boxes of this week's writing calendar with a large X in them, I was still able to crank out 1175 words this week for a total of 5961. 

Because last week's tally was only 866, it took me a little longer to get back into the story. One day only had 189 words, and another registered a paltry 61 words. 

But the takeaway is that even with 61 words in last Sunday's box, that's still 61 more words than if I hadn't sat down to work. 

Plus, I find that writing and then going for a walk, bike ride, or swim makes the creativity surge. As I swam laps at the Rec Center pool, I wished I had a piece of paper and a pen to jot down the ideas that were flying through my head. Fortunately, I hung onto my train of thought and dictated a voice memo into my phone to save the ideas when I got back to the locker room.  

It's a beautiful fall day. I'm off to the Ohio History Connection for some research.

 I snapped this photo while visiting the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, PA in 2021.

379 Words, Total 3976

 The calendar is working. 😊 

I was running late this morning getting to my study, and almost abandoned my writing time as I didn't think I'd make that much progress anyway since it was already 10:45. But, that writing calendar kept nudging me - if I didn't show up at the computer, the box for today would be blank. 

So, I plopped myself down and began to write. I reviewed a little of what I wrote yesterday, but then picked up where I had left off and managed two pages. I was super happy because even though it's not 500 or 1,000 words, it's still 379 more words than if I hadn't sat down to write. Plus, it flowed out of me, and I wasn't left staring at the screen (which happens when you're least expecting it).

Tomorrow is tricky since I have a knitting meet-up at 10 and probably should leave here by 9:30. And the morning is my favorite time to write.

PS - I'm not the best knitter, but I did finish two pairs of socks a few years ago. The first pair is at the top. The second pair, on the bottom. Socks are challenging, but fun. I have another pair started but haven't worked on them in awhile. Maybe I should get back to them. 

As I look at these pictures, they actually look pretty hysterical, especially the first pair with super narrow ankles. 

487 Words!

Happy November! I was able to add 487 words to OHIO! just now. I was a little worried about getting back to this manuscript, as I haven't worked on it since January 2023. That's a long time to be away from a creative project. 

However, I spent the first block of time rereading it - getting back into the story and the characters' heads. There is a lot of initial conflict in this book, which is fun to fool around with. 

I did some editing (not too much, because what I'm after here are the words); I want to get them down so that the first draft is complete. 

Next, I started a new chapter. And there's that blank white screen staring back at me. But, ignoring that naysayer voice in my head who whispered this might be really hard to do, I pictured what might happen next in the story and started typing. Sure enough, the scene unfurled, and soon I had a nice addition to the conflict already there.

We had snow last night on Halloween, and even though it was beautiful—soft and fluffy—I'm not exactly ready for it. So, here's an alternative reality to feast on - a sunset over Lake Oneida taken last summer while visiting very good friends: