I Need a New Project

I’ll have to come up with one by Monday, too, or I’ll just be twiddling my thumbs here, and you might get bored. Also, since I’m doing Bassham’s Mental Management Lite, one week should do it for my break.

If anyone out there loves young adult literature, I have a recommendation: Bloody Jack, by L. A. Meyer. I asked my friendly librarian for a story about a seagoing adventurer, and this is what I got. I’ve been through the first five books in the series, have the sixth on hold, and will be delighted when #7 comes out in a few months.

Happy Writer

I’ve read that writers are a depressed lot. We drink. We write horribly sad poems. We’re suicidal. It’s true–my favorite columnist (from ten years ago, 2000 miles from where I live now) said so, and Ray Orrock never steered me wrong. But he was a cheerful guy, and he gave me hope that the life I really, really wanted wouldn’t kill me any sooner than, say, accounting might.

So why not be happy?

I started a project unrelated to writing this week: a Happiness Project. But maybe it’s not unrelated. The idea is to think of things that make you happy, do them every day, and keep track of your progress month by month. If you’re part of a group, you report on your success to them. Familiar, no?

I will be happy. I will tie together happiness and writing and (this is key) accountability. Yay.

Not a Drunk Writer… Sherioushly

Today’s post brought to you by Gin & Tonic.

This is what happens when I put off posting until the end of the day. My fiance comes home from a long day at work; he could use a drink. I don’t want to let him drink alone, so I pour one, and my tolerance is way lower than his. Now I’m tipsy. Dinner is not much more complicated than boiling water (lentils & rice… with the right spices, a darn good meal). Really, I could be drinking more.

But I’m boring, so I stopped at one. But I’m a lightweight, so that’s more than plenty. Wheee!

Hemingway I am not.

Punking Out Defined

Punking out is what happens when you look at something you thought you wanted to do, and a whiny little voice inside of you says, “but that’s too hard!” …and you listen.

There are more formal definitions for the word “punk.” I found several in my Webster’s dictionary. It means “someone worthless or unimportant,” “an inexperienced youth,” “poor in quality or condition,” or “ill; sick; feeling punk.” I take these meanings together to define “punking out” as giving up on an endeavor due to worthlessness, inexperience, youth, poor condition, and/or sickness of spirit, any of which make understandable (albeit lousy) excuses for giving up on a writing career.

Contrarily, a punk is also a smoldering stick used to light fireworks or fuses.

Date Night!

Muse-calling was a short experiment, but a successful one. I’m going out on a date tonight, and I don’t have another thought in my head. It’s pleasant. See you Friday!

Muse-calling Concluded

Saturday

Log in: 8:35 AM
Log out: 9:59 AM
FWC: 278

Sunday

Log in: 9:35 AM
Log out: 10:25 AM
FWC: 1568

Monday

Log in: 8:31 AM
Log out: 9:01 AM
FWC: 1785

…and another “fail” on the 1500 words per day goal. I was significantly late at least three times and early on one day. I cut my time short once, but ran over the half hour several times. Most importantly, I sat down in front of my computer as close to 8:30 AM as I could manage every day for 21 days in a row. Now it feels comfortable. I wake up thinking about Writing Time, and plan my early morning around it. I haven’t quite gotten used to how grouchy I can be for the first ten minutes, but I’m starting to love how happy I am after that.

Happiness is what my change in direction from freelance commercial writitng to fiction was all about, so it might be safe to say that my decision has begun to pay off.

It’s been twelve months since I launched this blog with an announcement of my intention to leave my accounting career and become a writer. Now I can say that I write every day and have kept up a blog for a year (except that I took February off…). Posts here have been regular, three per week, since April. I am certainly a blogger, if not any other kind of writer. There are six months left in this experiment. What should I do with that time? I can probably get something published by the end of the year, even if it’s nothing more than a letter to the editor of my local paper.

Any other ideas, anyone?

Muse-calling, Week Three

Thursday

Log in: 8:37 AM
Log out: 9:08 AM
FWC: 1847

Friday

Log in: 8:28 AM
Log out: 9:05 AM
FWC: 2314

Pass/fail on my goal of 1500 words per day this week: fail.

According to Lanny Bassham (I’ve mentioned him), I have three days to go. So I’ll have one more update for you on Monday, and a stronger feeling of certainty that I have, indeed, established a new habit. If nothing else, I’ve found a pattern in the way I work. It takes me about ten minutes to settle into “fiction mode”. Maybe that time will decrease with practice, but for now I’m happy to sit down knowing that there’s a limit to how much time I’m going to spend staring at an empty screen.

Monday is also the one year anniversary of Linnea Writes; I’m excited.

Belated Wednesday Update

Sorry about that. I’ll post today’s time log with Friday’s as usual.

Tuesday

Log in: 8:29 AM
Log out: 9:00 AM
FWC: 1347

Wednesday

Log in: 8:34 AM
Log out: 9:10 AM
FWC: 1847

Vewy Vewy Quiet

My fiance asked me if I noticed my Google settings switching to “Elmer Fudd” a few months back. Of course I did! That was awesome! I giggled every time I opened my web browser. He told me he had done it, and then switched it back after a couple weeks when I didn’t say anything. Oh. I just figured Google had a sense of humor.

That story doesn’t connect to anything, except my current philosophy of stalking my fiction on exaggerated tiptoes. That, and there are moments when I think I’m about as competent at this as Fudd was at catching that wily wabbit.

Saturday

Log in: 7:01 AM
Log out: 7:37 AM
FWC: 468

Sunday

Log in: 8:59
Log out: 9:42
FWC: 694

Monday

Log in: 8:29
Log out: 8:59
FWC: 1012

This, however, isn’t one of those moments. Sometimes I look at my slow-growing Fiction Word Count and shake my head, but, on the other hand, I’m getting used to writing every morning. I wake up and check the clock: do I have time for a shower? Breakfast? Am I awake enough to start right now? Even on mornings when the answer has been “No, no, and defintely not,” I’ve stuck with it. I usually spend about ten minutes staring at my screen, but I’ve learned that something will come eventually.

Thus far, I have not been tempted to shoot it with a blunderbuss.

Muse-calling, Week Two

So far, so good. One more week to set the habit.

Thursday

Log in: 8:45
Log out: 9:15
FWC: 2413

Friday

Log in: 8:30
Log out: 9:00
FWC: 3027

Pass/fail on my goal of 1,500 words per day this week: fail, but improving.