I know you’re all going to yell at me for being online (as you should), however I’m taking a brief break from my mad rush to finish the Fucker to think about process. I have to work on being as focused and effective as possible this week. Driving across three or four states doesn’t help, but that was planned already.
So I’m at the Micky Mouse glass-topped iron table in the attic of my sister-in-law’s house in [state redacted] trying to eke out another 500 to 1000 words. Over the past two days I have written 5,000 words, and only some of them suck. It could be that the time spent away from my manuscript has given me some insight. I know for sure I write better first drafts than I did when I started this mess. Tomorrow I’m driving four hours, which scares me to death, because I’m not sure I’m going to be able to work. However I am within spitting distance of today’s goal, which was 3000 words. I may not make it, but I think I rounded out the last section in a way that works.
I am a lazy, procrastinating writer. So when I tell you that I’m finishing my Fucker by Friday, I want you to see that you can do this too. It won’t be the last draft, I am sure, but I’m putting the Fucker to bed. And, to mix metaphors, it’s going to see the light of day. Not publication, but professional readers. What I want you to learn from my happy writing moments, which are mixed with seething anxiety about whether or not I can get this done, is that I’ve been wasting good writing time doing unnecessary things I like less than writing. Work and dishes are necessary, but so is writing. Now let’s all get the fuck off the Internet and write.
Fangs and Clause 
I signed up for Nanowrimo to get wereduck done.
I’m blaming you.
Good on all accounts. 🙂
I signed up too, then immediately lost interest in reporting my progress.
But are you doing it?
Not exactly. I’m going to write my ass off for the month of November, but 50K for me is not doable—I’ll be lucky to end up with 30. My goal is to get my story sketched out beginning to end so that I can spend the rest of the winter revising and have something for my agent in the spring.
Writing your ass off is the most important part. Xo
Two important corrections:
1) you are not lazy
2) it’s not a mixed metaphor. Things that go to bed then wake up and see the light of day.
Two important points:
1) you rock!
2) Mom and Dad would be stoked (antipodean expression meaning “over the moon”)
Two pieces of unsollicited advice:
1) you don’t have to do the dishes, but it doesn’t take long to make the bed
2) not too much coffee, dear, or you may lose focus.
yours truly,
Dr Cougar
Oh Indy. You can’t talk about writing thousands of words (thousands!!!!!!!) and then say, I’m lazy. Um, no. Just NO.
I don’t think I’m lazy right now, just earlier when I was writing zero words.