February 27, 2009
I know what you’re wondering right now. How have I been doing with the new, increased daily word count quota? I put it in place last weekend, boosting my daily goal of 1,000 words to 1,200 words. Only by doing that, I calculated, could I finish the current novel in time for the April 15 workshop deadline. So how has it been working out? About like you’d expect: some days easy, some days not so easy. Pretty much the way writing always goes, at least in my experience. The numbers have actually been pretty solid. Since last Saturday, I’ve only missed the 1,200-word mark one time…and then, only by 74 words. And I made up for missing that day by clocking a cool 1900 words the very next day. So yeah, you could say the new quota is working out. But honestly, it has boosted my stress level. It’s on my mind a lot more, because I know I need to carve out more time if I want to make a run at hitting the goal. But I do feel positive after hitting the mark so often this week, because this wasn’t an easy week. There’s been a ton of stress at work, and I’ve been getting an extraordinarily late start most evenings for various reasons…meeting with a contractor Monday (for several hours), having dinner with friends Tuesday, etc. So maybe there’s hope that I can keep this up through April and finish the novel as planned. Please keep rooting for me; I’m sure your good thoughts are helping me reach my goals.
Now, it’s time for today’s travel photo. This one is from my honeymoon in July 2001…a shot of Wendy and me at Opaekaa Falls on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. What a beautiful place! See you tomorrow!
Kauai, Hawaii, 2001
