As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.
–Henry David Thoreau
Yea, I slacked off and at the same time hit some massive writer’s block. But I can only control what I can control, and I have 18,000 more words to write in the next week! I can still do this, full speed ahead.
I know I slacked off today, but I’ll make it up on the weekend!
Oh yea, I felt it today. Pouring out in a fountain of articles, possessives, terribly corny names and some incredible plot notes, it spewed forth across the plains of my November days. I sense an impending bumper crop! Almost 3,500 words on a Tuesday where I worked 8-6. Nicely done, myself. Well, thank you myself. I hope there are other Nanos out there who read this and get back to writing. My second truth of NaNoWriMo was received today (after the break):
For such a stinker of a game (no surprise there, really, except that the Browns really are that bad). I feel for my Cleveland kin, whose voices I hear in the back of my head lamenting another poor performance by a Cleveland sports team. But, a standout performance by Mike, Jaws, and John. I rarely even acknowledge the presence of announcers not named Madden or Costas or Thorne, but in this case I believe a trophy should be awarded for a ‘clutch’ performance. In the face of unrelenting horribleness, they made the second half of that game immensely entertaining with their unvarnished opinions, discussion of SNF, back and for between Jaws and John, retro highlight reels, and above all highlighting the fact that a quarterback is having a terrible night when he can’t hit the football field with a throw. Hats off to you guys, great job! And keep it up John, work on your polish and you may be the replacement for Madden that we are all hoping and waiting for. My favorite (paraphrased) quote of the night:
I took a break yesterday. Hitting it hard today, I made up the words, however this will be the first week I am not heading in with a cushion. I am hoping I will be able to use the momentum from this 3000+ word day to build it during the week. Will keep you posted, of course!
Ok, I have had enough. If a score is a game winning score (at least!) the call on the field should stand regardless. If it turns out the the scorer is an alien from the planet mars and is packing a ray gun with plans to kill everyone in the arena after the game, the score should still stand. I am sick and tired of getting excited at seeing a score, seeing it ruled a score, and seeing that ruling overturned. I hate it, it is wrong, and the fans are the ones who suffer. Fix it now. And I am talking to you, NFL, NCAA, MLB, NHL, Olympics, etc. Fix it or I swear to you I will stop watching or caring or buying your crappy products. I want enjoyment in my recreation. Who cares which team wins or loses, half the time I could care less. What I really care about is being able to know for sure that what I see is what I get. I get enough false starts and overturned rulings at work, I DON”T NEED IT ON MY DAYS OFF!
Nearing the halfway point. I am quite surprised that even now, if I just sit down and force myself to start writing, I am capable of putting words to the page. I find it easiest to put myself in the mind of the characters. I find it hardest to come up with memorable settings, good dialogue (although there are some good bits here and there), but that is what editing is for! I see where I could make characters deeper, I just don’t have the time to really plan it all out right now, but I am encouraged by this process.
