Day 8: Nothing Much Happens

12:20 Okay. Am going to plan out my day today. I will get this done. I will.

I think my problem was, I got so confident that I could knock the words over in a few hours, that i just kept putting them off, and putting them off, and putting them off, until the day was over and I hadn’t done any work at all.

Just hope that I’ll figure out where this story is going…

12:30 GO!

12:43 Writer’s squee!!!!! 10 000 words!

Still haven’t used that coffee sachet.

1:11 I cannot spell ‘occasionally’.

1:31 More writer’s squee! I broke the one-thousand words in an hour mark!

2:43 Back to my old tricks again, and only started now. I’m going to skip the break I had planned and write for an hour and a half. That’ll have to be it before I have another break.

2:54 Okay. Life is catching up with me. Again. I’ll aim to get 3000 words done today, and then people who have to come over will come over.

5:16 Okay. They aren’t coming, and I got distracted for almost two hours. I will just get the other 800 words done today. I’m on 11971 now. I need 12800 words at the very minimum. This. Can. Be. Done. But first I have to unload the dishwasher. This sucks.

5:30 I. hate. Life. 12003 words, but I don’t care. I have things to do and I just can’t…

It’s just so depressing writing so much and not being ahead, but instead being miserably behind.

Think I may be stressing a little.

Day 7: Falling Behind

The Sum Total of My Day:

Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. 5:51 and I haven’t even started. My friends stayed over for twenty-two hours. I need to make up at least 1800 words for yesterday AND today. Each. I’m just gonna shut up and write now.

Have been in a dramatic mood all day. Think it’s all those movies.

Got distracted on internet.

Well. Today, I wrote a total of 500 measly words. I’ve had the ambition to be writing 2000 words per day instead of 1800, and if I’m going to do that, I need to make it up before I’m too much behind. With that in place, I am five thousand five hundred words behind, starting tomorrow. I’m not looking forward to catching up.

Want to quit.

Day 6: Delays

It’s a quarter past one. I still haven’t started. Got distracted on the JulNoWriMo forums, as well as various other writing sites.

Sometimes wonder if these aren’t more of a hindrance than a help.

I’ve got to finish this before six because we’re having a sleepover tonight.

Stole coffee sachet from mum’s jar. Still haven’t had the guts to actually use it.  It’s lying on top of my CD collection–right on top of Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson’s debut.  Sorry, guys.

2:04 Must… Start…

5:12 The bathroom cometh back to haunt me! Must clean! Have not started at all!

The kitchen smells like chicken and nail polish remover and its making me sick. Finished bathroom in record time. Then friends came over. Have not had chance to write at all.

Day 5: Fights

Again, am tired. Must write. Must get this done.

I want to kill my family.

12:32 have bagsed silence for one hour, much to the disgruntlement of family. Must make the most of this and write.

12:52 Have only done 200 words. I’m jumping from place to place with no real idea what I’m writing today.

1:14 My back really hurts.

1:22 Cushion is helping. 10 minutes to go. Have written 696 words today. Must sit up straight.

1:42 Still going strong. Very happy with this. Am up to 7869 words in total. (1101 words today.) Back is sore. Am certain that today’s blog post will not be an exciting read. Have managed to stay at computer for an hour and ten minutes without getting very distracted! Am very happy with this.

1:52 8000 words, YEAH! (Why am I looking up only every ten minutes exactly?)

2:00 Ernst doesn’t seem very real to me. He might be the heroine’s love interest, but he’s not the main part of the story, and so he’s getting shoved off to the side. Thank goodness I’m writing this organically—I can just go back and add a bit here, a bit there. And I’m sure more will come—after all, it’s only day five and I haven’t even cleared 10 000 words yet!

2:01 Sisters have re-invaded loungeroom in full force. Hope I won’t lose concentration. I’ve only got 300 words to go and then I’ll’ve completed 1600 in one sitting.

2:06 Laugh track on Hannah Montana is strangely enticing…

2:11 Have managed not to look around yet, but haven’t written anything for ten minutes.

2:13 Am giving up for now. Maybe I’ll find some peace and quiet later.

6:35 FINALLY! Peace and quiet. And I need roughly another thousand words. Well, 800 isn’t such a big number, and neither is 200. So 1000 isn’t scaring me either.

6:43 Oh, great. The TV’s going back on AGAIN!

Later: Had fight with sisters over quiet and computer. I asked Dad for earplugs. When I tooke them out later, discovered that the inside of my ear is disgusting. Mum had to call me to dinner twice.

Later: inserted earplugs when brother and sisters put on Get Smart. Has worked. Don Adams and Barbara Feldon shall have no power over me!

Day 4: Settling In

Well, I didn’t end up doing more. I got lazy. Plus Jon and his mum came over. I told him what I was doing, and he told me he reckons 1600 words a day would be easy. That’s all he knows, I thought. And then I wondered if it were true.

What if today is the day that I finally setttle into a proper,working writing habit? What if today is the day I learn to knock it over in one big stretch?

Am not sure how realistic I’m being. Will stop grand dreams, and go and make a hot chocolate. Any hot drink will do in the place of coffee (and fake coffee at that!), right?

Got distracted looking up writing quotes on goodreads.com last night, until a massive 1:40 am. I am so stupid.

Later: it has just struck me that I’ve got no idea how I’m going to manage this once school goes back. I’d better either a) rack up a huge amount of wordcount now so that I don’t need to type as much when school goes back b) rack up an even huger amount of wordcount (not likely) so that I don’t need to type at ALL or c) get into a good rhythm so I can do this as fast as possible. Will try for combination of a) and c).

Okay. So my JulNo word count needs to be at least 1613 words today. My personal goal is for 1800. If I want to make up my personal goal for all the days I missed, I need to write a further 600 words in total. I will tackle this 200 words at a time, for a total of 7200 words. I hope I can do this.

10:21 Still haven’t started. Slight problem with converting documents from ODT to DOC format. Damn. I’ve lost those 39 all-important words. Meaning I am behind.

11:21 Still haven’t started. Decided long hot shower would have motivational powers. (Also realised that hair is Noticably Unwashed.) Instead, have emerged clean, tired, and completely unmotivated. Hot chocolate does not work. Will have coffee sachet tomorrow instead. Mum doesn’t appear to have noticed she’s missing one yet, so this should be all good.

11:30 Okay. For one hour I will sit and write. Have banned all noise from the loungeroom, much to consternation of my TV-obsessed siblings. I will try and do 800 words.

12:04 Am taking quick time to note that I’ve written 600 words in roughly half an hour. Will try for another 450 in the next 25 minutes. Mandates of peace and quiet are working. Am actually a little more motivated. It has taken me 2 minutes to write this. Must get back to work.

Just how many pages is 50 000 words, anyway?

12:23 200 words to go and 7 minutes. Hm.

12:27 100 words to go…

12:30 I can’t believe I’ve done it. 5850 words! I am in the ZONE, baby! And I didn’t even need coffee!

1:08 After triumph, intercepted by sick mother who begged me to make muffins for her. Felt sorry for her. Acquiesed. After all, she is sick. Am now covered in flour, but am not grumpy, so this won’t make for interesting reading.

3:05 Okay, after sitting at an ‘afternoon tea party’ with two of my mother’s friends, I am back. 2 reasons for this:

a) felt guilty for not writing for so long.

b) felt squeamish as we were sitting there discussing death and people who cut themselves. Charming. Very idiosyncratic. Hope that word means what I think it means.

Now am settling in for another hour of writing. Aiming for 900 words, against better judgement.

GO!

3:32 I just wrote the last words of the story (I’m jumping from event to event), and think I’ve just found the title: Finding Nick. I feel so buoyed up and hopeful after writing the end of it. Like a spiritual lightness or something. Sheesh, am I poetic or what?

3:39 Just went to tell mum I made 6400 words.Her friends (who are so close to the family that they’re really like my aunties—I even call them ‘aunty’) wanted to know what was going on. Explained. Aunty Francine said, “Good on you, Stephanie.” I said, “It’s going to be rubbish, because it’s my first.” Auntie Sue said, “If you’re going to do it, aim to do it well.” I said, “I just want to finish.” Auntie Francine said, “That’s a good goal, Stephanie.”

Did not agree with Auntie Sue (know she means well, and normally she’s got good advice, but not this time), but didn’t say anything as this would be rude. Will not let this bother me. Succeeding, because finishing the finish has left me on a high. Now all I’ve got to do is the middle. I know that’s a lot, but it seems more managable now. I’ve got a clear goal; it’s not so nebulous now. I guess the way to do something is to write the end first. I heard somewhere that JK Rowling did that.

Mum gave me a coffee sachet. Felt a little guilty.

3:45 Must go back and try and finish… I’ve forgotten how much I need to finish, now. Will call it 500 words.

4:06 Didn’t write. Instead, got distracted with looking up Australian Broadcasting Corporation podcasts. Now have 20 downloads waiting. Good news though: Ice Age short ‘Gone Nutty’ is free. Love that squirrel-rat-thing…Will take a break and come back to write at 4:30. Back is slightly sore. Just under 800 words to go and then I’m back on track for 1800 words per day: 7200 in total.

4:32 Spent about 3 minutes working out that 1800 x 4 = 7200. What shame.

5:36 Have not written anything. Lost concentration yet again. Back is sore. WHERE ARE MY 800 WORDS????

5:44 Have a sneaking suspicion that my 800 words will be distracted out of existence. Must go out and hang washing so that I have something to wear to church tomorrow.

6:00 Have just given up a movie night tonight (we’re going out for tea) and a movie afternoon tomorrow, because I know I won’t have time to go to church, walk home and still write 1800 words. First sacrifices. Writers’ glamour still hangs over these, and so I can bear it.

Suspect I will be heartily sick of sacrifices before long. Am making the most of this while I still can.

6:14 550 words before I hit 7200. Magic number. My back has been getting sorer and sorer throughout the day. Even cushions and throw rugs are not helping.

9:17 Am back from tea. Stuffed self full of cake and pizza. Have learned the Dangers of Greed. Tried to fall asleep on sister numerous times. Sore back plus wooden bench did not help. Am 32 words shy of 6800.

 I think writing the end before I finished was a good idea. I mean, I did want to save it for a sentimental final act, you know, so I could type the last word and then do the whole bowed-head one-minute’s silence for a finished work type of thing. (And then sit back in relief and sigh dramatically.) But I guess this way will actually help me craft—and finish!—a better novel.

Suspect that this will be more of an organic and practical process than I realised. This may not have a clear-cut ending, where I’m absolutely sure I’m finished. I think it’ll be more of a gradual process. Gradual is good.

Huh. And I was sure I was a linear writer. Obviously not. Then again, this way gives you more freedom, and freedom is always a good thing, right?

Can’t wait to see what’s going to happen in my story tomorrow. Like, I really can’t. I’m super, super excited. And I think I’ve made the first steps toward a writing ‘stride’. (Think I just made a pun there, but am not sure.)

Day 3: Recuperation

Well, I DNF’d last night. Not exactly impressed with myself. Didn’t even make the JulNo wordcount. However, it was out of necessity. Was only wasting time on internet, not actually working. Dad caught me. Told me to cut my losses and go to bed. He was probably right, actually. First time I’ve ever been grateful to him for that.

Okay, he’s stopped looking over my shoulder. Moralising over. I’m tackling this in 400-word chunks today. Got a good plan for it. Unfortunately, it began at 8:30 this morning. It is now 8:56 (thankyou, computer clock).

Had one of mum’s good coffee sachets this morning. (Forgot to ask. Hope she won’t mind.) Decaf, but I thought it would fool me into a) waking up properly and b) feeling like a ‘writer’. Writers drink coffee, don’t they?

9:20. Stupid ImpishIdea. Kept me on some sims re-enactment because everyone was waiting for me to go. They of all people should respect JulNoWriMo!

Think the non-existent caffeine is wearing off. At least I think I can write today. Yesterday was handy. I had a whole lot of unfinished sentence strings that I can build on now.

To keep up with my word goal, I need 5400 words. JulNo needs me to have at least 4839.

9:36 3300 words! I’m ecstatic! Just a hundred more and then I can either keep going or do something else for half an hour! Bliss…

9:37 Have caught myself not sitting up straight. Must correct that starting from now. 

9:38 In an amazing display of go-getting and positive, instant action, just grabbed a gigantic cushion. I’m being pushed almost off my computer chair (yes, I finally graduated from piano stool), but it’s worth it. I feel like the granny in that Monty Python Spanish Inquisition sketch.

9:40 20 minutes to go. Have a sneaking suspicion that this log is taking up a lot of my time.

9:49 What is wrong with me today? I’ve almost knocked over 400 words already! Just 43 more to go and I’ll’ve done my first 400 for the day—in less than an hour! (It’s probably that I’m under no pressure to do it word-perfect, but I’m going to ignore that and have a quiet triumph. Still, it was hard last night. Might actually have something to do with the fact that I actually prayed before doing this this time around.)

9:54 Must… resist… temptation…to…check…email…

17 words to go.

9:55 Am actually dreaming of finishing this. Is this a dangerous dream? Will I just be disillusioned again tomorrow? Whatever! Have signed in to hotmail, but valiantly minimised it before I could get a look at my inbox. Must resist temptation to restore the window. It starts small. Soon, the next thing you know, you’ll be robbing banks… Must… resist…

Heh heh. For 17 more words at least.

9:57. Aurgh!!! I only have 3 minutes left and I’ve spent so long on writing THIS—I’m going to shut up and write.

9:59 YES!!!!!

11:01 Should’ve started half an hour ago. Got distracted replying to fictionpress reviews. Stupidity itself.

11:03 I’m not even going to worry about my spelling, grammar (although they’re usually okay), word choice, or writing flaws. I’m just going to write.

11:04 Must. Write. Grr.

11:16 Am getting very distracted by my email…

11:29 Out of necessity, have swapped computers. Mum wanted to watch TV and I needed to type. Moved to Dad’s office, which he said I could use. He does not, however, like me using the net on his computer, so I literally can’t get distracted here.

11:30 Unless I can hear the TV.

11:31 And also unless my face is tightening up because I had a shower during my break and forgot to moisturise. Very uncomfortable.

11:40 3727 words. 63 more to go, and twenty minutes to do it in. One thing I’m not going to do is to celebrate before I’m finished, and I’m not going to be overly optimisitic–after all, this could be just a fluke, and not the normal pattern, and it could cut out at any time, but you know what? I’m going to increase my goal for 12:00 to 263 more words instead of just 63. May as well get a few more in…

11:45 Wow. Reflecting on this is a lot more fun that actually writing. Although I’m enjoying writing again, and I think it shows in the quality of my work (although still not very high, that’s something!). I really think I can do this! Now to actually get back to work…

11:49 My face is now itching.

11:55 4055 words!!! I broke the 4000 mark! (Now comes the writer’s squee.) I actually managed to do this! only 750 more to make the JulNo standard, and I can definitely knock that over! I’m just a little worried that I’ve spent too much time on the introductions to everything. However, I have begun to skip parts and write some ahead, so that’s okay. My diary is really coming in handy, now. It’s very easy to forget what a year nine writes like. I’m so glad I kept keeping the diary, even though it seemed pointless at the time. Actually, my year eleven experiences will come in handy, too. But I’m going to have to wing it from year twelve onwards, relying on only my friends (I do have a couple in uni, thank goodness) to help me. If my character goes to uni.

…I keep forgetting this log is not JulNoWriMo and I don’t have to lengthen it as much as possible.

12:00 This seat is not comfortable at all. Might go steal the other one later.

12:46 Mum ruined the movie she’s watching for me. ( a movie I haven’t seen, and was very much looking forward TO seeing). Apparently the love interest dies. Way to go, Mum! I’m feeling so annoyed, I might just kill James off in a car accident. Which reminds me. I really should start writing.

12:49 Any minute now…

12:50 GO!

1:06 I’m starting to wonder if I shouldn’t pick up my game and aim for more words in less time. Then I’d actually be able to do stuff that’s non-writing-related. Like I have a sleepover on Monday.

1:09 I really should keep writing. Instead, I’m munching down my sisters’ school lunch bars like there’s no tomorrow! (How come they get all the good stuff?)

1:20 I am writing a character who is not very much like me, in a style I dislike. I thought it would be fun to narrate the way F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby (a novel I actually have homework on for this holidays. Must do it.). It is very hard, and I’m doing a terrible job.

(In hindsight, it’s probably not wise to take on the Great American Novelist for first novel.)

1:40 have done 220 words.Know I can do more. Goal was 4400, but now I’ll aim for 4600 words.

2:30 Everybody on ImpishIdea is posting in German for some reason. Am spending unfortunate amount of time on Google Translator (amount of known German is enough to ask for a coffee with milk and sugar, as well as ask if this is your luggage?). Want to kill Puppet for posting in Estonian.

Face is still itchy.

2:42 After complicated messing around with programs on the computer, typed up some more, and then lost almost 100 words. Must get them back. Am currently on 4200 words again. I have until 4:00 to get up to 4600. Have noticed I am slightly less motivated, and now have fixation with saving backups every ten seconds. This is not necessarily a good thing.

2:49 4222 words. I can do this. No, really, I can.

3:06 4257. I thought I’d done more, for some reason.

3:17 4478. Pleasant surprise! Will readjust goal for 4839 words– where I should be up to by now. Oddly enough, i haven’t gotten very far throught the main story. But that’s okay. It will come in time.

I am either thinking very rationally, or overly optimistically. I can’t tell which. (Query: where is the line of rational thought that divides optimism and pessimism? Is there one at all?)

3:41 4580. Shouldn’t have spent so much time on the other computer doing more admin on this blog, but that’s my distractibility for you. Speaking of which, I’ve got 220 more words to go, and then I’m back on track for the day!

3:50 138 words to go… Have noticed that I am developing compulsive habit of checking the word count every two minutes.

4:00 Will finish it later. Less than 113 words to go. I am so easily distracted…

5:06 Have just spent over an hour posting yesterday’s blog post on wordpress. Must find a way to do this quicker.

5:44 Just spent ten minutes being distracted by little brother’s friend Charlie, who can’t seem to stop talking about today’s sports day. Tried to give him a couple of hints, but it’s impossible to give hints to people who don’t seem to realise they need them.

Still nothing much to go. Have noticed so far that I can’t get anything done after about 4 or 5 o’clock, but this is a bit of a generalisation as it’s so early on.

5:53 YES! Everything from hereonin is clear profit! 600 more words if I want to keep up to what I’ve decided will be my standard: 1800 words per day. I think I can do this.

Day 2: Why Does Disillusionment Have to Come So Early?

Sore back came back to haunt me. I can’t get comfortable in my seat today.

Didn’t get enough sleep last night, either. Was listening to a podcast of Behind the Grammar with Mignon Fogerty, and had insane urge to go and comment on everything she said at her blog. Did so. It lasted 3 ½ MS Word pages, and one and a half hours, by which time it was 12:30 am. Got to sleep with effort. I think I’ll stick with listening to The Mysteries of Udolpho before bed instead.

Interesting BTG fact: J.C. Hutchins wrote 12-hour days for two and a half months to get Personal Effects: Dark Arts going. I don’t think I could stand that. It strikes me that at the moment, I am, in a nutshell, getting the writing experience. I wonder if I’m going to like it. Will reserve judgement for now.

Practiced driving for the second ever time, but with mum this time. Before I began to write (should’ve started in the morning, but didn’t). I was getting stressed about ten minutes in, but didn’t pay attention to myself and kept going. I mention it because it resulted in a massive headache, which I’ve still got. Must learn from this.

Later: Have just realised that I’ve introduced a bunch of characters that are not necessary, and that I need to dispense with. At the same time, words just aren’t flowing like they were yesterday. It’s a struggle to get a single word down on a page, and my thoughts are all over the place. Kept getting distracted. I’ve been setting goal limits of 300 words at a time, as well as writing bits of the book that will go nearer to the end, and that’s helping. I think I’m ready to quit. Then I remember all the people I told about doing this, and I realise that there’s no way I’m ready to give up just yet. I’m only two days in, for heaven’s sake!

I just have to finish. I don’t have to care about it deeply. I just have to care about the power of finishing. I can do that.

Later: Just made it to 3000 words. Every time I crack a thousand-word mark I get insanely excited. I think my brain is melting into something that only responds to writing-related stimuli. The mental image that comes with this is something resembling a molten, squashed mass that sits sluggishly at the keyboard all day, cheering pathetically whenever another word is typed. What a sad, sad thing.

Later: Mum has Spoken. I must Clean The Bathroom as my Job For Today. Not allowed to alternate writing with cleaning. Ended up wandering around the bathroom in circles holding an extremely muddy toothbrush, going, okay, okay, okay. Very tired. Have begun walking around like a turtle—head down, moping, can barely concentrate on anything external around me. Will not give into coffee.

5 minutes later: Am trying to snatch a few more moments on the computer. Have noticed all these flaws in my writing: among them the tendency to the word ‘notice’. And how exactly has Louisa been shaped by living in such a small town all her life? Have since rationalised that the goal is to finish, not to be great at it, and can always edit it if I really want to when July is finished.

10 minutes later: have now resolved that the only coffee I will drink in this endeavour is good quality freshly-made coffee, because I hate instant. But I won’t ask for it. I’ll just grab as much as possible if it’s offered.

12 minutes later: just how many toothbrushes are there in this bathroom? Have counted four. Repeat query for baby wipes (the last time any of us needed them was roughly seven or eight years ago), empty bottles of conditioner (5 big ones, 1 bigger one, and numerous travel ones), and hairballs (disgustingly large number that I decline to reveal).

Found a pretty rock when cleaning that I used to treasure when I was younger,  just because I could. Thought of throwing it away–after all, keeping it would just be a useless display of sentimentality towards sentimentality. Even if nobody was watching.

Kept rock.

Mum told me to grab a toothbrush and scrub the tiles around the bathtub with bleach. Tried to grab one of the few that weren’t entirely encrusted with dirt. Reasonably sure it wasn’t Dad’s. (Apparently one of the latent toothbrushes is Dad’s when he, for some reason, deems it necessary to use the kids’ bathroom.)

20 minutes later: I hate everything. Will beg for coffee when mum’s in a better mood. Still refusing to drink instant.

Have just had my first introduction to bleach. (Unfortunately, not the manga.) Did not like it. Was afraid of getting some on skin immediately after mum demonstrated with the spray bottle and got some over herself. Had unreasonable day-dream-nightmares about slipping and landing with a whole bottle of bleach all over myself. Vivid imaginings of blisters and bubbled skin ensued. Felt it necessary, at this point, to remind myself that I have never actually seen a bleach burn and therefore it will not do to get carried away. Scrubbed.

25 minutes later: Have just spent five minutes using shower cleaner on the bath. Am now convinced that the world is a fantastic place. Still have a raging headache, but that doesn’t matter.

Hope the toothbrush I used wasn’t Dad’s.

Later: Shower cleaner has worn off. Am reluctantly cleaning the bathroom to within an inch of its life and I still need 500 more words to make the 3 600 deadline, and I have a singing lesson in half an hour.

Am beginning to feel like a zombie–frantically dashing between bathroom and computer to try and finish this damn JulNo. All I am doing is posting to this blog instead of actually writing. Grr.

5.15 The headache is still going and I hate the world again. All is normal. Now, off to my singing lesson. I smell like bleach.

Later: Learnt some useful things. Found a new register. But am very, very tired.

Succesfully mediated argument between self and mother about multi-tasking vs. doing one thing at a time. Appeared as ‘mature’ as possible. It worked. I won by a reasonable margin. Unfortunately, I now see her side of the argument, too.

Have not written anything for about two or three hours now.

…On contemplation, this very setback has some sort of lingering and attractive glamour of ‘the writer’ about it, and so I will not quit for the moment. Must remember that I am stupid.

7.37 Do. Not. Want. To. Write. 500. More. Words. Am far more interested in editing blog post. Well, in anything other than this, really. But must get to bed early. Must write now…

7.39 Could cut my losses and begin afresh tomorrow…

Homework, fanfiction updates, and beta jobs are following me around as well. Did request one of my authors to find a new beta-reader for the month of July, but messages crossed in the ether and I found a message she’d written praising me for being the best editor she’s ever had. Relented. Sent back an ‘I’m sure we can work something out for July’ message back. Still waiting on reply. Am very, very, very tired.

Instant coffee, at this moment, sounds fantastic.

Day 1: On Your Mark, Get Set…

Woke up early this morning, getting ready to Start Writing. Motivated and excited.

I had pretty bad posture whilst writing (after all, I was using a piano stool), but today is the only day I’ll do that. Surely it won’t affect anything.

Had a great writing session–I even managed to go over both the recommended word allowance for today (1613) and MY word allowance goal (1700), and did 1902 words in four hours! And that was with distractions! Everything was just flowing–I couldn’t stop writing. Felt smug. This is a pushover.

Am sure that all the horror stories of JulNo are just that: stories. It’s pretty easy, and all I need to do is knock over 1600 words a day at the very least! Simple.

I’ll’ve written a book in no time. And with this behind me, I will be unstoppable. I’ll write and I’ll write and I’ll write… (Yes, I’m being honest here. This is what was going through my head.) Had dreams of being a world-famous author. Did a very long fake interview using my mirror and an Impulse can. Didn’t feel stupid afterwards, which is a rare occurence.

Later:
My back is very, very sore. Must remember to sit up straight properly next time.