Darn job

You'd think that I'd get to spend a whole lot of time on a holiday weekend either having fun with the kids or writing, but it didn't seem to work that way! Note the time. I just finished up seven hours of work for my "real job" that I hoped to do Friday, but didn't get the material until last night and tonight. Worked about three hours last night on it (Saturday).

Saturday during the day, I took pity on Todd and attempted to clean out my corner of the bedroom, where I tend to let stuff (mainly papers, books, and dust) pile up until it's all toppling over. We have a couple of book shelves, some short file cabinets, and a small writing desk under the window that I use as my office base now, but it was slowly being taken over with junk. So, I spent about four hours sorting, throwing away, dusting, and re-shelving. Believe it or not, I only made it about 75% through the mess. I have about 3 shelves to go on the second one, and one more box of junk, and everyone will be much happier with me again. I hadn't gone through all my school stuff since I graduated last summer, so am trying to decide what to keep, what to throw away, and how to store it.

I ended filling a big canvas-covered file box that I bought last fall with books I have bought or been given, but haven't read yet. Some may consider this odd (having so many unread) and some may consider this odd (having so few unread). For me, it's the "so many." I usually am just two or three books behind what I want to have read, but got lots of books for Christmas, bought several at the writers' conference a few weekends ago, and got a Half Price Books gift card at Christmas, which I had to spend right away, so I'm flush. At least now I know where I stand, and have no excuse for buying more books for a long time...unless they are really special or a deal I can't pass up!

In the meantime, I have done only a little more writing, but I have been faithful to the index card and pen everywhere system and made a lot more notes for the new project and got all kinds of things worked out. The shower thing seems to keep working. Good thing I don't write horror, or I'd be creeped out all the time. ;) Anyway, I think that I have a whole lot worked out for this book and it should be relatively easy to write!

I found something else that really seems to help with the writing. I open up my document and just start writing the details in a narrative form, without dialogue or worrying about the order it goes in, or many of the descriptive or "pretty" details. Then I go back and write above it, following that, but re-arranging and adding dialogue and other good stuff. That way, I don't forget the stuff before I get it written down, but am not so bogged in trying to "get it right" at the same time! Pretty cool and it works. It's kind of between being an outline (which I have started using, too), only above it, with the "good stuff" above that. Kind of a three-layer deal. And kind of like first-grade writing, if you ask me.

The girl went to the place and saw the guy who told her that she was crazy and she believed him and committed herself to an insane asylum where she met her long-lost brother who was there because he believed he was one of Santa's elves and tried to get a promotion to Santa but Santa didn't like that so he fired him and then he went crazy and ended up there.

See how it works? I promise that is not an excerpt from the real project. It was just my stream of consciousness speaking to me at 2:30 in the morning.