duck-shaped pain

See, that's my big problem when it comes to writing projects. I can come up with ideas, and I can be pretty enthusiastic at first, but having the perseverance to finish what I started is where I tend to stumble. So maybe having a goal to just get something done, no matter what it ends up being, might help. And then I can say I accomplished something while on my break, besides seeing red rocks and tall buildings.

Oh, the crap I am going to churn out�

Fiction is not my strong suit, really. I am perfectly adept at writing about things that happened to me, or adapting real-life events into something else, but coming up with something out of the blue never seems to work for me. So this will be a challenge.

Or not. This morning, while I was thinking about whether I should join, I came up with an idea of sorts. It is indeed related to something that happened to me, but that may not be what it ends up being about. The events provide a sort of structure to base things around, but what I have in mind could be quite different. And that's all I'm going to say for now, plot-wise.

Making this more of a challenge is that I'm going to be on the road for portions of November, driving through New Mexico and Arizona, and then going to New York. There will be quite a few days devoted to being at home, though, which is good. I type really fast, too, which is even better. I'll try to keep you all appraised of my progress, but I also get a personal progress tracker on the NaNoWriMo site, too. [1]

Today and yesterday have been pretty mellow. Yesterday, I reached new heights of indolence by wearing slippers all day. After four days of walking around in orthopedically correct shoes, my feet were ready to be cradled in faux fleece for a awhile. Next time, take two pairs of shoes.

I also spent a bunch of time reading. The only new book I bought in Denver was Pot on the Fire: Further Exploits of a Renegade Cook by the ever-excellent John Thorne. Lots of essays about obsessive searches for sandwiches, deep thoughts about rice and pizza, a long piece about my favorite food to make (several passages of which had me reeling in self-recognition) and other treasures. I've wanted to read his books for ages, and I finally broke down and bought one. Then I set a personal record: I only made it halfway through this book before I decided I needed to go order the others. Now I'll have plenty of things to distract me from writing my crappy novel.

Did I buy some CDs when I was in Denver? Oh yes I did�

• Bellavista Terrace - The Best of the Go-Betweens. Excellent.

• The Essential Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. Also excellent.

• Some Felt record which doesn't seem to have an identifiable title, but which is really good.

• Arty Barbecue -- The Cannanes. I generally like the Cannanes a lot, based on the seven-inches of theirs I have, but it was gloomy and rainy when I listened to this, and it didn't really seem to go. So no opinion so far, other than it was okay, and would probably be better on a different day. [2].

• Unrest -- Henry Cow. Clinky, clanky, ultimately compelling. Recommended.

• The Gentle Fields of Foreverland� -- The Gentle Waves. Not recommended. Too twee for even me. I only paid $2 for it (in the miraculous Wax Trax discount promo bin), so not all is lost.

[1] Special Bonus Fun: I had to sign up using my actual name and town, so someday soon I'll be there on the "Team 2001" list and you can try to figure out which one I am. Then again, many of you already know.

[2] Or maybe I just like the idea of the Cannanes better than the reality.

previous | next