February: Novel Writing Begins

A writer friend and I made a pack in early January that, come February, we would both consciously devote time to working on our novels. We've been discussing how, exactly, each of us will make time for this endeavour. What I have come up with is this:

• I will spend a minimum of two hours each morning novel writing.
• I will not check e-mail, blog, or post on Facebook or Twitter until novel writing time is complete
• I will produce a minimum of 1500 new words each day. Editing is to be kept to a minimum or non-exsistent.
• I will write Mon-Fri. Ideally we'll each get in an hour of writing time on Saturday, but it is optional depending on schedules. Sunday is a rest day.
• My friend and I will report weekly on our progress. *We are allowed two "pass" days a month where life interferes and we just can't get to the writing.

I'm hoping to spend closer to 3-4 hours per day on creative writing time, but edits to my cat book are coming in and I need to allow time to edit/rewrite portions of that.

I recognize that what I've written above is the dieter's equivalent of declaring, "I will eliminate all refined sugar from my diet, go to the gym 6 days a week, and not snack between meals until I am a size 2."

And yet... I have hope the schedule will stick. It's two hours first thing in the morning. It's a matter of sticking to it for a month so the habit forms. Blair asked what I would do facilitate the above behaviors and other than sheer force of will, what I came up with is that I'll check e-mail right before I go to bed at night, just to assure myself nothing urgent is waiting for me, and I'll turn off my computer's Internet connection at night so it's not hooked up in the morning when I sit myself down, tempting me with e-mail and Facebook.

Will it work? I've been dieting for years and am not anywhere near a size 2 so a pessimist would say, "no." But I luv me a new schedule and routine. And I've felt an internal shift that has said, "You're ready to work on the novel."

Ready or not, February, here I come.

Invasion of the Snails

About a month ago we noticed a tiny snail in our fish tank. We guessed he'd arrived unnoticed on a new plant we'd just added to the tank. He was cute. And fast. Little snail dude could make some time as he scooted around the tank.

I mentioned to my yoga instructor that we had a snail and she warned me to be careful. "I think they can reproduce on their own," she said.

Naturally, I ignored this.

Fast forward 3 weeks. Our little snail dude has gotten quite big and we're attached to him--he's part of the tank. Then we notice a baby snail dude hanging out next to him. Had the snail reproduced? Nah, we decided. We'd put yet another plant in the tank and figured this snail also had hitched a ride. Two snails--how fun!

Yesterday evening: I walk by the tank, stop, and go back. I lean in to examine the rock. Guess what? Covered in snails. I stopped counting when I got to eight. Blair came home from work and I welcomed him with the words, "We've got a snail problem."

Here's the bad part: we got rid of them. All of them, including our big buddy, First Snail. I haven't reconciled the hypocritcal part of me that does animal rescue with the fact that I'm willing to trash snails to keep my tank clean. I went online and did some reading and pet stores won't take them. What does one do with snails? I feel bad but apparently not bad enough to put up with snails. I just didn't see an end in sight. How many snails would 8-12 snails produce in a week? A month? A year? The only way we saw to keep the tank was to make a clean start.

I'm sorry, little snails. I enjoyed your brief time with us.

We'll be checking those plants a whole lot closer in the future.

Commitments

Looking ahead to the month of February and doing a quick count, I see I'm already scheduled for 23 hours of appointments, not including drive time. These range from everything from board and marketing meetings to teaching a class at the Greensboro Women's Center, attending a friend's book launch to my radio show, coffee with friends to Artist Dates. 

In the middle of each month, as I look at my growing list of commitments, I always swear to do better next month and not overburden myself. "I'll just say 'no,'" I tell myself. Doesn't happen.

Part of it is that I want to be at all these places. Board meetings and seeing friends and volunteer work is important to me. But so is writing and sometimes I feel like I let go of my time for that in order to "fit in" everything else, instead of the other way around. But I'm grateful I have the kind of work and schedule that allows me to fit in so many different things. I wouldn't want to stay home every day and just write. I'd go insane.

Balance is key. I keep hoping I'll just luck into it as I go, but it may be time to break down and put a bit more thought into what I can and can't commit too--even as it relates to coffee with friends or driving into town for a run. 

Gotta go. Got to get some work done before I shoot into Greensboro for today's appointments. =)

Did You Feel A Gust of Wind Blow By? Yeah, It Was Me

I am one happy runner. Did a 10-mile run this morning at an overall 8:35 pace. Flying for me. Did the first 4 at an 8:20 pace, slowed down a little for an average of 8:30 pace by mile 6, and slowed down a little more after that for the 8:35 pace finish. Still, I usually run closer to a 9-minute pace so I'm thrilled. And really, really tired. Pretty certain I see a nap in my near future.