Pointless Rambling Number 24

I have made a pact with myself to write at least one page per day on my book. It seems daunting when I’m not doing it, but when I sit down and start, I usually end up writing more. I guess that is the point of forcing oneself to write regularly, especially in spite of jobs and children. It is satisfying and somewhat overwhelming at the same time. I know what I’m going to say, but when I think of all of it, it makes me feel like a mountain climber at the base of Everest. Good luck with that.

I wish I had a trusted adviser, someone to whom I could turn when things go funny or when I have serious questions about how to live my life. I don’t, really. Have an adviser, I mean. Today there was more added to the conundrum at work. I ended up feeling worse, rather than, if not better, at least the same. This was not satisfying. I don’t want to dwell on it, but there is no one to talk to about it, and I think talking would help take it out of my head somewhat. Maybe that’s the real reason we all pair up, so there is someone at home we can talk to about what is going on in our lives. Too often I have conversations I can’t have with anybody.

My baby has a cold and as a consequence, when she fell asleep this afternoon at 5, she just stayed asleep. She is still sleeping. I tried to wake her up, but she wasn’t interested. She drank more milky and went back to sleep. Three times. Her little nose is stuffed up, poor dear.

Big child is washing the dishes. She is plugged into my ipod and listening to the soundtrack of O Brother Where Art Thou. She is singing songs from it. I suppose that, while I’m dismayed she is plugged in and not having a conversation with a live human (namely, me), she is still listening to something I simply cannot object to. Even more entertaining is the fact that periodically, she calls out a line in a song and gives a little shake to her butt. Down to the river to pray! Butt shake. Oh sinners, let’s go down! Butt shake. Good Lord, show me the way! Butt shake. Priceless.

2 thoughts on “Pointless Rambling Number 24

  1. I like the premise here. ONE page a day. 250 words. What’s daunting about that? At one page a day, you can finish a 200 page book draft in less than seven months. That’s quite respectable, really.

    Reality: if we stick to that effort to sit down to write “Just one” we are definitely more likely to get 3 or 4, and 3 or 4 will produce a 200 page book in two months. Self-discipline has some serious rewards, doesn’t it?

    • It’s working. I like your perspective. It is the turtle’s way of getting the darn thing done. I’ve had a long piece done for a while, but haven’t made much headway, mainly because I’m daunted by how much is left. One step at a time, one page at a time, is really the only way to manage it. It’s kind of like my writer’s 12 step program or something…one day at a time! Since making my pact, I have managed more than 1 page a day. It has been true that I write more once I start. It’s starting that is the key.

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