One word at a time

I shouldn’t be disappointed with a 1000-word morning, given that I have only about 75 minutes to write by the time I get started. Thirty percent lower than yesterday, but still pretty good. Three months of 1000-word days and I’d have a 90,000 word manuscript.

I guess it’s just that the story didn’t flow quite as well today as it did yesterday. I didn’t get to the end of the chapter, and what should have been an intriguing peek at one character through the eyes of another felt like hard work. But, the trick is, I guess, to just keep going. It can always be fixed later, and I’m further now than I was this time yesterday.

I had an idea for another little chapter at the end of this section. Not sure exactly how it will play out yet, but it could be fun.

I’ve got a four-day weekend ahead. Our company granted us Monday as a floating holiday to make the nice long break. In the coming month, I’ll have three long weekends: this one, one for NECON and one for a family vacation. I won’t know what to do with myself when I have to work full time again.

I’m enjoying By a Slow River by Philippe Claudel, translated from the French by Hoyt Rogers. It’s a beautifully written story of crime in a French village against the backdrop of the first world war. The juxtaposition of “normal” life against bombs and young men marching to their deaths is surreal. The tale has a touch of existential angst, but the prose is stunning.