THE DAY
Well, I had the most interesting day. Yes, I wrote a whole bunch. In fact, I woke up multiple times during the night, fretting. Predictably, this means that when I finally push out of bed, I’m less than, well, fresh. But I got up before the husband and started in early because I knew that I would be spending a large chunk of time away from the computer.
For once, though, this wasn’t because of an obligation thing or even a doctor’s appt. (That comes tomorrow, and then again, next week. Bleh. I hate doctors, so imagine what it’s like being one.) But I’m toying with a few ideas for the next book and in the research phase, what the husband calls my “magpie mode.” This is when I’m in the gathering phase and so attracted to all sorts of pretty baubles, though I have no idea which will stick or be important.
So, anyway, today two very sweet and wonderful guys offered to meet to share their experiences and knowledge. This was incredibly generous of them; they’re both professionals and busy people. But their perspective on what I’m researching is one I lack, and certainly their knowledge base is.
So that’s where I had to be this afternoon. So I’m working and it comes time for me to leave for the gym, and I’m looking at the word count and thinking, no, don’t do it, don’t leave now, keep going–because I know myself well enough to understand that once I break away, by the time I drag back into the house (sometime after 6), I’ll be too tired, too focused on getting dinner ready for the husband to go back to work.
Which means I just kept going until the very last second when I absolutely had to leave and go meet with these two men.
After talking to them, what also came home to me is this: when you’re researching, you can’t have an agenda. You gotta go in with as open a mind as you can because there is also more than one side to any given story and the best stories explore nuance. (Well, the ones I like do.)
THEN, I went to the gym, sweated and thought a lot, and dragged back home ;-).
WRITING OUT LOUD
Dark Side of the Moon
Day 1: 4326 Day 11: 2500 Day 21: 1800 Day 31: 745
Day 2: 2085 Day 12: 500 Day 22: 0 Day 32: 0
Day 3: 3011 Day 13: 1000 Day 23: 2700 Day 33: 4000
Day 4: 2652. Day 14: 3700 Day 24: 3500 Day 34: 2800
Day 5: 3210 Day 15: 5630 Day 25: 1500 Day 35: 4500
Day 6: 3450 Day 16: 1060 Day 26: 0 Day 36: 4800
Day 7: 0 Day 17: 130 Day 27: 0 Day 37: 0
Day 8: 2756 Day 18: 0 Day 28: 380 Day 38: 450
Day 9: 4580 Day 19: 3000 Day 29: 390 Day 39: 1000
Day 10: 2670 Day 20: 2600 Day 30: 380 Day 40: 2500
Day 41: 2600 Day 51: 1000 Day 63: 4800
*Day 42: 830 Day 52: 1600
Day 43: 3600 Day 53: 2600
Day 44: 5000 Day 54: 3600
Day 45: 2600 Day 55: 3200
Day 46: 3000 Day 56: 4000
Day 47: 2800 Day 57: 1200
Day 48: 2500 Day 58-60: 0
Day 49: 1000 Day 61: 3500
Day 50: 4600 Day 62: 3000
Blog Post: 620
***
What I’m Watching:
Finished catching up with The Blacklist. Sorry, Liz; I don’t care about the soap opera of your life when all I want is to drool over James Spader.
Then started the first episode of The People vs. O.J. Simpson. I did not expect to like this, but I do.
***
What I’m Reading:
Well, now thanks to these two wonderful men, I have a ton of other books to read. But, for the moment, still working on Operation Paperclip and The Pentagon’s Brain.
***
What I’m Listening to:
PT Barnum said there’s a sucker born every minute. Certainly this must be true; just go look at the Republican results from the Iowa Caucuses. Having said that, however, I must also ‘fess up to being a sucker. Audible’s Daily Deal was Highsmith’s Strangers of a Train, and I jumped on it. Did I start to listen? No. I already have enough voices in my head as it is. I just put it on the equivalent of my to-be-read pile.
