The Journal, Wednesday, 8/5

The Day

Back on schedule, rolled out about 2:45. Actually, staying on schedule wasn’t difficult. Although every other state in the vicinity (north/south) was intelligent enough to stay on Central Time, Indiana’s legislature voted several years ago to put most of the state on Eastern Time (Doh!).

But it worked out well for me personally. I went to bed around 10 p.m. local time (7 my time) and got up around 5 or 6 a.m. local time (2 or 3 my time), so no real adjustment. (grin)

High hopes yesterday to get back to writing today, and I will, but as I write this it’s mid morning. Before sunup I spent time with my beautiful little daughter and did some waking up things, then updated several websites, cleaned up my inbox, etc. I also began doing some research that I might need for a novel someday.

With first light, I opened the back of my pickup and camper shell and began unloading the stuff we brought back from Indiana. Seems to me it’s roughly twice what we hauled up there to our boys, but that might just be me and my grouch levels after the eleven day trip. Probably that’s it.

So unloading finished, put most of it away (at least temporarily) I did some more research on the same topic. A little while later I noticed the yard needed to be mowed. Like many in Arizona, I do not have a “lawn,” but I do have an extensive yard. Out came the mower, overfilled it with gasoline per usual, started it and away I went. Now that’s finished.

It’s always struck me as ironic that I’m living in southeast Arizona, loving the “wild” look of it, and mowing the yard. If the place was mine, I’d do the whole thing over in rock. Large rock. Massive rock. One big huge massive gargantuan rock with a house on top. That’s what I’d do.

Okay, gonna chill a bit, then get a shower, then see what comes and hope it’s the story. Back in a bit.

Well after the shower, remembered I had to replenish groceries here in the house, so went shopping, then back here for lunch. Still exhausted from the trip. I might end up taking a nap today. If I do it’ll be the first since about first grade. (grin)

No nap, but I decided this has to be another non-writing day. Just too tired. Cleaning up from the trip, plus the trip itself took a toll. Onward to tomorrow.

Topic of the Night: Life Happens, or Letting Life Happen

There’s nothing we can do about it anyway, and sometimes life just happens and we have to let it.

That’s the case with me for the last eleven days and now today. I could have written while I was gone. I could have just carved out some time and written. The people I was around (most of them) would have understood and a few would even have envied me. They probably wouldn’t even have interrupted me with noise or otherwise.

But I didn’t write. I didn’t even try to carve out the time because I didn’t want to run the risk of being interrupted. When I’m writing, I want to write. I don’t want the TV to come on. I don’t want someone in the next room to laugh at something cute or stupid someone else did or said. I don’t want the house to be on fire and someone to come rushing into the room to order me out, as if the burning house is more important than the fact that I’m right in the middle of a scene.

When I’m writing, I want to write. If I don’t feel I can guarantee that, then I’d rather just not write until it’s time.

I think that’s what I did again today, albeit subconsciously. As much as I wanted to write, my subconscious knew better. It shut down. And just before it shut down, it sent me a series of commands on all frequencies:

Rest up from the trip. Unload the truck. Do that research you need to do. Check the oil. Clean off the weird red mark some moron in Hatch scrawled on your passenger window. Do some more research. Mow the yard. No, the whole yard. Put away the stuff from the truck. Stare at your story if you want, but I’m tellin’ you, you ain’t writin’ today.

Okay, go write the daily journal if it’ll make you feel better.

And here I am. So still no Day 20 of writing. Tomorrow probably. Tomorrow almost certainly.

See you then.

Today’s Writing
Fiction words: XXXX

Writing of The Battle of Tres Caballos (Book 8)
Day 1…… 4125 words. Total words to date…… 4125
Day 2…… 2624 words. Total words to date…… 6749
Day 3…… 2766 words. Total words to date…… 9515
Day 4…… 1412 words. Total words to date…… 10927
Day 5…… 3441 words. Total words to date…… 14368
Day 6…… 1052 words. Total words to date…… 15420
Day 7…… 2486 words. Total words to date…… 17906
Day 8…… 3201 words. Total words to date…… 21107
Day 9…… 3186 words. Total words to date…… 24293
Day 10… 1585 words. Total words to date…… 25878
Day 11… 2178 words. Total words to date…… 28056
Day 12… 1730 words. Total words to date…… 29786
Day 13… 1083 words. Total words to date…… 30869
Day 14… 1784 words. Total words to date…… 32653
Day 15… 4018 words. Total words to date…… 36671
Day 16… 3116 words. Total words to date…… 39787
Day 17… 1678 words. Total words to date…… 41469
Day 18… 1805 words. Total words to date…… 43274
Day 19… 2713 words. Total words to date…… 45987
Day 20… XXXX words. Total words to date…… XXXXX

Total fiction words for the month…………… 0000
Total fiction words for the year……………… 442400