+1187
(Some backstory, since this is being copied from my regular website where I've been blogging regularly since January 2010: I've been working on a series of short stories, all of which contain a similar theme. So instead of trying to come up with six individual plots that, in the end, all seemed strangely similar, I decided to cut to the chase and just write them as a series of stories that, in the end, will be able to be collected into a larger whole. I've got the first two stories written in first draft and started work on the third story yesterday morning, completing 1030 words. Now we pick up with this morning's post):
Despite oversleeping an entire hour this morning, I still managed to add another 1187 words to the new story. That surprised me because already being an hour late getting to the computer, I figured I'd end up squandering away the morning just staring at it. I didn't feel the story this morning, and when I opened the file, the words just weren't there. But I rubbed my eyes, took another drink of my coffee, read the last few paragraphs from yesterday, and got started.
And once I got started, I didn't want to stop. I felt like, if I didn't have to work today, I could have sat there and finished it. It would have taken another couple of hours, but I felt the story was there, ready to come out. That is thanks to yesterday.
In my day job, I'm an inventory control clerk, and I spend a good chunk of my day counting inventory. However, in today's computerized age, "counting" simply means scanning a pallet tag with a bar code on it, and if what shows up on my scanner matches what's actually in front of me, I push another button, then move on to the next one. Obviously it's real mentally demanding work. So I use that time to run through whatever story I'm working on at the time. And yesterday, while "counting" 208,516 lbs of inventory, I reconciled the end of this story with how it fits into the rest of the series and what the end of this one means for the beginning of the next one, and for how the rest of them will play out.
I'm really getting close to having this whole thing mapped out, and that will help greatly in making them all easier to write when I get to them. My July 20th deadline is going to be no problem. At least . . . I hope.
Despite oversleeping an entire hour this morning, I still managed to add another 1187 words to the new story. That surprised me because already being an hour late getting to the computer, I figured I'd end up squandering away the morning just staring at it. I didn't feel the story this morning, and when I opened the file, the words just weren't there. But I rubbed my eyes, took another drink of my coffee, read the last few paragraphs from yesterday, and got started.
And once I got started, I didn't want to stop. I felt like, if I didn't have to work today, I could have sat there and finished it. It would have taken another couple of hours, but I felt the story was there, ready to come out. That is thanks to yesterday.
In my day job, I'm an inventory control clerk, and I spend a good chunk of my day counting inventory. However, in today's computerized age, "counting" simply means scanning a pallet tag with a bar code on it, and if what shows up on my scanner matches what's actually in front of me, I push another button, then move on to the next one. Obviously it's real mentally demanding work. So I use that time to run through whatever story I'm working on at the time. And yesterday, while "counting" 208,516 lbs of inventory, I reconciled the end of this story with how it fits into the rest of the series and what the end of this one means for the beginning of the next one, and for how the rest of them will play out.
I'm really getting close to having this whole thing mapped out, and that will help greatly in making them all easier to write when I get to them. My July 20th deadline is going to be no problem. At least . . . I hope.
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