The first day of a new school and class is always rough, and today was no different. I woke up early, eager and ready to go. Here was my schedule:
7:00 am: Wake up before anyone else in the house. It’s quiet and peaceful! I am really going to write! I walk into the office (my writing space) and firmly close the door.
7:01 am: Fire up the computer and prepare to take over. Purposefully turn off wi-fi connection. That is gonna hurt. But remember: no distractions.
7:05 am: Maybe I should wash my face. My face feels oily. It’s going to be impossible to write if my face feels oily.
7:10 am: Ah, nothing better than a freshly washed face! I’m ready to take on the day!
7:12 am: Back at the computer. Suddenly my stomach growls and I realize that I am starving. And this is terrible. People can’t think or concentrate when they’re starving. What choice do I have? I need to eat!
7:30 am: Back in the office after a quick breakfast snack. Where I encounter my first bully. Every school has one: the person who thinks they know it all, are better than you, and makes fun of the way you look and makes you think. Makes you feel like an insignificant speck in life. My bully’s name is The Blank Page.
7:35 am: I fight and wrestle with the bully. It’s incredibly hard. The words are coming out, but they are stilted and boring. I don’t know my characters. I don’t know what’s going to happen next. I’m just making all this up!
9:00 am: 535 sweaty, painful words have silenced the bully temporarily. Good grief, that was horrible. The house is still, as the rest of the family is still sleeping in. I am exhausted. I need to rest. I crawl back into bed and take a nap.
midmorning to early afternoon: Long intermission involving thrift shopping and discovering this song:
“Is this seriously about thrift shopping?” I ask my husband as I pop some tags from our haul.
“It seriously is,” he says. “Check the lyrics.”
I check the lyrics. And no for real, despite the language, this song is really about thrift shopping. Awesome.
early afternoon: I wrestle 800 more words onto the page. I thought this would be easier somehow, but it’s not. I’m still making it all up!
mid afternoon: Late lunch. And then surprise, I get sleepy again.
late afternoon: more words make it onto the page. It’s getting a bit easier now, and more ideas are flowing. Stop for dinner.
post dinner: 2,000 words. Hot damn!
The things I learned from school today:
1. Mr. King knows what he’s talking about re word count. I had about 10 pages when I was done.
2. I sincerely appreciated guideline #9: don’t wait for the muse. He’ll find you if you are at the same place every day. This morning I thought he would never, ever come. He showed up late, but he finally did come.
3. I am not yet to guideline #16 : the practice of writing is invaluable and should feel good. I hope with regular exercise, the pain will fade away as I practice more.
The School of Writing 