With Time To Spare

I made my 15 pages, and e-mailed them to John for proof. Of course, now that he knows how much I've done, I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to outdo me on page/word count. But, I say I get a time bonus for getting mine done first.

Alright, alright, enough with the posturing.

I got my 15 pages done on time, and hit my goal. That adds up to 4,200 new words for the novel that I did not have a week ago. All competition aside, I'm feeling good about that.

Sometimes a friendly wager can be really productive. Add in the chance of having to make a public admission... and watch the fingers fly!

A Gentleperson's Wager

Once upon a time, John gave me grief about getting 15 pages done in a week. So, I said, "Care to make a bet?" I mean, he needs to get his own pages done, after all, so why not make things interesting?

The rules: 15 pages by midnight Sunday. They must be double spaced, Times New Roman font, and with standard margins. If we do it, then we've got the pages. But, if either of us fails, there will be an allusion to the third episode of the fifth season of the X-Files.

Now, of course, he's already talking big, but it remains to be seen where all that talking is going to get him.

I'm up to six pages, John. What've you got?

Monday Already

"Are you ready to submit on Monday?"
-Deb

Answer: Uh, no.

A while back, Jenny read an article about a novel writers group. She said, "Cool." Then she talked to a few of us who are working on manuscript-length stuff and said, "Wanna?"

Idealist that I am, I said, "Sure." Then I volunteered to go first.

One of these days I'll learn.

I keep reminding myself how good this will be for me, how much I'll accomplish with the scary deadline there to motivate me, and how much I'll have to show for the pain, sweat, and blood. I keep thinking, "Stupid Jenny for talking me into this."

Writing Retreat

Today begins my road trip up to the northern part of the state. I've got a cabin reserved and a few whole days of nothing in particular to do. Well, except write, that is. The plan is to make this something of an expanded version of my out-of-the-house pages.

Of course, as soon as certain people became aware of this, they became demanding about it: "You're going to write lots of pages for us, right?"
-Various Pirates

So, now I'm committed.

I've packed extra fancy paper and picked up a new fountain pen yesterday. I've also got a couple of half-finished stories and my thesis binder to keep me company. The final touch: a copy of Rogue's Gallery to keep me in touch with my pirate roots while I'm away.