Marvelous Progress

My biggest goal this semester is to get my thesis over and done with. Since everyone else I've known has spent two semesters on theirs, my goal is certainly ambitious. I'm within 20 pages or so of finishing a full draft of the fiction portion of said thesis. That's exciting. I've been juggling stories and working on four simultaneously this past week. Until yesterday, when I finished one. This morning, I finished another. I'm feeling more and more like my thesis goal is actually achievable.

The bet with John is going well. He's talking big, last night he put up a post talking about leads. He's had one on me for the past couple of days, but I'm closing fast. I went from being 5,000 words behind to being 1,000 (current: 12, 023 vs. 11,010) and that's taking into account the fact that he's continued to make progress. My plan today is to finish closing the gap and to trade spots with him as the leader.

I hesitated in announcing this plan, as it's basically giving John advance warning, but what's the fun of a bet without some posturing?

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?

Now I Guess I've Got To

After I put up a recent post on this blog, Deb said she'd race me to catch up, and then a certain person thought it would be cute to send me an e-mail which started, "DID YOU GET ANY PAGES DONE YESTERDAY?!? HUH? DIDJA? DIDJA?" and ended with an inquiry about my ability to get my page count up to 15 by the end of the week.

Well, you put those two together and it sounds like a challenge to me, and as has probably become apparent through this blog, I have a difficult time backing down from a challenge.

Now, I was going to let it slide, I really was, but then I figured out the second part of my issue with the next bit of the novel (basically that there was no rule against skipping ahead a couple of months in the timeline) and so I sat in front of my computer and started typing.

Before I knew it, I had two days worth of page count and I started thinking about the above comments. And how can I let it slide now that I've got some pages? Yeah, not gonna happen.

15 pages by Sunday? It is so on.

(P.S. I'm going to hold to 15 pages, even though my goal is 2 pages a day and that times two weeks equals 14. Obviously, some people can't do math.)

Say Hi to Shawn

My friend Shawn finally send me a link to her website/blog. Go take a look at it.

Shawn is in the same boat as me thesis-wise since she's also working on a creative thesis. She's doing poetry and I'm looking forward to seeing it once she's finished.

When she first told me about her blog, she said she was planning to use it as a way of holding herself accountable to her writing, so I want to urge everybody to stop by her blog and give her a friendly nudge. I know how much you all like to encourage (*cough* nag *cough*) each other. So go say howdy.

Ali-Demon Incorporated

At one point last night during the Rogues' meeting, the conversation turned to picking on me (as it is wont to do). The idea came up that there should be Ali-demon branded gear, including bracelets (WWAD?), T-shirts(front: "Why?", back: "Because Ali-demon made me"), mousepads, coffee mugs, and key chains.

I'm now in the planning stages for overtaking the world with branded accessories.

Step one: Develop logo.
Step Two: Get a celebrity to wear Ali-demon gear.
Step Three: Sit back and count money.

The moral of the story: nagging your friends to write more can sometimes lead to fame and fortune.