I really didn’t think I was going to make it this week. I mean I really, honestly, didn’t see how I could possibly get this written. I toyed with the idea of just waiting until next week. People will understand, I told myself. They’ll totally get it if I explain everything that’s going on in my life this week. I didn’t want to be that guy though. I said last week that I was starting this week, no matter what, and the week turned into an all-out attack against my own commitment to myself.
Monday through Wednesday = travel to New Jersey for work
Thursday through Saturday = annual backpacking trip to Kentucky
Where exactly was I supposed to fit writing into all that and come up with a story by Sunday?
I did it though. It just goes to show that if you want something badly enough, you’ll find a way to make it happen. I had everything working against me all week. Yeah, I’m a little late getting my story posted. One day. Look at my schedule up above and try to tell me how terrible one extra day is.
How did I do it? In my post about lapidaries, I mentioned how I already had an idea of what I wanted to write about. I hand-drafted the story on the flight out to NJ Monday evening. Then I let the images percolate around inside my head like a pot of stew all week, adding little notes here and there when I could spare a free minute. We got back from Kentucky late Saturday night, and by that time the concept had pretty much congealed.
It’s still raw and needs some work. I really only had time for one rough draft and a few quick fixes. At some point I may go back and fiddle with it. But now is not that time. Now it’s time to move on to this week’s story, which I’ve already started, something I’ve been wanting to poke around for the last year or so, but never really had time for until now.
So without further ado, I give you . . .
Title: Dearly Departed
Word count: 1,300
Synopsis: When Valerie and Madelyn pay a visit to their father, he offers them a choice: stay at home with their mother and step-father, or come away with him. Will the fact that their father is dead have any bearing on their decision?
Genre: Supernatural
Completed: Week ending October 14, 2018
Way to go, Morgan. It’s an amazing feeling hitting the end of a story that you swore you’d be unable to finish. We’re so much more capable of doing this than we give ourselves credit for.
Thanks, Phillip. I posted the story at 10PM last night and went, “Phew!” Then I got up this morning at 5AM to start drafting story #2. This next year is definitely going to challenge my time management skills.