Day 180

Day one hundred eighty

April 30, 2013: And this is why I shouldn't save it till just before I go to bed.

Day 179

Day one hundred seventy-nine

April 29, 2013: Yea! For a while I was really having trouble writing my novel. I was writing through a couple of sticky spots that I'm still not entirely happy with. I can always edit them later. The point is that I've written the first draft, which is half the battle, and I'm coming to plot which is more fun to write.

Day 178

Day one hundred seventy-eight

April 28, 2013: I will not miss working on Sundays when I finally get a job something other than retail. Yes working Saturday sucks, but on Sunday we leave for church at 9 and when I work I don't get to come home until 6:30-7ish. It just kind of makes for a long day. There was a violent thunder storm last night.  Lights would flash through my window and some of the thunder was so loud I swear I felt it.

Day 176 and 177

Day one hundred seventy-six

April 26, 2013: The internet was out all day today. I managed to do some things this morning but then after about 8ish it just stopped working and never worked again. A couple times the internet for my house hold just completely disappeared.

                                                                                                                                         

Day one hundred seventy-seven

April 27, 2013: They finally changed the music they played at JCPenney. The old music was driving me crazy.

Day 175

Day one hundred seventy-five

April 25, 2013: What bitter sorrow is this; that the day off should end so soon? Why must the retail worker be forced to work all three days which should be free, closing no less? Tomorrow brings the dawn of work, with nary a free weekend in sight.

Day 174

Day one hundred seventy-four

April 24, 2013: It was weird, just before a storm today it got dark, and I mean really dark. To put it in perspective, it was darker than when I woke up at 5:45. I have never, not once in my life, seen it get so dark in the day time. It was a little freaky, to tell the truth. I expected a blizzard, or a plague of locus, not a storm that actually wasn't as bad as many I've seen here.

Day 173

Day one hundred seventy-three

April 23, 2013: So many people wanting to talk with me on the phone today. Why? I don't want to talk to you people.

Day 171 and 172

Day one hundred seventy-one

April 21: 2013: Today I discovered that the first six seasons of Psych are streaming on Netflix. In addition, the most current episodes in season seven are on Hulu. I use to faithfully watch this show every time it was on the TV but a few years they changed the time Psych was on or something and I missed nearly a half season. At that point it really didn't seem worth it, especially since no one ever even watched shows on regular TV. It looks as though I consistently watched about a third of season six, which gives me two weeks to watch the rest of season six before episode one in season seven expires on Hulu.

Day one hundred seven-two

April 22, 2013: I am closing so much these next two weeks. I open once, tomorrow, and that's it. What happened to all of my morning shifts? And I bet the minutes I start school, when closing shifts would work better for me, I'll start to get the opening shifts again. Oh well, at least I am consistently getting five days a week.

Day 170

Day one hundred seventy

April 20, 2013: Back a long time ago there used to be this little coffee place in Bend called Alpine. It was just a stand, not a proper "shop" but it had the best frappes. We were never sure what brand the frappes were used from, even though the stand used Seattle's Best for the rest of their drinks because the frappe mix came to them as a mix, as in they didn't make the coffee there. The drinks were wonderful, like the best milkshake you could ever drink. They didn't taste much like coffee, just enough to add some depth not found in the typical milkshake. Well, whether or not it is the frappe mix, the ones at Buckhead taste exactly the same.  I am excited, because I loved those drinks, and I am also sad, because I am poor and fat, and the frappes will not help this.

Finding Time to Write

As with anything we like to do that is not essential to living, there is always the trouble of finding time to do it. The same goes with my writing. Quite frankly, I have been spoiled with the amount of free time I had in the past. Being homeschooled, I could basically get through most of my school work in the morning and then have all afternoon free. A couple times a week I would have to work into the afternoon, but never much past 2:00, which is still earlier than most kids get out of school, and then I didn't have home work. 

I know not everyone could write a novel, but I was always surprised at how amazed and impressed people where, especially since one of their most common questions were how I found the time.

With work and just preparing for college, I am beginning to understand their amazement. I really do have a passion for writing through, and I have learned I few tricks to still find time to do it.

1: Plan the next scene you're going to write

I know for those of you who write "on the spot" and come up with the story as you write, this tip may not be as helpful. I work in retail though, and there are usually at least a couple hours each shift where there isn't much to do. As I straighten or put away cloths I plan the next scene of my book in more detail than I have in my outline. I don't write every single word in my head; it's more like I come up with a detailed outline for the scene. I have found doing this can increase my writing speed almost by 100%

2: Writing a few hundred words at a time is fine.

I prefer to write when I have at least an hour to sit down and write, but especially once I start school that might not be an option all of the time. If I know what I'm going to write though, I can get over 300 words in only fifteen minutes or so. It doesn't seem like much, but all fifteen minutes writing sessions put together really add up.

3: Set time aside for writing.

One days off I have a specific time when I write. I work anywhere from 3 to 5 days a week, (that's retail for you) but on the days I have off days I sit down at my computer at 10 am and I don't stop until I've have reached 1,000 words, or until an hour passes, which ever happens second. Many days I will keep going until 12 and write 2,000 to 3,000 words.  

4: Write through writer's block

I have found, even if it is only a couple hundred words, trying to write through writer's block will help me get past it more quickly than just thinking I'll get to it later when I feel more like it. Often times it's the part of the story I am in that is making me feel that way. Getting past that part is what is going to cure my "writer's block." 

5: Set goals.

I have set a goal of at least 5,000 words a week. Before I set that goal I would often not even reach a couple thousand. Now that I have set that goal, I go over it more times than not. Simply having a "goal" an amount I'm going to reach no matter what, will push me to go ahead, sit down, and write. One I've started writing, the rest is easier. 

6: Have fun

As always, I write because I like to do it. All these rules can sometimes make it seem like a chore. Why would I need all these rules and tips for something I enjoy doing? The truth is that even though I do find it fun, it is hard work sometimes, and lazy me would rather watch mindless TV or read a book. For me personally though, writing is a kind of fun that is more rewarding than many of the other things I could do. As long as I keep that in mind, I find it easy to put down the book, click off the TV, and delve into writing.  

Day 169

Day one hundred sixty-nine

April 19, 2013: You know, originally I was planning on making a pretty copy of A Thousand Days. I was either going to write it out in a note book, or even type it up on my type writer and bind it later on. I am not entirely sure what I am going to do though. Speaking of a type writer, I love typing on that thing, which is one of the reasons I want to write A Thousand Days on it. Nothing, and I mean nothing, was more satisfying that typing on that thing.

Day 168

Day one hundred sixty-eight

April 18, 2013: Had a meltdown this morning while I was looking at college stuff. I thought I was past all of this. Still plugging away at looking at scholarships, (thought I haven't gotten any yet.)

Day 167

Day one hundred sixty-seven

April 17, 2013: There is a bird outside my window that, I swear, sings the theme from The E-Files. I knew I recognized the tune from somewhere, it was only a few notes. It was driving me crazy until I realized from where I knew it from.

Day 166

Day one hundred sixty-six

April 16, 2013: It's not going to be the heat that kills me. The heat I can deal with. The heat I've dealt with before. It's going to be the humidity. As I left work this afternoon outside only felt a few degrees warmer than it had inside, but the air was oppressive. It was as if I was wrapped up in a wet blanket and someone had turned the gravity up higher.

Day 165

Day one hundred sixty-five

April 15, 2013: The great debate; is fish a kind of meat?

Day 164

Day one hundred sixty-four

April 14, 2013: Jacob had his bible drill today. He did really well.

Day 163

Day one hundred sixty-three

April 13, 2013: Went to Nashville today to go see Howl's Moving Castle at an old movie theater. It is such a beautiful movie; I'm glad I got to see it on the big screen. After seeing the movie we wondered around in the mall a bit. No escalators. It was kind of a letdown.

Day 162

Day one hundred sixty-two

April 12, 2013: As I mentioned (briefly) in yesterday's entry I'm dealing with college stuff again. In part I'm happy because I've finally gotten to the point where I can get the ball rolling, at least for a little while. Yet, I will never, ever in my life, have as much free time as I have been having. Just with the move and everything it's making me nostalgic. I've caught myself thinking about my childhood more and more often. I know it's been a while since I've "been a kid" but this time right now is not only grinding that fact in a little more, but it's a new stage of my life altogether.

Day 161

Day one hundred sixty-one

April 11, 2013: College stuff today. Bleh.

Day 160

Day one hundred sixty

April 10, 2013: One week of spring. We get one week of spring. Today it got to eighty-five, and that isn't even as hot is it will get in the summer. Luckily it will get down to winter coolness again, (apparently) come Saturday, so maybe not all hope is lost.

Day 159

Day one hundred fifty-nine

April 9, 2013: Today, while working, a man came up to the register and began to stiffly contort himself like a wannabe acrobat. It turns out he was trying to get to the tag on the back of the shirt, which he had not yet bought. Turns out it was the same for his pants. I had to scan the cloths he was wearing. His other cloths had gotten dirty. As I finished ringing him up he told me he bet that I never had had to do that before. I told him he'd be surprised. Really. I have to do that at least a couple times a month. I'm sure somewhere it's against the rules, but the supervisors just shrug and say to just check them out anyway.

Day 158

Day one hundred fifty-eight

April 8, 2013: I got Fearless in the mail today. I pre-ordered it a while back. For the next couple of days my plans have gotten changed into read, read, and read some more. There has to be work, and eating, and sleep, but other than that I have completely cleared my schedule.

Day 156 and 157

Day one hundred fifty-six

April 6, 2013: I had written a big long thing here, but then I accidentally erased it.

Day one hundred fifty-seven

April 7, 2013: All of us are agreed, nature is too loud in the mornings.  

Day 154

Day one hundred fifty-four

April 5, 2013: I need to check to make sure that whatever big organization out there that needed to receive my tax information got it. I filed my taxes over a month ago and I still haven't received my return yet. It's only forty-two dollars, but then again, it's forty-two dollars.

Day 153

Day one hundred fifty-three

April 4, 2013: Yes, I am wearing a Mull Day themed outfit tomorrow. Basically country. Jean with red and white.

Day 152

Day one hundred fifty-two

April 3, 2013: We brought the flipping weather with us! I'm not just saying it this time. We literally (I am using the word correctly here, look it up if you don't believe me,) packed it up and brought it with us. It's like some modern, weather-themed version of Pandora's Box. The weather has been great back in Bend. It was seventy degrees in Bend on Easter. Seventy. 

Day 151

Day one hundred fifty-one

April 2, 2013: Be honest, how many of you actually believed yesterday's entry? I know Mum and Katy did. I'm due for longer entry, the past several have been short. Guess what this week is. Mule Day. This week is Mule Day. (It's not Mule Week, it's Mule Day.) Some places get the blossom festival, others art fairs, but here in Columbia Tennessee we get Mule Day.

Day 150

Day one hundred fifty

April 1, 2013: I've decided that 150 days is enough and I won't be doing this anymore.