Little Wins.

The above picture’s actually from yesterday. CatGirl and I are showing off our thrift store finds: she has a shirt for the Wizard band, Harry and the Potters, and I used my Powers of Japanese to get a shirt with the kanji for “Death by Overwork: Take care not to work too hard” (this is a real phenomenon in Japan, called “Karoshi”). We also finally got new cons to replace our ancient pairs which are literally hanging by a thread or two. We plan to decorate these with acrylic paints.

I wrote about 500 words this morning–a good day for me. Even with work, exercise and family responsibilities, I should be able to average 1000-2000 words per day (or an equivalent amount of time critiquing, revising, outlining). My ultimate goal will be to get into the habit of writing at this level each day.

There were three contributing factors to this morning’s writing success:

1) I avoided email, twitter, facebook and online research until I wrote these words.
2) I wrote in the morning, before work.
3) I applied Jeff Vandermeer’s “Will to Write.”

Regarding number three–it’s a mantra now. I have the Will to Write. I have the Will to Write. I have the Will to Write. Saying these words helps me to put other priorities into perspective.

Speaking of other priorities, I learned to do dynos–dynamic movements–in climb class. They’re essentially jumping moves, giving climbers the ability to grab decent holds well beyond our reach. I extended my maximum reach by about a foot on a slightly overhung wall, using a couple of toe holds and small but juggy grips.