Trick or Treat? Definitely a
Illness, housebunnies, and word counts
So Abby came home yesterday with a 102-degree fever, and has been lolling around on the couch watching Return of the Jedi ever since. And I have a cold. But did I get my words done?
Why, yes, with the lilting tones of Jabba the Hut in the background.
Now that that’s out of the way, I have a list of exciting duties for the day, such as changing the bunny’s litterbox and cage, doing laundry… and maybe even tackling the stuff in my fridge.
Our bunny — nee Lisa, renamed Cottontail, and actually called Bunny — is a white Netherland Dwarf my son insists is a snowshoe hare. There’s no dissuading him. (I’ll post a photo as soon as I figure out how to download it, btw. She’s a cutie!) We’ve had her since she came to us as a foster bunny six years ago, and as time has passed, the number of holes in my walls has increased exponentially. (She’s trying to burrow through the laundry room wall, presumably to China.) And she squeaks! Must be because she’s getting old, but you can hear her from halfway across the house. Our bronchiolitic little snowshoe hare. 🙂
As for word count, I’m at 10,454, which I know is at least 1500 words. Maybe 1600? Need a new calculator. And, evidently, a new photo; my daughter just looked at my photo on PPL and said “What’s that? That doesn’t look like you at all.” *Sigh.* I guess it’s time to go back to the photographer again…
How’s everyone else doing? Georgina? Debra? Laura? (Not to put you on the spot or anything…) 😉
Goodafternoon Karen,
I love bunnies. We almost got one a few years ago but we ended up with a prairie dog named Wally. He died and then we got another one, his name is Cosmo. He’s a hoot. Our shih-tzus Susie & Billy love him. I let him out of his cage and the dogs chase him. He hides under the sofa and teases them. It’s so funny.
I have two more chapters to finish (1 is new and the other one just needs a few adjustments because of the changes in the plot) then I am done!!!! Saturday my writer’s group is meeting and it was my goal to have the revisions finished by that meeting. And I’d do anything not to have to admit to them that I didn’t meet my goal.
Great for you on your word count. Do you find it easier rather than page count? I guess every writer has their own thing that works. While I believe in the old saying, “Don’t fix it if it ain’t broken”, sometimes its good to change things up, to try something different.
Debra S.
I write everything by hand (with a fountain pen, no less) and haven’t had time to type it into the computer for the past couple days. I think I got in about 800-900 words each day, but I will be typing everything up tomorrow when it’s my lovely husband’s turn to spend time with my parents.
Here’s a question…do you revise as you go, or do you get it all out there on paper first? Some of my words are…not going to be there forever! A few times I’ve found myself just GRINDING out a sentence or paragraph to get to the next one. I know those parts are going to need serious work if they’re not replaced altogether but I don’t want to stop to do it at the moment.
Debra,
A prairie dog named Wally? And then one named Cosmo? How did that happen?
And I didn’t know they got along with shih-tzus… how fun!
You’re almost to the finish line. I’m cheering you on from the sidelines.
You can do it! 🙂
K
Laura,
Sometimes you do just have to grind it out (carefully, though, so you don’t hurt the nib of your fountain pen). We may lose those paragraphs later, but they often are what is needed to get to the next part of the story. They’re a bridge, even if we’re the only ones who will ever read them.
I have written a ton with a fountain pen, btw, and then kind of got hooked on the Impact rollerball pens — always black ink — and composition books. Aren’t we writers funny with our rituals? Of course, mine are always changing (I so resisted the laptop thing, but now I couldn’t do without it).
Regarding edits, look at the next post and you’ll see what I think. 🙂
Karen (who’s off to get dressed in something other than sweatpants)