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Question for the week |
Getting Along Swimmingly Posted: 02/01/10 In her mid-sixties, my Mother became alarmed about osteoporosis. After consulting her doctor for things she could do to combat this possible health problem, she began walking a couple miles a day. On her next visit, she asked what she could do next. “Swim,” came the answer. So, even though my Mother wasn’t particularly comfortable around water, she began swimming twice a week at the local college pool. I always thought this was admirable and also something I would never do. Fast forward a couple decades and I am now my Mother’s age. I’m not concerned about osteoporosis, but nevertheless I have found the benefits of swimming. I started by taking aquacise classes at our local health club. For a while, they were very enjoyable and provided a great cardio workout. But many of the women in the class came to talk during it, while I came to exercise. After a while, their conversations began to annoy me. On the principle that the only behavior I can change is my own, I decided to try swimming laps instead. It’s a solitary activity not prone to conversation. That was six months ago. Now I’m quite the devotee and am even taking swimming lessons to improve my form and my efficiency. I feel exhilarated after half an hour’s swim. And perhaps I understand a little better how my Mother felt as she took up swimming to combat her own concerns.
Crossing the Finish Line Posted: 01/31/10 Approximately five minutes ago I crossed the finish line in my novel writing project. As of 2:40 this afternoon, the final word tally is 50,173. How does it feel? Wonderful! Wonderful that I actually did it. Wonderful that it’s over. I’d had a story noodling around in my head for years, and it probably would still be noodling there if I hadn’t agreed to participate in No Plot, No Problem. Any kernel of a story that’s hung around this long deserves examination, but I had never been able to sit down and begin. When I freelanced for a living, I never missed a deadline. What this taught me is that I’m really good when someone else imposes a writing deadline on me, but I’m miserable at keeping self-imposed ones. I’m not proud to say this behavior is prevalent in other areas of my life as well. Such as losing five pounds by a certain date. Or getting my taxes done on a given weekend. In both these instances, I accomplished the goals by joining a weight loss bet or making the annual appointment with my accountant. For now, I plan to put my work away – let it perc, so to speak – and then return to see if any of the thousands of words deserve editing. Of course, I’ll have to find some external motivating factor to begin this next phase. If there’s any publisher out there who’d like to help by offering me a review of my work by a certain deadline, please raise your hand.
Writing a Novel Posted: 12/31/09 Out of curiosity, I checked to see how many blogs I’d written in 2009. Only ninety-eight, including this one. That’s an average of one every three or four days, certainly down from when I started over five years ago. For the month of January, my son Keith, several other people, and I have each committed to write a 50,000 word novel. This will be a challenge for me, since I’ve become accustomed to writing for the blog space. You know, ten minutes to write, less time to read. It’s true I often take more than ten minutes to write a blog, but I’m sure none of them is 1667 words long, which is the amount of writing you have to do each day, weekends included, to finish a 50,000 word novel in a month. Again curiosity struck. How many words have I blogged? The answer, thanks to that Microsoft tool called Word Count, is 306,976. How many words is War and Peace? Well, the Russian version is approximately 460,000; and the English version is approximately 560,000. I’ve already written two other books, both over 50,000 words; so I guess it’s fair to say I’m as prolific as Tolstoy. Oh, I can’t say that . . . he wrote more than one mega-book. In longhand as well. Regardless, I’m starting 2010 by hunting for a sustainable plot, fleshing out a protagonist and an antagonist, and keyboarding away. This means 2010 will probably get off to a slow start on the blogging front.
Winter Solstice Posted: 12/21/09 Today is the “shortest” day of the year. I’ve always wondered about this title; since December 21 has 24 hours in it, just as every other day in the year does. But what it really means is that today has less sunlight than any other day in the year. That’s where the “shortest” comes in. Where I live this is insignificant, since grey gloom usually descends around the beginning of December; and sunlight – long or short – is a moot point. In fact, this time of year, I look forward to darkness to camouflage the grey. In spite of the grey solstice, I had a wonderful day. Started at the dentist’s, which probably isn’t most peoples’ definition of ‘wonderful’; but I always love how my teeth feel after being cleaned. And that’s what the visit was about. No cavities, no root canals, no gum problems. Just a plain old cleaning. My tongue glides across my teeth as I write. Then there was the piano lesson, the conversation with a great friend, a visit to see my former neighbor, and still time to read regardless of the ‘length’ of the day. Christmas is four days away; and I’m blessed that I’m almost ready. Have to wrap seven gifts for various family members and that’s it. Easy. For the rest of the evening, I’m hunkering down with my Kindle®. Am going to finish Audrey Niffenegger’s new book, meditate on the meaning of the shortest day in the year, and go to bed completely relaxed. Amen.
Previous entries Due to the volume of entries, Anne's Ten Minutes A Day are now categorized by date and by topics. Some essays are found under more than one topic. Otherwise, select from the categories below.
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