Bones on the Beam

Once again, I’ve spent a fair amount of time thinking, taking notes and planning. One does have to get to know ones characters and sketch out some kind of plot, no matter how thin, to get any writing done. That said, I’m going to restrict my thinking to times when I’m not at my computer. When I’m staring at the screen, my fingers will be dancing over the keys, pushing my tally closer to 50 big ones.

The other day, I had the disturbing experience of hearing a writer interviewed to plug his new novel. The New York Times praised his first novel, which I had not heard of. Not sure if they’ve weighed in on the new one. Doesn’t matter. What matters is that both novels use ideas I planned to use, too. One is what I called “love at first cycle” about a couple who meet in a college laundry room and fall in love. To add to his audacity, he said the meeting takes place at a college in Western Massachusetts modeled on Hampshire. How dare he? The other idea is a fairly hackneyed plot device: the story begins at a family reunion. I haven’t decided if that will be the beginning, but it's looking likely. I expect to work out some structural issues in my Shitty Second Draft. Regardless, I find this infuriating. Just knowing he has done this already makes it seem like it’s off limits to me. The family reunion thing can’t be his exclusively. He's not the first to use it and I won't be the last. There's nothing new under the sun.

The good news is that I’ve got my bones back on the beam, and I’m heading toward a major milestone tonight. It may be a long night, but that’s what it will take to keep pace.

By definition, writing a 50,000-word novel in 30 days is a sprint. Many of my fellow sufferers are posting insane numbers. I refuse to indulge in word-count envy. As is my way, I’ll be meeting this challenge in my own sweet time*. This tortoise doesn’t sprint. This tortoise will win the race by keeping her bones on the boogie beam.


* Of course that time will be no later than November 30 at 11:59 p.m. EDT.