So, I didn’t meet my word goal for today. Actually, signing on to NaNoWriMo’s website to give a donation reminded me that I’m supposed to be logging my progress there… which in turn led to the realization that I’ve just been… super easy-going about my word goals this entire time.
So, I’m going to try to step it up. Manage my time better. Because I have to challenge myself.
Although, in my defense today . . . I was doing research for the second chapter of H&T.
This is a photo I took on the Bronx River, while kayaking at the New York Botanical Garden. Their Fall Forest Weekend included a brief tour of the river, which I felt was incredibly convenient; chapter 2 involves an escape by boat.
So it was awesome to remember the initial terror of stepping down into a kayak–the difficulty of just sitting down in a boat that wants to tip as you move.
And, of course, the slow-blooming relaxation that follows that initially tenseness–for someone who’s never out on water, at least. For a bit, I was clammed up, not out of sheer terror of falling in (the Bronx River is super shallow), but just because I didn’t want to worry the person rowing with me (he was a volunteer with the Bronx River Alliance, so we spent the whole time chatting about crazy stuff he’s found in the river, the tendency of couples to fall apart when faced with the challenge of tandem rowing, and a bunch of other stuff). When I got over my fear that he’d lose patience with me, the beauty of the woods and the inherent gentleness of the water set in. I watched the banks roll by, snapped a few pics, chatted, and took a few moments to imagine escaping pursuit like this–putting myself in my protagonists’ shoes. Picturing them calming down as they drift, but only because they’re exhausted from running.
I didn’t wind up writing directly after that (I had to work a short shift right afterward), but it’s awesome to have sat in that scene for a moment, feeling it.
The day’s work was actually done before going out on the water, under this bridge:
Troll style, with a little notebook I keep in my pocket.
The thing is . . . if I can figure out how to manage my time better, I could make every day like today. I have to figure out how to make that happen.
Because, the Bronx River? That bench? They’ve always been there.
Words for the Day: 488
NaNoWriMo Total: 1548
House of Error 