Joely Sue Burkhart

You Know Mom’s Going Out of Town When… I’m leaving on a business trip this Sunday, and this is just a portion of my to-do list!  1. Take the dog to the kennel on Sat.  (Nobody will take care of him if Mom’s not here) 2. Pay daycare on Friday instead of Monday (because That Man won’t remember). 3. Pay other bills due the following week and mail them early. 4. Stock the fridge and pantry with very quick, easy stuff like hotdogs and canned fruit. (Don’t ask about the time That Man called because the kids were all constipated, and I found out they hadn’t had a single vegetable or fruit for dinner/snack all week.) 5. Lay out six outfits for each kid.  (That Man can’t match clothes and has no idea which size goes with which kid) 6. Make a schedule of school events for each day–e.g. the oldest monster has PE on Monday and middle monster has it on Friday, so they have to wear tennis shoes those days.  Library days, etc. 7. Get ahead on all the laundry (see #5) 8. Gather all my project documentation and pack it in my laptop case (we have two major projects going at the same time and tons of project and design documentation that I’ve color-coordinated with sticky notes!) 9. Get my hair cut. 10. Color my hair again. 11. Go through my closet and decide what to wear. 12. Go shopping because I hate everything in my closet. 13. PACK. Bonus To-Do:  Finish revisions to The Fire Within and send to Drollerie by 9/16!

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Words this morning since 7/8/2007:  70,634

I DID IT.

It didn’t take 70 days, but that sweaty drill sgt, Sven, has worked me to 70,000 words.

Actually, I can’t let Sven take all the credit.  See, as soon as the wonderful sponsors put up the poll about when to start the next Sweating challenge, Anna and I were thinking about starting a similar club.  We wanted something a little more private, more of a daily commitment all the time, not just when Sven is shouting in our ears Sat. and Tuesday night before the group check ins.  Where we can check in daily if we want–something Anna and I have been doing as accountability partners off and on all year.  So the 1K a Day Club was born.

Between the two, I’m averaging 1200+ words a day since September 1st.  Letters is well over 10K.  At the same time, I’ve completed The Fire Within, a second draft, and I’m well into a third.  Thanks to Sven, I also completed Spires in time for a deadline (although it was ultimately rejected). 

Don’t get me wrong–I love those 2k+ days and wish I had more.  But the slow, steady, daily writing of 1K a day is a habit I’m keeping.  Think about it.  1K a day and nothing more is 3 completed novels a year.  And the wonderful thing?  Once I get that 1K, I typically get more.  It keeps that writing muscle in perfect form.

Thank you to Sven for the inspiration, and the wonderful sponsors who made it happen!