When I first created this blog, I thought to myself “This will be a fun way to reflect on my progress as I’m writing my novel.”  At the time, I hadn’t considered the possibility that there wouldn’t be much progress to speak of–at least nothing worth mentioning in a blog.  I’m in awe of those who can manage to scrounge up enough material to post on a weekly basis (and let’s not even THINK about those with enough wit or ego to post daily).

Writing is all about “Having Something to Say.”  And yes, I do have opinions about a lot of things, but I usually don’t feel strongly enough about them to devote the time and energy it would take to write about them.

Well, why not write about writing?  This is a writing blog, isn’t it?  Unfortunately, there’s not much to say on that front either.

I’ve entered three contests and failed miserably at all three of them, which gives me the literary equivalent of a strike out.  I suppose I could post a lot of entries where I whine and complain and feel sorry for myself, but I figure there are plenty of other blogs that have that market covered.

I would write more about my novel, but the truth is, the actual writing process is painfully slow and repetitive.  Sometimes I’ll work all night and then delete everything I wrote the next day.  Sometimes I’ll spend hours on a sentence and then settle on a mediocre placeholder line, waiting for the AH-HAH moment that never comes.  I wanted to be finished with the novel by the end of summer, but I’m staring down the dregs of August with about the same number of words I had back in June.  Is the novel any stronger?  I’d like to think so.  But there’s no tangible accomplishment to speak of.  I don’t even have a finished first draft for my friends to ignore.

So why am I even writing this blog post, when I should be staring down that broken chunk of paragraph that refuses to flow?  Because it’s August 31st, the last day of the month.  If I don’t post something now, I’ll have no memories of my utter lack of progress to look back upon.

Appropriate Keane Song of the Day:  “You Haven’t Told Me Anything”

Categories: Memories, Uncategorized, WritingTags: writing