I am at Olive Garden now, having a basic lunch of soup and bread and working on “Shadows and Stars Lying Down”.
I tried to write for eight hours yesterday, but ended up writing for about four, maybe less. I took a break and watched YouTube for awhile, but couldn’t get another good zone going. I intended to write for eight today, but had too much iced tea last night and couldn’t fall asleep until 4:00. Ergo, I was dragging this morning when the alarm went off at 7:30. I finally shut off my snooze alarms and laid in bed until around 10:00. I have a few things to do today, but I hope to get a good amount of writing done.
I would like to be as disciplined a writer as Thomas Mann, who wrote for eight hours/day as if he were working a regular job. That may be the only way to achieve my goals. I am giving it a shot.
I am progressing, however. “Shadows and Stars…” now has over 63,000 words. I am shooting for between 80,000-100,000. I hope to have the first draft completed soon. Wish me luck.
Hemingway was right. A novel is a completely different animal than a short story.
Phil Slattery, Writer, Publisher 