Sunday, November 01, 2009

Day One, All Done

...and I have written 3,008 words of a completely crappy first draft of Fly Away Home. Never mind. I have seen my internal editor peeking her schoolmarmy head around the corner, and I have given her my best Bronx cheer.







And speaking of cheer, this is what things looked like down at the corner last night, when my batteries were running low - and so were my camera's. It took me until today to realize that that was the reason my photos were coming out so blurry. In the photo above, some of our local goblins are awaiting the arrival of the torchbearer. I may have discovered a new art form.

The lady in the photo on the right is
 awaiting the arrival of the flame so that she can carry it on to the next runner. It appears that the torches are butane-fueled. When the torchbearer arrived, the torch was not passed on, just the flame. I meant to ask whether the torchbearers are allowed to keep their torches as souvenirs. That would be rather special.

So - here comes the flame. I had run back to the house to get fresh batteries, and after all the waiting, I nearly missed the big moment. I actually jogged the last half-block, as my aching hip will attest.
And there it goes.  

I wrote my first thousand words between midnight and 1:00 a.m., then went to bed. Today, I feel as if I stayed up until 1:00 a.m. However, I soldiered on, adding 2,008 words to my Day One production, for a total of 3,008. Now, if I can just do that fifteen times more, I'll be able to skate through the last two weeks of the month. (Yeah, right.)


We both had the day off today, so Robin was here to remind me that I needed some exercise. We went out for our usual walk/bike ride. Then, because it was still sunny but not expected to stay that way, we seized the day by driving down to Chemainus and strolling around. Chemainus is a lovely little town, full of murals, and it was the murals that I wanted to see - but as soon as we arrived, Robin discovered this fellow - who was actually a little startling at first glance.


We took a walk around the town, enjoyed the murals (I particularly like this one) and drove home.

Then I wrote another thousand words or so, to fill my quota. My question is this: If I can write that much today, while still getting some exercise and spending a couple of hours playing tourist on my island, why can't I do it all the time?




Wait! I almost forgot. I wanted to show you my latest writing props, the Hat for Conjuring Stories and the sandara goddess of the written word wig. I have displayed them both on the closest thing I have to a model, just for you. I wore the hat last night. When I hit my first brick wall, I'll put the wig on to get me over it. Who could be anything but brilliant while wearing such bling?

6 comments:

Karen said...

Thanks for sharing the torch ceremony. It sounds as if you had a wonderful evening and day. Congrats on your progress!

Good question at the end, by the way.

Barry said...

I loved seeing the pictures of the Olympic Torch getting passed, or at least the flame. I saw it on the News, but your photos were more intimate and real (maybe due to that low battery thing).

Kat Mortensen said...

The blurriness of the first image enhances the magical quality of it. The indistinct image lends itself to a more spooky interpretation.

I commend you on your diligence with the writing and look forward to when you have edited to your satisfaction.

Kat

Unknown said...

Loved the Olympic torch photos, but most of all glad to hear you got off to a good NaNoWriMo start!

Julie said...

Congratulations on the great NaNo start. Thanks for stopping by What Women Write -- update us on how you're doing on occasion!

T. said...

The flame/torch passed by your house??!! Lucky you!

Good luck with the NaNo-etc.

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