Something overcame me yesterday as I sat down to continue work on the first/rough draft of my novel.
On an average day I'm good for likely four hours of writing, split-up with breaks to give my eyes a break from the the searing burn of the LCD computer monitor. Plus, when I sit to write for long periods, my writing tends to suffer as my caffeine buzz wanes.
Tentatively I planned on completing the rough draft of, "Waterglade," by the end of the week, which when sandwiched with personal errands and honey-dos would possibly be quite a task. Shortly after setting to work the words flowed like fine wine, and my mind kept throwing-up line after line. It was surreal, and I've only really been in 'the zone' in that sense a minimal number of times.
My eyes begin to burn as I tore through my self-imposed 'eye breaks', but I pressed on, determined to finish ahead of schedule. After six straight hours of grinding, I relaxed in my chair with a splitting headache and sore fingers. The first draft of "Waterglade" was complete.
My initial impressions of "Waterglade" aren't great, which is similar to everything I've ever written. After I press the last knob on the keyboard I immediately think that the entire thing sucks. Logically I overcome that hurdle, but the lingering doubt teases me every time I think about it. Matter of fact, this morning at 3:00 a.m. when I was taking our new puppy, Simon, to use the restroom, I stood on the back porch half asleep and scratching my butt and thinking, "Why in the hell did he kiss her there?" It's a tortuous labor of love, this writing thing.
Next on the agenda is getting back to "The Plunge." I will begin the process of rewriting the first draft next week, which will take an undetermined amount of time as I will be returning to the land of the cubicle after a long hiatus. Today I'm having "Waterglade" printed and will get it to my editor shortly. There are so many ideas kicking around in my head that I want to get to, but I'm going to force myself to be focused until these two are finished. Both of them need a ton of work before I submit them to publishing houses.
On a different note, I engaged in a conversation with someone recently about whether or not I consider myself an author, because you know, I kind of claim to be one by the very title emblazoned on this blog. I've never really thought about it, but upon being asked that question in an almost condescending manner I took to the dictionary. An author is defined as the following:
AUTHOR
a. The writer of a book, article, or other text.
b. One who practices writing as a profession.
2. One who writes or constructs an electronic document or system, such as a website.
3. An originator or creator, as of a theory or plan.
4. Author God.
By definition it seems to me that I can consider myself an author based on letter 'a'. No, I do not consider myself an 'author' per se, as I haven't been paid for my writing since college. I also have no illusions concerning my odds of being published. I realize that it's a long and hard road filled with miles of rejection. I am also prepared to deal with that, and I don't ever see myself giving up on my dream. So to answer the question, no, I do not consider myself an author. Though if I wanted to, it appears that by definition it's very much within reason.
Look for updates soon concerning "Waterglade" and its theme. Here's a hint: Check the new picture on the title of the blog...
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