500 words of a modern-day retelling of the Amaterasu myth (where the Japanese sun goddess hides in a cave and takes the sunlight with her).

I’ve been so dead exhausted for three days now.  I hope it’s not related to the write-a-thon.  Hoping I’m just under the weather.

500 words about willow trees and dying in bed.

Mainstream.  My brain refused to be speculative today.  It said, “Don’t normal people do normal things, like get their hair cut and go to movies?”  And then it answered, “Yes, and they also stare at willow trees when they’re dying.”

550 words about a Mexican Yeti in Santa Fe.  Which, indeed, is the working title of the piece.  I drew it out of my idea box, where I stash notes with random phrases, thoughts, and ideas.

He’s not very good at mowing his lawn.

950 words about first contact dilemmas, beaded belts, and tactile methods of problem-solving.  A fun day, and very enjoyable.  I enjoyed thinking about the story’s beginning, as well as writing it.

Now taking suggestions!  What would you like me to write about?  Post two words, in whichever order you like:

1.  A concrete noun (a tangible person/place/thing)

2.  A gerund (a verb in noun form, like “dancing” or “laughing”)

I’ll pick my favorite suggestion and write it later this week.

600 words about bodyswapping and virtual reality.

Tough day.  I honestly wasn’t sure I could pull it off.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better after I sleep.

500 words about forbidden love and virgin sacrifice.  The Clarion West auction ends tomorrow!

600 words about a guy going door-to-door asking aliens about their political views.  Very silly and fun to write.

800 words about dragons and the Spanish Inquisition.

950 words about pickpockets in Madrid.

It went smoother today.  Once I got some words down, I gave myself the option of stopping (and feeling okay about it), then returning to the story when I wanted to.  I did get more done the second time through, and was better able to accept my accomplishment for the day.  Yay. 🙂

Note: I’m going to start rounding off wordcounts.

Rough day. 600 words about the way dreams don’t quite fit together. Then I went back to the art teacher story. I wanted to write another scene but I only got 100 words out on it. It’s weird–I felt terrible about trying and failing, but if I hadn’t even tried I would have felt fine. It was the failed attempt that upset me so much.

I have a lot of trouble with “moving targets.” When I meet a goal, I think, “Oh, I can do more than that!”–and I try to do more. And of course eventually I hit a wall and can’t do more, and then it’s like my previous successes vanish. Kind of like double or nothing, except I keep doubling until my luck turns and then I have nothing.

Must find solution. Somehow.

Going to bed with a headache. 😦