Tough day of writing Wednesday. Managed
to pound out 1,003 words, so I hit my mark, but after days of
doubling that it felt like running through molasses.
If I had to guess, it would be the
subject matter. They're trapped in a cave, trying to find their way
out. I kept flashing to my Boy Scout Days, when our troop took the
guided wild tour of Cumberland Caverns in Tennessee and slept in the
cave. There's nothing darker than cave dark, let me tell you. The
wild tour took about an hour through narrow tunnels, or through slits
in the rock where you had to brace arms and feet against opposite
sides of a narrow passage and cross through a crevice that narrowed
down to nothing below you. You had no light except your flashlight, which suddenly looked pretty feeble, I'll tell you. There were probably 100 kids on the tour,
and at one point while I was crawling through an opening maybe three
feet high, the line stopped. Just stopped. I couldn't go forward,
couldn't go back. It was scary for a minute until we started moving
again.
I won't say I'm claustrophobic, but I
don't think anyone likes to be confined, in a tight place. Trapped, even if not really, and only for moment. And I had
to write through that memory of panic and use a little of it.
But it sure slowed me down. Also the
various work and family chores that always come up through the course
of the day. But I'm not blaming that, that's just a thing called
life. I'm putting the blame on some uncomfortable memories that I
hope help the story.
Having that target – 1,000 words
every day – and deadline also helped. Can't afford to slow down
now. I couldn't let myself quit until I hit the target.
Today should be easier. They just got
out of the cave. It feels lighter, freer, just writing those words.
Now all they have to do is defeat the pirates, evade the Spanish
Garda Costa, find the treasure and get off the island. Piece of cake.
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