Liz and I saw a dead body today.
For reals. It was wrapped up in a sheet and exiting one of the condos behind the apartment building we live in. It was the weird white van that was parked out in front of the building while we were taking Coco and Coops out to potty before bed that tipped us off. And the fact that the guys in shirts and ties standing next to it were putting latex gloves on.
The weirdest part of the whole affair, however, was the fact that there’d been a *construction* crew there that was leaving just as the coroners, or whatever you call the private version of a coroner. A construction crew. With hammers, a shovel, and a saw. And they’d *used* those tools. We’d heard them. It sticks out when someone uses a skillsaw 11:00pm at night, you know?
What the fuck, right?
But, no police, so it couldn’t have been anything crazy. But, still. Craziness.
All that weirdness aside, today was *exactly* what I needed it to be. I worked my butt off today, and I have 19 minutes of finished product to show for it. 1 minute shy of my goal, but that’s as good as perfect. And my pages written. It’s a good feeling. Especially on a day leading into two off-days. I feel like I deserve to have two days “off.”
I also went through and mapped out doing the 3-days-on/2-days-off schedule for the rest of the year, until we go out of town for the holidays, and I’m actually only about a single day behind at this point. And, that is TOTALLY make-up-able. If I follow through with this work plan, which I will, I’ll end the year exactly where I want. And, the Ho and I will have some savings again. AND, all my taxes will have been prepaid, so that savings will be REAL savings.
It’s a good plan. And, honestly, I don’t mind doing these schedules for a couple months. I like the rhythm and the feeling of having got a lot of work done. It’s good for the soul. Mine, anyway. And, this writing 4 pages a day, especially on the novel which feels so easy to pick up and put back down day in and day out. It’s really, really satisfying. I could write two books a year on a schedule like this. No, THREE books a year. Just 4 pages a day. Blows my mind.
I know that I have an “originals” section on this website, and it’s designed, actually, for prose that I’ve written. Maybe at some point, I’ll sketch out a story idea designed to be posted here as like a serial, or something. Or maybe post older stuff that I wrote. I don’t know. Thinking about “4 pages a day” made me think about that section of this blog, and how I haven’t used it for anything yet.
I definitely want to get published, though. I mean, that’s what I’m writing for right now. To get my foot in the door *professionally*, in whatever form that may mean. So self-publishing for free on my own website…well, I’m torn. I really don’t know where I stand, actually. This stuff is literally occurring to me as I’m sitting here.
Okay, the dead body shenanigans really pushed back sleepy times, and it’s already almost 2am. I’m *exhausted*. And, that means time for bed. Nighty night!