Let’s begin this writing adventure with a bit of reflection on the process as it has played out since I made the decision. It is not unlike every major undertaking I have considered over the past decade. The IDEA happens, and then the PREPARATION ensues. My decision to write a novel in one month found me trying to pick which books I could read for inspiration, and then searching for guidance from my sister or other writers I admire. The one key element missing is the actual writing component. I had this problem with my Honor Scholar thesis, and the collection of short stories I’ve been thinking about for years. I have such a well of excitement for these projects, and I am able to flush out the IDEA so completely that it would seem the product is almost ready for exhibition. But sadly, in the past, the product eludes me.

So I gladly gave up yesterday to all of my anxious preparing and talking and strategizing, and am counseling my mind today on the virtues of simply jumping in and getting it all done. I figure 2,000 words a day will be a comfortable pace to keep. I promise to let you know.

In the meantime, let me just record a few of the pearls of wisdom I did uncover in my non-writing yesterday:

1. Talking with my sister confirmed the thing I should have already known: the best way to know more about writing and improve the craft is to write. I had called her to figure out how she attacked the PLOT of things and she said for many years she would always begin where I am now: lots of interesting moments and ideas and memories to explore (“pregnant moments” I called them) but not a real clue what action/plot lay within. And for a long time she would write page upon page with no plot. However, the process did find help her achieve a much finer perception of her own point-of-view and approach to things and she deals with things quite differently. But this all came from writing. This consoled me quite a bit.

2. Although I realize it is a bad habit to get in, I still did find a couple of things I wanted to read as a pace-setter to this writing marathon. Milan Kundera’s The Art of the Novel seems to be a good beginning. He muses on all sorts of ideas and developments and experiments with writing these things and if nothing else it is something that may help me later. JD Salinger seems to be my other touchstone, purely because he seems to effortlessly infuse meaning in description of events.

Okay, well, with any luck tomorrow’s recap will find me discussing the actual words so far. Wish me luck!