600 words

My 'write-all-day-Sunday' sort of flushed itself down the toilet. But my car is fixed, at least we hope it is. There were two things it could be, the coil or the distributor. Chris and Steve changed the coil, so now it's wait and see if that fixes it. The car starts, drives, runs fine... but it did this morning as well after it had been left to cool down overnight. So, we'll see.

Yes, writing... well, I got some done. 600 words to be exact, well, give or take. Not quite what I had hoped for, but it has been another busy day with the car, Chris, getting things ready to go overseas. It's surprising all the little things that have to be done... little things I didn't even think of. Like asking the neighbours to keep an eye on the house. Ross dropped by while Chris and Steve were fixing the car, so I nailed him! He'll keep an eye out for any big furniture trucks trying to take things away. It's a good street though, so I figure it'll all be okay.

The car breakdown brought a resolution to the 'what do to with Paddy' dilemma that has been causing some angst between my mother and I over the past few months. I now don't trust the car, and am unwilling to give it to her because I can't promise it won't break down. I told her, and she near danced (maybe she even did, she did sound awfully pleased!), she admitted she had been dreading having it, and so it's with much relief that I have a resolution to that. It means more travelling, and the car will stay down here while I'm away and I'll travel up to her before and after my trip, but that's okay. It's a final decision, and that's the main thing. Plus, it's mum's birthday the weekend before I fly out, so I'll go up and visit with her for the weekend, leave Paddy there and then have a whole week to mourn his absence before I fly out. I swear, I'll be phoning her every night for updates! He better behave!

Hopefully something can be worked out so he can be back here for when I return, otherwise it'll be six weeks where I won't have him with me, rather than just four. That'll be hard. Real hard. I'm missing him already and he's asleep under my feet right now, my foot rubbing his belly.

Realistically, I don't expect to get much writing done between now and flying out. But I'll try to squeeze some in, here and there. No reason for me not getting lots of reading done though... especially on the plane. I just have to choose what book will be best... or books. Hmm... I'm sure I could get a lot of reading done in 24 hours. Who needs sleep? Eyeballs? Movement? Air!? Ack! I hate flying!! No, I lie. I like taking off and landing, but the bits in between are hard.

I'm not writing... why!?

It's Sunday morning and I have a whole (well, mostly) day to write. Yet, here I am updating my blog with titles from my bookshelf (yes, it's procrastination, but it's something I have wanted to do since I set up my blog... see, I can even justify this to myself!), wondering when my brother will come around to fix my car (so I can chatter with him and his mate), eyeing the kitchen and wondering if I should do some cooking/cleaning/eating, looking at Paddy and his sorrowful (take me walkies) face, figuring that the heating is on far too high cos I'm overly warm and really need to get out of my pyjamas and into something half decent... but most of all I NEED TO WRITE!

So, why aren't I?

I haven't written in almost a week. Or does it just feel that long? No, I think it is actually that long. And writing is like diving into a cold swimming pool when you haven't been swimming for quite some time. It takes some courage, and the initial immersion is a shock. There is truth in the advice of writing everyday, except I suck at that.

Okay, now it's almost 11am. Enough procrastination. I'm going to get dressed and get serious. I'll check in later with my revised word count... or tales of how I procrastinated the WHOLE day away!

Reason for blog

This is the first entry in my writing blog. Oddly enough, I'm expecting this little distraction to help to keep me on track -- to help me avoid the evil that is procrastination. How, you might wonder? Won't this just distract me further? Well, I've made this blog my home page, so every time I switch on my computer my current word count for my novel will smack me in the face. That, right there, ought to be motivation enough to get off my butt, stop idly surfing and get writing.

However, I'm known for my stubborness, so to further prompt me along, I've included links, rss-feeds for writing podcasts (I adore those things, and the blessed people who create them), and other people's novels to remind me of why I'm writing.

So, on that note, I shall post my first blog note and toddle off sure in the knowledge that not only will this help to keep me on track to write more, but also to read more. Let's see how I go.