Today's Word Count: 1,217
Sam and I went up to visit my first friend in the world, Mel, so we could deliver a birthday hug in person as well as sing a little "Zivjo, Zivijo" which Sam translates to "Zibjo." But he says it with such glee you gotta laugh.
It was fun watching our kids play together and kind of a trip to think about how it's been 3 decades since we used to celebrate birthdays together as toddlers in striped velour outfits and yarn in our pig-tails. Well, Mel's hair anyway. Mine wasn't long enough but that's another story.
A cool thing happened on the way home. Sam was occupied with his snacks and trains and I got to actually think for 30 minutes, minus a few minutes here and there spent fishing (safely of course) in the backseat for water bottles and dropped trains. As I've been working against my (self-imposed) deadline to put the novel in my head and heart into cohesive chapters, it's become painfully obvious that there are holes in my plot and gaps that need bridging. And some things you can't force ... they have to come to you. But I figure odds of them coming to be are better if I'm actively seeking out the answers and listening for them. Those are the kinds of answers that come in the middle of the night, while showering or driving with no pen in the car. Luckily, I keep a pen in my hair most of the time and two of the things I've been trying to figure out just kinda worked themselves out on the drive home. That has to be one of my favorite things about this writing gig: getting away from the computer still counts as working and sometimes even is the difference between staying stuck and getting ahead.
By the way, if you're not into looking cute and you have long enough hair, I highly recommend keeping pen tucked in there during flu season as an extra safety measure.
p.s. thank you, thank you for your encouraging comments and support ... you have no idea how much that means to me.
