28. Hartland

On a bright day, I realized that
if the god's are angry, they
are shouting over the same cold plate;
the familiar carrot children, the cob
the greasy chicken fresh from the grill, among it

hair fell from my shoulders as I saw a leg 

jabbed here and there, above the barber,
and I felt it inside me. The places where
the gravy pools, with a kernel of corn,
sitting condemned by the white peaks,
who never laid low or were ever glazed;
"We've kept our shape, we've kept our shape!"
they holler, "purity!", they holler, "high pride";

unaffected as they are, they are, ignorant of the potato, 

and their darker ground years, before they were dug. 

On a bright day, I realized
if the god's are angry, they
may very well also be quite hungry. 

Writing Log XVII

The first draft is finished! It don't quite feel like it has sunk in yet. A little more when I just started writing this, in the pit of my stomach I just felt a little something, but I might just be hungry. The initial thought after I finished Chapter 25 was, Is it really over? Is a novel really ever done? I feel like I always could make changes to it, even after the final draft is finished. Strange feeling. I know I should feel really proud, and I am, it just doesn't feel like I'm done writing it, haha. My mom has started reading the manuscript and says she likes it, which is good lol. The final word count of the first draft is: 132,661.

Writing Log XVI

Alright. Chapter 20 is done. I've struggled with it since I first got out of school, and its finally done. It is officially the longest chapter in the entire book, 17,554 words, leading up to the climax that will come in Chapter 21. The entire word count of the novel now stands at, 118,254. Quite happy, I'm not even done writing today. Its entirely possible I'll finish Chapter 21 tonight in one sitting. The time has come to climax.

Jess is in the Netherlands, and writing helps me out with that. I'm excited to have something done and huge to show her when she gets back. I've been working on this novel for three years now, and I've loved every minute of it, stressful or not. It's interesting to look back at what I've written earlier in the book, and its like going back through time a little bit. I feel like it's solid history for what I've been writing recently, and something the reader can look back on with the characters and feel like they've travel a bit of distance.  I love it.

Writing Log XV

Here it is. The inevitable final push I knew was coming. Finals are over and I can finally get back to solid days of writing. Of course they'll be interspersed with yard work while I'm home, but I have the rest of May to get through the rest of the book. Chapter 20 on, I'm anticipating at least three or four more chapters, but it all depends on how detailed I get with the falling action. Anyway, I've written about 2,000 words since the end of school Wednesday, hoping to get far more productive than that. There's nothing wrong with employing tricks to help that, coffee and dressing up everyday to write. Here we go.

Writing Log XIV

I have crossed into 100,000 territory! I finished up chapter 19 today before heading home for Easter this weekend. I realized that it could happen a few days ago, and it did, I ended up killing off a character on Good Friday, peculiar timing. The climax of the sub plot is now complete, and I feel good about it. Its a minor accomplishment compared to finishing the book. But i'm satisfied for now, rather than feeling like I'm not writing enough like I have been the past week. The hundred thousandth word was "a", and the word count is at 100,569

Writing Log XIII

Today I have dirty un-showered writers syndrome. Its getting harder to sit down and pick right back up writing again. Of course it could just be a self imposed writing block. Part of me wonders if its because i'm getting close to the end of the story now, and part of me doesn't want to end it. The other part just wonders if pumping out 96,252 words in around three months has just tired me out. Either way, I pray this coffee and these three pop tarts help me out. 6 more chapters to go.

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OK, check in time. I did manage to be fairly productive this afternoon. Confident with how this chapter is going, I honestly feel like I could end up finishing it up tonight. On a more interesting note, right now I'm at 99,426 words. That means I'm almost in 100,000 word territory, which I never thought I'd cross into. Its not the biggest deal, but from someone who three years ago thought 10,000 words was a big deal, its an interesting landmark event for my creative life. It's going to feel good. I wonder what the one hundred thousandth word will be? We'll soon find out!

Writing Log XII

Today I tweaked up Chapter 17 to finish it. Originally I had a lot of material slated for this chapter and I ended up just splitting it in two. I think it was a wise decision for it allows time for more of the characters and their relationships to develop. There's also quite a bit of tasty, tasty foreshadowing. I'm really happy with how the story is coming. Last night I had a bit of writer's frustration, but Jess helped me through that very fantastically. As of now the story continues on strong, and the word count is at 92,380.