Breaking 20k/7day and a new apartment

Today I broke 20k words for the running seven-day total.  According to my records, the last time that total was over 20k was Monday, June 8th.  Despite the fact that I moved into a new apartment today, I managed to finish with just over 4k for the day.

You should have seem me at the library at 11:39 pm.  I was sprinting. “Just let me finish this scene, just let me finish this scene!” Didn’t finish it, but I only have another 500 words left.   I’ll use it to help get me back into the  zone tomorrow.

Momentum is so important for me as a writer.  I can plow through long chapters and difficult scenes if I know I’m making progress.  Once I get bogged down for a couple of days, it doesn’t matter how exciting the next scene is; it’s going to be painful.  Once I’m up to speed, though, the book practically writes itself.

According to my records, in the 2+ weeks since I started Ashes, I’ve only surpassed 4k on three days.  That’s not good.  I should at least be hitting 3.5k every day through July in order to finish this beast by August 1st.  If my momentum is running steady at 4k, that will be much easier.

I don’t have too many interruptions planned for July–no conferences or major trips.  That’s…good and bad.  I need to get out of Provo.  I can feel it.  But…blegh.

Fortunately, I’ll be getting out tomorrow, touring some ghosttowns with Charlie and some of her friends.  I’m REALLY looking forward to that, and have been for some time.  Man, it’s going to be awesome! I’m going to check out a whole bunch of Western music from the LRC, and we’re going to have a picnic, and it’s going to be great!

In other news, I moved into a new apartment south of campus.  It’s pretty nice and spacious, and since I only have one other roommate, I’ve got a private room.  His name is Brett, and he’s from Colorado.  As of this week, he’s an elementary ed major; even though he could graduate from the Marriott School in April, he realized that that’s not what he wants to do.  He’s also engaged, to a girl he met in his freshman ward.  They’re both RMs now, which is pretty cool; kind of like my parents, they kept in contact through letters and stuff.  She’s in Atlanta now, and they’re getting married in August.  He seems like a pretty cool guy; I think we’ll get along.

Church meets at 8:30 am in the JSB.  Hehe…unless I bring a snack, I’ll probably end up sleeping through most of the meetings.  It’s going to be nice, though, having the rest of the day to do stuff.