500 pieces of small, oddly shaped cardboard: Lessons from jigsaw puzzles

I'm a big fan of jigsaw puzzles. They're a pleasant, relatively inexpensive way to deal with the fact that it's 5 degrees outside. I've done three during this winter break, and I've got two more waiting to be done. (Parachutes and ice cream cones--both a nice challenge.) I have been known to spend hours spread out on the floor or the kitchen table trying to turn 500 cardboard pieces into a picture, a documentary playing in the background.

But I'm not the kind of person who saves puzzles after I do them. I don't have puzzle glue, or any desire to frame and display a completed puzzle. Because then I would be denying myself the pleasure of completing the puzzle again.

Because I do that. I complete a puzzle multiple times before sending it to the DI and buying another one from the dollar store. Over the winter break, while I was working on a particularly challenging bit of a jigsaw puzzle, I started to wonder what the appeal actually was. Maybe it was the general sense of cabin fever I was already experiencing, but I realized how insane completing a jigsaw puzzle actually is, especially if you don't save it. Why spend HOURS of time sorting through five HUNDRED pieces of small, oddly shaped cardboard, in order to put them together to create a picture that you will then destroy, putting all five HUNDRED pieces of small, oddly shaped cardboard BACK into the box?

Isn't this the kind of thing that certifiably insane people do?

For a while I thought that it had something to do with the visual aspect of it. It's a fun and interesting brain exercise to try to match shapes and patterns and colors. There is also the human imperative to order and create. But none of these reasons were quite enough to justify my pleasure in completing jigsaw puzzles.

But the last time I emptied a box of 500 pieces of small, oddly shaped cardboard, it hit me. I figured out the appeal.

It's the satisfaction of completing a seemingly incomplete-able task.

This is going to sound a little crazy, and maybe I've been inside for too long, but come with me on this.

When you open a jigsaw puzzle box, it's daunting. Every one of those pieces looks up at you as if to say, "We are chaos and you will never make sense of us. This is an impossible task and you are a mere mortal. Just close the box again, knowing that we defeated you." But you empty the box anyway. You sort through and find the edge pieces. You put the border together. You find the pieces that connect to the border. And the pile of chaos gets smaller, and the voices that say "This is impossible" get quieter. And then suddenly, you're fitting the last piece and you've done it. You've made sense of the chaos. You've accomplished the impossible task.

I don't save puzzles as a witness to my ability to accomplish impossible tasks. I take them apart so that I can have another opportunity to remind myself of my ability to accomplish impossible tasks.

And also to remind myself that it's okay if most of my accomplishments aren't permanent.

As Latter-day Saints, we teach that the things we do have an eternal impact. But we also teach that the things of the mortal world are mortal. That house you built will crumble. The wealth you've accumulated will become meaningless. Our sun does have an expiration date. Granted, it's 5 billion years from now, but when that time comes, all of the stuff we've created will wither and disintegrate. Every puzzle we've ever completed will be taken apart and put back into the cosmic box somewhere. But that's okay. Because the puzzle isn't the thing. What we become by completing the puzzle is the thing. There's something permanent in that...in what we become.

Come, my friends.

'T is not too late to seek a newer world.

Push off, and sitting well in order smite

The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds

To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths

Of all the western stars, until I die.

It may be that the gulfs will wash us down;

It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,

And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.

Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'

We are not now that strength which in old days

Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are,--

One equal temper of heroic hearts,

Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

-- Alfred Lord Tennyson, "Ulysses"

photos via and via

In other news...

2014 is here! Here's our family newsletter for the year 2013.

DOCUMENTARY OVERDOSE!!!

A Chapman Family Newsletter is forthcoming, but in the meantime, let's talk about documentaries.

We got Netflix. And I have an addiction.

In my defense, it's an addiction to learning, so I could be a lot worse off. I also still watch stuff on Topdocumentaryfilms.com and youtube, but most of the docs on this list are on Netflix (hence the lack of links). (I've also been on a body image/gender issues kick, you'll notice.)

I'm also at around 90 documentaries on the ongoing list of recommendations, so I'm in the process of organizing them by topic. In the meantime, that beast of an unorganized list is available by clicking on the "documentaries" tab at the top.

Elizabeth I: Killer Queen
Because we share the same name, I always liked to think that Queen Elizabeth was a kind, wise and noble ruler. The jury's still out on whether or not she actually killed anyone, but either way, she was mean. She once stabbed the back of one of her ladies in waiting's hands. She did write lovely poetry, though, so there's that.

The Last Days of Anne Boleyn
A bit more Tudor history. Anne Boleyn is such a set of contradictions to me that she's becoming more and more fascinating. I don't know whether to applaud her or dislike her. Either way, she was influential. One of my favorite things about this documentary is that it shows LOTS of different perspectives. They interview lots of authors and historians, and none of them really agree on certain aspects of Anne Boleyn's history.

The Great Inca Rebellion
Not quite as fascinating, but a nice glimpse into Inca history. Some interesting stuff about how myth and history get tangled up together, and how sometimes one informs the other and vice versa. History is written by the conquerors, but even they don't have perfect memories. Graves tell their own story.

Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's
Step into the glamorous world of fashion! This doc tells the tale of New York's snazziest department store, the rich and famous clientele who frequent it, and the place it holds in the hearts and minds of designers everywhere. And how about those windows?

Born Into Brothels
I actually watched this one years and years ago, but it's one I think about often, and it deserves to be on this list. A photographer visited Calcutta to photograph the women in the red light district and in addition, began to teach photography lessons to the children of the women she was photographing. This film examines the reality of growing up in the red light district, with a hopeful emphasis on the power of art to change lives.

My Penis and I
The reality is that women don't have penis envy. Men have penis envy. But why? What's the social focus on penis size? Does it really matter? Does it affect confidence? One "non-well-endowed" British man seeks to find the answers.
(WARNING: Full male and female nudity. There's also a point at which the narrator visits the set of a pornographic film for his research.)

Mansome
Another documentary about male body image. This one is lighthearted but fascinating. It's also interspersed with candid scenes of Will Arnett and Jason Bateman discussing what it means to be a man while they receive spa treatments, so that's amazing. Everything from facial hair to identity is covered.

Busting Out
One about women! This one examines America's obsession with breasts, both cosmetically and clinically. It's an interesting documentary because it covers breasts (ha) in the context of body image and in the context of disease--how women with breast cancer deal with the experience of losing a breast.

America the Beautiful
About halfway through this documentary, I realized that I'd seen it before, but was happy to rediscover it. I think about it often, but had no idea what it was called. It follows one man's journey to understand America's body image issues (and we have a lot). He discusses Dove's "Real Beauty" campaign, the modeling world, an obsession with plastic surgery, and how to help the rising generation deal with the confusing messages surrounding appearance.

How the Universe Works (series)
So much awesome science!!! The first episode covers the Big Bang, and then the series discusses everything from black holes to supernovas. To space enthusiasts, there's a nice balance of common knowledge and new info. I was most fascinated by the episode on alien solar systems. There are so many billions of stars out there, and many of them have planets orbiting them, just like we do our sun. But sometimes they're so crazy! And it illustrates how AMAZING our own solar system is. Did you know that if Jupiter didn't exist in its current state, the earth would probably have been destroyed a long time ago? The gravity of the huge planet pulls in anything hurtling towards earth. Thanks, Jupiter!

Tales From the Script
A great and inspiring documentary that writers and film enthusiasts will especially enjoy. Screenwriters discuss their experiences in Hollywood...the huge challenges to writing films, and the times when things go amazingly well. It's a nice sort of disillusionment in a way. You watch this documentary and realize that Hollywood can be this soulless pit and that you probably won't ever actually make money writing for the screen. But you also realize that if you've really got talent, and have a strong center, and have important stories to tell and know how to tell them, you can pour some soul back into Hollywood.
(WARNING: LANGUAGE.)

Cave of Forgotten Dreams
THIS DOCUMENTARY BLEW MY MIND!!!! There's a cave in France called "Chauvet Cave" and it houses the oldest known cave paintings on the earth--as in 30,000 years old. They can date them by dating the layers of [insert geological material that I can't remember the name of here] that's grown over the initial layers of paint. There was a rock slide that sealed the caves off for thousands and thousands of years, so when the cave was discovered in the 90's, lots of people thought it was a hoax because the paintings looked so fresh. And they are BEAUTIFUL paintings...full of motion and life. I actually cried.

Out Late
This documentary tells the story of 5 people--two women, two men, and one MTF transsexual--who all came out to their friends and family after the age of 50. Each of their stories are totally different, and some of them lived "straight" lives for many years before choosing to embrace their identity as lesbian or gay. It's heartwarming and honest, and if you're seeking to understand more about the LGBT experience, this is a pretty beautiful set of stories.

Kumare
Jacob discovered this one and watched almost the entire thing, and then right at the climax of the film, he stopped it and insisted that we watch the whole thing together. It's incredibly difficult to explain this film clearly, but it follows one man's attempt to understand religion. He creates a fake identity as a guru and begins a religion as an experiment--to see if he can gain followers and how far their devotion will go. But he begins to have transformative experiences of his own along the way, and the end result is pretty uplifting.

Blackfish
This one has been recommended to me a few times, and it's currently a pretty popular film on Netflix, which is pretty important. It's almost an expose. It tells the story of humans' complicated relationship with killer whales, focusing on how we use them in the entertainment industry. And you'll probably never want to visit SeaWorld again. Did you know that whales have structures in the emotional centers of their brains that humans don't have? So killer whales live incredibly rich emotional lives that we can't even conceive of--we don't even have the equipment in our brains to understand it. And their family units are so tight that orcas from different families speak different dialects--they can't even communicate with each other. This documentary was very difficult to watch, but I felt a moral imperative to watch it, and I'm glad I did.

Urbanized
This was especially interesting after watching the film "District 9," actually. This focuses on how cities are designed, how slums are created and good ways to address them, and ways that changes in cities can change societies as a whole. There was a weird bit at the end that focused disproportionately on Germany and one controversial remodeling project, but as a whole, it was a cool look at city design.

Page One: Inside the New York Times
Will the New York Times survive into the digital age?! Newspapers have it tough in the age of instant information, and many a newspaper has ended up on the chopping block. This documentary gives an inside look at the workings of the Times, and what journalism means today. They interview several reporters, talk about the legal traps and the social responsibility of journalism, and how newspapers have succeeded and failed.

Nova: Mystery of a Masterpiece
In 2007, an art collector paid $20,000 for a particularly striking Renaissance portrait. But somewhere along the way, someone said, "This looks a heck of a lot like the work of Leonardo da Vinci." (Which would make the portrait worth close to $100 million.) So, blending forensic science and art history, they set out to figure out who painted the portrait.

Series: Prophets of Science Fiction
I'm in the middle of this right now, and I'm enjoying it SO MUCH! This series starts with Mary Shelley as the true founder of science fiction and covers Phillip K. Dick, H.G. Wells, Arthur C. Clark, Isaac Asimov, Jules Verne, Robert Heinlein, and George Lucas. It covers the authors' lives, how they influenced the world of science fiction, and how their predictions have since come true. Any avid reader or film enthusiast or history buff will enjoy this series. (Oh! And it's hosted by Ridley Scott! And Michio Kaku makes appearances in every episode!) 

Inspiration: Romance in Black and White

love is more thicker than forget

more thinner than recall

more seldom than a wave is wet

more frequent than to fail

it is most mad and moonly

and less it shall unbe

than all the sea which only

is deeper than the sea

love is less always than to win

less never than alive

less bigger than the least begin

less littler than forgive

it is most sane and sunly

and more it cannot die

than all the sky which only

is higher than the sky

e.e. cummings

A cold and broken hallelujah

It's mid-December.
I find myself, after a few weeks of denial, in the throws of the winter blues.

I can't decide which is worse--the beginning of the winter blues, when the unthinkably long winter stretches before you in all of its grayness, or the long February days towards the end, when you've woken up and gone back to bed over and over again in the same grayness for so long you can't imagine life any other way.

I keep almost doing drastic things, as a way of coping.
Like cutting all my hair off. Or canceling class for the rest of the semester. Or throwing away most of my clothes.

I can't think straight during winter.

The things I actually do to cope are (so far) less drastic.
Baking.
Staying up until 2 or 3 am on a regular basis.
Reorganizing my makeup.
Swearing way more often than usual.
A few weeks ago, I read an entire novel in one sitting. And then did it again with a different novel the next day.

I kept looking for pictures of winter to post with this blog.
But none of them felt accurate--they were all glittering snow in the sunshine, or mystical fog in the forest, or serene blue skies.
Because no one actually wants to photograph the day-to-day dirty snow drudgery that winter is most of the time.

I'm far from the darkest place I've ever been, but my winter blues are no less real for that.
This is not the great black dog that has visited me in the past.
But it's a medium-sized gray dog, large enough to demand my attention.

As I write this, a little voice in my head keeps whispering, "Be positive. Be positive. Be positive."
But in the words of this blogger, "Trying to use willpower to overcome the apathetic sort of sadness that accompanies depression is like a person with no arms trying to punch themselves until their hands grow back."

But the bizarre truth is that sometimes, if the depression is small enough--if it's a small, manageable kind of perpetual sadness--it kind of does work.
Punching yourself can make your arms grow back.
I know it sounds insane, but I've done it before.
So I'm trying to do that.
I've got a handful of beautiful things that make it easier to get up in the frozen mornings. Rehearsal with Danielle and Kieffer and Jerry and Emily--the chance to create beautiful and important art.* A smile from my husband. The possibility of baking more things.

And occasionally, you get little gifts that can sustain you for days on end.
Beautiful dances that are full of truth and art and honesty.
Funny and life-affirming movies.
Lovely songs.
Weekend nights at Jack In The Box that are filled with un-repeatable hilarity.
Long talks with good people.
Visits to best friends in Salt Lake City.
And I'm grateful for those things.

And set against the background of gray and snow and night and cold, I think they shimmer with more loveliness to me than they would on their own. So I suppose that while the gray gathers outside, I'll just keep trying to hold those sustaining things up to the light and let them shimmer.

* Theatre is the insanity that keeps me sane. 

Documentaries You Have to Go to Netflix to Find

Most of the time I get my documentary fix on youtube. But during the periods of my life when I've had access to Netflix, I've found some incredible documentaries that I couldn't always find elsewhere. If you've got a Netflix account, add a few of these titles. (Some may be available to stream, some you may need to get the DVD.)

The Meaning of Food
Chef Marcus Samuelsson discusses the cultural role food plays all over the world. From India to Samoa, there are rituals involving food and eating. Meals can be used to honor or insult each other, to other groups of people, or create a community. Lots of great interviews and insights.

The Wonder of It All
So so so so good. America's moon landing was a huge event in both science and politics, but this is a look at the more human experience of it. Astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Alan Bean, Edgar Mitchell, John Young, Charles Duke, Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt all share their experiences in interviews and archive footage. One of the things they said was that there was SO MUCH research to do that they hardly had time to take in the fact that they were ON THE MOON. Surprisingly moving documentary.

Herb and Dorothy
I liked this one so much that I bought it. It tells the story of a couple from New York...he was a postal clerk, she was a librarian. On their middle class income, they slowly built one of the largest and most important collections of modern art in America. They had 2 rules for their purchases: it had to be affordable, and it had to fit in their modest one-bedroom apartment. After decades of collecting, they owned thousands of works by minimalist, modern painters and sculptors, and their collection has since been donated to museums throughout the United States. Herb and Dorothy Vogel redefined what it means to be an art collector.

American Experience: Earth Days
Awesome look at the series of events that led to the first National Earth Day celebration, and the people who pioneered the "green movement." From Rachel Carson's book "Silent Spring," to the first oil crises in the 60's and 70's, this is an awesome look at what led to the first Earth Day, and what still needs to be done to make our existence on this planet sustainable.

Objectified
I call this documentary "designers porn," because it's full of great design and inspiring artists. An interesting look at the balance that must be found between aesthetics and functionality. Most people don't really think about how a thing is designed unless it has some major flaw--at least I don't. I look at objects differently now. Did you know the first "hand-friendly" potato peeler was created by someone putting a bicycle handle on a regular peeler? Cool, huh?

Helvetica
Another bit of "designers porn," this documentary focuses on typeface design. As I've been learning graphic design, I've fallen more and more in love with typeface design and font websites. This documentary is interesting because it talks about how typeface reflects the aesthetics of a time period.

Nature: Koko
The gorilla who speaks sign language and loves kittens! This documentary threw me for a loop when I first saw it...I was totally overwhelmed by the humanity of an animal and it confused my sense of order for a while. But I've since been introduced to a lot of insights that have helped me figure things out, and I still think this is a fantastic documentary.

Commune
So awesome. During the sixties, there was a huge movement to get out of the cities and into nature, and communal living was a big part of that. This documentary follows the people of one particular commune (that's still a commune today), the challenges and benefits of communal living, and how things changed over the years. Warning: Lots of nudity. None of it is explicitly sexual, but it's full frontal male and female nudity. 

Jonestown
Powerful, terrifying, heart-breaking, and IMPORTANT. This tells the story of Jim Jones and the "People's Temple," the cult that ended with cyanide-laced Kool-Aid in the jungles of Guyana. That horrific event had few survivors, but those that did manage to escape Jones' grasp give detailed interviews and share their experiences. A voice of warning and a tribute to tragedy.

Sound and Fury
Iconic documentary about the controversy of cochlear implants. There are lots of members of the deaf community who feel that cochlear implants destroy their community, while others (both within and without the deaf community) who see cochlear implants as a miracle you'd be crazy to pass up. It's a very personal story, focusing on one family and their decision about whether or not to give their young daughter an implant.

New York in the Fifties
New York was in the 1950s what Paris was in the 1920s...this center of art and poetry and literature and performance and ideas. From the beat poets to Andy Warhol, it all started in New York. The entire revolution of the 1960s and 70s truly started in New York in the 1950s.

Girl 27
A disturbing and important story of a girl who was raped at an MGM party in the 1930s and refused to stay silent about it. Sexual abuse was far more common in Hollywood, especially in the 1930s, than anyone wants to admit. The courage of "Girl 27" and her David-and-Goliath story is a powerful one. 

Pururambo
I went through this strange phase of about a week when I was really fascinated with Papua New Guinea...I still kind of am. But it's hard to find good documentaries about it because so few people have visited the isolated tribes that live there. I loved this documentary because it felt so genuine. (You know, parts where the camera crew is dodging arrows.) But it was also respectful. And I was made so aware of the incredible wealth I live in, even under the poverty line, compared to people who live hand to mouth. 

Art of the Steal
This documentary INFURIATED me. A man named Dr. Albert Barnes created an impressive collection of post-impressionist paintings (including dozens of Renoirs, Cezannes, Matisses, and Picassos) with the express purpose of making them available to the public and to art students as a free resource. He specified that the collection should always be used this way in his will, but when he died in 1951, all hell broke loose.  

Stolen

Ever heard of the 1990 Boston art heist? Yeah, I hadn't either. But somehow, thieves broke into the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum and made off with 13 MASTERPIECES, including a Rembrandt and Vermeer's famous "The Concert." The Gardner will stated that nothing could be removed or changed about the gallery, so for years the frames simply remained empty. Are the paintings ever found? You'll have to watch to find out.

The Imposter
A totally alarming and completely fascinating true story. In 1994, 13-year-old Nicholas Barclay disappeared from his hometown in San Antonio, Texas. When "he" was found in Spain three years later, he had an accent and looked completely different. Frederic Bourdin, a 23-year-old Frenchman, managed to convince the family that he was their son. When he was finally found out,  he added even more mystery to the disappearance of Nicholas all those years before. 

It Might Get Loud
Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White all get together and talk about music and guitars and then play each other's songs? So awesome. I learned things about music and creativity from this documentary that I still reference to this day. 

Pageant
Did you know there's an annual Miss Gay America competition? I have a special place in my heart for drag queens. Maybe I was one in another life or something, but this movie was a great celebration of drag shows and drag queens, but also a great look at what it's like to be gay in America today.

Miss Representation
A great documentary about the glaring absence of women in leadership positions and the boxes we constantly put women and girls in, whether it be regarding their appearance or their gender role or what it is they're "supposed" to do. Great interviews with everyone from Gloria Steinem to Katie Couric.

Small Town Gay Bar
You know, things are getting better for the LGBT community in a lot of ways. But we've still got a long ways to go. This documentary focuses on two or three gay bars located in the Deep South. It's not easy growing up gay in the heart of Bible Belt Mississippi, so gay bars provide a community and a haven for those who are otherwise stuck in the closet. 

From NaNoWriMo to Pearl Jam to Salt Lake City

Goal #8 for this 28th year of life = DONE.

I was inspired by videos like this one, and decided to make one of my own. It's amazing how quickly a month can go by when you see it this way.

The other challenge is this. How do you know what the defining moment of a day was until that day is over? How do you know which moments are the important ones to capture? As I was putting this video together, there are big important things that are shown--NaNoWriMo, the Pearl Jam concert, Ruthie's smiles. But there are other things that are glaringly absent--long talks with Carrie, "Next to Normal" at UVU, Thanksgiving dinner, Santa Cruz with my grandparents. Part of that is logistics, but the other part is simply not being sure when to film things.

Behold, the month of November, in 3-second clips.

Current favorite thing

Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellan have been friends for over forty years, and it's the most life-affirming, adorable friendship ever. They originally met in the Royal Shakespeare Company back in the 1970s, but their friendship has truly been cemented in their golden years. I see pictures of them and pretend that they're both my grandpa.

Right now, they're both in New York, reprising their roles as Gogo and Didi in "Waiting for Godot."* See?

But they're BFF's offstage too. For example, they spent Thanksgiving together:

And they recently posted a whole series of pictures of themselves on Twitter**, using the hashtag #gogodididonyc.*** See, look:

Both of these men are admirable on their own (especially Patrick Stewart--how I adore Patrick Stewart), but together? Unstoppable.


* If I have any really rich friends/family/readers wondering what to get me for Christmas, a trip to NYC to see these two would be perfect. 
** I recently started a Twitter account. Mostly so I can follow famous people that I admire. If you're interested in following me, I'm @lizannetweets
*** And if you want to know true happiness, follow Patrick Stewart on Twitter. It's delightful. 

Done.

As of around 1 pm today, I have officially completed NaNoWriMo. I now have a 50,058 word draft of a young adult novel. I sat and grinned at my computer for roughly fifteen minutes when I finished.

And then I celebrated by re-doing the ole blog. Big change, but I felt it was time.

Now I'm going to read and do laundry and unpack and watch movies and write lesson plans eat leftover rolls and clementines for dinner while I read Rainbow Rowell's "Eleanor and Park" all the way through in one sitting.

Catch ya later.

From deep inside the rabbit hole*

NaNoWriMo is halfway over. And at almost 30,000 words, I am miraculously on track. I keep telling Jacob that I feel like I have the most fragile grip on this entire project...that I'm holding onto it by my fingernails. I never really get a better handle on it, but somehow it still hasn't slipped out of my hands.

But as I told my sister a week or so ago, my novel is, somehow, almost inexplicably, going pretty well. I've got the skeleton of a plot mapped out, but the plot I have mapped out only equals a book about 30,000 words long, so I keep on having to add scenes along the way to stretch it out. So for every day that I'm writing a scene I have on my outline, there are at least two days where I sit down and think, "Okay. What else should happen?" And then I google "Things to do between Portland and Seattle" because my characters are on a road trip between Portland and Seattle. Then I find something interesting, and say, "Hey, maybe they can stop in this small town and meet the parents of a girl who was killed by Ted Bundy in the 1970's." And as I start to write it, I'm like, "Rubbish. This is rubbish. This will probably be cut from the final draft." But then I write it, and I sit back and think, "You know, that actually IS relevant to the plot and the theme and the development of the characters. Cool." And I've made the word count for one more day.

Also, that Ted Bundy bit is totally true and really does happen in my book. I was going to go to a dress rehearsal of Jacob's show on the same day I wrote that scene, but I'd spent all day researching Ted Bundy, so in the end I was too scared to walk to campus by myself in the dark and ended up staying home and watching like, twenty vlogbrothers videos instead. (Did you know Ted Bundy kidnapped a girl from BYU's campus?)

On Tuesday, my characters arrived in Seattle, and I was stumped as to how I would occupy them for another few thousand words until the climax. And just to occupy word count, I had my characters make a list of things they wanted to do in Seattle. Then I sat back and realized that I had just mapped out the rest of the novel before the climax, which I then celebrated.

And then I realized that I hadn't really mapped out the rest of the novel...just the settings for the rest of the novel.

The truth is this. I wrote most of this blog entry the week before the 15th, in anticipation of publishing once it was true. But there have been days this week when it has taken me roughly five hours to pound out another 1,667 words. I have settings but still not sufficient action. And some days, I feel so stuck that I spend twenty minutes browsing the internet for every one minute I spend writing.

You could tell me to just close the internet, but A) I'm writing my novel on Google Drive, and B) I'd find some other way to distract myself. 

But at the end of every day, even during weekend visits to Utah and during busy days of teaching, I've found a way to write another 1,667 words. This is do-able. And I am, somehow, doing it. 

All you fellow Wrimos out there, keep on keeping on.



* I am, at this point, not so far down the rabbit hole that I can't quite see things entirely clearly, how Valerie says she gets when deep into writing projects. So I guess that technically, by definition, I'm not really in the rabbit hole at all. More like in the trenches.