I’M GOING TO CHALLENGE MYSELF

Today was Tuesday, April 1, 2025 and I made my writing goal of 1,000 words a day. Over three hours spread throughout the day I wrote 1,005 words on my novel.

The first stint was very hard and done right after breakfast. The second stint was easier (mid-day) but the third session was almost a breeze. I seem to do better late at night.

Yay! One day down.

But wait!

Today was Wednesday, April 2. Almost a complete fail. I got to my writing computer about 8 am, wrote approximately one or two paragraphs and then started to feel bad. Sort of dizzy. So I stopped, figured it was lack of sleep and took a long, long nap.

I’m a sort of a “in for a penny/in for a pound” person so I didn’t even try to get back to my novel, instead I watched The DaVinci Code (for about the tenth time)

Thursday April 3 was both a fail and a win.  Did write a little this morning. And what I did write gave me insight into the rest of the book,

Friday April 4 I didn’t want to write so I didn’t. But what I stumbled into the day before, boy, what a great plot for my book!

Don’t let anyone ever persuade you that procrastination and taking a SHORT break away from your writing is bad. A lot of the time it’s that break you need to find inspiration.

Have been watching the HBO miniseries The Leftovers. Because it was filmed in Lockhart where I live. I drove past their sets almost daily (because they were using the street I normally drive to town on.)

Saturday April 5. Did nothing at all! Today is April 9.

So if you bet on me failing, you were absolutely right. But I learned that I COULD write 1K words a day, and I HAVE worked on my novel.

That is success through failure.

I’ll try again next week.

By the way, I’ve lowered the price of all my Kindle books from $5.99 to $3.99, and if you put my name Gretchen Rix in the Kindle search on Amazon, they are very attractively arranged, for the moment.

I’M GOING TO CHALLENGE MYSELF

To complete my novel in April. It’s about half-way finished already. This is 100 percent doable. Just takes commitment.

And giving up TV and reading for a little while.

Start date April 1, 2025.

Want to bet I get it done?

UPDATE—It is now two days until I get to stop living a lazy, non-writing existence (like you know who) and write a minimum of 1K words a day. Sounds like fun? I likely will have to give up long naps and most of my TV watching (Hope you are seeing the wildlife program The Americas narrated by Tom Hanks). But not my reading. Reading counts as research you know. I’m re-reading The Memory Trap by Anthony Price.

I plan to document my writing progress for you.

Stay tuned.

I need to put my butt in the chair and write.

It would solve all my problems. And I don’t believe in writer’s block. I believe in laziness and loss of interest.

But instead I got excited this week about the opportunity to put one (or more) of my books on an Apple version of Audible. Wanted to offer my very best book, A Resurrection of Starlings.

But my dream faded by day’s end after I looked at it realistically. The narrators would have been AI’s. And I can’t imagine AI’s (at this point of time) knowing how to get the interludes (that’s what I’m calling the digressions and explanations of the story dotting my Jack the Ripper western) right. In print it’s formatted so the reader knows this is important to the story but not the story. itself. And I think I read it right, that after the Apple process is started, there is no way to proofread it, so to speak.

So. Maybe another of my books? And why not hire a narrator like the other eleven of my books that are on Audible?

Can’t afford it. And I don’t really have the time.

I need to be writing books. I’m stalled in the middle of my third Boo Radley mystery novels. I should never have stopped writing.

Word to the wise—don’t ever stop writing.

What am I reading this week? The second book in The Expanse series. What am I watching this week? The movies Twister, Dr. No, To Russia With Love, and the original TV series Star Trek.

Here is a link to A Resurrection of Starlings   https://books2read.com/u/311vPa

It’s good.

I wish I was a better writer (and yes, I know it’s were) so I could persuade people to watch the news (but not FOX). We are living through dangerous times. All I’ve got to contribute is fluff (my novels) and money (ALCU and Mark Kelly).

Sort of Lost in Space, but it’s somewhat relevant–the crew has been abandoned to save themselves.

This is actually me about a year ago at Moody Gardens in Galveston.

It’s nearly the end of January 2025 as I write this. Last week I was immersed in a writing class for writers who want to learn to write better space operas. I learned that I can write a 3,000 word short story in three days! One I am proud of. (Still waiting on opinion of the teacher). But that’s good to know. That I can write that much. I plan on using some of that determination on finishing my in-progress mystery novel. If I could do it with the stories, I can do it with the novel. Yay me! Maybe I’ll start posting my progress,

I just finished reading Robert Harris’s novel CONCLAVE. I pretty much didn’t want to put it down. Hope the movie is as good.

Hoping for a very good year in 2025.

We are attempting a non-traditional Christmas tomorrow. Happy Panda (that’s our name for Panda Express) Chinese food and movies, movies, movies. Since Ben Hur is an Easter movie and The Ten Commandments doesn’t fall into either category, and they are the only religious movies we own, we are going with Godzilla Minus One, Die Hard, and IF. We just finished watching Jumanji 2, a really entertaining movie right up there with Galaxy Quest.

Have a peaceful day, folks.

What I learned while on vacation last month.

I was reminded that the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, TX is one of the best zoos in Texas. We accidentally went there the day it was opened to trick-or-treaters in costume. Hundreds of kids and their parents went from station to station in Halloween costumes gathering candy and having fun. The entire zoo was decked out with spiders and ghouls and skeletons and spiderwebs.

My sister and I were astonished by how helpful and nice everyone in the crowd was. A stranger even paid for our admission to the park ($17.00 each) with a smile and a God Bless in parting. Have never had that happen before. After the zoo we headed to Lindale and the Lindale Candy Shop who kept their doors open for us after closing time. A fun place to just look at. Barbie Dolls dressed in candy gowns!!!

What I learned while on vacation last week.

I learned that Franklin, Texas was a good stopping point for a long trip, (Austin area to Tyler.) We’d originally planned a trip I-35 to Waco and to Magnolia for lunch, but there were no hotel rooms to be had anywhere near Waco. Figured it was an important Baylor University football night and was right.

On another topic, I finally finished reading Gai-Jin by James Clavell. The five-pound (my estimate) 1000-page small-print hardbound epic that goes after Shogun and before Noble House.

Never again. I could hardly hold it and I cheated by skimming. Halfway through I only read the European side of the story. I’m sure the Japanese side of the plot was the more interesting. Maybe they’ll make it a mini-series.