I’m pouting today. I just read Leslie ‘The Assassin’ Langtry’s blog post and I have a serious case of ‘poor pitiful me’ because I don’t have a personal assistant and unless I nab one of those ‘major deals’ you read about on Publisher’s Lunch, it’s so not gonna happen. (Picture Bullet Hole face down on the floor pummeling the oak laminate with her fists, and kicking and screaming ‘NO FAIR, NO FAIR, NO FAIR!) See how quickly I went from pathetic whining pouter to tantrum throwing brat? I’m a writer. I wallow in emotion. Hey. We all do!
I sure could have used a personal assistant this past week. Who am I kidding? I could have used half a dozen assistants. Last week was…eventful.
We’re creeping up to graduation day—times three—at my house. That means sending out graduation announcements, party invitations, menu planning, cleaning house, yard work, plus all the regular crap that needs to be done on a daily basis. Pretty full schedule, wouldn’t you agree?
You ain’t heard nothin’ yet.
I got a wild hair (I get them sometimes) and decided that, come you-know-what or high water, I was going to have my next book done by Mother’s Day—or bust! That meant I would have to write nearly 200 pages in a week’s time. An author friend I know—who also happens to be an ex cop-- wrote his first book in eleven days. Eleven days! That’s three days shy of two weeks! (Another person besides ‘The Assassin’ to throw darts at this Saturday night.) Anyway, being the competitive fiend (and quasi feminist) I am, I figured if he can do it, I can do it! Of course, at the time I made such a bold declaration I forgot he didn’t have triplets graduating from high school and getting college plans finalized, nor was he chief cook and bottle washer at his establishment.
Undeterred, and with chapter outlines in hand I set out to finish the book! Here’s some idea of how it went:
Monday: Off to a great start! Wrote 31 pages! Doing the happy dance!
Tuesday: Son notified me there was a big puddle of water under the washing machine. Danced with a mop and bucket. Only wrote 17 pages. Will need to play catch up tomorrow.
Wednesday: Butt is beginning to fall asleep from all the time in the chair. Didn’t quite catch up as yard needed mowing. Was just happy the mower started. Still managed 30 pages.
Thursday: A decent day. Wrote 24 pages. Convinced butt is now flat as plywood.
Friday: Son got a job. Had to celebrate. Kept the nose to the monitor and fingers to the keyboard and wrote 43 pages! Good news: my butt doesn't ache any more. Bad news: I no longer have a butt.
Saturday: Started my day at 5 A.M. determined to keep going until I finished or fell out of my chair, whichever came first. In a marathon session, I wrote all night and finished at around 4 A.M. Sunday morning. Total page tally for this day: 52 pages, bringing me to—drumroll here, please-- a grand total of ONE HUNDRED NINETY SEVEN PAGES in a week’s time!.
Sunday: Drag myself to bed at half past 4 after saving my manuscript on CD, zip drive, lap top, desk top, and family computer just to be safe. Was awakened at 5:30 by daughter hurling chunks in the bathroom across the hall with the worst case of flu I’d seen in a while.
Happy Mother’s Day and pass the Lysol.
It’ll take me a month to catch up on my sleep, my backside will never be the same again, and I seriously don’t know if anything I wrote makes the least bit of sense, but at least I finished the d*!@ book!
So, what’s the last thing that kept you up all night? (Only ‘G’ rated material, of course.) When’s the last time you pulled an all-nighter and why? Writing? Work deadline? College exams? Sick kid? Dance marathon? A night out with the girls—or boys? Movie marathon?
Share away!
~Bullet Hole~
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22 comments:
Congratulations! That's an amazing number in a week. And who needs a butt anyway?
I can't remember the last time I pulled an all nighter. I doubt my body would allow it these days.
Triplets graduating? You should get an award just for that.
Wow! Triplets graduating?! Congrats to you times three!
I didn't start out with much of a butt so I guess if it sank into the computer chair and was lost forever, I probably wouldn't miss it too much. Double wowza on your page total for a week! That's some serious dedication!
I write best between the hours of 11pm and 5am. Now. If only I could do this more than once a week. LOL
Congrats all the way around! Fantastic acheivements!
Last time I pulled an all-nighter? Seven? Eight years ago? I was senior in high school and we were at 'war' with the juniors. So much of the night was spent in the driver's seat of the get away car or with a roll of toliet paper in my hand :O)
I'm not sure who will be celebrating more come May 25th, Terrio. Me or the trio.
And I think I ended up getting about 20 hours of sleep last week.
~Bullet Hole still yawning~
Thanks for the congrats in triplicate, sin!
I basically can write any time but now that I've been writing later at night, I find it hard to get started in the morning again. And I find it hard to wind down after a marathon session enough to go to bed.
It really helped that I had chapter outlines and scenes detailed to draft. I wouldn't have made it had I not known just where I needed to go with each scene and in what order I needed to do it.
~Bullet Hole~
~Bullet Hole~
Oh my gawd. Too funny, Kathy!
First, you wrote: Good news: my butt doesn't ache any more. Bad news: I no longer have a butt.
I really need to know he specifics on that. I've done "butt in the chair" for hours, and when I get up, the butt has spread, not disppeared.
Second: You poor child. I sorry for the hurling experience. Considering the scenes I wrote in Weddings, my agent now says, "No one does puke like Christie." Not sure it's how I want to be remembered, but I guess we take what we can get.
Third: My last all-night? PG, of course. Well once I, wait, that's more PG13. But there was the time . . . Nope can't tell that one either. :-) Guess, I'll have to pass on #3.
Thanks for the laugh. And yeah, I'm with you. I want an assistant, too. Think we could go nab Kim from Leslie?
High school??? Seven-eight years ago??? Ye gods, Keri, you make me feel OLD!
Still, I think it's pretty cool that an old broad like me can still pull an all-nighter (along with a hamstring when I finally do lift my carcass out of the office chair).
Thanks for the congrats all round. It's a high for sure!
~Bullet Hole~
The last time I stayed up all night was with my dog Bailey. He sometimes gets a very upset tummy and we have to drink Prune Juice to fix it. Sometimes it works right away and other times it takes a day or two. He hurts so bad that he crys almost all night and I have to try and rub his tummy to ease the pain. But he is my puppy and I don't mind (but I do miss my sleep). But you did a fabulous job and WOW that many pages in one day!!
Kathy - I'm glad you said something about that in HS 7 to 8 years ago. As I'm looking at my 20 year reunion in 2 years, that made me feel tres old.
Christie - You crack me up.
Wow. That writing schedule is amazing and brutal. I think I'll just slink away now....
As for what last kept me up all night, probably reading though I can't recall offhand what I was reading at the time. My brain has gone walkabout. *g*
Congratulations on completing your goal!
My #1 son is the main reason I've pulled all nighters. Only 1 time in his nearly 11 years has he thrown up in daylight. ONE TIME!!! It's the flukiest thing, as soon as the sun comes up he's fine. Until it sets again and then he's back at it. I dread that child getting the flu!
I'M SORRY!
Will work better to hide me age in future posts!
-keri who believes you're only as old as you feel
Okay, Christie. Confession time here. I must be built like Sin because I've always been a little derriere-challenged.
While I like the idea of kidnapping Kim, I don't particularly like the idea of sharing her. In fact, I'm thinking of planning a commando raid here. After all, geographically I'm a matter of hours from Les.
Hehe!
~Bullet Hole~
I understand how it goes with 'puppy love', boops_girl5. Our pets are like one of our babies.
Thanks for the writing 'atta girls'. I actually went back and read what I wrote and thought, "Not bad, Bullet Hole--considering how brain drained you were."
Let's hope the agent agrees.
~Bullet Hole~
You'll have a good time at your reunion, Terrio. At the twentieth you're still young enough to act like a teeny bopper. (Man, does that cultural reference date me or what?)
It's also fun to see time catch up with some of the 'I'm all that' jocks and jockettes.
Enjoy!
~Bullet Hole~
If you remember what book kept you up, Tori, I'd love to know.
And I'm still in shock over the page totals for the week. I was so psyched out when I typed that last page Sunday morning, I wasn't sure I could sleep at all. Turned out I didn't need to worry, after all, as I was back up an hour after I went to bed.
~Bullet Hole who noticed she forgot to post a title and had to improvise~
I've lost count of how many sleepless nights I've spent with sick kids, Beth. One particularly memorable string of all nighters comes to mind and that was when all four of the kids had their tonsils and adnoids removed. In hindsight that was a HUGE mistake. I've never seen so much recycled Gatorade.
Erp.
~Bullet Hole~
Too late, Keri! You're already outed as a wee bairn!
;)
~Bullet Hole~
OMG! I run a couple of errands and finally tune in to find a commando raid coming my way! And I don't think I could take Bullet Hole - a former state police officer with triplets? I'm so doomed!
I have to share Kim too - with authors like Eloisa James, etc. So go for it and please don't shoot me!
If it makes you feel better - my butt is beyond flat and the last time I stayed up all night was a couple of months ago on revisions.
You are my hero, Bullet Hole!
Les
What is it with us tall broads and flat backsides, Les???
As far as my 'covert operation' goes, you'll never see me coming!
To be honest, the fun part is planning the operation--not carrying it out. Or so says the mystery author.
The former cop, however, still fantasizes about raids, and undercover ops, and sting operations.
~Bullet Hole~
Congrats Kathy!!!!!
The last time I stayed up all night was a while ago. I love my sleep. It was when I was acting and my casting agent double booked me. I went right from a late night music video shoot to an early morning call on a period film. Coffee was the only thing keeping me upright.
~Gemma
What an interesting life you've led up to this point, Gemma. Your experiences as an actress would also make for a really neat series--the struggling actress going from one call to another and running into murder and mayhem at each new 'location'. You've certainly got the 'write what you know' down pat.
~Bullet Hole~
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