Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Opening the Flood Gates

My goal this week was to have no goals. My hope was to take the pressure off and see what happens, and it worked. On Monday I pushed through and finished chapter 9. I also went through half of my other book on one more quick edit.

Sometimes you just need to get started and the flood gates open, but just like a flood, the result won't be pretty and you always have a lot of cleaning up to do. That's how I feel about chapter 9, but at least there's something there to clean.

Here's to writing chapter 10, but it's not a goal. I just want to write it and maybe chapter 11 as well.

Addendum:

Totally forgot I signed up for Nicole Ducoir's Bernard Pivot Blogfest

So here it is:

What is your favorite word - MOM
What is your least favorite word - MOM
What turns you on cratively, spiritually or emotionally - A quiet house
What turns you off - hearing the word MOM repeated over and over again
What is your favorite curse word - I'm kind of a hell and damn kind of girl
What sound or noise do you love - the sound of my kids doing the dishes
What sound or noise do you hate - (I'm totally stealing this) - the alarm clock
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt - professional athlete (although I think I might have missed that boat)
What profession would you not like to do? - Rodeo clown
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates - Well done

20 comments:

Candice said...

I remember when I finished my first book. The flood gates had opened toward the end. It was such a mess!! But I agree with what you said about at least having something to clean.

Laura Pauling said...

That's great! Sometimes the brain needs the freedom to create to do it's job. Happy writing!

Jessica Nelson said...

Very true about floodgates! ;-) Have fun writing!

Felicity Grace Terry said...

Good on you, here's to the floodgates remaining open.

Angela said...

Your making progress, that's all that matters.

Jennifer Hoffine said...

Good idea. My problem is that I need to let go of some non-writing goals and get more writing done.

Susan R. Mills said...

Love the answers to your questions. I totally agree about the "MOM" thing!

Kasie West said...

"mom" is my most and least favorite word as well. And for some reason my kids are saying it a lot lately. I think just to bug me. :) Good luck on your non-goals.

Samantha VĂ©rant said...

Alarm clocks should die! Mine did. And yikes! Rodeo Clown -- tougher than real clowns?

Unknown said...

Rodeo clown! Hilarious!! And the sound of the kids doing the dishes is music to my ears, too. Unless they're bickering, in which case I'd file the whole answer under "Least Favorite Sound."

Thanks for playing along!!

L.A. Colvin said...

I'm with you on the "MOM" . OHHH Rodeo Clown nice!

LTM said...

Yay!!! There's a lot to be said about relaxing and creativity flowing...

OK, *snort* at you w/the Mom and Mom (and Mom). YES. God! I HATE the alarm clock, too! great stuff here~ :o) <3

Southpaw said...

Woot! Chapter 9 done. Mom/Mom and mom, mom, mom, mom - hysterical.

BK Mattingly said...

Love the answers to numbers 1 and 2.

Noelle Skeldon said...

Hi Patti~ I'm a new follower of your blog :) Your answers were great, and they gave me a good chuckle. A mom of 3 myself, I can relate to the annoyance of "Mom, Mom, Mom . . ." I love how you allowed yourself a stress-free week--I'll def. have to try that! Look forward to reading more great posts from you!
~ Noelle

Colene Murphy said...

Wow! Great job!! Glad the flood has begun for you. Cleaning up later isn't so bad once it's all written.

Raquel Byrnes said...

Oh my gosh...the Mom word over and over drives me nuts too. I have 6 kids so it gets old really quickly.

Terri Tiffany said...

I've done that same thing--just drop the goals and go at it and surprisingly, I've accomplished more without the pressure:) Headed to the library today to try to read more of my WIP to see if I can at least get through it once.

Melissa Amateis said...

I think I actually do better when I don't set hard and fast goals for myself. If I just try and do my best every day, it seems to work better for me. :-)

Great job on the writing!!!

Heather M. Gardner said...

So true about hearing MOM repeated over and over. Can't stand it!
Thanks for sharing your answers.