In Shadows

Only 887 words today. It’s the second time this year I’ve gotten under a grand and the second time this month. Hmmm. Still, I’m doing better this month than I did last year at this time. Lainey’s still battling depression. I’ve pushed her through two checkpoints, one break, and seven hours of trail in an [...]

1021 words. I finished chapter 42, but at only 1500 words or so. Went back and plumped it out with another five hundred. Whew. (One of my weaknesses is whipping through and not beefing things up. I’m always adding in my rewrites.) Lainey’s in Galena, looking for oil and butter to increase the fat intake [...]

1051 words. I think if I stop trying to focus on the trail and more on the inner voice of Lainey as she experiences the trail, I’ll be okay. As I’ve mentioned earlier, there’s only so much I can write about snow, good and bad trails, missing markers, dog problems, and so on before it [...]

Back into the swing, anyway. 1014 words down, chapter 41 complete. Lainey’s got a long, boring stretch in front of her and she’s beginning to succumb to the inevitable depression that happens to all mushers in the Iditarod. She’s over halfway to the finish line, but still hundreds of miles away. Her ultimate reward will [...]

That would be me. I’m alive, though it took a week for the flu to work it’s way through the gastrointestinal tract to the bitter end. At least it was never as bad as that first day. The wife caught the tail end of the bug on Thursday last before heading out of town to [...]

That’s how I felt yesterday. All day from the moment I woke up until well into the evening. Green. Yuck. Couldn’t even keep water down (which was entertaining since I had to take my ibuprofen or suffer five times worse.) This morning I’m pleased to report that I’ve had a cup of coffee and two [...]

Though I forgot to post here yesterday. 1008 words and it was like pulling teeth every step of the way. I claim spring fever since the weather here has been unseasonably warm. (Like the Iditarod with all the overheating. Seems the north eastern states have all the Alaska weather this Iditarod.) Then 1177 words today. [...]

Well, this sucks. I finally get everything ready to go with the new Palmie and adjust to the fact that there’s no Dvorak layout for the keyboard driver so I’ll hunt and peck when I’m away from the Mac. I test the Documents To Go program at home and easily upload the files I’m working [...]

But still well within my monthly wordcount. Got kind of hung up between my notes and the trail notes at the Iditarod site. Some discrepencies and all. There were originally 112 miles between Cripple and Ruby, but the trail has changed, making it 73. My outline has Lainey stopping at the midway point for a [...]

1105 words today. Easy peasy. Another checkpoint down, another trail beginning. The next little bit will be rougher than usual. There’s no way Lainey’s team can make the next checkpoint (90 miles) without stopping in the wilderness. Alone. I’m already hinting at the difference in her race as opposed to Scotch’s. Scotch wasn’t at the [...]

Yesterday I also went over the times in and out for the rest of the race. I’ve shaved off seven and a half hours, putting Lainey in close to my original estimation. Of course, that’s subject to change during rewrites. I’ll have to go over everything with a fine toothed comb to make sure I [...]

At least more than I was yesterday. No writing on Saturday, but I got 1015 words today. Did them early because this is the first weekend of Portland Saturday Market. Wandered over there for a breakfast of chicken from an Egyptian place and an apple butter elephant ear. Then I went to Powell’s bookstore. You [...]

Thanks to my eagle eyed beta reader, I’ve discovered I’m about eight hours off of Lainey’s racing schedule. After close calculations, she’ll be coming in a full eight hours later than I originally wanted. Damn. That’s mighty slow actually. At least according to the Top Ten Fastest Rookies list. *sigh* Must shave off eight hours [...]

A thousand words, chapter thirty-eight finished. Quick and easy run from McGrath to Takotna and then on to Ophir checkpoints. Lainey’s handing with another rookie, Roman Spencer, who will be her primary competition for best time in by the end of the book. On the home front, our hermit crabs have locked themselves out of [...]

And all that. After yesterday’s nap, I was confronted with my wife’s homework assignment. No, I didn’t do it for her. But I am one of her resources. I know the computer programs better and am a research junkie. So I helped her with a layout for one of her papers. By the time that [...]