I have a terrible confession to make

75,126.

I'm looking at every 100 words as a milestone at this point. I don't know why, but I'm finding the 70,000s a serious grind. I think when I turn 80,000, I'll feel a lot better about things. Someone once told me that the three-quarters mark of a long journey is the hardest part. You've been away a long time; you still have quite a bit of time before you get to go home.

This might also be true for a book.

 

The hell are you writing?

 

A love letter to Dick W.

 

He can't tell you. He/she might out themself.

 

A book?

 

It's important to be careful. Some people just can't control their tempers. Some people are psychos.

 

Go on...

 

From earlier, in what is admittedly a long and self-involved thread:

I have a non-fiction book due on Dec. 1. I'm trying to treat writing it like a job. I have to write 500 words a day Monday to Thursday. (Friday is for editing and outlining.) That's 8,000 or so words a month. Something like 90,000 words, the publisher's target, in 11 months. Had to write 1,000 words today because I missed a day on Monday. I know the writer's life is supposed to be devoid of routine, but I have other projects going on, so I have to be disciplined about this. The coffee shop has helped me feel like I'm going to work.

Thinking about the whole book is hard. Writing 500 words a day, four days a week, is easy.

That was in January. I've stuck with the pace—a little ahead of it, actually, which gives me an unreasonable amount of pride. I've decided to try to push and have a rough first draft by the end of the month, so that I have October and November just to edit and write a screenplay I'm contracted to write, based on the book, also due Dec. 1. So I need to write about 15,000 words this month. Which for me is a lot.

 

Why?

 

An apology to his ex-wife and kids.

 

A 70,000-plus-word apology is overkill, don't you think?

 

He addresses that in the middle third.