I have decided to complicate my life.

Not too much, and not forever, but this week I discovered a call for novellas of a certain theme, which will be closing at the end of next month. Having a good idea on the theme bouncing around in my head for a while, but not a single word started, I have decided to try and belt it out--a minimum of 17,500 words in five weeks? That's not really a lot, mathematically speaking; heck, if I can write 2000 words a day--which I know I can do--I can be done in ten days. Wow! Doable! Now, as long as working a real job doesn't get in the way, and minor details like the fact that I don't use an outline but just whatever's been straightened out in my mind, we'll be set.

I've heard authors say that writing fast, at a steady clip, is the best way to do it, and I agree. It keeps your enthusiasm up and you're able to focus on getting it done, rather than quibbling over stupidness like 'what was Ralph's eye color on page 4 again?--let me go look it up.' Just recently I went on vacation with a story 4/5 of the way done, came back a week later and griped to myself all the way through the last few pages because, well, the story had worked itself out of my system, I guess. Would that one have turned out any better if I'd got it all done before vacation? Honestly, I don't think so. It would have been about the same but, to me, reading back through it, I remember the enthusiasm that came with one page as opposed to another. Let's hope I'm the only one who can...

On an unrelated note, I think I have given up on the book with the heroically flaming horses on the cover. Not because I don't like it, since I've always been a fan of the author, and not because it's over 700 pages though I generally only have the patience for around 250-300 at the most. No, it's because it's 700 pages with teeny margins and pt 8 font and my eyes can't bear the attempts at reading it. Nor do I feel any great sense of accomplishment when I've been reading for a long time and have only finished ten pages of ant-tracks. I'd rather have the book around, say, 1000 pages that I was capable of reading without eyestrain. That's all.

1200 words down on my novella--got to get back to work!