Friday, February 1, 2008

Blastoff: FEBO: DAY 1

Gentlemen (and ladies). . . . .start your engines!

There's something delicious about the first few words of a story, because you never know where they're going to take you.
-- from the movie Miss Potter

You may be starting a brand new story today, or you may be continuing work on something you started before. But whichever of these choices we make, today is the beginning of a new chapter in our lives as writers. Today we do what writers do. We write!

It's a tried and true metaphor--I prefer to think of it as timeless rather than trite--but today we begin a journey.

The road goes ever on and on,
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And wither then? I cannot say.
--J.R.R. Tolkien

A journey is always a bit dangerous--leaving behind the wheel ruts of my daily routine, the comfort of self pity because I just can't find the time to write, the safety of never failing because I'm not really trying.

But there are places I'll never see and companions I'll never meet if I don't get going. So enough blogging already.

On to FEBO, Day 1!


5 comments:

Donna Alice said...

Off to a good start. Managed to SIT for an hour and half and write new stuff longhand. Did about 15 minutes of editing on a project. Worked another 20 on a synopsis I have been dragging my feet on. It still stinks but I filled up 2 pages.

Off to buy brown envelopes to mail a short story. OH, and I wrote two thank you cards too.

I love it when a plan comes togther.

Patty Kyrlach said...

Geeesh, Donna, I was thrilled just to spend an hour editing my children's story. But it's a beginning and a lot more than I was doing this time last week. :~)

Anonymous said...

I have critiqued the work of two other writers today and written down the outline of a new story of my own. I have also added some new fragments to my ideas file and am on target to write a few pages on my own story before I go to bed. Blerss you for FEBO, Patti!

The Word Place said...

I've done my hour and then some and 1000 words--and would never have done it without FEBO!

You three inspire me to keep on tomorrow!

Anonymous said...

Okay, I was thinking it was too late to start this...after all it's already the 15th of February. But then I thought, why waste the rest of the month if I can begin a new writing process today? I have to overcome this inertia SOME day! Why not today?

My goal? To work on writing-related activities (including an up-coming speaking engagement) for at least 1 hour per day, 5 days a week. I think I'll try Patty's timer method.

Breaking my goal down further, I will work on finding an agent for Starcatcher (a y.a. novel), and polishing the proposal for said novel.