Using my sarcastic voice

I’m having a good time. Really. In no way was I laid low by a raging fever and flu for a week, during which I actually considered going to the hospital in case my brain boiled away. My good intentions about resuming regular postings here have done little good. So I hesitate to even say, hello, how are you, I’m back, because it will just end up being wrong. Again.

The other consequence of my exciting week of illness is that what had been just under two months (already whittled down by a birthday and a sadly lacking work ethic) to write something for the upcoming Shousetsu Bang*Bang issue has become one week. This is cutting it rather closer than even an habitual procrastinator would like. Want to see my schedule?

2/15 Mon: plan all scenes
2/16 Tues: write 5 scenes
2/17 Wed: write 5 scenes
2/18 Thurs: write 5 scenes
2/19 Fri: catch up if needed or take a break from the story
2/20 Sat: editing
2/21 Sun: editing
2/22 Mon: Submit to SSBB

I started the day with a couple notes on themes and conflicts, a basic idea of my characters and premise, and a setting. I now have rough notes for all fifteen scenes, each of which will run at least 500 words, with a few in the middle that will be shorter. That gives me plenty of room to stay within the 11k restrictions, but it does mean I will be writing upwards of 2.5k per day. I can do that, but it won’t be pretty.  I do have built-in padding though: I can take more time on Monday if I need it, which in turn gives me more time to write, because editing never takes me that long.

The one thing I have not put in the schedule is the baking part. The theme is food and I need to write out the recipe I’m using, make the bread, and photograph it. For the sake of my sanity, I will convince myself that baking is recreation and will be a reward for good day’s writing at some point. But I have visions of the bread refusing to rise properly, which happens with this recipe more often than I’d like. And I’ve never made it as a braided loaf before, but I thought that would look fancier than the admittedly amorphous loaves that normally come out. The fun just keeps on leaving.