Old Decathlon Olympics Journal

Sunday Oct. 24th: On time, and up to date, today

Sunday October 24th, 2004

Yahoo! Yippee!

With this entry I am once again caught up and back on track with my journal. Now the question is can I stay that way from now through October 31st, 2004?

I hope so.

I got some contest entries to work on. I don’t care if I missed the official deadline. I am competing with myself more than with any other enrolled, enlisted, signed up Olympians.

I got a little sideways over the Milkman’s post in the Writing Decathlon forum. It took the wind out of my sails, so to speak. He has never been a chatty type but how could he misinterpret my Questions and Consequences post as being any sort of a review of him and his Olympics.

Guess I just need to concentrate on my writing, and plan on getting published someday and just not worry a whole lot about too much else. Yep, that is what I am learning from this Olympic Decathlon event. I have been sick and I am still writing. I have been very sick and I all I think about is reading about writing and writing.

I have some stories that need editing, and I am planning on doing the NaNoWriMo Novel writing event in November. Can I write 50,000 words in one month? Absolutely. Can I stay focused and write 50,000 words that make sense? I have no clue.

I wrote something the other day about what people say about Writer’s being solitary creatures. That is not true. The writing process is a solitary activity, watching a writer write is about exciting as watching paint dry. But a Writer has to be involved in the world and with people and things to write in a way to make other people see, feel, and hear through their words.

Leonardo de Vinci said something like, “Painting is art that is seen and not heard, and poetry is art that is heard and not seen.” My husband said, “Poetry is art for blind people.”

Yes, my husband and I have some very in depth conversations about some very deep topics. He can be very profound.

At the moment I am more than a little upset by the numbers of people who don’t seem to read. People are not only NOT reading the classics they’re NOT reading the daily newspapers. This is an ELECTION year. I nearly read myself blind daily. I listen to a wide selection of news stations, and I even listen to radio broadcasts that read books aloud. Tell me why kids don’t read today, and I will show you a household with adults who don’t read, either.

I read a newspaper article the other day where the reporter quoted too many working mothers who said they had not read a book since school. I have books stashed in every room of my house and in the car. I read in traffic jams. Go figure, I guess I am just weird.

I have stopped reading journal entries on Writing.Com all together. Most are written so poorly that it has a bad influence on my own writing. I don’t know how judges do it. After my last judging experience, I will be very selective in the future.

Well, I have now met my word count for today, and I am up to date in this journal. We’ll see what tomorrow brings; in the meantime, I’m off to read.

Later,