Preview of a Full-Time Author

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The End! Kari Trumbo

My husband took the children north to his brother and sister-in-law’s leaving me home for the day on Saturday. Our vehicle only seats five, so I stayed home. I’d already decided my plan was to write as much as I physically could. Because of my pain issues, sitting for long stretches is difficult and my hands generally go numb after more than an hour at a time. It is, generally speaking, a good reminder for me to get up and move around every so often.

With the house strangely silent, I put on a load of wash and sat down to my computer. I read the last two paragraphs that I’d written to put myself in place again and didn’t break away from the screen for 2.5 hours. I stretched my sore muscles and made some lunch.

The day went much like that, including a short nap in the afternoon because I was mentally and physically exhausted. By the evening, I’d put in eight hours of writing and finished over 11k words. That last period was glorious. Why? This was the fourth time I’d tried to write this story and it was the most difficult of all. Margot didn’t want to tell her story, probably because she has some painful things to deal with, as we all do.

While I soaked that evening in a bath mentally patting myself on the back for eight hours of work, I got to thinking. I certainly didn’t think it was a big deal to type for 8 hours when I worked for a living. Why is it such a big deal now? Partly, because I haven’t sat in front of a screen that long typing in almost twelve years, perhaps it was because then the typing was not continuous though the sitting in front of the screen certainly was. I can’t answer that question, but it certainly did feel momentous to me.

While I will not rush this time with my children, as they are a gift and I chiefly stay home to raise them, I now know what a day might look like fifteen years from now when they are grown and done with school. Every once in a while, I can take a day to get down to the work of writing and finish the day knowing I have accomplished something in one day that would normally take me between five and eleven to do.

Getting this done in one day also gives me the freedom to enjoy a few days with my family until April first when NaNo camp starts. So, that being said. I’m going outside now, to bask in the sunshine with my children and play with the cats. Have a blessed day.

 

0 Comments

  1. Ann Ellison says:

    I enjoy your books, and it was interesting reading about your writing process.

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