As I journey more and more in this new adventure I have set upon, I face new challenges every moment. This is to be expected, and I am not complaining. My mind has been stagnating for far too long, so a good bit of regular exercise for it is just what it needed! Of course what I am doing may be the mental equivalent of an overweight couch potato getting up one morning to run a marathon, but hey I never said I was a smart one!
Speaking of overweight couch potatoes, that is one of the challenges. At least I can’t say it is an unexpected one. Though technically I am more like a desk chair squash. I was lacking in regular physical activity before, but out of sheer boredom I occasionally actually got up and moved my body. Now when I get focused, I barely move more than just the fingers. Except when I am trying to really think things through, in which case I pace back and forth in the kitchen, barely tasting whatever random thing I am shoving in my mouth, because apparently empty calories are good inspiration.
I am not sure if I should measure my progress by the number of words written or the number of ounces gained!
But the biggest challenge is actually an unexpected one. I have been proudly announcing to anyone who was wondering (and to pretty much everyone who really did not want to know) that I am now writing a book. For some reason it looks much better when I tell them this after I tell I am living in my parent’s attic with no real income. However, this has generated an unforeseen result. Pretty much the first thing out of most mouths these days (or out of their fingers if they are online friends) is:
“How’s the book going?”
I am not quite sure how someone is supposed to answer this question.
I got it literally from the time I first announced my intentions, when I had not even figured out what the book was going to be about. Now I have a few words down, and a few chapters done, but I am still at a loss for a proper response.
My current favorite is “One word at a time.” But this somehow seems a little cheeky.
So I am putting my first official plea for assistance out there. Maybe a more seasoned writer can tell me the socially acceptable response to “How’s the book going?” It is just too much for my marathon running mind to bear at the moment.
