10 April 2013

DAY 2 of 30: BEATING THE DEADLINE

  I CAN'T BELIEVE I nearly blew it on the first day.  Yesterday was off to a fine start: good morning, beautiful day, work in the garden and then came evening.  It was around ten or eleven, my wife and I had just finished dinner and put Maddy, our daughter, down for the night.  I went through the house, locking the doors and closing the blinds.  I prepared a juice bottle and two milk bottles in case Maddy would need one during the night.  I returned to the bedroom and settled down.  The women's NCAA championship was on, but neither one of us were really watching it.  My wife fell asleep first and I'd decided to do the same.  And then it hit me, I hadn't written anything.

  Just put it off until the morning, I told myself.  But I didn't want to fail, so I grabbed my iPhone and opened a writing ap I'd downloaded.  It took a few moments to think of something to write.  As I listened to my wife and child sleep, I found myself listening to the house.  There were boards creaking, appliances in the kitchen humming, the windows were popping as tiny bugs fought to get inside to the lights.  Outside, our home is in a rural part of East Tennessee, in the fields I could hear a pack of coyotes whelping.  Of course, our boxer, which we keep outside, was barking bravely back at them, or in fear asking them to please leave him alone.  With all these noises I began to think, what if the house was alive?  What if I was the only one in my family who believed this?  What would happen if I began to tear into the walls, or started studying the house, or talking to it?  What would be the reaction that my wife and friends would give to me?  So I began to write.

  I began the suspenseful story last night in bed, from my iPhone, and synced it to my email.  Later today I'll post all of it or some of it for you to read.  As always comments, feedback, critics, insight are always welcome and appreciated.  The only thing I ask is that no one use profanity. 

1 comment:

  1. Of course, I never did post it did I? Hello, No One, this is me again, the future me, four years later and not much improved. A lot has changed, have a son now. A lot hasn't changed, not an author. But I guess maybe that's how life goes. I'm not sure where things got stuck in the rut of bad habits but it did. From time to time I'd hit a rock and the wheels would bounce out, but for the most part I stayed the same creature of habit as most of us do. Don't know if I'll ever be a writer but hears to trying. (Drinks imaginary glass of orange juice.) Thanks for the read, Maddy's coughing again, needs a drink of water.

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