RAISING CHEER, draft one. Check.
Here it is, folks. The quantitative breakdown of the past two months.
NUMBER OF DAYS PUSHING THIS BABY THROUGH 70
NUMBER OF WORDS IN THIS DRAFT 58,022
NUMBER OF PAGES IN THIS DRAFT 236
POUNDS OF CHOCOLATE CONSUMED 10
GALLONS OF COFFEE DRUNK 20
MILES OF HILLS WALKED WHILE RUMINATING 56
DOLLARS OF COPYWRITING WORK FORGONE 2,000
HOURS OF WRITING/RESEARCH/THINKING/DELETING 350
Holy moly! That's amazing, Suzy! Every single one of those statistics is remarkable to me. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteYuvi! Hey there!
DeleteI was sort of hoping I could say I drained a bottle of whiskey, too. Y'know all Hemingwayesque and shit? But, no. I was fairly sober for this one. Just whacked out on caffeine and chocolate.
Yay!!! Congratulations, Suzy! A draft is born. Oh, happy day.
ReplyDeleteWhy thank you, Averil! Now the fun part, right? Where I notice that it's got three eyes and a giant lump coming out of its forehead. But we love them anyway, our kids.
Delete(first, i want A Draft is Born poster ala babs and kris kristofferson.)
ReplyDeleteNow, more importantly, CONGRATS!
Also, because I'm a nerd too, I added all the numbers and kept adding until I got it down to one number and that number is 5--Which is kinda cool as you finished it in the 5th month as well. according to one of the pages I found on the world wide web:
The number 5 is the most dynamic and energetic of all the single-digit numbers. It is unpredictable, always in motion and constantly in need of change. Although it is molded from an almost equal mix of masculine and feminine qualities, in general the 5 is slightly more feminine -- albeit a daring, tomboyish kind of feminine, with nothing demure or submissive about her.
Which sounds perfectly tailored for a book titled, Raising Cheer.
Right?!
Holy shit, Josie! That's amazing!! The off-stage dead cheerleader in this book completely fits that description, but the actual story is the journey of the younger sister (who's not dead or a cheerleader) trying come to terms with all the disasters left in the wake of her sister's tumultuous life. I'm getting goose bumps with the 5 reference too. My littlest guy, who just turned 13 on the 3rd (also born in month 5), has always baffled me with his always in motion, intensely frenetic, yet emotionally feminine, self.
DeleteWow.
Cheers to you, Suzy! Can we all meet at the Italian restaurant in Chicago to celebrate? :-)
ReplyDeleteWell, Averil and I just might do that! We'll blow up cardboard replicas of the rest of you and sit them around the table.
DeleteWhatcha drinking?
I'm so glad you two are getting together --- can't wait to hear all about it. Cheers, Suzy!
Deletei try not to turn too terribly green with envy about things...but, hot damn, i wish i could be at every single coffee/dinner/brunch/whatever when two or more of us meet up.
Delete(of course, i do believe that all of our powers grow stronger when two or more of us are within whispering distance.)
I actually am starting to worry for Averil's husband. All those insider references he'll be in the dark about. Of course, maybe I'm projecting. Maybe he's one of us too! Maybe he's August!
DeleteOnly 70 days; that's amazing. Congratulations! And I love that the word "like" is featured so prominently in the Wordle. Is that because it features so prominently in the cheerleaders' speech patterns (I kind of hope so) or for similes, or both?
ReplyDeleteNo hurry up and get yourself a drink.
Laura, that's so funny that you pointed that out. I was sort of horrified when I realized that. Like, I want to go through it and exchange it for, like, other, smarter words.
DeleteAnd the other prominent "who knew" word is know. What does that say about my inner YA? That I'm a know-it-all at heart? (Or is it fallout of first person present tense--things to scrutinize during draft 2)
DeleteCongratulations! I wish I had kept track of how many pounds of chocolate I consumed...
ReplyDeleteSo, just for the fuck of it, I put a little page together on my website. (Think of it as a fetus announcement--it's one of the dangers of being in the web biz. It's very Field of Dreams, you know?) Take a look >> http://www.suzyvitello.com/books/raising-cheer/
ReplyDeleteJust took a glance. Very nice (although, the Kandinsky kind of threw me, a little; I'm more attracted to his later works, with the straight lines and circles). The salmon are haunting. I'll never view them the same, when I take a delicious bite. Yum. You're wicked toward your little artist. Congratulations, again, and chow, for now.
DeleteHey there Master Solomon. (Your name is scarily close to "salmon"). Yes, dear Brady, the artsy sister. She's in for quite a lot of punishment...
DeleteBut, things turn out okay in the end. Promise!