Category Archives: 100 Words A Day

LoShoStoWriMo

By lytspeed Posted in 100 Words A Day, Writing Leave a reply

NaNoWriMo scares me. I’ve registered for it three years in a row, but produced nothing more than a title. Meanwhile, friends have cranked out three draft novels each. Good ones, even!

There are alternatives, though. I know a man who started his own short-lived group: LoShoStoWriMo (Local Short Story Writing Month.) That’s much more my speed. In my busy life, I’m not sure I can pull off the 1,666 word daily average required for NaNoWriMo, but I bet I can write a short story in a month.

The real question is this: Will I have the guts to submit it?

Information Overload

By lytspeed Posted in 100 Words A Day, Writing Leave a reply

Is it possible to have too many hobbies? Too much to do? Can I become so entangled in commitment that I reduce my capacity to absorb, countering my efforts to grow?

I live in a world of instant communication (or at least connection), with HD-this, G-Twit that, and www.TheOtherThing.com, and to a geek like me, it all seems very bright, shiny, and irresistible. Everything is iDesirable, 3G-licious, and I’d give my eye-bluetooth to have it all.

In the drive to expand my digital horizons, can my internal structure collapse under its own weight?

This morning’s panic attack tells me, “Yes.”

Anger vs. Guilt

By lytspeed Posted in 100 Words A Day, Writing Leave a reply

She leaves me a voice mail. Halfway through, she breaks down, crying,
complaining that no one is helping her, no one is telling her what to
do. I feel my blood pressure rise with the pitch of her sobs, but I
don’t feel compassion. I feel angry, manipulated, like I need to
take care of a situation that she’s created herself.

Guess what, sis? You’re almost 54 years old. No one should have to
tell you what to do. You need to fight your own battles.

Later, I’ll feel guilty for my anger. But right now, it just … is.

The Lyle Johnson Special

By lytspeed Posted in 100 Words A Day, Writing Leave a reply

After Dad’s triple bypass, we drove to Vegas to visit. While grocery
shopping, I saw some Cottage Doubles. Remembering that he liked
cottage cheese with a bit of sugar on top, I bought a few and took
them home. He tried the Apple Cinnamon flavor first.

“Not bad,” he said. ”How much was it?”

“$.99 on sale,” I replied.

“Seems to me a guy could buy a big tub of cottage cheese and a jar of
apple butter for a few dollars and have the same damn thing, and it
would last longer.”

Thus was born the Lyle Johnson Special.

Two Announcements

By lytspeed Posted in 100 Words A Day, Writing Leave a reply

Good day, everyone. I hope 2009 is treating you well so far. I have two announcements for today.

Announcement #1:

I have joined an elite group of bloggers on the www.100wordsaday.com website. The premise behind this site is that eight writers explore daily life in posts of exactly 100 words. Writers don’t have to post every day, but between the eight writers there should be at least one post of 100 words every day. All posts are non-fiction, but creativity is encouraged.

I saw the notice about the open blogger slot on Craigslist; I have no idea how many people sent samples to the site, but of all the submitters, I was chosen. I guess the site owner liked my samples.

I look at this as a great writing exercise. I’ve played with the 100 words concept before, but that was fiction-based. I’m looking forward to creating occasional 100 word posts that are not cryptic, but still tell a story or express an opinion by themselves.

Announcement #2:

Today, my stepson (Logan) will be competing in the Colorado Virtual Academy (COVA) spelling bee in Castle Rock at 2:00 PM MST. COVA is a publicly funded home-schooling organization that uses the K12.com curriculum, and since its students are home schooled, they are scattered throughout Colorado. Logan already competed in and won his regional COVA spelling bee last month, and today’s bee will bring all the regional winners from around Colorado to determine who will represent COVA in the Colorado State Scripps-Howard spelling bee in March. (In that sense, it’s like a district spelling bee in a traditional school setup.)

Last year, when Logan was going to the Pinnacle Charter School, he won that spelling bee and qualified to attend the Scripps-Howard bee. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it past the written round at state, and this is the last year he will be eligible to compete, so we’re hoping he will do well at the COVA-wide bee today.

I will be attempting to live blog Logan’s progress via my phone on my Facebook wall, if anyone is interested in following along. (Feel free to add me as a friend if you have a Facebook account. The same goes for Twitter.)