He typed as quickly as he could, cursing under his breath when he had to backspace. Speed was not conducive to accuracy.
He twitched in his chair with a grin from ear to ear. Using one finger, he typed, “The End”. He shot a look at the clock on the credenza. The clock stared back. 9:47. He popped open a calculator, thinking out loud and counting on his fingers.
“Whoa!” He slumped back in his chair. Two years, eight months, seventeen days, thirteen hours and six minutes. The book had taken longer than his marriage.
Against the upper word limit for November of 125 words, this one tips the scale at 94. The word for this week is book. Another week I chose noun over verb, in a subject we can all relate.
If you are playing along for Flash in the Pan, or would like to join for the first time, visit the Flash in the Pan page to learn how to be a part of the second edition of FTP. In the seventh week of the quarter, we are officially over the hump. Six more weeks for this edition.
Happy Flashing! Good luck if you are one of the thousands participating in NaNoWriMo or NaNoBloMo.
~~~~~~~~~~
How long did it take you to write your first book? Was the second one any easier? If you have written more than one, which one was the shortest? If you have not written one, how long do you think it would take you?
Any marriage suffers during the writing of a book? Or is his book about the mysterious end to his marriage?
Lorre
/ November 18, 2012I wish I could answer those book questions.
Great flash. I need to get back into the flashing game. Well, you know what I mean.
Lorre recently posted..Apple does or doesn’t fall far from the tree?
Lorre
/ November 18, 2012I’m replying to myself because I’m sad like that. Did it with exactly 125 words!
Lorre recently posted..Flash in the Pan: Book
Red
/ November 18, 2012Awesome! Where did you pingback? Or is WP acting up?
Red
/ November 18, 2012I would loan you a trench, but I bet Cowboy’s looks better on you. 😉
Binky
/ November 18, 2012I wrote my first script in a couple of months. Every subsequent one took longer and longer and longer.
Binky recently posted..Extra Large Pepperoni With Mushrooms
Red
/ November 18, 2012I cannot say that. I have written two in less than a month each. The only reason my WIP are incomplete ATM is I am not writing…I am coding.
Gail Thornton
/ November 18, 2012My first book took five years to write. It is a memoir, being published by Redmund Productions. It took five years because I needed the courage to write it, and only managed a chapter every three weeks. I am writing a second memoir, this one will be longer, but I am finding it easier with less pain and more craft. I am happier with it. Still, I am a slow writer. I don’t think all marriages suffer from the writing of books, just the ones that don’t respect each other’s needs and desires. I am not married, but I have full support from my love to write and write often and fully engross myself in my work, whatever it is. Choosing a partner is also about going in with your eyes wide open and not wishing to change the other.
Gail Thornton recently posted..Poem – Transference
Red
/ November 19, 2012I think this one may be progressing differently as well because your confidence is up. You have been making major strides lately.
As to partners, they must understand the core driving force behind their Mates. Otherwise you are trying to herd cats.
Wendy Reid
/ November 18, 2012Good one Red. 🙂
Wendy Reid recently posted..Le Circus Is In Town
Red
/ November 19, 2012Thank you, sweets. Great to see you out and about tonight <3
Noeleen
/ November 19, 2012NanoWriNo,
NoNoMeNo
Thousands, indeed… they’re out there!!
Red, you amaze me how you just keep on truckin’!! You’re so amazing…
Noeleen recently posted..I don’t usually take so long … TRUE!
Red
/ November 19, 2012You are doing a good impression of NaNoBloMo with your Wego Health blogging this month! Give yourself a bit of credit, Noeleen! <3
Novroz
/ November 19, 2012I haven’t written a book myself, so I can imagine the time he had spent.
I love stories about author, lovely piece Red 🙂
mine about book is set for this friday 🙂
Red
/ November 19, 2012Awesome! I am looking forward to it. I am hoping the WP issue with the silly pingbacks is fixed by then. I will be looking for it anyway <3 Glad you like this one!
Novroz
/ November 21, 2012There’s a problem with pingback? I works well with mine 🙂
I hope yours get fixed soon!
Novroz recently posted..FITP: Little Black Book
Red
/ November 21, 2012I think it is because WP is not prepared for the number of pingbacks I get everyday. *sigh* Too big I suppose. 😉 I will find a way!
Red
/ November 21, 2012And just so you know, yours did pingback as it should have <3
Valentine Logar
/ November 19, 2012This one made me smile, broadly! Funny, you do funny so well especially with that bit of snark.
Valentine Logar recently posted..Caught Again
Red
/ November 19, 2012I have my days where I wonder if I getting it right or not. I do so love snark…it is my third language <3
Deb
/ November 19, 2012I haven’t written a book before…it must take a very long time to get it right in order to capture the readers to want more.
I like what you wrote up there. 🙂
♥ xxx
Deb recently posted..Fraz to the Rescue
Red
/ November 19, 2012You know, Deb, you have done enough painting to put together a book. Have you ever looked at it that way? <3 xxx Glad you like this one.
RLB
/ November 19, 2012I rewrote all 4 of my “first book”s so many times I lost count. Two were total duds, one is still hugely disappointing, and the last became Book 1, Forty Grains of Black Powder.
After book 3 of the saga, they got progressively easier, for I knew the characters even if I was always surprised at the plot turns.
Red
/ November 19, 2012You know I find that entirely fascinating. On whose scale were they duds? Who decides that anyway? I realize I have unconventional standards, but I just have a hard time reconciling “RLB Hartmann” and “dud” in the same sentence.
RLB
/ November 19, 2012If you saw those efforts, you’d have no difficulty! Two were written while I was in high school, one began at that time, and all continued to bedevil me for years afterward. Thanks goodness the saga rescued me! I kept on with it because I HAD to find out what happened next.
Red
/ November 19, 2012Since I know it is all part of the series, have you ever considered taking the premise and the core events of them and creating a prequel? I do not mean a rewrite in the traditional sense of editing what you have written (which is always far more tedious and painful than truly rewriting), but in starting with a blank page and the ideas in your head mingled with what you know about the characters now?
Androgoth
/ November 19, 2012This is a great FTP Red but then all of your work is outstanding 🙂 As for your question on manuscripts, my first outing was back in 2005 on the subject of politics, yes a rather shocking revelation that I would imagine considering what I usually write.
However the book is based loosely on real events and characters names have been changed slightly otherwise if successful in the publishing of then I think that I might be spending some time in a confined space, more than likely peering through iron bars 🙁 lol
It is of course a slapstick approach to British politics and even though it was my first attempt at writing a book I certainly had a lot of fun with it 🙂
Have a lovely rest of evening Red 🙂
Andro xxx
Red
/ November 19, 2012Oh, that sounds like a hoot. Satire is one of my favorite genres. 😉