T-Minus-178 Minutes and Counting ...

Okay, so it's almost time. I have all of the essentials (outline, headphones, pizza rolls, 16+ litres of Diet Pepsi, hair elastics, writing books, krazy-glued lamp) and now I'm pacing. Literally.

I'm just glad I'm not one of those people in Edmonton. Book Television is following 12 writers doing this contest, and televising their progress. (I guess they're all at a Chapters.) I think I'd lose my mind under that much pressure. As it is, I'm wondering how long before my socks start driving me crazy. Stupid things like that.

I said in the 3-Day-Novel Contest forum that I'm not going to be producing "change the world" literature, but I think it will at least be entertaining. Considering my goal is just to write a novel, that's not bad. :)

I need to break the short story barrier. I need to show myself that I can sustain something past the 2200-word mark.

Half my lifetime ago, people thought I was going to be Something in the literary world. My skills then were pretty darn amazing for someone my age. Problem is, I never developed them. As far as I can tell, I'm still at that same level or lower. I stagnated. And by not writing much of anything since about 1994, I've gotten really rusty to boot.

This contest isn't really about winning. (Although I wouldn't say no to some sort of prize.) This contest is about forcing myself to concentrate on a part of me that has been left fallow for far too long. I need to get rid of the weeds, till the soil, plant new crops. I need to see where I can take myself. I need to grow.

And I think I need to get rid of my socks. They're bugging me already.