Room with a View
An update on my travel memoir
This week I arrived on the Big Island of Hawaii to do a house/dog sit through TrustedHousesitters, a site that connects primarily pet owners with vetted people to care for their home and pets.
I came here for about a month to be isolated so that I could focus on writing. I have exactly one friend on the island who lives 1.5 hours away. The house is under construction and minimally furnished, in a quiet neighborhood off of a bumpy dirt road.
When I’ve spoken to others about writing, many have said I need to eliminate distractions. One of them even told me he went to Mexico for several months and locked himself away in a room with a view. I have now taken his advice.
From my writing room, I have a beautiful view of the ocean to the south. The sun wakes me up in the morning, along with Ellie, the sweet German Shepherd who is my sole companion at the moment. The sun sets by early, and by 8 PM I can see more stars than I can count.
One thing I can count is the words I’ve written so far for my book: Over 80,000! This is my target word count, equaling roughly 300 pages. However, I am only satisfied with about 5,000 of the words I’ve written so far. I have another 50,000 plus words of notes and journal entries I’ve transcribed, with still more to do.
My goal this month is to complete the first 15,000 words (or about 50 pages) of my book, in addition to the detailed outline I have already put together. I will submit this to my writing coach, Callie Feyen, for review.
I asked my friend who went to Mexico if he ever finished his book. After spending five months in a room in Mexico, he completed 8 chapters. He never did finish. But he did get farther than where I am now.
If a journey progresses one step after another, a book is written one word at a time. Or as Anne Lamott would say, bird by bird.
Am I where I wanted to be in the progress of my book? No. But I believe I am right where I need to be to write the next chapter.
Thank you for your support and for following along my writing journey! I always welcome questions and suggestions for future posts - don’t be shy to send me your thoughts!
Cheering for you as you continue to work on your manuscript! Good encouragement for me, too, as I return to my book after a summer hiatus. One word (or bird) at a time.