“Done By One” and the Dirty Harry rule

I’m seriously in the belly of the beast right now. In the midst of life-transforming writing opportunities. If I look at it directly, I could panic. But if surrounded by flame, become flame. To the degree that I don’t fight the creative flow, allow my instincts to guide my action until “I” no longer exist, the time passes, I look up, and elves have done the work.

For instance, I devised a ratio, 5:25, that relates to the work I have to have “Done By One” every day. “Through by Two” and “Free by Three” are also possibilities. We have to be flexible, right?

But the things I have to do by “One O’Clock” include planning the day, meeting with Jason and Tananarive, M.A.G.I.C. Ritual, the morning essay that helps to clear my mind, maybe exercise (sometimes I have to wait: on school days I’m always running on slightly too little sleep, and I don’t like that feeling. Naps are a sovereign remedy.)

When it comes to the work itself, the 5:25 is either 5 pages of rough draft (takes me about 45 minutes) or read/edit/polish 25 page, which might take a couple of hours. This is art, not science, and I’m not sure that works, but I HAVE to set a standard, meet it, and see if, after a few weeks or months, I look back and am satisfied with the result.

Let’s go a little further down that rabbit hole, shall we?

Right now, we’re having all kinda wonderful offers extended. There are a couple of truths:

1. In life, you are rewarded for how much…