This weekend I’m attending the Milwaukee Zoo’s annual ball and I’m pretty excited about it. It’s like prom for grown-ups. The men wear tuxes, women wear long gowns; there’s dancing, dining, and a good amount of alcohol (oh come on, I’m from a small town and we tended to drink on festive occasions – or invented festive occasions – regardless of age). Back in high school, we bought a dress (after much arguing with mom), had shoes dyed to match, then took a nice long bath to shave our legs. Maybe, we fancied it up by having our hair and makeup done at a salon. But unlike prom oh-so-many years ago, preparation takes a lot longer when you’re older, like weeks. There‘s the bleaching of teeth (too much red wine and coffee), removal of excess eyebrow, painting of nails, and evening out of my farmer tan. I’ve ritualistically slathered on facial masks and lotions to get my skin in tip-top shape, sanded down my aging feet with a diamond file (seriously, there are diamond chips on it – I could probably saw granite in half with it), and hoisted random heavy objects to add some muscle tone to my arms. Never mind the actual shopping for an appropriately fancy designer knock-off dress, gravity defying undergarments, and fabulously affordable accessories.
During all of this prep-work, it occurred to me if I did a better job of maintaining all these physical attributes, it might not be so much work. For example, it probably doesn’t take Catherine Zeta-Jones (or insert fabulous celebrity over 30 of your choice) months of planning when she has an event because she does little things everyday to maintain her appearance. She probably has regular facials, manicures, pedicures, and workouts with physical trainers. She also attends fancy events more frequently than I do (my last fancy event, excepting my own wedding, was prom in 1992 – the pedicure didn’t last).
So what does all this have to do with writing? More than you’d think. Writing involves just as much maintenance. Routines are crucial. Without routines to keep my metaphors tight and word choices fresh, my writing becomes dull and flabby, like my too long neglected muscles. Words flow more easily the more I write; just like any other routine, it gets easier to maintain the longer you do it. My writing isn’t always fabulous (or even good), but it does require less editing, less work to make it presentable. With my goal of finishing my novel’s first draft by Labor Day, I’ve been diligent about meeting my word counts, maintaining my routine. As a result, I’m writing daily for extended periods and it shows in my prose (hey – that rhymes). Dialogue flows more easily (though this is still a struggle), plotlines mesh together, and descriptions come to life a little faster. Everything is a little tighter.
So, dear reader, I’m off to use another Crest whitening strip and maybe wax something. But then I have 600 words to write; I wouldn’t want my writing muscle to get flabby.
June 21 Word Count = 34,372
