I'm a failure

Well, it's looking like I'm not going to make the 5,000-word expectation for the week. More like 2,000. I have every excuse in the book. Which book, you ask? The one I haven't read yet. And surely, the one I haven't written yet.

Hey, there's a lot out there to read, and apparently a lot yet to write.

I got bogged down in what I'm not supposed to be bogged down doing — research. I'm guilty.

But there's no way on earth I can write about Sudan without knowing the tiniest bit about it. Reading about it, watching YouTube explanations. It all reminds me of why I was a history major. Too bad I've forgotten more history than I'm going to make, for sure. I also have a date with a Sudanese man. I'm sure he'll tell me everything I need to know, although I couldn't seem to explain what it was I wanted to know. Maybe osmosis will work.

Then there were the distractions. A cover story I've been stressing over for weeks, finally being published and getting some reaction. The difference in the kinds of writing here is that the cover story was real life; the book is real life reimagined.

I do want to give credit to the people who are helping me with this, although I'm pretty sure they have no idea that they're involved. One is a priest who gave a sermon, oh it must have been 10-15 years ago, and the story stuck with me. He has since written several versions, and they are certainly worth a book.

Another is the YouTube guy who explained the history of Sudan in 10 minutes. Really. I had to listen to it several times, which made it Sudan in 30 minutes, but oh well.

I've been taking my husband to doctors' appointments, taking part in board meetings I wish I'd never joined and finally, fighting off a cold with zinc, zinc and more zinc. Oh, and I got my snow tires put on. Now that's a real feat.