Tomorrow I turn 75. That will certainly be a milestone.
Which of course made me curious about the word milestone. As with nearly all historical explorations, it proved to be exceptionally interesting.
Milestones were originally stone obelisks – made from granite, marble, or whatever local stone was available – and later concrete posts. They were widely used by Roman Empire road builders and were an important part of any Roman road network: the distance travelled per day was only a few miles in some cases. — Wikipedia
One of the main characters of my WIP goes on a journey overland to London, following ancient Roman roads. Might she see a milestone? But of course.
NaNoWriMo
Yesterday was another milestone of sorts: I began a NaNoWriMo push to (try to) write 2000 words a day. Day one: check. Day two: check. (With only a little cheating.) Tomorrow will no doubt be more challenging, but that’s allowed on the day one turns—OMG—75!
Along with writing, I invariably get lost in research. Delving into the Tudors is just a bit crazy-making! At every turn, there’s a fascinating story, at every turn, a mystery to solve—mainly, of late, trying to figure out Queen Elizabeth I’s exceptionally complex family tree. Here’s a crude and over-simplified “chart” that took hours to make.
I’ve been scrambling a bit, trying to sort out my system—and naturally returning to a system I’ve often used before. I record the day, time and word count in a notebook first thing, along with the word count I must meet that day.
At the end of the day, I write the word count met, along with the appropriate smiley or frowny face. For some reason, I find this system motivating. Approaching the end of the workday, I will calculate how many words I have yet to go, and then I go for it—crash, bang, come hell or high!
Mid-day I realized that the notebook I was using was too small so I went looking for a better one. I found one that had only been used a bit four years ago while working on a revision of The Game of Hope. It was moving seeing my scribbled notes. it feels like a decade ago to me now.
Meanwhile, Day of the Dead
Day of the Dead is a delight in Mexico, a beautiful tradition. Here are a few photos from Halloween, when people all over town were getting made up in fanciful ways.
Happy 75th, Sandra!!! I would NEVER have guessed that to be your age!!!
I hope you keep on writing,… I am a huge fan!
Also, always love reading your blog posts!!
Have a wonderful year!
Dana
Dear Dana,
Thank you so much!
(I, too, hope that I will never stop writing. I’d feel lost without it.)
I’m especially pleased that you enjoy my blog posts. I never know if anyone is “listening.” From now on, I will think of you. :-)
Cheers!
Sandra
I love your books and love San Miguel where I usually spend a month or more each year, renting at Casa de los Chiqueados. So glad to hear you are writing about the Tudors. I found out thanks to the Mormon Family Tree Center in Park City that King Henry VII was my 13 great grandfather, then read Winter King and have view the documentary a few times. Happy 75th!
Thank you so much for your comment, Camille. Shockingly, I’ve yet to read or watch the Winter King but will look into it soon. Fun to be a Tudor! It’s an amazing family. You no doubt have a huge family tree. Thanks for the “Happy 75”! I’m enjoying it.