Five-figure word count

Not to be confused with a five-finger discount. Though you could say I'm making out like a bandit. 

I've written 10,000 words. Unexpected characters and situations have started popping up. Threads and musings from my formative years are creeping into the story, taking on a life of their own. There's a charming, mysterious exchange student throwing parties at the hillbilly mansion. A uniformed interloper whose heavy-booted gait betrays an even heavier secret.

And plenty of melodrama. It's been fun recalling the experience of adolescence, and the thoughts and feelings that took precedence. Maybe it's just me, but things can get kind of philosophical. How do you work against outdated stereotypes in a diverse group of friends? Is it worth changing yourself for what someone else believes? And what happens when your crush takes over your band?

For inspiration on remembering my teenage years, I dug through some old photos. I think this one captures the mood pretty well. I believe this was my brother's freshman year (we called him Eminem for a while), and I was in seventh grade. A year later I stopped wearing American Eagle and started growing my hair out.

Parenting teenagers is not just a job, it's an adventure!

At this pace, I could have a novel drafted by the end of summer. Somehow that always seemed like something that must take years. I guess having the free time helps. And the discipline. Either way, a thousand words per day is a lot less daunting than it was two weeks ago.

I told myself I'd get back to looking for jobs at the beginning of May. Now I might be having too much fun to give up this project. Besides enjoying the story and the writing process, I have more energy lately. Taking on a more youthful, free-flowing mindset has helped me in other creative endeavors. Music, of course, but also problem-solving tasks like designing a patio layout or putting together a website.

This feels more fulfilling than any job I've had, despite my continued doubt that anyone will read it.* That seems important. But then again, maybe it's just the novelty.

*For what it's worth, I plan to share it, but not yet. Stephen King suggests one closed-door draft.