To do lists and productivity

Yesterday was a very productive day. I wrote a new draft chapter about developing a premise for a long story. I also rewrote my original short story, "The Vase", which was the inspiration for writing the longer story. I've changed it to present tense and improved the language from the original, which was really a draft as I had forgotten to go back and edit it. I reposted it on this blog. Hey, I'm not complaining. I like having a lot of writing on my to-do list. As for my non-writing to-do list, I actually knocked a few items off yesterday as well. I repaired some trim molding on a kitchen cabinet and finished the repaired sheetrock where a handrail pushed through the wall over the holidays. Actually, I stumbled while carrying Rufus, our new Shih Tzu puppy, up the stairs. Rufus is completely traumatized by the incident and refuses to go up or down the stairs now. Add carrying the dog up and down the stairs to my list.

This morning I woke up around 3:30 a.m. and had a few thoughts about my first chapter as well as a new draft chapter. If the mood strikes, I try to take advantage of it. Besides, I went to bed early last night, so I feel rested. It is now 6:45 and I have a revised first chapter along with a new chapter on nodes. In all, I have six draft chapters and a Preface written.

When the publisher asked for a few more sample chapters, it was not immediately clear to me that I needed to draft most of the book before submitting the additional chapters. But, now it seems like a good idea. Why? I think it makes sense to get a draft of most of the chapters to avoid redundancy and to improve the overall flow of the work. The notes I kept for the fiction work is detailed in places but my outline for the non-fiction is general. I suppose I could go back and attempt a more detailed outline, but it is sometimes fun to just sit down and write what I want to say. I can always make revisions, but the flow is what I am after. I want the non-fiction book to be readable and maybe a little bit entertaining. This was the method used for the initial two chapters that were included in the book proposal, so I would like to maintain the same feel if possible. Stated differently, I don't want it to read as a data dump of facts. I would much rather put it into a conversational context.

I also had some ideas about retitling the book as well as a few of the chapters. I'm thinking "Write of Way" as a potential title with chapters with names like "Writes of Passage". I'll kick it around. Ultimately, it matters little what I think. I am open to suggestions from the publishing folks. Gotta go wake up David, carry the puppy down the stairs, make coffee, etc.