Twenty Weeks?

Okay. I did it. I think.

I made an outline. I had to. I had to stop writing aimlessly. If I’m ever going to finish something (and by something I mean a book), I have to have an outline.

It’s like training for a marathon. I need a plan to follow. Sure, I may stray from the plan now and then, but if I didn’t have it, I’m pretty sure I would not be running 26.2 miles four weeks from now.

I mean, have you noticed I haven’t updated this site in a bit? Yeah, that’s because I strayed again because…well, I’m sure there are number of reasons, but really it’s because there’s no outline!

But now it’s done. A complete outline. Complete. Not half an outline like I usually do. This is all there.

Twenty chapters. It may change, but for now, it’s complete.

And I crunched some numbers, too. If I am looking at about 80,000 words for my memoir/creative non-fiction novel (think Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster* except instead of being about losing your job and reinventing yourself through a blog, it's about being a mom and reinventing yourself through running and a blog, but unfortunately, without all the witty comebacks because I suck at those, and with a lot of disgusting details about ginormous blisters and the places where a distance runner needs to put BodyGlide), then each chapter would be about 4,000 words.

Four thousand! That’s not bad at all. I probably have blog posts that long. (Seriously. Have you seen this? Or this?)

So, 4,000? I can do that. I know I can! I wonder how fast I can do it? Twenty weeks? Should I challenge myself? Sort of a KerNoWriWhoa! type of a deal. Hmmm, that might deserve a logo…

Wait! Focus. No logos. Just words.

*This book really inspired me. It made me realize that memoirs don’t have to be all sad and reflective. They can be funny and sad. Just kidding. Sort of.