Chris LeTray did this exercise on his blog recently and I am accepting his challenge.
Write a line each day.
July 4th 2013-Our holidays usually end or start with a trip to the movies and today it's DESPICABLE ME 2, which is packed with families on this semi-rainy day.
July 5, 2013-Disappointingly, Aunt Agatha's Bookstore is overflowing with fans of Steve Hamilton and we are shut out, so we end up buying books at the used bookstore, New Dawn Treader.
July 6, 2013-Does it mean I have a drinking problem when I order a glass of wine at noon at a restaurant?
July 7, 2013-Constant rain points out a leak in our gutter system so I know now why the basement is damp.
July 8, 2014-I proofread the first 50 pages of Phil's Nixon on the Beach book and ask myself how this guy ever got elected to any office.
July 9, 2013-My book group all concurs they want Benjamin Benjamin, a caretaker in THE REVISED FUNDAMENTALS OF CAREGIVING to care for them in their old age.
July 10, 2013-If it doesn't stop raining (and if the fish flies don't disappear) I can't be held responsible for my actions--all rain and no sun makes Patti a bad girl.
15 comments:
Re: July 6. If they don't bring the wine, THEN you have a drinking problem.
July 10 Who would have expected a silly NBC summer show (CAMP) to have a line about a woman having a one-night stand with Christopher Hitchens?
Jeff M.
No, you don't have a drinking problem. But, if I drank a glass of wine at noon, I'd have to take a nap.
Alcohol makes me sleepy.
Jerry House cracked me up.
You gonna keep doing it, Patti? If you want, I'll send you a pack of Field Notes notebooks for jotting them down (the guy who started them being a proud son of Michigan himself).
I generally write in my journal every day. Sometimes I catch up one day for two or three I missed.
Not an alcoholic--unless the noon glass of wine is your 5th glass of the day!
Deb
Btw, my sentence would be: July 11, 2013: Watched. "The Reckless Moment" on TCM last night--much more emotionally ambiguous than an American director would have attempted at the that time.
Deb
at that time.
Deb
What a great idea. I must have missed this on Chris's blog (or is that Chris' blog?) but I like the idea. Do you write your sentence at any particular time of day?
I taped the Mason movie too. Can't wait to see it.
I have never done this before. I think writing a blog functions this way pretty much.
I think this daily task would reveal stylistic traps we all fall into. Chris' examples show a nice variety of long and short sentences with good detail that arent' too cumbersome in construction. I'm not sure I could do this as I hate anything that resembles routine. I can't even walk the same way to the CTA bus stop every day without adding some variation to keep it from being a boring habit.
As routines go, for me it is pretty minor. It's generally the last thing I do before I turn out the light, or before I start reading. I've only forgotten once so far.
It's kind of a mindfulness thing. It makes me think about the day that has passed. I've tried more traditional journaling in the past but never kept up, because it became a chore because I tend to overwrite. But limiting it to one sentence is pretty simple. And I like the practice of making notes of things, and trying to pay attention as I go about my day. I feel that kind of mindfulness is a key part to improving my writing, and using the world to make what I write more real.
If any of that makes sense.
Hi Patti:
Chris has just described the way I read a book, which must be why that's what I mostly remember about a day. (As I said here before, I need to get out more...)
BTW, can I borrow the time machine you used to see Despicable Me 3?
I thought I might save both Lincoln and JFK this weekend. While I'm at it, I'm gonna kill Hitler.
Patti - Thanks for sharing this. I haven't journaled like that in forever. Maybe it would be worth trying again...
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