The clock reads at just past ten in the evening. The window is black with the night and the only source of light is coming from a highlighter pink lamp that would only be normal if my dorm room was the scene of the next Pink Panther movie. What can I say? It was cheap. *shrug* I sit with my laptop on my lap, a slight warmth coming from it warming me from the spastic dorm air conditioner, which should have been taken out thirty years ago when one could have called it ancient, now we refer to it as the dino-shiver-saurus.
"What exactly is this universe thing?" My most-awesome-sidekick-roommate asks, referencing a comment I made about writers and their deals with the universe.
"Oh," I answer. "It's basically just a motivator. If the universe carves a path so to speak, and allows fated moments that help you finish your novel by a certain day, then in exchange you'll do something a little crazy. It's best if it's something that you kinda-sorta-but-maybe-don't-really-want-to-do."
"Why don't you have one?" (Oh, most-awesome-sidekick-roomie how you do crack me up)
"Because I'm not good with self-made deadlines, something always happens." I shrug and open facebook, yet another distraction from what I should be doing....writing.
"Well, I think you should do one."
I chuckled. "Really? I don't know." The more I think about it though, the better the idea sounds and before I know it the following words spout from my lips. "You're right. I know what's going on, I can definitely finish by January 1, 2010." (Ha. Ha. Ha. <---This is me laughing at my naive former self. Have you not learned past Bethany? Have you not? Apparently not.)
"What happens when you finish?" My most-awesome-sidekick-roomie asks.
"Hmm." I ponder. "I'll dye a stipe of my hair blue."
Her eyes grew wide. "Blue?" (Note to family members or people who know my family: This is between me and the blogsphere and the Universe. Continue reading to see how this agreement was rearranged. Don't worry Mom and Dad I'm going to war against it...just keep reading...just keep reading, reading, reading...)
"I always wanted to do something like that and why not? I mean, I'm only going to be young once and well, knowing me, do you really think I'd be the mom with the blue hair?"
Most-awesome-sidekick-roomie laughed. "I see your point."
"Okay. It's official. I'm going to have my book finished, ready to send out to agents by January 1, 2010." I announce it aloud making it official, promptly closing facebook without a second glance. I open my WiP document.
*two weeks later*
"This is driving me INSANE!" I say a bit louder than I should have. "I have NO time to do anything. It's ten-thirty already and I don't even want to stop and eat supper 'cause that means more time spent doing this stupid----beeeeeeeeep------homework."
"Long day?"
"You could say that." I rant and go through about a dozen things that went wrong with my day. "All I want to do is sit and write, is that so hard?"
"No????"
"No. It shouldn't be but I can't." I plop on my bed and prompty opened a document to begin yet another homework assignment.
"Why not?" Most-awesome-sidekick-roomie asks as she goes through her own stack of homework.
"Because I have so much homework to do." I whine. "It's like...it's like--" I stop myself as the truth comes to me. The universe has it out to get me. I repeat what I've discovered.
My most-awesome-sidekick-roomie chuckles. "Really? That seems a little crazy."
"I'm allowed to be a little crazy, I'm a writer."
She smiles and shakes her head.
"Fine Universe!" I shout at the ceiling. "You think this is funny? I thought we had a deal. I thought in return for working hard on my WiP and turning some of my hair blue you would set up Fate to help me along. This is WRONG Universe. Consider me at war with you!"
"Wow. I don't even know what to say."
Thank heavens my roomie is a reasonable person who knows that even though sometimes I'm a little crazy I am actually not completely out of my wits. "Eat it Universe." I said. "Eat it! And guess what? I'm only dyeing a stripe in my hair if I don't make it, HA!"
"Oh, boy."
*Flash forward to October 7, 2010*
"Oh, crap.Oh, holy crap. I'm utterly screwed."
"What?" Most-awesome-sidekick-roomie asks, she knows from my tone something is devastatingly wrong.
"One week." I gasp, my throat decided to take a siesta while I panic. It was probably scared that I'd start yelling at the ceiling again...I don't blame it.
"Huh?"
"I have one week, and kinda one day, to write at least 30,000 words. I've gotten nowhere in two weeks. I completely forgot. How could I do that? How could I forget about my war with the Universe?" I start pacing and then stop. "I didn't forget, the Universe...Oh nice play!" I yell at the ceiling because apparently that's where the Universe lives. "Nice. I see what you're doing. It's not going to work. You may have put me two weeks behind but I will get done writing this draft on time!"
And so chaos erupted and I wrote faster than I knew I could write. I hit part of my goal. I got about 40,000 words in 8 days, but my manuscript isn't done. ...
UNTIL NOW! (I finished last night)
Yes, I'm about a week late, and YES that means I'm more behind and, yes, it kinda-sorta means the Universe won that battle BUT, it also means that I am more than ever determined not to fall short of my goal. I may not follow my self-made schedule, but I durned as heck will finish. And when I start saying durned as heck, the Universe better know how serious I am.
I'm coming after your Universe and your little pal, Fate! Don't mess with this Farm Girl! She can kick some butt and yours is up next!*
*No actual abuse or but-kicking to be done to anyone at anytime. No actual person is involved here.
1 comment:
Haha, this post made me laugh out loud! I love your conversations with your roommate :) Good luck!
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