I’m still listening to good old JMJ, as per my last post. I found the track ‘Waiting for Cousteau’ on the LP of the same name so useful as background scene setting music for what I was writing that I’ve recorded it to the hard disk of this computer just so I don’t wear out the needle. It’s around 22 minutes long, so it isn’t quite as repetitive as you might think.

So far I’ve written around 2,750 words today. That’s better than a kick in the you-know-whats. In the past when I’ve been writing books, I’ve usually aimed for anywhere between 2,000 and 4,000 words a day, depending on the urgancy of the deadlines for the project. I think having a target is helpful, because it gives you a framework with which to work to as well as giving you an idea of how long the damn thing is going to take. As a rule of thumb, I tend to aim for the 90,000 word mark for the complete manuscript – a strange figure perhaps, but it has stood me well for nearly ten full-length manuscripts.

I’m going to be preparing to head out in an hour or two. I’ve spent a couple of nights a week sorting out boat stores in preparation for the upcoming 2010 sailing season. Where I’ve been doing this no-one seems to have ever tackled the mounds of stuff they have. One of the main thing has been to identify which type of boat each sail of tiller or such like matches to. So far I’ve managed to find decent equipment for every boat that is either in useable condition or likely to become useable over this year. On top of that, I can’t believe quite how much other stuff I’m finding. Set of racing sails and spinnaker for a GP14? Well that would be nice if we had a GP14 hull. We have every other damn thing it needs except that. Tonight I shall see what else I shall uncover.

Last night I had a bit of a shock when I ventured onto the Wii fit. Quite apart from the fact that it has been 120 days since I stepped on it last (how time flies) I am 12 pounds heavier. WTF!!!??? Not that I exactly look like I’m 12 pounds heavier, but it is a shock. It does at the very least explain why the sports skirts I have feel somewhat tight now when going on the Wii fit. I suspect bad eating habits are to blame, so it is going to be a good few months of cutting back. Why does food have to be so nice?