On to the DivisionToastmasters Contest

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areacontest 001.jpgApologies for the blurry picture. Almost none of the shots I took tonight (or had taken) at the Area Contest turned out. Most of them are too dark to post, this being an exception. Here you see me and the other competing members (and one members son!) from our Area Contest.

I did manage to pull off a win although I suspect it was very close. The gentleman who came in behind me gave a fantastic speech--vivid descriptions and poignant ending. Plus, he had a marvelous British accent--so much more fun to listen to than our boring American tones.  So I felt honored to have won--he was good competition.

The next level is the Division Contest which will be held April 10th. Same speech to be given. After that is the District (state) level and then Regionals. I just learned that after District level all speeches must be original. I thought contestants used the same speech up through the finale but that is not the case. Still, one hurdle to be leaped at a time.  District contest first and I'll worry about the next speech if it comes to that.

areacontest1.jpgCheck out the hats on our Area Governor and Contest Chair. The theme was "Hats Off!" to our contestants. I was given a beautiful and surprisingly heavy take home trophy which you see me being presented with here. (Thanks to Lisa Lewis for being quick to grab the camera).

So whew! One competition down. And only two weeks to fret until the next one. =)

Area Speech Contest

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The Toastmasters area speech contest is tomorrow night. I think I'm ready. I didn't practice my speech at all this weekend--didn't even think about it--and this helped.  I felt fresh and rejuvenated when I said it for the first time today.  And I'm at the point now where the more I practice the more I'm missing slight nuances which is usually a good sign I've got it down and need to stop.  I'll run through it maybe 2 times tomorrow and then just let it go. I'm not planning on using notes this time, so let's hope the blank out doesn't occur again!

No progress on the bathroom, other than I added another coat of red paint today.  One more and I think I'll have it. I called the contractor last week and asked for a return phone call to install hardware on the cabinets.  Nothing. No word on the replacement sink and when that might be in.  Just a vast wasteland of silence...

So be it. I've got other matters to occupy my time.  I'm doing a book signing next Monday night at a speed dating service and I want to come up with a catchy sign for my table which will be situated near the entrance to the room. Something like, "Men leave you, women wear you down, but cats are forever." Only much less cheesy than that.  If anyone has good ideas, please post here or e-mail me.

I lined up the event through a guy in my Triad Networks group who organizes the event. I went home that night and told Blair, "I won't be in until late on Monday, April 3rd. I've got a speed-dating event to go to."  He wished me luck and told me to pick someone good.

Funny guy.  

Heading Home

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beach 007.jpgI'm sitting in a chair in front of the large sliding glass doors in our room at Wrightsville Beach. I smell saltwater and the surf is pounding the sand on the beach below me. There is a man throwing a stick into the ocean and what looks like a large and very happy Golden Retriever is bounding into the waves after it. An old man, back hunched over, is jogging slow and steadily toward the pier a mile away. And a boy of about 10 is flying an orange kite.

It's been a lovely weekend. I've written over 6,000 new words and I think have figured out some missing pieces to my opening chapters. I was telling my friend Bernie that what I've enjoyed about this weekend is that it's allowed me to be completely in my story. I'm not writing anything else so I'm not thinking or worrying about anything else. My characters are fresh in my mind and I'm hearing dialogue even when I'm not writing. Although I"m looking forward to being home and seeing Blair, I'm sad to leave the world of my book behind.

Because I don't focus on the story at home like I've done this weekend. And really, I have no excuse not to. We chose our priorities in life and if I wanted writing this novel to be a priority, I would make it one. But I haven't, which speaks to where my mind is. And I know part of not choosing that is fear.  It's easier to talk about wanting to finish your book than it is to finish it.  Because what if you finish it and it stinks? It's a common fear among writers and want to be writers. The difference is that the real writers suck it up, write the words, and deal with the chance of them "stinking." After all, that's why God created rewrites.

I'd love to say I'm going to go home and work on my novel 3 hours each day, but I don't feel that's true. But I am motivated to at least try to bring more structure to my time spent on it. Right now, I work on my novel on Wednesday mornings for about 2 1/2 hours. I would like to write a certain number of words each day until the book is complete, then spend a certain number of hours each day editing.

So let's try that. 1,000 new words a day. They don't have to be great words and they don't have to be the final words. Just words. I should be able to knock out 1,000 words in an hour or so each day.

I'll report in later to see how it goes.. Meanwhile, it's almost time to pack up and say goodbye to the beach.