Today was the first warm day in awhile.  I spent the first part of my day hiking in the mountains.  I wrote a piece of poetry up by the waterfall that I hope to upload in the next few days.  I love the feeling of completely exerting my body.  Afterwards, I came to my coffee shop to write.  The coffee never tasted so great.

Today is my 16th day of writing my new novel.  Take a look at my daily word totals:

8 April 2012: 600 Words
9 April 2012: 2,700 Words
10 April 2012: 4,300 Words
11 April 2012: 4,800 Words
12 April 2012: 8,700 Words
13 April 2012: 9,900 Words
14 April 2012: 10,700 Words
15 April 2012: 11,600 Words
16 April 2012: 13,800 Words
17 April 2012: 15,900 Words
18 April 2012: 17,500 Words
19 April 2012: 20,000 Words
20 April 2012: 21,100 Words
21 April 2012: 22,100 Words
22 April 2012: 25,300 Words
23 April 2012: 26,200 Words

I am now squarely in the second third of the novel.  At this point, I will not let myself stop until I finish.  I have decided to implement a 1,000-word minimum rule.  Even if my day is packed, I will schedule time to write and pump out 1,000 words.  I am so thoroughly enjoying where I am in the novel that the past few days have had a few 2,000-word writing binges.  Whatever it takes.

Today’s update includes musical influences.  I always listen to music while I am writing stories (not poetry).  I listen to music mainly for it’s lyrical content, but I won’t deny that it needs to sound good.  Some music, although not much, I listen to remind myself of certain ideals and to rejuvenate my mind.

Flobots
This band is probably the most influential band I have ever listened to.  Their music is political and angry in nature.  I have been to two of their concerts and was completely blown away by their talent and passion.  Nothing moved be more than when thousands of people screamed as one the lyric, “We the people did not want war.”

Air
I first came across Air while listening to the soundtrack to my favorite movie: Lost in Translation.  I borrowed one of their CD’s from the local library and was in awe of their originality.  For my most recent novel, their Talkie Walkie CD is almost always on in the background.  They are well worth a listen.