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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Concentration (07/24/08)
The key to success as an author is to write something every day. So say the experts.

I glared at the sign above my desk and muttered, “That’s all very well for them to say, but I’ve just done a twelve-hour shift with ten minutes for lunch, come home, cooked dinner, fed the cat, done three loads of washing and now it’s after midnight. The last thing I’m capable of right now is getting my creative juices flowing. Just tuck me into my own little bed, sing me a lullaby and I’ll be your best friend.”

Write … write … yawn Come on girl wake up. You have a deadline for that article.

“Cat, do you have to sit exactly where I’m writing? Travis, will you please leave my pen alone – I’m trying to think. Travis NO!” my fickle feline friend leapt from my desk to the windowsill and turned his back on me.

“That’s right Travis, you be a nice little cat and sit there and watch the goods train trundle by. Oooh, look, there’s a nice long one for you … a nice long, very noisy one. WOW! Look at that; forty-eight wagons and they’re all changing tracks right outside my window.”

What possessed me to buy an apartment right next to the main railway line? Because in a word, it’s fantastic! Okay, that’s two words. But it has two bedrooms, big lounge room, separate dining room, nice sunny kitchen, huge bathroom – infact the bathroom is bigger than the second bedroom – lovely big balcony, lockup garage, my own private security entrance and it’s all mine – all three floors of it. Well, mine, and the banks for the next fourteen years.

Thinking that some fresh air would clear the fuzzies away and aid my concentration, I wandered downstairs, switched the percolator on, and went out onto the balcony. Travis deigned to follow me, brushing up against my legs as I stood looking skyward. The air was crisp and clear. “Gosh Travis, look at all those stars; aren’t they beautiful?”

Travis stared at me with his golden eyes and twitched his ears disdainfully.

“Don’t look at me like that cat, I’m thinking… okay, I’m thinking about thinking.”

The smell of coffee drew me back inside and filling my biggest mug, I headed back to my desk with my friend racing up the stairs ahead of me.

Write something every day… Yawn yeah, I should … I guess it won’t take that long. I’ll just sit on my bed and take my shoes off. I’ll be able to concentrate better with my shoes off. I’ll … Mmmm, this is nice... don’t you just love the smell of fresh sheets? Big, soft fluffy pillow, a warm, snuggly, feather quilt calling, enticing… No! I have to write something… I mustn’t succumb to the lure of the comfort of a warm, soft bed…

I’ll just lie here for a bit and… wow, look at the way the light shining through the fish tank makes the water shimmer on the ceiling. It’s so soothing… relaxing in a weird sort of way. It’s like a… a…

"Oomph… Travis, get off my stomach. That’s good - snuggle around my knees."

No, wait… I need to get up; have my coffee… need to keep awake to write.

"Travis, stop purring, you need to wake up. Wake up… need coffee… pen… where’s my pen?"

Mmmm, this is nice... don’t you just love the smell of fresh sheets? Don’t you love the…
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This article has been read 1255 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Holly Westefeld
08/01/08
This was a fun read. You can always hook me with a playful, cuddly kitty.
Marlene Austin
08/01/08
This is quite a paradox - so funny for the reader, so sad for the writer. :) I KNOW all Challenge entry writers can relate to this one. (lol) Lots of "senses" descriptions, I particularly felt the fresh sheets. :) Good job.
Joy Faire Stewart
08/04/08
Oh, I can relate! Love the cats and just the right touch of humor. Perfect last line, too. Great job!
Verna Cole Mitchell 
08/05/08
Excellent writing. I could get sleepy just reading the details of how comfortable the bed is.
Karen Wilber
08/06/08
This was fun, but it made me sleepy. Very sleepy."big soft fluffy pillow" Zzzzzzz. :-D (and Travis made this story even better)
Sharlyn Guthrie
08/06/08
Oh, I'm in that struggle right now as I write this comment instead of my challenge entry! Just sent my cat out the door. Better get to work, or maybe make some coffee first! One thought: I wonder if this would be even more effective in preent tense.
Edmond Ng
08/07/08
An interesting story and a good read. I like the way you describe the details in your writing. It makes the story come alive, and I can understand the exact sentiment of not being able to write something everyday, especially after a hard day's work. At least in your story there is a Travis to help the MC keep awake ... although not too successfully. Great work.
Glynis Becker
08/07/08
Fantastic illustration! I loved the cats (and I'm not a cat person!). Fun read.
Joshua Janoski
08/07/08
LOL! This was so funny, because it's TRUE! Every writer deals with this frustration from time to time. You captured it so very well. This is one of those stories that is simple in concept but was executed brilliantly. :)
Elizabeth Hexberg
08/07/08
A delightful and nicely written article.You do have a gift of amusement in your pen.......Thanks Lynne.
God Bless