Day’s word count: 0
Total word count: 27,931
Writing location: N/A
Work: 6:40 a.m. – 12:29 p.m.
Exercise: none
Notes
I could have written more, but I took a side trip home and went a couple hours out of my way to visit two things that are related to the book. First, the Bicycle Museum of America. Wow! It was so much better than I expected, and if you’re in or around western Ohio, it’s definitely worth going on a day trip to. Richard is a retired pro cyclist, so it was connected. I justified the time it took away from the keyboard as a research trip, but as amazing as the museum was (really, extremely well done), it didn’t do a whole lot on that front. That’s because the book isn’t about cycling except tangentially.
However, it is about his life, and he’s from a small town that actually exists and isn’t far from the museum, so I also wandered through his fictional hometown for a little while. That was extremely helpful in getting into his mind. I grew up in a small suburb (10,000 people), but where he’s from is in the country and is less than 1500 people, so actually seeing it with my own eyes gave me about twenty notes and a lot of help in dialing in the tone. That was worth more than the hour or two I spent there.
Still doesn’t help me catch up, though, but it will make the final product better.
I'd love to hear from you!