The OurGlass blog began on April 3, 2010, and my writing process began shortly thereafter. Statistically, here is where I stand with this novel, and my Independent Professional Project.

As far as word count goes, I’ve reached a modest count of 43,000 words. On my word processor screen this translates to 83 pages. Wow! (you might say) Well, let’s just say I feel I’m falling a little bit short. I’m nearing crunch time for my personal goal to reach 140 pages by the end of October. With four weeks to go, it’s not Mission: Impossible, but it’s pretty darn close.

It’s going to take a considerable amount of energy to find the required time in the face of the rest of my course-load. But that’s what this program is all about; reaching your goal, and meeting your deadline. My IPP advisor, Chris Petty, is relatively happy with my draft so far, so that’s a plus in my corner. And, once this book is complete, in the least it will be a portfolio piece.What, no New York Times Bestseller List?  One must be realistic…:)

As a tie-in to my project, tomorrow at 10 a.m. I will be giving an oral presentation about my book, OurGlass. The exercise is meant to prepare students to speak publicly about something they know about, hence, our year-long IPP projects. Each student has been asked to prepare a speech about what his or her project is about, the reasons it was chosen, the challenges encountered, and a progress update. I’m not terrified about speaking in front of a room of people, but it certainly is a humbling experience. Not many people strive to be the only voice in the room, except CEO’s or politicians, neither of which I aspire to be. Our “performances” are recorded so we can see where we might need improvement. That’s going to be sommmmme awkward viewing. Oh well, I’m sure I’ll learn from it and better myself in the process for the next time around.

Wish me luck.

p.s. next OurGlass excerpt in one week!