Michelle Griep

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Chew With Your Mouth Shut

DAY 17

Word Count: 11,303

Sentence of the Day: He might've slipped in last night when I was dodging pinches and running pints, but he ain't shown his beak today.

On Wednesdays I get about 30 minutes to write. That's a half hour spent in the company of ravenous teenagers chowing down on pizza, generally while talking. Not a pretty picture.

But (and I've always got a big but) in the midst of the chaos, I pull out my trusty laptop and write. Not much. But I write.

And I'm in good company. Here's a quote by Joyce Carol Oats:

"I have forced myself to begin writing when I've been
utterly exhausted, when I've felt my soul as thin as a
playing card, when nothing has seemed worth enduring
for another five minutes...and somehow the activity
of writing changes everything. Or appears to do so."

True, that...but it sure doesn't stop pizza flecks from flying out of teenagers' mouths.