Writing Errands

I love doing errands.  I love having a list of all different kinds of little tasks to do out in the world: return library books, stop at the ATM, buy a new charger for my phone, mail a package at the post office.   Sometimes, when I'm home in Boulder, if he's free, Christopher will go on errands with me as my personal chauffeur.   It's so satisfying to make progress on my to-do list, to see some forward momentum in my life.  Library books, returned!  Checks, deposited!  Phone charger, bought!  Package, mailed!

My favorite errands of all are writing-related errands.  I love getting library books, but love getting them even more if they're library books to use for a book-related project of my own.  I love mailing a package at the post office, but love mailing it even more if it's a manuscript sent off to an editor (though nowadays I'm deprived of that particular pleasure because everything is sent by email, so I have to focus my satisfaction on clicking SEND). 

Earlier this week I was finishing up revisions for my forthcoming chapter book, Annika Riz, Math Whiz.  The storyline involves a class cookie-selling booth at the school carnival; Annika and her two best friends, Kelsey and Izzy, are selling lemonade at the booth.  The math whiz angle come into play when Annika realizes that her friends have priced the lemonade too low and are losing money on each glass.  This meant that I needed to make sure I had accurate prices for all the lemonade ingredients, and for cookie ingredients, as well.  So off I went to Kroger, notebook in hand, on a writing-related research errand.

I got all the information I needed - lemons are expensive! those girls had better price that lemonade high! - finished the revisions, and emailed them off: SEND!  The book is done, at least for now, so I can turn my attention to writing the next book in the series, Izzy Barr, Running Star.  Maybe today I should go to the library and check out some books on famous runners; Izzy will be doing a "Famous Footprints" school project on a notable personage of her choice.  Yes!  Another writing-related errand! I'm all set!