I ran across a article by a published author, Alex Keegan on writing and rewriting, and here's his take on writing:

"Becoming a writer is harder! I think it was Ray Bradbury who said we need to write at least a million words just to make it to the foothills. Seems like a lot? Not really. 3,000 words a day for a year or 1,000 words a day for three years and you're home free. What d'you mean it sounds tough? It IS tough!

Presume that one million words is a real goal. Write 300 words a day, every day, never miss, and nine years from now, you'll be able to write. That is WRITE, that is, as someone once wrote, you will have eaten your technique, absorbed it until it's in your blood, so that HOW to express your thoughts will be semi-automatic.

And now an old piece of OK advice -- write at least fifty short stories before you embark on a novel, do exercises, snippets, try rewriting great short stories or novel openings, experiment with poetry, flash-fiction, writing to tough word-limits. Burn off the obvious, the commonplace, the too-closely autobiographical stuff early on. (Writing shorts does this). You will learn so much and still be creating pieces worth submitting. "

50 stories! I was so bummed out when I read this. To see where I was on the 50 story scale, I went through my writing filebox which contains a gloriously unsorted morass of writing class notes and assignments since Spring 1998. That's about 5 years worth of paper mind you, for 6 writing classes and a number of one day writing seminars.

Here's my list in no particular order:

1. Playing Catch with Dad – screenplay
2. Spooning with my mother – short story
3. The Crow Priestess – unfinished novel
4. The Taste of Ice Cream – short story
5. Crazy Eddie – short story
6. Following in the Dark – unfinished novel
7. Art is Scary – short story written for performance
8. Bare Trees in Winter – unfinished play
9. Going Home Again – unfinished screenplay
10. Time and Distance – short story
11. Rodeo Spurs on My Heart – short story
12. Mother’s Heart Shaped Diamond Pendant – short story
13. Holding Hands in the Desert – short story
14. Past Connections Lost – flash fiction
15. Are you mad for it? – short story
16. The Princess who lost her voice – fairy tale
17. Princess Sushmita – fairy tale
18. The Forest of Forgetfulness – fairy tale
19. Kim and the Boys on the Beach – short story
20. Maggie and the Crying Freeman – flash fiction
21. A Hot Day in Dallas – short story
22. Theatre Audition: Five Minutes to Strut Your Stuff – essay
23. Dating Your Best’s Friend Ex – short story
24. Rules of Dating – monologue written for performance
25. Baseball was my Life – short story
26. The Secret Playboy Subscription – short story
27. Clasped Hands in the Desert – short story
28. 9/11 Remembrance - published on SFGate.com

Shock of shocks! I was so surprised that I managed to crank out 28 pieces. I think there might be more, but that's all I could find in the box.

I feel a little better now. So what, 12 more short stories and maybe I'll be able to finish a novel.