Day 1:

During your weekly run on the wet sand along the ocean, you decide that nobody has ever really captured in a novel what it is like to live in the L.A. South Bay. You then decide that no one is better suited for writing that novel than you, because no one understands the emotional pain and subtext of life in the South Bay beach cities than you.

Day 2:

You decide to start writing your novel about the L.A. South Bay the following Sunday.

Day 4:

You're still struggling to think of one example of pain or subtext in the beach cities.

Day 6:

You rise early and switch on your computer. Then you realize you need some coffee. At Starbucks, you meet some friends and spend two hours talking about what kind of dogs you all would get if you had a choice. You go home and check your email. Then you realize it's too hot to sit at the computer, so you go for a bike ride.

Day 7:

After spending the day at work trying to come up with a name for your novel, you come home anxious to get some writing done. Then you decide to take advantage of the available light to get in a good run. When you come back, you're too tired to write.

Day 10:

On the drive to work, you decide that your novel should employ surfing as a metaphor for life. On the drive back you realize that even though you don't surf, and have never surfed, you are nonetheless the right person to create this metaphor.

Day 11 through 16:

No work done on the novel, although you have managed to get in at least five good workouts. You spent an hour by the keg on the balcony talking to a guy who said he surfed, and you consider it research.

Day 18:

You decide to name your novel, "The Wave Inside."

Day 20:

Ten minutes into your commute home from work, you figure out the problem that has kept you from actually getting started on Chapter One of "The Wave Inside." Forty minutes later, with 20 minutes left in your drive, you realize that you have completely forgotten the great idea you had.

Day 22:

On the drive home from work, you work out the entire plot to "The Wave Inside."

Day 24:

In a fit of creativity, you blast out a draft of Chapter One between reruns of "Friends" and "Everybody Loves Raymond."

Day 25 through 49:

Progress on "The Wave Inside" is slow but steady. You complete 42 pages of your first draft.

Day 50:

You finally show your draft pages to your friend who surfs and he tells you that it looks a lot like "Big Wednesday." "What's Big Wednesday?" you ask him.

Day 51:

After some thought, you decide that you can make progress on your novel while training for your hometown's upcoming 10K run.

Day 72:

No progress on "The Wave Inside," but you do come in under 43 minutes in the 10K, a personal best.

Day 74:

After telling your boss that you are working on a novel, you decide to start working on it again.

Day 78:

You decide to change the "The Wave Inside" to "At the Net," a cautionary tale about beach volleyball.