ONE MILLION WORDS

The number one million has always fascinated me. It’s a large enough number to seem unimaginable, yet small enough to be reachable. When I read about school children who collect a million pennies or bottle caps, I marvel at their determination and am somewhat jealous of the awe they must feel when they finally reach their goal.

It is the chase to one million that has provided the inspiration for a project that I am undertaking in 2009. In honor of the 10th anniversary of 500 Words, I am embarking on a quest: One Million Words. It sounds like an unattainable number; however it averages to about 2,750 words per day, which makes the achievement possible, though still, admittedly, unlikely.

And in order to make this more challenging, not every word I write throughout 2009 will count towards my goal. I’m still working on refining the list, but, as of now, I’ve decided to count blog posts on 500 Words, any fiction or non-fiction work of which I’m currently or will begin writing, any screenplay I choose to write, any interview /feature I write for Groovevolt.com (though not the daily news pieces) or other sites to which I contribute.

Excluded from the count will be any emails, Facebook updates, notes, etc. Only the words written between January 1 and December 31, 2009 will count for projects currently in progress. (I will note and post the current word count of the project prior to January 1, 2009 in order to ensure the integrity of the project.) I will try to update 500 1,000,000 Words at least several times a week and perhaps will put up a Facebook Group as well to detail my progress.

I realize that some might see this as a vanity project and might wonder why they should care. While, admittedly, I am hopeful to score some sort of publishing or film deal out of this endeavor, the genesis for 1,000,000 Words came from a friend – more specifically, as a result of the passing of a friend. Some of you might be unaware that I lost my best friend, Anthony DeCarlo, December 28, 1998. Just like the number one million is unimaginable, so too is the idea that 10 years have passed since his death.

 Accordingly, I will donate at least 20% of any money generated by this project to charity. In addition, I will place a tip jar on 500 Words. Any money generated via the tip jar will be donated to charity as well. (I have a few in mind, but am open to suggestions.) I realize that times are tough, so I’m not asking anyone to donate, but if I inspire you at anytime in the next year – it’s possible – feel free to duke me the cost of a cup of coffee or a beer at the bar and, with your help, I’ll make sure it gets donated in the memory of a friend who left us too early and who continues to inspire me each day.