Ten Thousand Flowers and the Self-Drawn Map

I find that when I give myself a ridiculous but quantifiable task such as, say, drafting a 50,000 word novel in thirty days, it helps to have some kind of visual aid that allows me to keep track of how far I’ve come and how far I have to go. By breaking it down into small enough steps, I can also use it to prod the spot in my brain that takes pleasure in a sense of progress.

I came up with a tracking sheet for NaNoWriMo that allows me to cross off a box for every twenty-five words I add to my wordcount. I batted around the idea of putting together a sheet that would allow me to mark each one of my ten thousand flowers, but I calculated that it would require a 100 by 100 grid, and I wasn’t sure how to put one together without driving myself mad. I wanted it to be small enough that I could paste it on the back of the bit of cardboard I carry to bear down on when I take my art supplies with me and go to make flowers outside of my home. One millimeter squares would do the job, but how on earth to draw them?

Answer: find a website that can calculate and draw a grid to just such a set of specifications. Print out the resultant PDF. Fill in the squares completed so far. Victory!