30 Days of NaNoWriMo 2 – Day 12: It Didn’t Work

Words for the Day: 1,492

Weird thing about that word total; my plan from yesterday (establish a work space at home, make coffee, write early in the morning, save a line as an easy starting point for the next day) absolutely didn’t work.

My experience with the attempt:

• I woke up to find that my cat wasn’t on my bed, ready to be pet. Always an ill omen.
• I put on coffee, decided that the best spot would be next to my window, to at least simulate being outside. That’ll totally help get the writing mojo going, I thought.
• While putting together my coffee, I attempted to make toast, only to find my toaster was broken. Alright. Just . . . bread. Bread and coffee . . . Sure.
• I sat down at my window, looked out, and realized I have no view from my room. Or, well, there is a view . . . but it’s of branches. The tree in front of my building hasn’t always blocked my window, but it definitely does now.
• And in that tree, on those branches, there are cute birds. Adorable warblers fluttering around and . . . ripping leaves off of the trees? And trying to eat them? What the . . . What?
• I watched them for a bit, confused, determinedly eating my breakfast. Of bread. My breakfast of only bread. With coffee.
• And, sitting there, in the quiet room, with the bland bread, watching birds tear into nature feet away from my window made me feel impossibly, comically trapped. Tired, sipping decaf, watching birds chirp and hop around on branches that bobbed on the wind, I found myself thinking, “Man . . . I so wish I was one those bird.” Because times are better for me (way better than they were in 2013 or 2014), but they’re still insanely rough.

So, basically, yesterday’s plan of attack turned out to be the worst possible attempt at getting in the writing mood. Despite all logic, it actually shoved me hard in the opposite direction. So far in the opposite direction that I felt silly afterward. Why would I think sitting at a window, looking outside, would be a good idea when the last few years have been all about getting out of my apartment–a place that I hate? It would be like throwing a writer in prison and then setting up their writing desk by the front door.

The point is, I rolled my eyes and left the window. I decided to watch something for a bit and try to unwind. I considered going outside to write . . .

But I was determined to figure out how to write from home. Because I have to–not figuring it out is a luxury I can’t afford.

So, what did I wind up doing?

Absolutely nothing special. Like yesterday, I hit a point when I realized I should write. Only, when I had that thought today, I just did it. No romance. No majesty. It felt like work.

And maybe that’s the lesson here? When I actually started writing, I fell into it. It wasn’t hard–it was just as fun as it always is.

So, maybe don’t hammer down an exact time and perfect beverage to have? Don’t wait until you’re outside. And don’t count on toast.

Just sit down. Open your manuscript, and write.

But still save one line for your next writing session, because that bit actually helped a ton.

Words for the Day: 1,492

NaNoWriMo Total: 4,329