NaNoWriMo Day #10

Ten days in already. Time definitely flies when there's an agenda.

In fact, life has a way of getting in the way when there's an agenda.

Really, my laziness is my own worst enemy. I'd much rather veg out and not think when I feel overwhelmed by things, and this novel has had a way of overwhelming me. 

Thankfully, there's a Starbucks nearby, and when I go to Starbucks, I get things done.

I'm sure others have similar problems: while at home, no work can be done, but if you go out to a coffee shop or park, you can accomplish great things.

Starbucks is my main work place. I've spent many hours there editing and writing, and observing people. 

Oh, and drinking coffee. We can't forget the coffee during NaNoWriMo.


Day 10 Word count: 29,002
Day 10 Goal: 16,670

Where do you like to write?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaakati/336497304/

I have a few favorite spots to write. One is, hands down favorite, Starbucks. I love the people-watching, the smell of coffee, the clanging of the baristas, the lack of personal responsibility I have outside my home. 


However, a close second would be my front porch. As long as the dogs are behaving, and the temperature is comfortable to warm (but there are no spiders nearby), I could not be a happier writer. There's something about sitting on my front porch, watching the sun move across the sky, listening to the birds chirp in the trees, seeing them hop across the lawn in search of lunch or circle in the air. If the weather is too chilly, but I'm at home for the day, I'll spend my writing time in my home office, pounding words out on the keyboard and wistfully staring at the trees outside my window, wishing the sun would shine so I could head outdoors.


Although these are my favorite spots, every once in awhile, I feel the need to switch things up. All writers need a couple of go-to spots to write, ones where they feel comfortable and "free" from unwriterly duties where they can focus on their task at hand. But sometimes, those spots feel stifling. There's nothing unexpected there, everything feels comfortable. I don't know about you, but when I start to feel "comfortable" I often forget to look around me and absorb the scene before me. We're writers. We need to be able to explain a scene in words, and in order to do that, we must first observe it. If our writing nook is too comfortable, we risk the chance of writing without seeing. When we write without seeing, our reader cannot "see" the world we've created either.


I challenge you, next time you're headed out to your favorite spot to write, take a few minutes, sit back and observe (feel free to journal these observations) the sights, sounds, smells, textures around you before you plunge into business. The few minutes you take to do so are well worth the time.