National Novel Writing Month...

…and so it begins.

November is National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo, to those who participate. Its main goal, for writers, all around the country, is to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days! I am already 2 days behind…sort of. 

My only problem or question, (to myself), do I want to participate this year? In the last four years, I have only finished one novel and it is still sitting on my desk collecting dust… (Editing cost a fortune, at least for me it does, retirement does that, sometimes, I mean, I’ve given up Lobster, caviar and Champagne and now only eat beans, beer and PB&J sandwiches for dinner, now). In 2015, I started a new novel but only completed 12k words. It sat around, (in my computer), for an entire year waiting for me to finish. 

In 2016, I started writing, again. I finished, in November with 25k words, total. What I feel so bad about, I have been day dreaming, night dreaming, thinking about my novel just about every day as to, how do I defeat this writers block? How do I have the two main characters interact? This conflict, with me, has been going on since the end of last year’s NaNoWriMo.

Do I wish to participate? Probably not. Well…maybe so. I can say, and I really feel it, I really need to WRITE this novel, finish this novel! However, where did my passion disappear too?  

Many, many years ago, I really did have a passion for writing. However, I would have to lock myself in my room, (I had two young children, annoying children, always wanting to play children and yes, and I did play with them more often than not – after I finished writing). I managed to finish three books during those turbulent times, only to have them published during the last three years. 

Do I want to participate…? I am going to write. I am going to write 50,000 words, during November – or longer. I am going to finish this novel. I have to see how my resolve is, find my muse again, and find my passion, for writing. I miss it, with a passion.

 

Way back then, I would drink and knock out a few thousand words a day. My drinking, gin, vodka and scotch days are over now. I just drink beer, but that doesn’t seem to help. Coffee seems to be my only help (hope?), and I have a few bags of coffee to get me through the month of November. 

The light is on, tomorrow I will get my bearings and…I will WRITE! 50,000 words or else!  And, now that I think about it, try my best to keep this cat off of my lap as I write. He’s so cute, sleeping on my lap. Geez…

nothing has happened...

Nothing happened today, nothing, not a thing, zilch, nada, nothing..so far. I do know, I gotta stop throwing peanuts at my cats, those things are  too good to be throwing at those cats. And, to make matters worse, I only had one cup of coffee...go figure.

I've forgotten and I can't...

I consider myself a thinking person, someone who always has a brilliant thought on his mind. But, I guess as I progressively age, a guy just wants to have fun…but, alas I digress.

About a month or so ago my Keurig coffee maker died, or so I thought. What did I do, I went out and purchased a Mister Coffee, coffee maker for about $20. Prior to that I had purchased an expensive, well a near expensive couple bags of coffee, which I used in my Keurig coffee maker. That coffee was great, great taste and so forth.

The only problem, coffee tends to spoil after a couple of weeks (actually a week or less. I just can’t drink coffee that fast, though).  And, what made it even worse the Mister coffee maker left my cup of coffee with a bad plastic after taste. Yesterday, after having no coffee for a couple of days, I thought I would try the Mr. Coffee machine again. This time, the coffee was just terrible, I mean terrible! A biting, stinging taste on my tongue. I took one sip and had to spit it out, it was that bad.

This morning I opened up a jar of instant coffee. I have never really liked instant coffee, never. I usually drink it when I go camping. As of right now, eight hours later, I still feel that coffee in my gut. It seems to be hard to get out of my system.

Anyway, I remembered something my son told me a very long time ago…”Use YouTube, Dad!” Sure enough I went to the web and looked up Keurig coffee makers on YouTube and my exact machine came up and the video explained what was wrong and what to do about it. A very simple thing to do.

I now say to myself, “How stupid could I have ever been?” This is something I should have done two months ago and I wouldn’t have suffered as much as I have in the long run. And I have suffered. I need my morning coffee. Not because I like it so much, (love it), but it offers me the energy to get out of the house and do my daily run or walk or anything else that requires exercise.

If I can ever remember, old age seems to be doing that to me or I have been drinking too much…I’ve got to remember to use YouTube when something around the house breaks. Anyone wanna buy a Mister Coffee maker, cheap?

Today is National Coffee day, and I have had so much coffee I actually feel "High"!