Buzz Buzz

As I sit in this loud, crowded cafe in a book store, I’m reminded how terrible I am at blogging. I always start out strong, but it fizzles out. Maybe something will keep us going this time!

Now I know what you’re thinking. “Colleen, this is ‘A Cup of TEA,’ not a cup of coffee!” Yeah, I know. Sometimes, you just have to hit the strong stuff. I’ve been having more coffee lately due to my book.

In November this year, I participated in NaNoWriMo–National Novel Writing Month, for those of you not familiar. It was my first real attempt, and I won’t lie, it kicked my ass. There was at least one night I was crying saying I didn’t know if I could do it anymore, and my husband said “so why are you still going?”

Now, my sweet, wonderful husband meant well, but if you know anything about me, I’m pretty damn stubborn. You say that to me, and I will dig my heels in further. Which I did.

And I won NaNoWriMo. I ended with 50,014 words on November 30th. I have video of me hitting 50,000 words and ugly crying, but I look like Jabba the Hutt in a teal t-shirt, so I’ll spare you the sight.

Anyway, the problem with the way I wrote was that I didn’t write in order. I wrote as things came to me. Scenes were kept together, of course, but the overall story was not in the right order. It has taken me all of January and some of February to get things in order, and now I’m finally where I’m adding the next 25-30k words.

So yes, coffee. And tea.

The saving grace in all of this is that I’ve had a friend to keep me in line in all of this. Rosario Martinez-Rosales, a fellow writer, has been a friend since high school and has kept me going. We meet at this bookstore every Saturday and get things done. I guess it’s easier when you have someone to hold you accountable.

So special thanks to Rosario for getting me going, special thanks to the coffee I’m about to drink, and now I guess it’s time to get going! Those last words aren’t going to write themselves.

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