There's a stain on my notebook where my coffee cup was...

Whoohoo! One week of writing for the National Novel Writing Month is done! As planned, I did a coffee series this week. I took a photo of my coffee cup every morning as I sat down to write. Here is the series and what went on with my writing each of the days.

Coffee with Mary

The first day was exciting. I was filled with anticipation the whole month before, itching to get my story started. At the suggestion of a friend, I aimed for 2,000 words a day instead of the 1,667 needed. This would give me a nice cushion for those days when life interrupts and writing has to take a back seat. My coffee this morning was Nabob 100% Columbian with hot cream and served in a mug with Mary Poppins. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! I wrote 2,142 words today! 

A Bit of Fairy Dust Goes a Long Way

Day two was the hardest of the week. I had reread what I wrote on day one and thought some of it was crap. I really wanted to go back and fix things, to edit. But November isn't about editing. If you edit now, you'll never finish. I went onto the NaNoWriMo website and discovered a whole bunch of other participants who thought they were writing crap. Good, I feel so much better now! With some help from Tinkerbell and a cup of European Master Lorenzo Crema coffee with cream, I wrote 1,828 words. I fell short of the 2,000 daily goal. Perhaps I needed more fairy dust. :)

I ♥ Coffee

Day three was emotional for me. The story was becoming very personal. I'm writing fiction, yet my truths are popping up all over the place. The story was taking on a life of it's own. When I went to process the coffee pics at the end of the day I discovered the cream was in the shape of a heart. It really went with how I felt during that days writing. I was beginning to fall in love with my story, with my characters. I had the same type of coffee as the day before but my word count was so much better at 2,108 words. It was a good day!

Welcome to Neverland

Day four was interesting. I had characters who were to be there only in passing, but one character I wanted to see again. I was mesmerized by him. Another character demanded to be introduced earlier in the story. I've promised him a move to the front but he'll have to wait until December.:) My coffee this morning was Seattle's Best Breakfast Blend and it was in a cup featuring Peter Pan. How appropriate because I feel lost in my own Neverland, becoming obsessed with my characters and where they are going. I did more obsessing than writing however as I only reached 1,862 words. 

Wired for Writing

My horoscope on day five read: Today you are the creator of your future, and your only limits are the boundaries of your imagination. Today enjoy the process of creating as you make your future a work of art. I don't know if it was the cosmos or the cup of Seattle's Best in a Tigger mug wtih the word "Wired!" on the back, but today was a great day for writing. The story really took off and characters kept surprising me. I was intrigued today. So much so that I wrote 4,066 words! How I managed to do that I have no idea because I had fifty eBay auctions that ended today as well and had to send out invoices. Whew!

 Feelin' Dopey

Day six had a fallout from the day before. Because I was so wired the previous day, my sleep was affected. It was a Creative Saturday and I was meeting Lita for a day of shooting, eating, bookstores and sharing our lives. I was really looking forward to getting out but I knew to get the word count in I would have to get up earlier than usual. When I know I have to get up early, I can't seem to sleep. I felt very Dopey in the morning and so when I went to make a cup of coffee, I purposely chose this cup filled once again with Seattle's Best.

Being with Lita is always inspiring and I was thrilled to be able to share the story with her. We discovered that one of my characters is in a very similar place to where she is. I have to keep writing now so she can figure out where she's going to end up! 

Beachy Girls

I didn't get home until nearly six in the evening and I had only written a few hundred words in the morning. I was so tired. Even though I was inspired by the day, writing was not what I wanted to do. The evening session of writing started out very slow and a bit all over the place but soon I was back in the flow and ended up writing 2,070 words. A good nights sleep was my reward.

Minnie Morning

Even though the clock moved back an hour today, I knew that day seven would be a challenge as it was the first day of writing that I would have my husband home all day. Pair that with football and I knew I would be struggling to find the time to write. I got up early, fixed a cup of Seattle's Best with cream and wrote a few hundred words before Charlie was up. As expected, both he and football were a big distraction for me. I had to write in short bursts, between football plays, printing shipping labels for all the auctions, spending time with Charlie and doing laundry. Eventually, all those short burst added up to 2,005 words! Yay! One week complete. Now, let's hope I can keep the pace up for week two!