NaNoWriMo (Day 1, 3,000+ Words and Counting!)

I woke up in the darkness with the feeling like it was Christmas morning, that feeling that excites you and keeps you from even dreaming of going back to sleep. I opened my eyes to see what time it was (6am) and heard the heat kick on (brr!) and after a few minutes couldn't stay still any longer.

It was finally time to start writing!

I started the coffee, toasted and peanut buttered a bagel, fed the dog, set up my writing chair, slipped on some headphones, and settled in to see what happens next.

Thousands (yes! thousands!) of words later, I'm coming up for air. I can't describe (well, of course I can...I am a writer after all, I'm just being vague and choosing not to) what it felt like to finally be able to pick these characters up again and run with them. Obviously, due to the sheer volume of what came out, there was a great deal that had built up and was waiting for me to let out.

I am quite certain that the best ideas come in the shower, at that moment when you're drifting off to sleep, and while driving. Really, any place/time that is the least convenient to write your ideas down. For me, most of these ideas drift away and are forgotten, only whispering hints of grandness lingering behind.

There is a piece, a very integral piece of this story and a major piece of Jezebel's history that I've struggled with. I have one version of the events that shaped her into the person she is now, but there are parts of it that never felt quite right. It's something I've been trying to work out in the background for the past year. While I was driving to work yesterday morning some ideas began to appear and the commute gave me time to work through them, to revise, edit, ask questions, and I think it's a better scenario than I had before. Am I being vague? Absolutely! I just don't want to ruin the intrigue for any of you that end up reading the finished version. Also, I still reserve the right to completely change the story again.

Ah, the power. The real reason I enjoy writing.

Day 1 is off to a fantastic start. I am so, so happy to be able to be working on this project. I also feel quite fortunate to have the time and the support to be able to do so. This morning, when I turned on the heat and felt it warming the air around me, I felt so grateful that I have a life that affords me the ability not to be cold. There are far too many who aren't so lucky.

"...and I fall in love every day and I feel like a fool and I have to face the truth that no one could ever look at me like you do, like I'm something worth holding on to."*

                                 from You Can Do Better Than Me by Death Cab for Cutie


*The working title of last year's NaNoWriMo project has been Holding On. But after being struck by this song on a random shuffle this morning, I think I may have to change it to Something Worth Holding On To. Also, to help give an insight into the variety of music that comes up on my shuffle, I am currently enjoying the 70's classic by C.W. McCall, Convoy.

Sunrise on a fog-filled morning