Paddling Against the Current (NaNoWriMo 2011: Day 17, 34459 Words)

Yesterday was a long day, probably the longest I've had this entire NaNoWriMo. It wasn't bad long, just full long and by the time I finally reached home (after passing 3 bad accidents in less than 1 mile), I wasn't sure I had it in me.

But I figured it was worth a try.

The writing wasn't easy. It was slow to get started and the flow wasn't there. All the momentum I'd had the morning before had disappeared and I was struggling with how to get going again. Rather than being swept away by the swift current of my story, I felt like I was paddling up an angry river.

So I took a break. I procrastinated with an hour of television and internet and made my 2011 donation to NaNoWriMo. After a few false starts, I finally got a bit of a groove back and was able to get down some 1200 words or so before I found my eyes blinking just a little bit too long. A long stretch from my average day this month, but it's the 17th of November and I have yet to use one of those free day passes. Perhaps I never will.

Tonight is a quiet and rainy night. Just me, the animals, and some Magnetic Fields. I've mixed a drink and have settled into my writing chair and am looking forward to seeing what happens next.

I can't imagine wanting to do anything else.

"Let this be the epitaph for my heart. Cupid put too much poison in the dart. This is the the epitaph for my heart because it's gone, gone, gone. And life goes on and on and on. And death goes on, world, without end, and you're not my friend."

          from Epitaph for my Heart by The Magnetic Fields

The only thing missing is me.