Rise to the challenge

This morning, bright and early (despite it being my day off work) I'm up and moving.  Trying to wake up some and am jumping into the page.  Part of why I'm here, I guess.  Anyway, I popped over to the NaNoWriMo website this morning and found a pep talk.  I know some of you will have read it, and others won't read any of your messages over there unless they're personal.  In any case, today I read it and this was worth noting:

I got up every morning before work (the alarm was set for 4:30) and wrote two pages before I went into the warehouse. And then, when I arrived at work at 7:00 to punch the time clock, I received my daily so-you-want-to-be-a-writer pep talk from a coworker.

Let's call him Bob. (Even though his real name is Gary).

Bob wanted to be a writer, too. But he wasn't writing. Every morning we had the same exchange.

Bob: "How did the writing go?"

Me: "Fine."

Bob: "How many pages did you write?"

Me: "Two."

Bob: "Do you think Dickens wrote two pages a day?"

Me: "I don't know how many pages Dickens wrote a day."

Bob: "Yeah, well let me tell you something, you're no Dickens. So what's Plan B, babe? What's Plan B for when the writing doesn't work out?"

For this question, I had no answer.

I turned my back on Bob, pulse pounding, fists clenched, and climbed the stairs to the third floor and started picking books.

When the alarm went off at 4:30 the next morning, I thought about Bob and that is part of the reason I got out of bed.

It is a truly excellent to have someone to believe in you and your ability to write.

But I think it is just as helpful to have people who don't believe in you, people who mock you, people who doubt you, people who enrage you. Fortunately, there is never a shortage of this type of person in the world.

So as you enter this month of writing, write for yourself. Write for the story. And write, also, for all of the people who doubt you. Write for all of those people who are not brave enough to try to do this grand and wondrous thing themselves. Let them motivate you.

In other words, do it for Bob!

Your friend in writing,  

Kate DiCamillo

You have a Bob in your life.  I know I do.  I have plenty.  People who look at me like I have three heads when I say "this is my day job, I write too."

Now, I'm a little different from Kate, here, because I am not sure I will ever be full time with the writing.  I might try for it in the future if things line up, I suppose, but my day job provides nice steady income, insurance, and distraction with PAID people-watching time.  That is pretty sweet.  And I'm able to keep myself part time, working while my kids are in school.  So that's also pretty sweet.

I have writing time if I get up early, after work before kids get out of school, and in the afternoon/evening while they do homework and after bedtime.  Right now, my goal is to write SOMETHING every day.  Maybe I should set a two page goal.  I know when I set a goal for myself and I don't reach it, I make myself angry.  Because I'm absolutely capable of that goal I set.

NaNo, for example.  This year, like last, I'm not allowing myself to be UNDER the daily goal at all.  I try and write ahead so if a day is busy (like yesterday), I don't have to stress myself out too much to meet it.  I'm close for yesterday's goal, so I will write ahead today.

Anyway, Bob, you suck.  But you also make us strive to do better.  To do more.  So, thank you, Bob.  I like a challenge.  ;)

So!  What spurs you on more?  Positive reinforcement, or a nay-sayers?  Have you grown your thick writer skin yet?  ;)

(Don't really feel all that more awake, and I bet my rambling kinda shows that...  time to set the coffee maker.)

The Girl in the Cup: Flash Fiction

This was written for last week's challenge, which I missed due to family in town.  But I wrote it as promised, and here it is!  Better late than never!  Enjoy!

Amy yawned and rolled over in bed, wishing she didn't have to go to work. Not the closing shift again with all the rowdy college students who never tip and always leave a mess. But it was noon, and she couldn't stay in bed much longer, so she got up and got herself ready, ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and fed the cat on her way out the door for her hour long commute. As ever, her shadow of a friend, Lisa, followed her silently, and Amy wished she would go away.

On the train, she listened to her music and tried to ignore the grifters who frequented the cars with their cup and ball game. She was not stupid enough to fall for the “wowed first time winner” act, but she did try and follow the ball, and got it right half the time. Still, she never bet money on it. She never had extra cash to wager anyway, and when she saw the same people in the same act with the same “wowed first time winner” later that week, she was glad she hadn't.

She thought about stopping the gullible woman who fell for their game, but shook her head and looked out the window instead. Not her business. People shouldn't be so stupid. Lisa, as ever, was nearby, watching the exchange, expressionless.

Amy climbed off the train and clambered down the steps to the street, glanced both ways twice, and ran across the street to the bus stop she needed for the next leg of her trip. Lisa followed, humming. Amy ignored her.

She wished for the hundredth time she had been able to just get a position at the Beanery that was on the same street as her building, but it was always fully staffed, whereas the one in the center of three college campuses downtown was not. That one employed college students, who, by default, tended to be less reliable than their adult counterparts uptown.

She arrived at work ages later, and wondered what the muse would bring out tonight. She never did know. The people she worked with saw her coffee artwork as beautiful and inspiring, something to live up to, but she couldn't tell them the truth. It wasn't her who made the pictures in the foam. It was her ever-present friend, Lisa. It wasn't their fault they couldn't see her.

Amy pulled her vivid orange apron over her black shirt, tucking the apron neck beneath her collar so it sat properly on her, and washed her hands thoroughly in the sink. Her manager briefed her on the day, set her up for the evening, then left. The night shift was Amy's territory. Not that she liked it exactly, but it was a job, and she should be thankful to have one at all.

The afternoon passed into evening seamlessly, then died down once the usual after dinner coffee crowd made their way through. She was humming to herself and cleaning the dishes when the door opened, bell clattering, and a crowd of generally conservative and clean-cut college kids walked in.

She recognized them immediately as regulars from the church around the corner and wanted to hide. They were always nice, but thought leaving tracts about saving your soul that were printed to look like money were the best tip they could ever give. Little did they know the change from each of their orders could make a real difference in her pocket.

Still, she put on her smile and served each and every one of them, making the drinks to order, dipping and swirling the spoon in the foam when she was done, and handing off the liquid artwork. It wasn't until the last one of the group sat down and they started to compare notes on their images for the evening that she realized she'd made the same picture for each of them, and they took turns looking at her curiously.

Amy hadn't really paid much attention to what she had done, but she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to picture it. All she came up with was a fuzzy face. She turned her back to clean out her milk pitcher, hoping to keep the foam from setting, and she jumped when someone said, “Excuse me.”

She stilled her heart and turned around to see a new girl in their group standing there before her. “I was wondering, how do you know this girl?” she asked and gestured to the cup she'd brought up and set on the counter.

Amy glanced in long enough to see what she had done, and hid her surprised to see Lisa's image looking back at her. She shrugged, “I don't know. I didn't really think about it much today.”

The girl nodded slowly and looked over her shoulder to be sure they were alone before she continued. “It's just... she looks like one of the girls at my school. She's been missing for a year or so now,” she began, but trailed off. She took a deep breath and added, “She was my friend.”

Lisa wandered over by the other girl and looked at her sadly. Amy made herself not look at Lisa and spoke again, “No, I'm sorry, I just dipped the spoon and it came out that way. It wasn't meant to look like any real person.”

“But you do this every week. You make all different designs, they told me. There has to be a reason we all had the same one today,” the girl's heart visibly fell, and Amy felt bad for her.

“I was just messing around, seeing if anyone would notice. It wasn't meant to be any real person. I'm sorry if it upset you.” The girl nodded and took her seat, but left the coffee on the counter. The rest of the time the group was there, she sat and watched Amy work, clearly trying to puzzle it out.

Amy took the cup carefully to not disturb the artwork, and stared into it for a while, feeling like she was being pulled into the coffee colored eyes on the face, losing herself to all else. Why was Lisa putting herself in the cup? She didn't say anything to her when the girl came up to ask about her. What did she want? How could she help her spirit find peace and finally move on if she wouldn't talk?

It was Lisa's playing in the foam that started their location's art themes. It just happened one day, the day after she'd come to Amy, months ago. Her boss thought it was clever and told her to keep it up. Lisa wandered into her line of sight, breaking her train of thought. The spirit girl gave her a significant look, then pointed out the door. They'd gone and she hadn't even heard the bell.

Amy ran out the door, and called out, “Wait!” just before they disappeared around the corner. The thin girl turned around, but the rest of the group continued on, oblivious. “I do know her. Just not like you think. People never believe me, so I don't like to say anything,” She said, shaking her head. “Come back inside. I think she's ready to talk.” The girl looked confused, but followed.

Amy made her a new cup of coffee without any design in it, and they sat in the corner booth again. The girl introduced herself as Jen, and Amy told her story. Amy explained that she had always been sensitive to spirits, but most of them would pass on their messages through her and vanish. Lisa had been different. She'd stuck around much longer than any other spirit Amy had dealt with before. She stuck around, probably waiting for a face she knew. Stuck around waiting to let her friend know she was gone.

Once the basics were out of the way and Jen didn't get up and leave, Lisa came over and told her story through Amy. She told how she was invited to a party on a boat, and went despite having previous plans with Jen. She drank too much and fell over the side of the boat, but nobody noticed. She spluttered, alone in the dark, as the boat left her there. Her last thoughts were of Jen, wishing she'd just stayed home and kept their plans.

The thin girl sat, face in her hands, and sobbed. Lisa had been her best friend all her life, they'd gone off to college together, and now she was left to face the world alone. Amy gathered her up, and hugged her fiercely, telling her she was never alone. Jen and Amy ended up talking all night, and quickly became friends. Lisa hung back and watched it all before she vanished into the ether, a smile on her face. Her job was done. 

Those who cannot edit .... sulk.

The kids are still home for their Christmas break at school.  Yeah, they actually call it that, at this school.  Color me shocked.  I don't mind either way, really.  They do a play with Santa too.  They also color pictures of menorahs and learn about Hanukkah, so it's not exclusive by any means.  But anyway, regardless of the reason, they are still home.  Still making noise.  Still being distracting.

I have this lovely first draft I'd really like to work on.  I can't concentrate long enough to think clearly with them home.  Sigh.  So I sit here with my cup of coffee, pretend the boy's room really is picked up enough for the visiting grandparents to stay in there tomorrow (it isn't, I guarantee it)...  and try and ignore the noises.

But I don't really even try to edit, because I'll just get more frustrated if I do.  Because I won't be able to.  This is the time of day I usually get work done.  The hubby who works late is still sleeping, and the kids are usually in school.  Sigh sigh sigh.

I really need to find a way to work while kids are home.  >.<

I'm dreaming of a white Thursday...

The snow has been falling all week this week, here in the lovely mountains of Colorado!  It snowed all night from Monday into Tuesday, and all night last night.  It's still coming down.

Now, those of you who are not familiar with the mountains in a desert area are probably thinking, "Duh, crazy lady, of course the snow is falling.  You're in the  MOUNTAINS."  Well, you'd think we get a lot of snow.  We really don't.  And not usually this time of year either.

It might come down slightly during the winter, but our snows are usually heaviest in the spring. We get spring snows rather than spring rains.  It makes it seem like the mountains have only three seasons:  A very long fall where everything is brown and it gets cold sometimes, a short winter with lots of snow, in the wrong time of year, and summer when it's just too hot during the day but the nights make up for it.

We've gathered up probably 10 inches of snow this week alone, and it hasn't melted.  THAT is the weird thing here.  See, where I'm from, in Nebraska, the snow falls like this and sticks around because it stays cold.  Here, we usually have it melting off in the bright sun the day after it falls.  It makes it hard for the kids to find time to sled, and means we don't really have snowplows roaming the side streets.  Usually the plows just spread sand or salt or a mixture of the two to melt what's on the roads.  There's not usually enough to push off the sides.

We get these lovely snow-steam effects in the streets and you can SEE the snow evaporating away.  It's really rather interesting!  I'd never seen anything like it before I moved here.  It's all because we're living at about 6000 feet above sea level, and the sun is closer, and the rays feel hotter here, humidity being equal...  It melts things off faster and keeps overall temps higher.

Snow evaporating video:
 


So days like this are strange.  Back to back snows, for one thing.  But the previous snow had not melted at all is another.  It's not going to accumulate much more before the afternoon, I can tell that from the way the storm has changed from real snow to flurries...

But for now, I enjoy the view with my coffee, the kids are having fun running from outside to inside.  They're taking turns shoveling, sledding down the hill in our backyard, and drinking hot cocoa to warm back up again.  I have to work later, but today is a good day.  I wonder if it will be busy at work because it's just before Christmas, or if it will be quiet because of the snow.  It could be we were slammed at work yesterday because people knew the snow was coming and freaked out quite a bit.  Could be.

Anyway.  I need to go write my snowy cabin story now.  I got an idea for it yesterday finally.  It's hard to make things not what they'd seem sometimes!  Off I go then!  And if you're in a snowy spot today like I am, take a moment to enjoy the view, even if you know it will mean shoveling and scraping off cars later.

And remember!  It's only 3 days until Christmas!  Hang out and stare at your tree, or enjoy the lights outside at the neighbors' if you don't celebrate yourself.  It's pretty out there.

Just a Sunday...

I hang out here listening to Christmas music and my kids downstairs, who should be cleaning rooms but probably are not, drinking my coffee and gearing up to play around in Scrivener a bit.

It's hard to believe Christmas is only a week away!  How did that happen!?  I really hope my packages I sent off to family get where they're going in time.  I should make phone calls and let people know things are on their way, even if they don't arrive in time.  :)

I made fudge and monster cookies to share, and sent cousin gifts off.  I was a little slow making the cookies, because I got sick, and a little slow getting them in the mail as a result...  but they're on their way.  So if you're one of my brothers or their wives, boxes are on their way!

I don't usually send cookies to all three of them... but my mother's got it in her head that Fair Trade chocolate is the only way to go.  And that's fine and good and all most of the time...  but it kinda ruins the cookies that are supposed to have M&Ms in them.  I know she made Monster Cookies too, but trust me. They're not the same without the candy coated goodness.

Anyway, I'll share the recipe with you all, because I love these cookies.  We make them every Christmas.  They're amazing and perfect cookies.  Assuming you don't have a peanut allergy.  The original recipe called for things by the POUND, and I fixed it up so this is a much more normal sized cookie recipe.  Should make 2-4 dozen.  Depends how small you make them.

Monster Cookies

Cream:

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 & 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

Add & mix in:

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 large eggs

Add and mix in gently:

3.5 cups rolled oats (longer cooking oats, not quick oats)
1 cup all purpose flour

Fold in:

4-8 oz M&Ms (christmas colors are my favorite!)
4-8 oz Semisweet Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350*F, ball up 2 tablespoons batter per cookie (eyeball is fine, but don't make them too big!).  Cook 8-12 minutes.  They will not look cooked but they will finish cooking outside the oven.  Let cool on the cookie sheet 5 minutes, then move to wax paper to cool fully.

Victory Fudge!!!

I won, I won, I won I won I won!!!  (Imagine a little stupid looking dance, from the girl who can't dance without choreography and lots of practice)


This is a little late, as I officially won super late on Thanksgiving.  Ok, fine, it was officially the day AFTER Thanksgiving, but ONLY if you are one of those crazy people that counts "days" by the time of day.  I hadn't gone to bed yet, so in my (clearly not normal) brain, it was still Thanksgiving.  Even though NaNo didn't let me verify until the next morning.


ANYWAY!  YAY MEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!    (pause for applause and overall cheering)


And thus, I make victory fudge. I thought I'd share the super easy recipe with you! :) Also, the story to go with the fudge recipe:


Years ago, when I was cashiering at Super Target in Nebraska, a little old lady came through my line with just a few things. "What are you making?" I asked as I checked her out.


"Oh, I'm making my famous double layer fudge," she replied with a smile. "I make this to add to Christmas gifts every year."


"That sounds nice! I can never get fudge to turn out for me, what's your secret?"


"This isn't a true fudge," she admitted, lowering her voice. "It's really easy, would you like the recipe?"


"Oh! Yes, if you don't mind!" I smiled widely at her, and she told me how she makes it.


This is the fudge I make now, every year, and every year I think of the sweet old lady, whose name I never knew, who gave the recipe to me. ♥


And now, the recipe:  (If you need to convert for your area, this site is helpful:  http://www.onlineconversions.com/ )


Double Layer Fudge


12oz semi-sweet chocolate chips (one regular sized bag)
12oz milk chocolate chips (one regular sized bag)
14oz can sweetened condensed milk
4sTablespoons heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract


(optional add ins: 1t of ONE hazelnut extract, almond extract, orange extract, or my favorite: peppermint extract, OR 1/2c finely chopped nuts)


Put semisweet chips in microwave-safe bowl, or double boiler. Add 1/2 can milk, 2T whipping cream, and 1t vanilla. If adding extras, put 1/2 extract or 1/4c almonds in. Melt in double boiler, or microwave 30s to 1min.


DO NOT melt until totally melted to the eye. You want this to melt as you stir it so you don't burn the chocolate. It will not look done. Trust me, stir. If it still has clumps of chocolate chips, heat again but VERY little.


Pour semi-sweet mixture into greased 13x9" pan.


Mix milk chocolate, remaining extracts, remaining milk, and remaining whipping cream (remaining nuts if using). Melt in the same way you melted the semi-sweet batch. Pour over the top of the semisweet mixture and carefully spread around.


Chill for a couple minutes, then cut into desired sizes squares, and allow to cool fully before eating.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


I move mine to the freezer after cutting, and when good and cold, I put individual (1") squares into those little white cupcake-looking wrappers. I stack them in gift tins and ship them or store in freezer until I can give them away, if they're in-person gifts.


Just don't store peppermint with plain, or the plain will taste minty too! This is a little tip I learned after making that mistake once!


This stuff is so easy to make, I made a triple batch while waiting for my coffee to brew this morning. Really. Even if you don't cook, you can make this. Just need a good spoon or scraper, a bowl to pop in a microwave, and some sort of pan to let it cool in. Go on, defy me! Make it round! Square! Heart Shaped! I don't care. But make it. *nod*


Enjoy!!! And if you have not yet EARNED victory fudge, this is still yummy. Though, admittedly less victorious tasting. :P

NaNoWriMo Peeps! Five day warning!!

Five days left, are you going to make it?  Or at least meet your personal goals, if they are lower than the official?  Or meet your goals if they were higher?

I cranked out an impressive amount of words yesterday and passed 51k, but I'm aiming for 60.  So my bar is purple, but I press on!  I'll be alright with my story if I hit the ending before 60k, but that's where I assume it will stop, now that I'm in the midst of it.  I was hoping for 75k initially, but that is something of a long book for the young adult audience, who I'm aiming to write for.



Anyway, I worked out some issues, and wrote a lot last night before bed, and managed to get the validator on the NaNo site to say YES, I did pass 50k.  This is the first year I've done this early.  I barely made it in 2009, and was horrified when the word counter showed I was low.  I had to speed sprint at the end to get there.  And I totally flaked out in 2010.  So I'm rather pleased.  Now I just need to finish it and get a little editing work done.

I left it thus:  The main confrontation just went down and MC is standing there, victorious...  but she has to pick up the pieces and try and stitch her life back together.  I could say more, but I don't want to ruin any surprises for those that might read it later.

So I make coffee, and keep going!  :)

Come on guys, you can do it!  Word sprints until work today!  :)

Laughing at myself!

I fell asleep before midnight!  I was waiting up, and vaguely realized it was after midnight, but was too fuzzy brained to know what to do about it.

Oh well, I have alarms set that start at 6am, even though I don't usually need to be up until 7 or 7:30..  and my little happy smart alarm on my phone worked for the second day in a row.  Usually, I'm a "turn it off!" back to sleep person, and it takes several alarms to get anywhere on actually waking up.  This smart alarm thing is pretty cool!

It plays a soft happy sound of your choice and turns on a little light (about as bright as a night light, and strong enough to hit my ceiling from the night stand) for as long as you decide.  I set mine for half an hour, not expecting the quiet sound to wake me up at all.  But it worked yesterday, and it worked today!  So, I guess I'll have to decide if I really want to be up at 6am every day or not.

Anyway, the coffee just beeped to say it's brewed, and real clothes are calling me.  It's kinda chilly in here.  Clothes good.  (most of the time, anyway!)  And coffee good!  (All the time, duh!)  Probably should find my glasses and turn a light on in here.

It's NaNo time!!

Oh goodness, I've been busy!

Coffee time is thinking time...  My work schedule for the "real job" has changed quite a bit lately, so I've been home only while my kids are here.  Which makes it so much more difficult for the writing.  I write best in the morning, not at night.  I'm up at night and can continue writing then if I'm on a roll, don't get me wrong, but the best thinking time is when I can pause when stuck and gaze out at a blustery day, watch the drizzle smattering upon the pavement...  watch the squirrel from my front tree digging and burying lord knows what out in my front yard.


At night, there's nothing to look at but the dark.  There are just enough lights on in the neighborhood to prevent stargazing (lame!!) or that could be pretty cool.


I dunno, there's just something about morning writing with a cup of coffee and a bowl of steel cut oats with fruit & nut trail mix (cinnamon and brown sugar too, of course) that makes for happy writing time.


And during that time of day, I've been at work.  Yay for a job that pays me more than $45 a month like Amazon, don't get me wrong...  but it's not what I want to be doing with my time.  If you know what I mean.  And if you're browsing my boring little blog here, you probably do.


Anyway!  So NaNoWriMo is creeping up and I'm shelving my current big project for it.  Last year, I tried to work on that book again, and I got absolutely nowhere.  Not that I didn't know where it was going, but it was an old project.  And old projects don't have the excitement and enthusiasm that a new ones do.  (tense slip!  Saw and fixed before I published...  win!)


SO, this time I'm going to start something I've had in the back of my mind for a while.  Never started, never wrote character sketches for it, no synopsis or outline.  I need to get on that before November hits, so I have direction.  All I'm going to say is it's my story about a little girl whose only friend lives in the mirror...  Something I came up with as a mini ode to my childhood, where I was the only girl in the neighborhood within walking distance.  I used to pretend...


But that's all for now.  If you're doing NaNoWriMo this year, DO NOT FORGET TO PLAN!!!  It will make the difference between rambling for pages and pages (Like I did my first time around!  Editing hell, let me tell you!) and having somewhere to step forward to when you find yourself stuck.


Also, remember:  writer's block is a LIE!!!  It does not exist.  No more than painter's block, retail cashier block, homework block, or phone customer service representative block exists.  Every job has its hard parts.  Don't think you're special just because you're a writer.  Look at your notes.  Step forward.  Fill in the blanks later if you must.  Don't let the "don't wanna write"s beat you!  YOU are better than that.


Don't let it win.  *nod.*

Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger

These are the things I put in my coffee filter this morning.  I was dreaming, the other day, of pumpkin spice creamer and decided, screw that, I'll make pumpkin spice COFFEE.

I have one of those awesome grind & brew coffee makers that take a couple minutes to clean properly before you make a fresh pot (FRESH POTS!) ...  but they make some of the best coffee.  I love that I can set it up the night before and still have just-ground beans in my coffee in the morning when the alarm time hits.

Freshly ground is the only way to go.  If you pre-grind your beans, shame on you!

Also, if you have a burner constantly going under your coffee carafe, shame on you!  Burn your poor innocent coffee?!  I...  I don't know if I can talk to you anymore.  It's much more humane to warm the (thermal) carafe and have the burner turn off, like my lovely machine, or if you have a glass carafe, move into a pre-warmed thermal one.

Your coffee deserves better than to be burned.  No, YOU deserve better than burnt coffee.

Nothing is worse.  Now, go make a pot.  And do it right.  Make me proud.  <3

Today can kiss my shiny white ass.

This morning was a bit of a clusterfuck.  Woke up at 8:35.  Kids should be out the door for school at 8:30.  FAIL!  But, I suppose, the first bell doesn't ring until 8:40, and second is 8:45, so I had time.  10 minutes to get them out the door and down to their classrooms before second bell, when they'd be officially late.

I ran about, screaming like a banshee, trying to get things ready.  Anna had made lunches already, Aaron was still getting dressed (not telling anybody he did not HAVE pants to change into because he's a very modest little boy and would not come out of his room wearing just underwear and a shirt)...  We managed to get out the door, homework folders WITH homework (win!), lunches prepared (win!), and down to the school with 2 minutes to spare before the second bell.

I think they made it.  99.9% sure.  If not, there will be a tardy for the day, but I hope not.  I really hate being late, and I hate my kids being late even more than that.  Phew!  OK, crisis averted.

So here I am, after all that fun, hanging out with my coffee, staring at the computer.  In a feat of miraculous something or other, my husband is actually out of bed before noon (he doesn't start work until 2:30), and is being distracting.

He will never read this, so it's all good!  LOL  He always gets up and puts on some distracting tv show or something on his computer, and I can't focus, and therefore cannot write.  I had big plans this morning, people.  BIG PLANS!  And he goes and wakes up early and ruins them.  Sigh.

Yeah, yeah, I could put headphones on and try and make my music louder than his speakers, but who wants that, really?  I have spent half my writing existence like that, and I'm a grown woman, this is my house, and if I don't want to have to put headphones on to be able to write, I shouldn't have to.  /nod vehemently.

So yeah, foiled again.  Clusterfuck morning.  Maybe I'll be able to get something done later.  Heh.  Yeah right.  Kids get out of school early today, right around the time the hubband leaves for work.  (yes, I said hubband.  Husband, hubby, hubband!)

And thus, my day is filled with coffee, and hopes and dreams that will be thoroughly crushed.

So...  what (always) foils your best intentions?

If I started hosting flash fiction challenges...

would you be game?  I have people viewing but not many commenting, and that's fine!  I view a lot more than I comment too...  but if I put up some challenges for people to try their hand at, to challenge themselves, would that be something you'd be interested in doing?

I could give copies of my work as prizes, or offer to help edit something for you, or it could simply be a self-challenge thing like NaNoWriMo.

What do you think?  It is a lot more fun than I thought, and I'd be challenging myself as well.  I, of course, would not be up to win anything at all, duh...  but if I'm going to challenge YOU, I may as well step up to the plate myself, eh?  :)

So!  Yes, no, maybe so?  (starting to sound like a country song!)  And would you like editing help on some other work, a copy of something of mine, or would you not need anything for incentive?  :)  I'd be down with whatever!  Or if you have other thoughts for prizes, I'd be interested to hear!

This is a first cup of coffee thought, today.