A Fluid Start

The alarm went off and at first I couldn't figure out what that noise was. Then I remembered. Then I remembered I had set it to get a head start on my novel, because the first thing I do in the morning is usually the only thing I can be sure will get done during the day.

But I am allowed coffee, so I padded into the kitchen in my sock-feet and got an extra surprise when my feet got wet. Water on the floor is never a good thing. Either the refrigerator or dishwasher has broken, or maybe just some plumbing somewhere. Water everywhere.

And I had the first line for my novel: They call me Noah.

Not the novel I want to write, though.

My first thought was, DANGER! DEFEAT! YOU'LL NEVER WRITE YOUR NOVEL! THERE'S WATER ON THE KITCHEN FLOOR. OH NOES! And as I was mopping it up I thought, "This book I'm going to write must be really good because look at the trouble the Forces of Evil have gone to to stop me."

Then I wiped up some more and thought, "Maybe God knows what a shambles I'm going to make of this so He flooded the place to keep me from wasting my time."

Then I thought, "Maybe you just have a leak under the sink. Wipe it up and get writing!"

Sometimes a leak is just a leak.

So, I was slightly delayed to my first writing appointment but the detour gave me more inspiration and I ended up writing more than I planned, more than I expected and enjoyed it more than I feared. I want to find out what happens next.

A great start, though I may throw away every word. And I left myself notes for tomorrow.

Comments

[I Gallop On]

Good for you! That's the type of thing that can totally throw you off of the writing schedule. I always face the blank computer screen with a mixture of trepidation and excitement. Sometimes more trepidation than not until I get going, so this would have served as a good excuse for me to not have to look at the blank computer screen or sheet of paper ... at least until I gathered up the courage and went back.

Pax. Kimberly

[Misti]

Hey, God controls everything, even the leaks. Maybe that "They call me Noah," isn't the story you want to write now, but later it may percolate into something better.

Or some such thing. Maybe the plumber needed work to pay the bills. God controls that, too.

No novel appears spontaneously on the page. It takes work, and practice, and frustration, and…

I could keep going, but that would be too depressing. My mother, for one, was told she made an excellent writer, but she loathed the process and the results.

That's what makes us writers. We love to hate the process.

Hm, that makes us sound masochistic.

Keep writing!

[Rebecca Laffar-Smith]

MISTI! You shattered me! "No novel appears spontaneously on the page." But... but... my page is all pretty looking and I've been such a good girl waiting. Please, can't you magic it up for me? ;-)

Great start, Anne! I think it's fantastic that you pushed on despite what I would consider a major upset. It certainly shows your commitment to this book. I'm excited too! I'm looking forward to hearing more about your progress.