Mission. Fucking. Accomplished.
I set the goal to write the first draft of my first novel, 50,000 words, in the 30 days of April. Yesterday, I finished. I ended up at over 60,000 words. Over a week ahead of schedule.
Anti-Climactic?
I was doing cartwheels in my mind when I typed “The End.” But there’s also a part of me that knew this day would come, with absolute certainty. Because I told myself it would, and I believed it. So when the day arrived, it was more like I’d just done the work, as opposed to accomplishing something that I might have failed at.
Self-Talk Power
My self-talk powered every day of my writing!
I woke up excited every morning and ready to dive into my story, kicking ass, smoke coming out of my keyboard. And let me clear… it’s not like I have a background in writing fiction. Far from it. I used to think I didn’t have any stories in me. Heck, I always pushed Kamea’s bedtime stories onto Greg.
Coffee Power (in a special cup though…)
I will say that I also powered my writing project with coffee.
LOTS of coffee.
And my coffee was in my special good luck mug. My new talisman.
Truthfully, I like coffee so much that I can drink it pretty much in any style (even the instant sh*t), in any drinking vessel, in any temperature (including coffee that’s been sitting there for hours). Because, to me, any coffee is better than no coffee.
But also, I know how epic coffee can be when done right.
The right beans… the perfect grind… the accurate water temperature.
And? The right fucking cup.
A good cup can make the difference between good coffee and EPIC coffee.
With my new mission to write a book in a month, I really wanted to treat myself to something wonderful. I knew that having the perfect cup filled with coffee and tea all day would make me smile with each sip as the caffeine fueled my words and flow.
The Perfect Cup
After quite a search, I finally found the perfect cup. Like I said earlier, it’s my talisman. For writing.
You see, coffee drunk from fine bone china has the best flavor. The thickness of the rim (or more specifically, the perfect thinness), the fine china itself… these things allow for the best flavor on your taste buds and aroma in your nose.
But when I went on a hunt for a coffee cup made from fine bone china, I wasn’t sure I’d find anything. Most of them are teacups. Small handles and small capacity.
But one day during my search, the the dark clouds parted, angels sang down, and I found the most glorious cup.
Where? Amazon, of course.
Why was it perfect? For starters, it was fine bone china. From England. Second, it was BIG! Like 16 ounces big! Third, the handle was proportionately larger as well. I dislike those dinky handles that make it hard to hold the cup.
Last, and definitely not least, it was both beautiful and super cute. Sophisticated and playful. Instead of the typical flowers or hummingbirds, my future bad-ass talisman had books on it. Yes. Books. Perfect for inspiring my writing.
Not so fast though.
It all looked good on paper (well, on screen). But I wanted to dig deeper before dropping $40. Like, was this quality china? Is it legit and from England? I scoured the reviews and details. Everything checked out. My heart started going pitter-patter.
Could this be it? Would this be it?
$40-some bucks though. Hmmm.
One last check — I jump to the company’s website. At first glance, I’m feeling good. Looks profesh and all that. The cups are indeed fine bone china from England.
I type “books” in the search bar, looking for that specific cup.
There she was.
Looking purrrtty as ever. I’m pretty sure I even heard her whisper my name.
And then I saw the description, and it was all it took to make me pull the trigger no matter the price. It described it as a cup for “the aspiring author.”
Done.
I went back to Amazon, and bought that beauty.
Though, I did a little something extra special. I added a gift receipt.
To my self.
And here I am, sipping my coffee, doing my daily coffee self-talk with her, and writing novels.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. BOOYAH!