I’ll leave this short and sweet before I jump back into my story. I want to thank everyone who reads BrendanInk.com for this year’s National Novel Writing Month. Having subscribers to the blog makes it important to hit my weekly deadline. And hitting my weekly deadline has exercised my writing muscles.

I recently came back from a trip to Minnesota. We forewent renting a car to save some cash. My iPhone tells me I walked twenty-one miles over three days. Now, to most, that’s nothing. I average twenty-one steps over three days. It. Was. Ex. Hausting.

The writing equivalent of this has been when I've jumped into November’s 50,000 word challenge stone cold. It’s more of a struggle. But thanks to all of you subscribers, the muscles are toned. I’ve been parking my asshole editor in my head for the first week. Here’s hoping he stays quiet the rest of the month.

On the morning of November 1st, I had zero words towards my story (a crime novel). Today I have 7,559 towards it. Amazing. They’re not all the right words, and they’re probably in the wrong order, but who cares?

So far, the coolest moment of the 2,000 words a day, no-filter pace has been this….

I knew I had this coffee shop scene I needed to write. I knew who the characters were in that scene. What I didn’t know, and what leaked out of my subconscious at the blazing speed I had to type to meet my word quota was the location of the coffee shop. It’s now, through no conscious effort of my own, in an old abandoned Catholic Church. All the coffee patron sofas face the barista machine, which is where the old altar was. They never took the riser and steps out, so it’s like everyone is worshipping Our Lady Espresso.

Now I don’t know if this makes the final cut, and I don’t know if it’s right for the story. But it excited and invigorates the hell out of me. At the National Novel Writing Month, I’m telling myself the story. Can’t wait to see what else comes out.

What I lose in neatness and coherence, I gain in spontaneity and surprise. Cool.

I know there are plenty of life equivalents to this. When do we edit and over-think a situation only to trudge through it in the usual way?

I don’t have time to chat about it because I’ve got to get back to the keyboard. Hell, I don’t even have time to proofread this so please excuse the typos and chaos. 🙏🏼