Musings & Thoughts for Sunday, November 1, 2020, or: N-Day (as in NaNoWriMo 2020, Day One) Hath Arrived

Hi there, Dear Reader. It’s Sunday, November 1, 2020, and it is mid-morning here in New Hometown, Florida. The temperature outside is 79˚F (26˚C) under partly sunny skies. With the wind blowing from the north-northeast at 3 MPH (5 KM/H) and humidity at 80%, the feels-like temperature is also 79˚F (26˚C). The forecast for the day calls for light rain throughout the day and a high of 87˚F (30˚C), as well as a lot of humidity.

Well, today is N-Day, or Day One of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) 2020, so soon I will be sitting at this same desk, staring at this same screen, and typing at this same keyboard, and trying to conjure up a novel out of thin air. Last night I tried to get as much sleep as possible, but I woke up at 4:45 AM Eastern, still unsure about this whole NaNoWriMo thing.

This morning I checked my email as part of my morning routine and opened a first day message from NaNoWriMo.org:

Happy National Novel Writing Month! Day 1 Is Here. 🥳

Across the world, writers have watched the clock tick over to midnight on November 1, and started to add words to blank pages. It’s an amazing act of creative solidarity and group imagination during a year that’s been particularly full of anxiety and loss. 

Maybe you’ve been champing at the bit to get going. Or maybe you find yourself at a loss about how to start. On Day 1, the most important thing is to simply begin: write one sentence, then maybe two. Then try four. We’re counting on you to add (whatever you are able!) to our collective word count…

Well, I happen to fall into the “finding myself at a loss about how to start” category and not in the “champing at the bit to get going” one. And almost 10 hours into Day 1, the only thing I have accomplished so far is to create a Microsoft Word document file using the Book Manuscript template – complete with a title page – and….

That’s it. Nothing more. Just….a title page.

I have already taken a shower and changed into street clothes. Had some breakfast, too, although there is no sugar in the sugar bowl, so I couldn’t have my usual two cups of coffee. And if you need to know something about me and my daily routine, I can’t get much done unless I have at least two cups of coffee with milk and sugar. I have heard that a can of Coca-Cola supposedly has more caffeine than a cup of coffee, and there’s plenty of that here; I just don’t think it is true. I do have a can of Coke at arm’s length on one of my Ikea Billy shelves, but I prefer coffee. That’s just the way I roll.

I’ve also gone for a walk. It was still a bit chilly when I ventured out, so I wore my Star Wars Film Concert Series windbreaker and matching baseball cap. It was a beautiful morning, too; the sun was shining and the sky was mostly cloud-free – there certainly wasn’t any sign that it is going to rain on and off throughout the day.

I will probably start writing in earnest after I eat Breakfast, Part II. I smell bacon cooking out in the kitchen, so I assume The Caregiver is preparing eggs, bacon, and possibly bagels for all of us. Breakfast, Part I wasn’t exactly a solid meal…just a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice.

And if there’s any justice in this world, maybe I’ll get a couple of decent cups of coffee.