It's NaNoWriMo eve and I'm busy preparing for the maelstrom to come, so here is a favorite post from last year that will hopefully prove useful to you as we stand on the brink of November...
October is the calm before the NaNoWriMo storm. Having lived in Houston all of my life, I'm no stranger to battening down the hatches. Like clock work, we get together bottled water, canned goods, and other non perishables as each new hurricane season approaches. We go through a laundry list to make sure that if all of a sudden a depression pops up in the gulf, so we won't be up the creek when the masses make a run for the grocery.
In this same fashion, I created a NaNoWriMo survival kit in preparation for a month of writing with literary abandon. Putting everything together before the tempest strikes will save me from wasting time on midnight runs for NaNo necessities. The kit includes (see pic above):
My writing totem - the goat the sings "High On a Hill Was a Lonely Goat Herd" from the sound of musicMy computer - obvious I know. However, I have heard tales of people doing NaNoWriMo by hand.Coffee - preferably with chicoryTea - of the English afternoon persuasionBetty Boop mug - Betty in the painting of the birth of Aphrodite...it's deliciously tacky with a hint of inappropriateness. Whiskey - sometimes coffee just isn't enoughChocolate bacon bar - yes, you read that correctly my friends: CHOCOLATE COVERED BACON!!!! It's a heath bar with bacon pieces substituted for toffee bits.Various frozen dinners, savory bake in oven snacks - one must eat during the month of November without much prep time.Snickers Ice Cream Bars - dessert to top it all off.And last but not least, my furry minions of doom:
the big one told me that on the days I didn't meet my word count goal, he would poop on the carpet. He's a 92 pound Lab/Elephant/German Shepherd mix, so I take that threat very seriously.
What would you add to the survival kit list?
When in need of faster caffeine delivery from sippy-opening (that's the technical term for where you drink from)...Poke a larger vent hole in the top of the lid. This results in a faster coffee discharge flow rate.
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Image: Caffeine Chemical Structure
There was a few tweets today alluding to caffeine usage during NaNoWriMo. This inspired me to write a post dedicated to beverages of the caffeinated persuasion. Not everyone out there likes coffee. Personally, I love the stuff, but I also like to mix it up every once in a while. So here are some of my favorite options for a pick-me-up when a cup of joe doesn't tickle my fancy:
- I like Red Bull straight up. However, sometimes the hit-of-baby-aspirin taste isn't particularly appealing. To cut that flavor, I mix 1/2 Red Bull and 1/2 apple juice. It's refreshing and takes care of thirst and that extra boots you might need.
- If you don't want caffeine per say, but you're draggin. Odwalla makes a juice drink called "Serious Energy" I've tried it before and it seems to help.
- In the case of a coffee craving, my favorite blend is the Cafe du Mond Coffee and Chicory (yellow/orange can). It's smooth. A lot smoother than most of the store bought brands out there *cough cough* Folgers *cough cough* Cafe du Mond also makes an absolutely fabulous french roast (blue can), but I've yet to find in here in the Houston area.
- On a cold night in the middle of November when it seems like there is no end in sight you can warm up the word count generator (that would be you) and refuel on what I like to call a make shift mocha a cup of hot chocolate with a shot, or 5, of espresso.
Hopefully this will help you keep pumpin' out the prose! Feel free to share your favorite ways to caffeinate in the comments section. I look forward to hearing them!
I'm turning Monday's into "Light and Fluffy Post Day." Because Mondays are bad enough already, I couldn't live with myself if I made you think any harder than you had to. So, with out further ado, here's your Light and Fluffy Post!
I made an amazing historical discovery whilst visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC a little over a month ago. In the Hall of Medieval European Art I found iron clad proof that Starbucks was in existence back then:
Siren. Unknown Artist, c. 1300s
As a self proclaimed coffee aficionado, I felt this was the holy grail of coffee discovery and must be shared with the world...or at least my blog followers who are most fabulous!
Be sure to tune in tomorrow! I'll be putting up the first post in a new series on "Editing Lessons Learned" as work my way through my '09 NaNoWriMo manuscript.
