I have been preparing for this weekend's ordeal.
Here is where I'll be spending the lion's share of my weekend. For a tiny basement office it is a surprisingly bright space.
Most of the actual writing takes place here:
As you can see by the tools laid out on the chair, I am planning to hand write the novel this weekend.
This is the folder I've used the last two times. Hopefully 3 times is the charm. Last time I ran through 3 rollerball pens and about 135 pieces of lined paper. I should be covered.
Just in case I'm not:
During the 3 days of the contest it is important to keep your energy levels up. Snacks while writing I find are better than meals.
I find a combination of sweet and savoury works best and yes, that bowl in front is filled with chocolate covered coffee beans.
Caffeine is key, but too much coffee leads to gut-rot. Hence my second favourite means of caffeine intake.
And, as a carnivore, one can never underestimate the importance of meat on demand.
Inspiration is even more important than nutrition and sleep, so I keep these close by in the office to remind me that a short novel can be written over the course of a long weekend.
Those are the original handwritten manuscripts of my previous 2 successes. That's The Platinum Ticket on the left (129 hand written pages) and Patriot on the right (119 pages, again, lovingly hand written).
But even with my office, my paper, my pens and various snacks, I realize that there may come a time when I need a little extra something to keep me going. I normally don't approve of such measures and react badly to the stuff (last time I had this it felt like my hair was on fire - and not just the hair on my head) so I consider this my "Break Glass in Case of Emergency" measure.
Until just before midnight I plan to get out and enjoy this amazing day. More later...
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