https://www.flickr.com/photos/mrdestructicity/
The Daily Post sponsors the #weekendcoffeeshare. If this is something you’d like to do, whether it be weekly like it’s supposed to be or the way I do it, once a month. You can get the lowdown about it at the link above.
[Your dialogue is in purple.]
[My dialogue is in teal.]
§
If we were to have coffee…
We are back at The Sisters’ Diner. Although Starbuck’s was great fun, the price of a cup of coffee there is a little steep. The diner does have flavored creamers, plus they have tea too. Yes, I have switched over to tea.
After the waitress takes our orders, you ask, “Why did you order tea? I thought you were a die-hard fan of coffee.”
“As you know, I have been fighting digestive issues for some time now. I read an article about the benefits of tea, and especially of green tea, although regular tea is supposed to help too. That is what got me going on the tea kick. As it turns out, I like the effect of the caffeine in tea better than the caffeine in coffee. I still have a little trouble with my digestion but it is nothing like it was before”
You give me a look of disbelief.
Once our orders are in front of us, you doctor your coffee with the French vanilla creamer while I butter a small sourdough roll.
“Was it one of those articles on the internet?” you ask.
I shrug my shoulders. “Yes, but it was at the site WebMD so I figured I could trust what I was reading. Sure, the caffeine is stronger but it also does not make me irritable like coffee sometimes does.” You cock your head slightly sideways as you eat a buttered croissant. “Besides, tea has become one of my new momentum tactics.”
“Tactics for what?”
“I decided I need to make more of an effort to do more of the preliminary work for writing a novel. In other words, I am making a full-blown attempt at being a plotter.” You roll your eyes at me. “Yes, I know, again. Nonetheless, I am determined to write a novel all the way through to that final draft–that is, before sending it off to an editor.”
“So you think you are going to make it all the way through this time, uh?” I grin at you. “And what makes this time different?”
I really cannot blame you for your skepticism. I have one finished first draft and three unfinished ones in addition to the one I am tackling. “For one thing, one of my tactics is to do a better job on the profiles of the main characters. I am using two questionnaires per character, plus I am writing out each profile in prose. I will be doing a questionnaire and a prose for each scene too. The whole idea is to know the story pretty much completely before I even write it.” I take a couple of gulps of my tea. “On top of this, I have strapped a pillow to the back of my swivel chair so I sit more upright when I type. This way I should be able to be at the keyboard a little longer per session.”
“Maybe it will work. Especially the idea about the pillow. You do sound eager anyway.” You sit across from me with your cup close to your lips as if you are going to take a sip at any moment.
“I have already done a lot of research too. Oh, and I am going into a genre that is, in point, foreign to me–historical/paranormal.” I look at you straight on waiting to get your react.
You look out into the middle of the room with your eyes not seeming to be fixed on anything in particular. Finally, you take that sip of coffee and face me. “And what is the point of changing genre?”
“I think I am bored with what I have been writing so I changed it up.” I am happy with this choice I have made. I want you to be pleased with it too but only if you truly believe it is right for me.
You give me a noncommittal smile.
The rest of our chat revolved around hushed judgments about the other customers in the diner. We make remarks about how a man is dressed, how a woman drinks her cup of whatever it is, and how a child is being so unruly. We do not know any of them and, of course, we would not say these things to these people. They are just little bits of perception that we share.
§
Quick note: I have a Facebook Page now. If you are so inclined, stop by and click on ‘like’.
“Life always begins with one step outside of your comfort zone.” ― Shannon L. Alder
A Scripted Maze 
Big changes for you, Glynis. I hope the new writing strategy proves more effective. Maybe boredom really was the culprit before. Best wishes on your new approach.
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So far, Shari, the boredom issue does seem to be the offender because I sit down at the computer with hope abounding these days. The tea may be helping too. 🙂
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Tea – yes, definitely. Also, cupcakes! Not so healthy but so delicious!
Actually, I’m glad you’re feeling inspired, Glynis, no matter what nudges you.
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It is an interesting genre for you, Glynis. HIstorical-paranormal. It sounds fascinating and I hope that has given you a lot more inspiration and drive to write. Or, it could also be the pillow as well as you said. How we feel physically has an impact on our mental and emotional state of mind. For me, my chair has to be adjusted just right at my table so I am not straining to look at my laptop when I am doing my writing.
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I did not realize how much strain was on my back until I strapped the pillow to the back of my beloved swivel chair. I have had this chair for almost two decades, thinking it was a dream come true. Maybe it was in the beginning but my body has shrunk a little, making the seat too deep. I need to try this with my laptop to see if it will help with that too.
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We writers can call those observations ‘research’. How does the human animal act in a coffee shop?
Curious about the pillow. Sometimes, I sit on one.
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Any observations I do as a form of research I do strictly on my own. Until the weather gets warmer, this type of activity is done from a window looking out onto my street.
When I got this marvelous swivel chair, I was still 5’4″. It still did not really fit me perfectly but my lower back was supported. That was almost twenty years ago. I have shrunk just shy of a whole inch since then and I was not getting any support for my back. Strapping the pillow to the back part of the seat gives me the lower back support again.
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Change can be good. Sometimes it the little one that makes the most difference.
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Nothing in my motivation tactics is really all that grand. I love coffee but tea liked me better. Supporting my back just makes it easier to stay at the keyboard a little longer. The change in genre is just because the research material is easier to find. Besides, some of it I already know from history courses I took in school. Yes, Andrew, the small ones do a lot.
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Good luck on the new road.
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Thank you, Dan. 😀
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Reblogged this on HarsH ReaLiTy and commented:
This looks like a great prompt to get involved in!
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