Get going.

My coffee this morning is defective. I had to pull out the French press and make a new cuppa in order to get that happy I'm looking for. I don't drink it to wake up, or energize me, but I do drink it to help with some aspects of my ability to focus. It doesn't feel like it does that if it doesn't taste STRONG -- like really high quality dark chocolate. 80% or higher.

When I'm settled, I write...a lot. This is not bragging, even though it may sound like it -- it's honestly a revelation and something I think anyone could do with the right environment. An average day for me is somewhere between 7K and 10K words. Editing usually goes faster than that because it's pre-written and I'm just shoring up loose ends or missing articles.

I never thought writing at that rate was much until someone looked at me like I'd lost my mind. I'd also never considered whipping out a measuring stick and seeing whose writing was bigger, but I guess some writers do that. I write this way because I lose myself in what I'm doing. Good coffee helps me with that (and limited interruptions from family or outside sources). When I'm away from my day job, and I can focus just on writing, it isn't hard to get that word count. When I'm at my day job,  I do a lot of editing work (grading) there and I often run out of steam for the creative side of things. This is what I love. Writing like this makes me feel whole and complete like nothing else does.

I've felt similar euphoria and emotional upheaval in reading great novels, but not like this. Writing this way, at this level of crazy, really changes the way I see the world around me. I know it was what I was meant to do just like I know I was meant to go into the Navy or meant to have my daughter. This is where I exist; my absolute start and end. Hopefully, there will be more start on the horizon and less end.