Saturday, December 17, 2005

Coffee

I managed to avoid it for 35 years, but no longer. I'm one of those people now. I'm a coffee drinker.

I never used to like the way it tasted. I always loved the smell of coffee. But the taste? Yuck! Also I'm a morning person. I wake up easily. I never needed it to get going in the am. So why bother?

But in my late 20s I started getting migraine headaches and I learned caffeine could help. So if I woke up with a migraine, I'd take some advil and choke down some coffee and a lot of the time that would do the trick. I drank coffee, but it was only for medicinal purposes. I still thought it tasted disgusting and I wasn't a habitual user.

Then I started exercising regularly, and found out that some athletes drink coffee before they workout to give themselves a boost of energy. So I thought, why not? If it helps me get fitter, I should give it a try. And I started drinking a cup of coffee in the morning on my cardio days. It did perk me up, and although I'm not convinced it helped all that much with my athletic performance, I kept at it. And you know what? It didn't taste so bad anymore.

But now I really have crossed the line. I'm drinking it every morning. And liking it! Why? What's turned me into an official coffee drinker?

Well, it's simple. Since Tuesday, I've been getting up every morning at 4:30 am to write. I eat some breakfast, drink some coffee, and work on my novel until 6 when Kyle wakes up.

I’m focused, I’m alert, I’m productive, I’m a believer! Now I understand why so many people are dependent on the stuff. It’s making a huge difference in what I can do. Praise coffee!

I'm in the middle of a tough section too. The narrator is describing a conversation between two people she can hear, but can't see. So it's tricky to give the scene depth. I'm limited to relaying the characters' emotions through their tones of voice, since I can’t describe their facial expressions or body language. And I also can't use the typical stage direction type of descriptions (He crossed his legs. She started thumbing through the book., etc.), unless the characters are doing something the narrator can hear and identify. It's taking a lot of concentration. But thanks to coffee, I can do it! Even at the ungodly hour of 4:30 am.

It's a miracle! I'm definitely going to include my new caffeine-laden friend in the acknowledgement section of my book.

It's making all the difference. ;o)

7 comments:

K. Marie said...

Hi, Renee! I JUST now came across your blog, from Steve's (Lovey's) site.

You are my hero! I am in a place where you might have been a while back -- aching to be creative but not doing, just pining.

Thanks for giving me hope! I'm adding you to my reading list.

Karenna

Renée (R.E.) Chambliss said...

Thanks so much, Karenna! I wanted to write for SO long, but just couldn't get myself to do it regularly. I wish I knew exactly what it was that clicked on in my head so I can stick with it now. Having a creative outlet has been wonderful! What do you want to create?

K. Marie said...

Everything. *sheepish grin*

Let's see ... I've painted, done figure drawing, written poetry (yuck), dabbled a teensy bit in crocheting, thought about card-making, avoided scrap-booking and finally settled on the blog.

For now, it's my only creative outlet. I just enrolled in a local community college to pursue a career as an RN. I have a BofA in English Lit, but have always been interested in the medical field.

Writing has been my strong point -- I get complimented on it, which fuels my desire to work toward it. Simple beings, aren't we?

Oh, and I like to rearrange my house plants. ;-)

Are you writing a fictional novel? Your technical knowledge of the process is far beyond anything I've been experienced to. I put words on paper (or, well, the screen). :-)

K. Marie said...

"experienced to"

heehehhehhe

Renée (R.E.) Chambliss said...

So cool about the RN program! Good luck to you! I am writing a novel, and I'm learning the process as I go. There is a lot more to it than I realized before I got started. It's difficult, but extremely rewarding. :o)

PartTimeMom said...

ahhh our caffeine-laden friends. I don't drink coffee. Like you I've always loved the smell, hated the taste. But I got hooked on diet soda YEARS ago. Now I can't think of being without it.

Anonymous said...

Hi Renee,
Thanks for sharing this website with us. You're an extremely impressive daughter-in-law. Keep up the great work! Love, Claire and Dave