C'est Fini

On Saturday I packed up my laptop and hauled it Borders on West End.

Now, the problem with the little café at this Borders is that Vanderbilt University is right behind it, so every college student who actually studies on a Saturday manages to be in there. And that means all the outlets are usually taken. I found one next to a fluffy chair, which wasn’t ideal as it meant typing with the laptop on my actual lap, which causes it to overheat and is not at all comfortable, but I made do.

I got distracted at first by a somewhat handsome guy who was dressed in loose khaki linen pants and a breezy island type of top with rubber flip-flops and carefully tousled hair. The outfit was so clearly designed to look not put together that it was obvious he had labored over the entire combination. I watched him successfully hit on the MBA student sitting next to me. They managed to chat for two hours.

Then I watched three girls from somewhere that was definitely not America greet a friend with curious left-right-left cheek kisses. I counted. Three kisses for each friend. No less, no more. I considered what type of reaction this would generate if I tried it with my own friends and decided they would mostly recoil is shock, surprise, and in one particular case, probably horror.

After considering the state of my nails, whether or not the couple sitting in front of me were really a couple or just study buddies, and whether I had just the right lighting for optimum typing, I dove in.

And folks, I did it. I finally finished a novel. Mind you, this is only the first draft. There are rewrites and revisions to come. But I did it. I didn’t think I had it in me. But lo and behold, it was there.

And I would be remiss if I did not give thanks to my Younger Bro who, three years ago, showed up on my doorstep at midnight with a small black cat and an endless supply of Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVDs. He introduced me to NaNoWriMo and has prodded, and poked, and encouraged, and wouldn’t let it rest.

If it weren’t for him, I would still be sitting here thinking that “some day” I might get serious about writing. Thanks to him I finally threw off the bowlines and headed for the open water.

And I'm so glad I did.