These things should not be mixed...

I'm doing NaNoWriMo this year, right?  As you can imagine (or as some of you may have experienced!), NaNoWriMo is sort of an exercise in madness.  I mean, you're writing a freakin' novel in 30 days.  While you're attempting to do this, you don't really want any major distractions, right?  You want to pretty much clear your schedule and maybe lock yourself in a room for 30 days, all in the interests of immersing yourself in your art, right?  So why, exactly, did I decide to have major renovations done to my house in the midst of all this?  I have no flippin' clue.

Well, actually, I do have a bit of an idea.  You see, I'm not really happy with where my desk is located.  Writing while having children around is difficult anyway, because you're constantly being interrupted for a variety of reasons.  Given this, it's kind of crazy to locate your desk in a central, open, high-traffic part of the house, right?  That's exactly where mine is right now.

Once the renovations are complete, I will have a new workspace that will be larger than my currently very dinky desk.  This means that I can feel free to scatter papers and notes about.  And maybe, just maybe, when I have some extra cash, I can get a second screen so that I can have notes up on one and my writing on the other.  This wouldn't be possible with my current setup, but will be once the new one is complete.

Basically, what it boils down to is this: I'm hoping this will be yet another impetus for me to buckle down and put some more sweat equity into my writing.  I mean, it's all easy when I'm in the zone and everything is flowing beautifully, but it's much harder when I'm just not feeling that sense of elated inspiration.  Once I get going, I often do end up getting into the euphoria zone, but it's the getting going that is an issue at times.  This is really what I love about NaNoWriMo: it forces me to sit down and write, every single day, and that is a good thing.

So, yeah, the renovation will be a challenge, but I kind of think that's a good thing.  There are always distractions in life, so I'll feel extra accomplished at the end of NaNoWriMo, given that I managed to conquer such a high level of distraction.  It also means that I won't be able to make excuses the rest of the year.  If I can manage to complete NaNoWriMo while ripping up carpet, painting and assembling desks my husband and I have designed, and dodging wet paint and newly laid flooring, there's no reason why I can't buckle down any other day of the year, right?