When I was a kid, the worst thing that could possibly happen to you, was biting into a nice piece of chocolate only to discover it was coffee flavored. Mind you, this may be a German thing since I don't recall this happening to me past the age of ten or so. I've switched countries, but I certainly haven't cut back on my chocolate intake, so I'll assume the experience is exclusive to the latter. Point being, I thought coffee was about the most vile thing I'd ever tasted.
But, as is often the case with youthful ignorance, I grew out of it.
These days, a good cup of coffee is a one way ticket to my happy place. If I could, I would guzzle it by the gallons (some days...I probably do) but even though the thought of coffee always sounds inviting to me, I've learned to practice a little self-control. However, having said that, coffee is an absurd sort of constant in my life.
We joke, we writers, about our love for coffee, but for some it's really not all that funny.
As much as we would all love to roll out of bed around noon, roam around the house in our robe and pajamas for an hour before settling down at the computer to put in a solid eight hours of quality writing, for most of us, that couldn't be farther from reality.
We have day jobs. Children. Spouses. Friends and Family...all of which expect us to be present in the 'REAL' world for most of the day, the hours regular people deem important. It's only after the work is done, the children have been put to bed, the Spouses have been sufficiently sedated with prime-time TV, and the friends and family have gone home to do the same, that we can sit down to write. Some nights (okay...pretty much EVERY night), this is well past a time of day that people would consider to be their most productive.
But...We roll with it. And often, we're night owls anyway...actually, if people wouldn't insist on our participating in all of that OTHER stuff, these WOULD be our most productive hours of the day.
But...alas...we've been up already for fourteen plus hours tending to a gazillion other things and needs and our brains are fried. But we need to write. Not because we have deadlines, but because we NEED to write. It's in us. It MUST come out.
Enter Coffee - a little something I like to call my magic writing potion. Doesn't matter how loopy I'm feeling at ten o'clock at night. I know once I suck down that over-sized mug of super elixir I'll be set to go come midnight. And while I may not get in a solid eight hours of writing, I can count on at least two. Maybe four or five if I'm feeling really ballsy (cuz you know this chick has to get up with the dogs and kid come seven a.m.)
And while all of this may seem like a ridiculous topic to some, the underlying message isn't all that stupid. Because it's not really about the coffee. It's about the dream. And what you're willing to do to make it happen.
I'm willing to drink coffee. A LOT of coffee.
How about you?
Have you had your cup today?
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