TheBanyanTree: Weekend Words Warriors

[Rob McMonigal]

One of the things I know I and a fair amount of other people I know who lay
claim to the "writer" deignation are always complaining that I/they never
get around to writing.

Well, one day, Erica and I decided that, since we both write, it might be
cool to pick a time and a place where we could get away from most
distractions and just write, her on her laptop and me with her old word
processor (a nifty little device that I covet, but have not been able to
find for myself yet) that allows uploading to a computer.

For venue, we selected the Beehive on the South Side.  It has coffee,
wireless internet, allows smoking and houses four pinball tables.  What more
can be asked of a place? It was a nice time.  I worked on one story while
she toiled at another and even losing battery power on the processor didn't
stop me from feverishly tryting to hand-write my ending.

"We should do this again," we both agreed.  And so we have, missing only one
weekend since when I sacrificed a Sunday to the gods of fantasy football.  I
sit there and write whatever comes off the top of my head, while Erica does
her more precise style.  In between passages, I play a few games of pinball
or smoke a cigarette to help me think.

I've come up with some really good ideas and some clunkers, but the
consistent writing exercise of about 3 hours or so every week has been good
for me.  In general, I'm writing more now than at any point in my life since
college.  In the process of all this, I even have my first real novel idea
in almost two years, a little matter of life, death, and meteors tentatively
titled "Terminals", but beyond that, I'm not telling.

They're not complete stories by any means--in some cases, they're like an
oversized outline with dialogue--but they give me a lot to work with and
polish as I prepare to gear up and start sending stories out by the end of
the year.

I'm hoping we can keep this up--and I can keep up the idea generation--for
awhile, and I heartily recommend the "write at least once a week, somewhere
that is not your house" method for those trying to find a way to make time
to write.  It's done wonders for me and Erica--why not try it for you? :)

-Rob