Kicking off NaBloPoMo…I’m (attempting to) blog every day of November!

When I was in college, I was convinced that I did the best work under pressure. Of course, once I was teaching those same college classes, I tried to convince my students that no…you do much better work if you start early…revise…and not rush it all right before it is due. However, while I believe this to be truth, I still think I work better…faster…harder…if I have a deadline. An assignment with a due date. Something that can be bumped up the priority list on the day before it is due.

I haven’t been writing very consistently here, and it has been frustrating me. I have plenty to write about – even have some partial drafts out there – but there is always something more “urgent” that bumps it off the list. So when an email popped into my bulging inbox about the National Blog Posting Month or NaBlogPoMo challenge to write every day in November, I decided to jump aboard. There’s a new writing prompt every day…there are a couple thousand other blogs that are participating too…and well, it gives me an assignment with a due date.

So here goes…my first little “writing prompt”: When you are writing, do you prefer to use a pen or a computer?

This is an interesting question, actually, because I think I write better when I scribble it first on the back of whatever paper I have handy…church bulletins, P.O. Box cancellation forms, sticky notes, newspaper margins. Then once I sit down at the computer, I have something to start with, even if it is a couple of sentences.

Case in point…we had a house showing yesterday, so my mom, the kids and I headed up to Barnes & Noble. Fiona, of course, fell asleep in the car after missing her nap (not because of the showing, but because of a poorly timed, gigantic poopy diaper), so I stayed in the car with her for a half an hour while she sawed logs. I rarely get to sit and do nothing, so after trying (unsuccessfully) to look up Firestone’s phone number on my almost defunct iPhone 3G, I pulled out the aforementioned P.O. Box cancellation form and scribbled out an outline for my video post on MomColoredGlasses and my next gifts post, which was supposed to be posted last Monday. It was chicken scratches, but enough to get me going when I sit down and write/record.

What I would LIKE to do is have a way to have a notebook with me at all times so I can jot things down, but I can’t quite pull off carrying around paper, pen, and all the paraphernalia that goes along with having three kids. Until then, I’ll have to settle for Meijer receipts and junk mail envelopes, unless anyone has a better idea? Please share!

Come back every day this month to read my little NaBloPoMo posts…and leave a comment or two!