1. Oh hey, idea for a new book, you could have, like, knocked.
2. Yeah, I get it, you’re a pretty decent shell of an idea, but I can’t … no. Stop it. NO.
3. I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THISSSS
4. I also “don’t have time” to, like, sleep, but I do it anyway. So …
5. But no, creating new characters is like having a baby and I kind of already have one of those??
6. Obviously these are not the same thing, but, like, noveling is exhausting in a different way OK?
7. But it’s so much fun. And it feels so good to “have written.” Isn’t that why we’re all doing this?
8. So theoretically if I were to start writing this book, when would I work on it? At 4am? 11pm? Lunch?
9. I shouldn’t make plans. Plans are dangerous. I. Don’t. Have. Time. For. This.
10. But I can feel this story unfolding and expanding in my brain and my head might explode.
11. It gets louder every minute. “Write me! Write me! WRITE ME BEFORE I WRITE MYSELF GOSH DARN IT”
12. That wouldn’t be so bad. What if you could just plug your brain into a thing and a story came out all by itself?
13. But then everyone could, like, write a novel and that probably wouldn’t actually be a good thing. The work is what makes a story good. Effort.
14. Speaking of effort, I’d totally be willing to make this work. I could do it. Right?
15. NO. NO. I CAN’T. EXCEPT I MAYBE JUST WROTE TWO SENTENCES. WHAT IS HAPPENING.
Meg is the creator of Novelty Revisions, dedicated to helping writers put their ideas into words. She is a staff writer with The Cheat Sheet, a freelance editor and writer, and a 10-time NaNoWriMo winner. Follow Meg on Twitter for tweets about writing, food and nerdy things.
Meg Dowell Writes 
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