You know that little cottage in the woods where you’re supposed to find creativity?

It’s where I am this week.

Let’s see if I have all of my ducks in a row:

1. Quaint cottage in the woods,
2. Laptop,
3. Microphone (for dictation),
4. Background music (if I want to drown out those birds chirping and the leaves rustling),
5. Hot tea steaming (complete with wispy wavy tufts of steam),
6. A real-wood fireplace and plenty of chopped wood,
7. No dishes to do,
8. Nowhere to go,
9. Nothing to do,
10. But write.

So now I can finally say:

Everything is perfect to write that novel!

I know, you’re waiting for a catch.

There is a catch.

Because there’s (almost) always a catch.

All I really need above?

#3

Which one do you need? No, really, you only need a few of the above.

Here’s the nastiest secret of all: you don’t need them all.

Certainly not all at the same time.

But they’re sure nice.

My tea is getting cold.

The fire needs a little stoking.

My characters are begging to come onto the pages.

So I’ve gotta go.