Even though this is my fifth NaNoWriMo, Monday night I went to my first write-in.
I attended the write-in at Bearnos by the Bridge, a pizza joint in an old building that used to be a hotel. It sits next to a bridge that goes across the Ohio River. It also happens to be a thirty-second walk from building where I work, so at quarter till six, two of my coworkers and I meandered over.
On Monday night, Bearnos not that busy so the NaNos had their choice of locations to sit. We pushed two tables together, plugged in the surge protector to the wall and we were ready.
As is natural, everyone sat around talking at first–I mean it would have been weird for everyone to just sit down and start typing without introducing themselves to each other–but soon everyone quieted down and the clicking of keyboards on laptops could be heard. Occasionally, someone would make a wisecrack, a conversation would ensue and then die out.
One of my coworkers who walked over with me is in the same age bracket as I am, so we were cracking up at the songs Bearnos was piping over the sound system. It must have been a satellite station playing songs from our childhood in the 70s’s. Charlie Rich, Donna Summer–the whole spectrum.
I think what I learned from this write-in is that writing is not necessarily a solitary act. I’ll give the experience an A+.
Andrew M. Friday 