How I Write
To retain a smidgen of self-esteem, I have for a long time refrained from writing about writing. That self-discipline, along with my remaining self-respect, ends today.
I am going to write about writing.
I write. I am a writer. Here’s how I do it.
I get up early. Early morning is perfect for writing because nobody else is up to talk to me and there are no sports on TV yet.
I make coffee. I cannot write without coffee. Actually, I can’t do anything without coffee, so in that respect, writing is like every other activity I engage in. But I always make coffee before I write.
I put my cup of coffee next to the keyboard of my computer.
Once in front of my computer, I check my email, my Twitter accounts, Facebook, Instagram, Medium, two different cooking websites, and TikTok. Assuming there are no emergencies in my social media accounts, I check the news. For me, that means the online versions of the New York Times, Politico, and my local newspapers.
Then I switch to Duolingo for my morning Spanish lesson. I am on unit fifty-one. I have been using Duolingo for two years and still can’t speak more than a couple words of Spanish, but I have a two-hundred day uninterrupted streak of meeting my daily goal and I don’t want to mess it up.