Do you have a place outside your home where you like to write?

Sometimes there is nothing that gets the creative juices flowing like removing yourself from routine.

As you all know, I recently lost my FLASH drive with my current WIP on it. Well, I managed to piece it together most of it thanks to hard copies from critique sessions and writing prompts, but I was still in a mental block.

As I left work last night, I decided that a change of pace was in order. Good food, a little music, and great service was what I required. I could not have been more right.

I stopped at Margaritas Mexican restaurant on the way home. I was even greeted by my favorite waitress, Melissa. We chit-chatted for a few because it had been awhile since I had been there so we had to catch up. I even had to run out to my car in freezing cold and windy air to get a copy of CONNECT THE DOTS for her. *The cool part is that Melissa even knew this story was about Jake without me even telling her.*

One of the nicest things about going to a restaurant where you know the staff is that they know you. Melissa knows that I go there to write so after we chat and she brings me a Corona Light without me asking she leaves me to nibble on some chips and salsa and get into the groove of writing.

Which unbelievably did not take much effort last night. Maybe it was because the story was so fresh in my mind, maybe it was the atmosphere, maybe it was the beer. Whatever it was I was on a roll.

Once I finished the first beer, Melissa dropped off another and asked if she should put in my food order. At first I didn't understand what she had asked because I was so caught up in my writing. Thank goodness! My glazed expression must have given Melissa a clue because she smiled and said she would get me some food.

Now, the good and bad of Margarita's is that they are too efficient. The food comes too fast. This is why I always want one beer before I actually place an order. :-) See, there is reasoning behind my madness.

By the time the food comes I'm so into my writing that it's a tough decision between eating and typing. Somehow I manage to take bites in between sentences but I only ever get halfway thru my beef and cheese burrito. Last night, however, I actually had a third cerveza because I did not want to stop writing and lose the momentum. I am so very grateful that I didn't.

I finished chapter 4, which I had not done in the old version that went missing. And now I am ready to write what I hope is going to be a fun scene and the scene that started this story off so many months ago. This scene is where the nickname "Pink Undie Story" comes from. Chapter 5 is now my goal for this Friday!

Wish me luck.