Did you miss me? Looking over the dates and times of posts for the past few weeks, I’ve been pretty frequent up until last weekend. I think NaNoWriMo does that to you. Writing is like exercising a muscle, and the more you do it, the stronger and more productive you naturally are. After NaNoWriMo ended, I just felt like I wanted a break from the keyboard for a few days.
But now I’m back. I’ve been dreaming in blog posts for the past few days, and I have lots of stories I’ve been eager to tell. But first I’ve got to tell you where I’m at, and bring you up to speed:
NaNoWriMo:
I finished and won NaNoWriMo right on the 30th of November. I ended at 52,600 words totaling 260 pages worth of manuscript, and the title of “The New Machine”.
A few people have read it so far, and the general response is that its not quite as good as my last one. People have griped about the ending, which leaves the reader hanging, sort of like a bad ‘artsy’ indie movie. But I argue that not all endings should leave you feeling resolved and happy.
For the backstory on me and NaNoWriMo, check out: Writing a 50,000 Word Novel in 30 Days.
Dvorak:
Up to about 75 words per minute when I’m really rolling along. NaNoWriMo helped distract me from how slow I was typing on the new Dvorak layout, and get my brain out of the way so I could get faster.
For a back-story about my experience with the Dvorak keyboard layout, I’ve already written: An Update on Learning Dvorak.
Money Fast:
Believe it or not we are on day 18 and haven’t spent a dime. Friends have been very kind in donating a Subway sandwich or two, and even art supplies when we’ve needed them, and yesterday we had what I call “Soupy Sunday”. Yes, we had it on a Friday, but ignore that.
The idea behind Soupy Sunday (an idea given to me by Justin S. Lewis) is that everyone comes over and brings one ingredient. All of the ingredients go into a huge pot, and we make tons of soup. Yesterday, a couple of friends came over and brought some chicken, bow-tie noodles, stir-fry veggies, etc. and we made some incredible, superior soup. It was amazing.
We have been finding ourselves talking about the things we’re going to buy the day the fast ends. Chanterelle’s top priority buy is milk, and mine is definitely bell peppers.
For an explanation of the rules of our money fast, check out: Living for a Month Without Spending a Dime.
I think that adequately brings us up to date with the stuff that’s been ongoing in my life. Coming soon are some introductory posts about my new workout plan, as well as some cool new happenings regarding my career and education.
Thanks for caring!
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