To whoever is reading this, thanks for finding the latest iteration of my online presence. I hope this one sticks for a while, but that darn internet seems to always want to change things up every few years. At the very least, I hope I can get back to blogging regularly, something I used to do back in the aught-four to aught-six timeframe. Oh, and if you’re wondering why it doesn’t look more snappy around here, don’t worry–that will all change soon.
And now, a declaration. Over the month of November, I will for the second time be participating in NanoWrimo. I last did this back in 2006, when things were simpler and I was more of a stickler for rules. In particular, I held fast to Nano’s rule that one’s novel had to be started from scratch on November 1. I’m not doing that this time around. Instead I’ll be adding (I had to stop myself from writing “attempting to add”; do or do not, there is no try) 50,000 words to a project I’ve been working on for a few months. Nano’s rule is basically a seat belt law anyway, as it’s only in place because (from the FAQ), “bringing a half-finished manuscript into NaNoWriMo all but guarantees a miserable month.” Eh, I really want to generate a bunch more material for this long thing I’m doing, and I can handle a little misery.
So, 50,000 words it is. I’ll be updating my progress and telling tales from the coffee shop in this space. You might wonder why I’d choose to start blogging (that is, writing more) at the exact time when I’ve also taken on NanoWrimo. You might wonder a lot of things, really.
I’ll be banging out my draft mostly on this ancient (aka, almost four-year-old) keyboard:
It belongs to a computer I acquired using Full Tilt points back in 2010. (There’s a little nod to the poker players in my readership. While this blog will focus on many things other than poker, I do expect to have snippets of poker content from time to time, so don’t despair!)
If there are any other Nano participants out there, my username is “pseudowriter” (I picked it a long time ago, and I don’t see an easy way to change it, so it will remain unchanged). Please go ahead and use my own example to feel better (or worse) about your own progress.
Good luck, us! And happy writing!