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I kind of suck at NaNoWriMo. I don't write the right way for competative writing, I think. In fact, I got really mad the other day when I checked in at the site and saw that someone had posted a reminder: Revise Later.
That's probably really good advice on some level. If your problem is never getting to the end of a novel or a short story, just pushing forward is exactly what you should do. But, I actually have a hard time going forward without revision, because, if the change is big enough, everything after that point is effected by it.
I also think that my mistake this year is not having an outline. I'm experimenting writing original fiction this way--without a proposal--and it's taking its toll. I stop to think. I stop because I get stuck.
Well, it's only half way through the month. It ain't over yet.
In other news, I spent a good part of the weekend baking holiday cookies. We like to get a jump on baking because Shawn loves to have cookies in the freezer to pull out for guests. So we invited our nephew Jonathan and his girlfriend Sarah over and we spent the good part of Sunday baking up a storm. We made spritzes and cut-out sugar cookies (with the shapes you decorate with frosting), "black-and-white" (which are cream cheese cookies half dipped in chocolate), and a metric tonne of pizzelles, which are Italian ainse-flavored cookies that you press with a special pizzelle iron. We also tried a new drop cookie that's pumpkin-flavored which were deemed Minnesotan "interesting" (which is to say, yeah, we won't be trying those again soon.) I also discovered a recipie from King Arthur Flour for an easy soft pretzel which the family loved so much that I've already made them twice since. The big complaint about those? Make two batches! Need more!!
We still have quite a few more cookies that Shawn would like to make, but I think she feels good we've got so many under our belt. But Shawn is one of those people who adores Christmas and loves to pull out all the stops--never mind that we're pagan.
For me, I like the community of baking big batches of things. It's fun to spend hours with family and friends around some project like food, because you spend enough time together to get past some of the awkward of not been super-close friends, you know? It's a bonding thing. Plus, you don't have to just sit and come up with things to say. You can just chat easily while focusing on other things. Works out really well.
I also applied for a job at Sixth Chamber Bookstore. I didn't get it, though I think if I'd been super-excited and less hesitent about working evening shifts, they'd have hired me on the spot. Even with my total lack of experience. The poor guy who owns the place hadn't had a vacation or a day OFF for six months. Since Thursday night when I dropped of my application, I keep mentally trying to make my schedule work so that I could go back and offer myself more sincerely, but the idea of being away from Shawn the one time we have together doesn't appeal. And the bookstore isn't the kind of job to make that loss entirely worth it. Maybe if they paid a zillion dollars and hour and came with health benefits, you know? Still, I'm kind of sad about it. I adore that bookstore and I think the atmosphere there would have suited me well. Both of the people who own it are the kind who talk to customers about books ina very overly-friendly, non-Minnesotan way, which is part of the place's charm, IMHO.
Mason is off now for Intersession until after Thanksgiving. He's super disappointed that there's probably not enough snow to go sledding--though we may try anyway. I heard, however, it's supposed to warm up enough today that our dusting might just melt. We'll have to see. Our family LOVES snow. Yesterday, however, to be fair, Shawn didn't have work and Mason had no school so we could hunker down and have a "pajama day" (where we sit around and play video games and read and do a whole lot of nothing.) We did have to bust out and go to Target, though, because Mason has outgrown his shoes... and sweat pants (which he wears to bed)... and we needed lightbulbs. So we had to make the trip to the store at some point.
I think that's all I know. How was your weekend?
That's probably really good advice on some level. If your problem is never getting to the end of a novel or a short story, just pushing forward is exactly what you should do. But, I actually have a hard time going forward without revision, because, if the change is big enough, everything after that point is effected by it.
I also think that my mistake this year is not having an outline. I'm experimenting writing original fiction this way--without a proposal--and it's taking its toll. I stop to think. I stop because I get stuck.
Well, it's only half way through the month. It ain't over yet.
In other news, I spent a good part of the weekend baking holiday cookies. We like to get a jump on baking because Shawn loves to have cookies in the freezer to pull out for guests. So we invited our nephew Jonathan and his girlfriend Sarah over and we spent the good part of Sunday baking up a storm. We made spritzes and cut-out sugar cookies (with the shapes you decorate with frosting), "black-and-white" (which are cream cheese cookies half dipped in chocolate), and a metric tonne of pizzelles, which are Italian ainse-flavored cookies that you press with a special pizzelle iron. We also tried a new drop cookie that's pumpkin-flavored which were deemed Minnesotan "interesting" (which is to say, yeah, we won't be trying those again soon.) I also discovered a recipie from King Arthur Flour for an easy soft pretzel which the family loved so much that I've already made them twice since. The big complaint about those? Make two batches! Need more!!
We still have quite a few more cookies that Shawn would like to make, but I think she feels good we've got so many under our belt. But Shawn is one of those people who adores Christmas and loves to pull out all the stops--never mind that we're pagan.
For me, I like the community of baking big batches of things. It's fun to spend hours with family and friends around some project like food, because you spend enough time together to get past some of the awkward of not been super-close friends, you know? It's a bonding thing. Plus, you don't have to just sit and come up with things to say. You can just chat easily while focusing on other things. Works out really well.
I also applied for a job at Sixth Chamber Bookstore. I didn't get it, though I think if I'd been super-excited and less hesitent about working evening shifts, they'd have hired me on the spot. Even with my total lack of experience. The poor guy who owns the place hadn't had a vacation or a day OFF for six months. Since Thursday night when I dropped of my application, I keep mentally trying to make my schedule work so that I could go back and offer myself more sincerely, but the idea of being away from Shawn the one time we have together doesn't appeal. And the bookstore isn't the kind of job to make that loss entirely worth it. Maybe if they paid a zillion dollars and hour and came with health benefits, you know? Still, I'm kind of sad about it. I adore that bookstore and I think the atmosphere there would have suited me well. Both of the people who own it are the kind who talk to customers about books ina very overly-friendly, non-Minnesotan way, which is part of the place's charm, IMHO.
Mason is off now for Intersession until after Thanksgiving. He's super disappointed that there's probably not enough snow to go sledding--though we may try anyway. I heard, however, it's supposed to warm up enough today that our dusting might just melt. We'll have to see. Our family LOVES snow. Yesterday, however, to be fair, Shawn didn't have work and Mason had no school so we could hunker down and have a "pajama day" (where we sit around and play video games and read and do a whole lot of nothing.) We did have to bust out and go to Target, though, because Mason has outgrown his shoes... and sweat pants (which he wears to bed)... and we needed lightbulbs. So we had to make the trip to the store at some point.
I think that's all I know. How was your weekend?