Well, I did it. I was on the ropes a few times but always found the time, energy, and creative hook to keep my story, It’s Like Jazz, moving along and hitting the requisite 50,000 words.
Continue reading “NaNoWriMo 2024 Results”NaNoWriMo 2024 Check In
This has been a great experience so far. I had a great start, followed by a few rough days after a five-day trip to Denver. I caught up this past weekend and am back on track, though I’m looking to keep pushing hard because going home for Thanksgiving will only complicate my attempts to write.
Even with that said, I’m proud of what I’ve done so far. Compared to 2019, I’ve started building a better story. I’m more thoughtful about creating characters and pushing a plot forward. I certainly won’t have told a complete story by the end of the 50,000 words, but that’s not necessarily the goal.
This has been a good experience halfway through the month, and I hope to bring the same drive and enthusiasm to the rest of the challenge.
NaNoWriMo 2024 Announcement
I’m doing it again.
I plan to return to the basics for the first time since my initial attempt in 2019. I’ll be sitting at any number of devices—I have half a mind to resurrect my old ThinkPad that runs Pop!_OS and make it a dedicated writing computer—and writing a new novel wholecloth. I feel both intimidated and energized by the prospect. I’ve been working hard on other side projects, including writing blog posts in advance, to make sure I have the space to give this a good effort.
In light of the NaNoWriMo controversy and the near-dissolution of the official website among those who care, I’ll track my daily word count in a spreadsheet, which I’ll make available on the NaNoWriMo page of my website. In addition, I’ll link to a PDF file in Dropbox that I’ll update at least daily, as I’ve done in the past.
NaNoWriMo is about the perfect mixture of commitment and carelessness: You need the perseverance and motivation to keep pushing each day but the naivety not to second-guess yourself the whole way through. I’m intrigued to see what comes out of my head this time.
We Are So Back with iA Writer on the iPad
With iOS and iPadOS 18 out, I decided to give iA Writer another shot on my iPad. I adore it on my MacBook, and it’s been frustrating not having a consistent interface for my personal writing.
Lo and behold, I discover that iA Writer has been properly working with Dropbox since May! Dropbox decided to hop aboard the “modern File Provider API” train, leading to a slightly worse experience than many years ago1That is Apple’s fault., but a significantly better experience than when using any Dropbox text file would result in errors and conflicted files.
I’m holding my breath—it takes a while for me to rebuild trust with tools that failed me so thoroughly, regardless of who is “at fault”—but I’ve been writing for the last twenty minutes and have clear indicators that my files are being saved. That makes me feel right at home.
- 1That is Apple’s fault.
A Presentation on Word Doodles
Earlier this year I wrote about doodling with words. Last month I expanded on the idea, turned it into a fun presentation, and presented to Erin’s lab for one of their meetings before we moved as a fun diversion. I used Keynote to put it together, and had a really fun time.
Enjoy.
doodling_sdtPacking Up Stinks
My thanks to Jack Prelutsky.
Packing! Oh, Packing!
I hate you, you stink.
I wish I could throw
All this stuff in the drink.
These terrible boxes
Are crowding my floor.
I’m getting so flustered
Each time through the door.
Packing! Oh, Packing!
You’re making me ill.
These thick cubes of cardboard
Are getting their fill.
The crumpling of paper,
The ripping of tape,
All makes me just want to
Run off and escape.
Packing! Oh, Packing!
How can there be more?
Somehow our apartment’s
A general store.
Tchotkes and treasures
And bobbins and toys,
All sorts of clutter
I cannot enjoy.
Packing! Oh, Packing!
What else can I say?
I wish I could ditch and
Get out of this fray.
I’m swimming in boxes,
These prisms abound.
Where once there was happiness
None can be found!
Packing! Oh, Packing!
When can I be done?
Is it time for a break
And a romp in the sun?
“Of course not,” says Packing,
“You’ll never be through.
“I cannot be sated,
“Let items accrue!”
Packing! Oh, Packing!
You mistress of harm.
I’m hurting my back
And have aches in my arms.
A burgeoning tower,
Oppressively brown,
Is building around me
And getting me down.
Packing! Oh, Packing!
I swear I’ll be free.
Sisyphus doesn’t have
Boulders for me.
Soon we’ll be done,
All our life hid away.
Then it’s time to unpack!
What a glorious day.
There’s No Such Thing as Bad Publicity
AUSTIN, TEXAS—Staring deep beyond his bathroom mirror, George Kurtz, CEO of Crowdstrike, repeated “There’s no such thing as bad publicity” under his breath. He let his head drop and began absentmindedly splashing water on his face, hoping the bags under his eyes would disappear before the back-to-back-to-back interviews that began the next hour.
Looking back up, he wiped down his face with a nearby hand towel embroidered with the phrase “Keep Austin Weird” and forced a haggard smile across his face.
“It was horrifying, seeing that smile,” said one anonymous witness. “It’s like he was auditioning for a new role as Joker.”
Kurtz began muttering to himself, with the comment “It’s just like Zoom during the pandemic” heard by passersby. He was seen thirty minutes later driving his Tesla Model X. Other drivers on the road noticed the man putting his head into his hands at every red light.
Later that day, Kurtz was seen staring at banks of computer monitors steeped in blue screens.
Morning Pages
I began writing morning pages in June. I first came across the concept via Pagi when they made a post about it being rejected by App Store review. It was a funny way to be introduced to a new creative method, but I didn’t give it additional attention. The idea was tossed into some filing cabinet in my memory.
Morning pages resurfaced in the second episode of Paper Places, a new podcast about writing on Relay FM. Hearing a conversation with actual writers let me more fully connect with the practice, and I decided to give it a shot. Every morning since June 3rd, I’ve taken time in the morning—not first thing, I do my puzzles before anything else—to sit down at a device1My default is my iPad, but my computer is close behind. I have successfully written them on my phone as well. and write about 1000 words, letting whatever pops into my head flow onto the page.
Unlike the official version of the practice, I don’t write these pages by hand. I have my evening journal for that. Instead, I focus on the overall goal of morning pages: dump my morning brain full of random thoughts and anxieties to an external spot so I can start the day feeling refreshed and centered. I often close my eyes while typing, treating it as a form of meditation. I recently read that meditation is more about acknowledging and dismissing unworthy thoughts than clearing one’s mind entirely, and that is where morning pages come in.
I don’t hit 1000 words each day. Some mornings I nearly forget to begin or lack the mood and ambition to do it, but I’ve continued to push on it. They have proven to be among the most valuable fifteen minutes I spend each day, particularly when I wake up feeling off in some intangible way. Morning pages often make those feelings quite tangible and addressable, and I can proceed with the day once I’m done.
It’s not clear whether morning pages, when taken seriously, will work for everyone. Writing is my most natural form of thinking and processing the world, but I can imagine other creative practices getting at a similar goal, if in a more abstract way. I’ve learned that it works for me. I’m happy I’ve tried it and intend to keep the routine.
- 1My default is my iPad, but my computer is close behind. I have successfully written them on my phone as well.