Writing

I’ve watched and listened to hours of disc golf content across YouTube and podcasts over the past few years. Since I started playing about 9 months ago, an increased portion of that has been focused on instructional content: specific videos about form, techniques, tips and tricks, anything to help me feel more comfortable and consistent on the course. Just like with regular golf, putting is the most frustrating aspect of the game. Particularly in disc golf, where you are approaching this relatively large basket and all you need to do is throw the disc in from 20 or 30 feet (ideally), it looks childishly easy. Yet I have a lot of trouble with consistency. Sure, I can make a few, but overall I’m missing in pretty much every possible direction during my round. In fact, both on the course and during my warmup I am practicing how to miss. ...

My older sister gave me a lovely leather-bound journal one month into sixth grade, when all students in my grade went on a week-long trip to a nature center called Eagle Bluff. She encouraged me to use it to keep track of the experience, and I wrote in that journal for most of the next year or two. Looking back, many entries were a bit dramatic, but I think they were accurate to how I felt at the time. It was my first time using a journal, and in particular my first time doing serious introspection. I enjoyed the process, but eventually lost the habit and didn’t try to pick it back up regularly until college. ...

I failed. There was a part of me that anticipated this. In 2019, I was almost finished by Thanksgiving, which was important since I wouldn’t be able to do much writing that week. This year, I was “on pace” by the time Thanksgiving week rolled around, and I had very little time or focus to continue writing. I ended up reaching just over 30,000 words in November, and finished three of the six stories I was aiming to write. However, I’m happy with the basic drafts of those three, and am still motivated to keep writing the others. I can make the time to do so, even if it isn’t under the auspice of NaNoWriMo. I won’t be updating the NaNoWriMo page though, as the PDF linked there is a record of my actual progress during the month.

I finally bought a couple Subtle Notebooks from Cortex Brand. I won’t go into their whole deal; I’d like to just focus on this particular product. I’m a notebook hoarder. I’ve always enjoyed having journals around, with different shapes, paper types, and cover styles. Admittedly, many of these are still blank, or only partially filled. Some of them have a specific use-case that has run its course (or has been extensively delayed), while others are too nice, too boring, or just don’t feel quite right for some things I have in mind. ...

I’m nearly halfway through National Novel Writing Month. You can check out some more info, including a PDF of my semi-current progress, at the NaNoWriMo page. This is my second time fully committing to this project. My first time in 2019 was pretty straightforward. I just let myself write, and really did not worry about the quality, or whether I was “finishing” the story at any point. This year is a little different. I planned out some ideas ahead of time, and want to use these stories as part of a larger project in the coming year. ...

I’ve decided to fully participate in NaNoWriMo this year. You can track my progress over on the NaNoWriMo page of this blog. ...

Last year, I wrote about my writing setup. It involved a few different apps, and while I had a comprehensive process laid out, I just didn’t get myself to follow it consistently. I stopped using Ulysses, and went back to writing on whatever text editor happened to be available, or typing a quick post directly into my blog CMS. It was rather chaotic, so I’m looking to compromise this year. ...

Something so pure and so true As a limerick spun out of the blue, Will always leave me Feeling ever so free That I can’t help but share it with you. ...

I watch my shot glide to the basket on hole 18. It’s a short hole to finish the course, but treacherous. The basket is perched in front of a large boulder, and anywhere off a straight line to the basket is a precipitous drop-off. My shot lands a little short, to the left, but on the flattest line down to the basket. It’s my typical safe shot. I hop off the tee pad and collect my things. As I begin walking down the path, a little tuft of fuzz catches my eye. It’s quite still overall, but the bits of fur at the end wiggle in the light breeze. They’re mostly black, with a clear white stripe down the middle. ...

I recently discovered that typing on a mechanical keyboard does an excellent job of maintaining my desire to write. Typically I use a Microsoft Sculpt ergonomic keyboard when I’m working at my desktop. I bought one only a few months after moving to San Diego to use at work. Once my hands got used to it, going back to a standard keyboard at home didn’t feel quite right. So, I now have two of these split ergonomic keyboards.1 ...