Shiny Pennies Part 2 (Updated)

I just wanted to show you the pretty things that are now planted 

and/or carved because of yesterday's crazy.

(Gorgeous fall mums)

I don't think I mentioned the Calla Lilies, but they entered 

the story just after the mums did.

(Black Calla Lilies! How perfect for fall/Halloween!)

Here are the pumpkins. My hand suffered for the owl. 

Luckily it did not impede the ability to type. 

It might hinder the writing, though. 

So, obviously, I played in the dirt, carved pumpkins, 

and watched Ugly Betty instead of writing. 

(The Ugly Betty part might not be so obvious.) 

Alright. The next post will cover all the wisdom I'll glean 

from this writing exercise. And judging by

 my typing this morning, it will be a scribbled mess.

This must be done before NaNo! 

NaNo starts tomorrow!!! 

Yikes!!! 

(The following was completed 24 hours later:)

I only finished half of my short story before I was overtaken by the NaNo wave. However, here's what I found useful, fun, or annoying about pen vs. keyboard:

1. I love scratching notes in the margins of what to come back and fix. - So efficient! (if you can read your own writing...)

2. Doodling. I forgot how awesome it is to doodle!

3. Hand cramping. It brought be back to every first day of school after an entire summer off of taking notes.

4. Batteries or outlets were never a concern. 

5. Non-linear thinking. Sometimes I like to flip the paper around or write in wavy lines. Why not? No one else needs to decipher it. Although typing it later will be trickier. Because of that, I generally keep this practice limited to outlines or brainstorming.

6. (And my favorite) It feels like drawing! Writing is an art. One that is quickly dying in the scope of practical and super fun computers.

One of the main reasons this little project began was because I often think of how much more difficult it must have been to publish any writing before computers, or word processors, or even type-writers. Would I still be writing if it wasn't so easy to edit? What if a manuscript was returned to me with major improvements required? Would I really have to re-write most of the book by hand and then re-submit? 

This blog's namesake was such a writer, fictitious though she may be. She was always described with ink blots on her hand and smudges on her skin. She was easily recognizable as a writer - telltale signs gave her away, even to strangers. For many of us facing the looming wall of NaNo these badges of honor and proof of hours spent in creative toil will be slightly less showy. Disheveled hair, laundry piles getting high, nervous ticks from too much coffee and sudden and quick resurfacing here and there to tell friends and fam that we're still alive - these will have to suffice. Take pride in your messy house and crazy eyes this month. They will be our own inky smudges of acknowledgement to one another of the task we've undertaken. (Unless you're attempting this feat with a pen - then you will have all the original telltale smudges and much of my awe.)

Welcome, November!