NaNoWriMo: Year Two. Done and Done.

At 12:42 AM PST, I put the first draft of my most recent novel, The Inventory, into the magical NANOWRIMO validating window (by this process they ensure that you have hit your word count, and while they do not claim that it is 'magical', I feel it kind of is, since the box can hold 50K words of text and tabulate them in all of 10 seconds before granting you a wonderful sense of accomplishment). At this point, Microsoft Word had told me I had finished my first draft at 50,122; Nano's site said I was at 49,824--or 176 words short. While 176 words may sound like nothing, especially compared against 50K, it's a big deal when you're tired and you just patted yourself on the back for a job well done.

November Links

In light of my failure to generate content, I am going to direct you to some of my favorite reads of the web since last month. Get some!

The Malcontented Child of God

This being the week of Thanksgiving, I thought I could put up this post on which I've been working for the last few weeks but never got a chance to finish. It's something of an echo of this post from last week, but given where I've been of late, it's pertinent. 

I can be a very bad Christian. I'm not going to sugar coat it. I'm not going to pretend it's not serious. Fact is, I yell against God some days. I could go into a laundry list of reasons why, but I won't bother, as they will likely do little but further cement how shallow and childish I can be and often am before my Savior and Lord. At the end of the day, my reason is very simple. I have a sin problem.

Quick Life Update: Sick and Spoiled

This morning, I'm taking my first trip back to SoCal in 16 months.

But I'm ill. Real ill. Some sort of viral Upper Respritory Infection. Wednesday, the doctor said that it would have to run it's course, no stopping it, and if I wasn't shipshape by Sunday, I need to start an antibiotic. 

Despite knowing this, I still went to work yesterday, which made me worse, I'm sure. That day is a blur honestly. Not sure how I got anything done. Or done right, for that matter.

November ReRuns: Scripture Memory Revisited

Hi all,

In lieu of having the time or energy to put a real post together (I am fighting an illness and trying to be ship-shape before flying across the country Friday), I decided the best thing I could do on the blog was to direct you to posts about the value of Scripture memory, any of which would be more thoughtful than what I could cull together in what limited time I have today.

Scripture is the heart of God put to the page, and he invites us to write it on our hearts through memorization. Below are a few of the passages I have memorized over the last year. If you missed any of these posts, they are worth the read.

NANOWRIMO UPDATE 2: What have I done? Well, plenty...but I'm not finished yet.

So I have to hit this post quick due to my lagging on National Novel Write Month (thank you, debilitating allergies last weekend), but I am gonna give y'all an update, regardless.

To my Christian Brothers and Sisters who are hurting...

I'm going off schedule today to write to all of you out there who, like me, have been hit hard in this season of life. 

I don't know what's grieving you; I don't know why it's striking so deeply. Pain is pain, and some of you reading this are taking a beating these days. Whether it's at home, or work, or somewhere close or far, your soul is being taxed--maybe daily, maybe hourly, maybe you're fighting to survive the next minute. And you can't wholly express how it feels, and you might not even understand why it's so rough. It just hurts. Alot. And often. Believe me, I've been there--some days I'm still there.

Losing the Name Game

One of the universal criticisms of Stronghold is the over abundance of complex names. The point is well taken. Stronghold contains over thirty named characters and nearly all of their names fall into one of two categories: either they are an original amalgamation of Greek and Hebrew, or they are distinctly non-Anglo names drawn from various parts of the world. While my intentions in doing this and including the number of characters I did were valid from a storytelling perspective, my execution failed.

Embarrassed to Do Good?

Two weeks ago, our church challenged each member of the congregation to commit to a simple, random act of kindness. This could be anything done intentionally for someone else without thought of reward or return. All we needed to do was see a need, no matter how small, and meet it.

And I couldn't; or rather, I didn't.

7 Ways to Improve Your Weekend. For Free.

And be intentional with these. Going halfsies won't work. GO WHOLSIES, Friends. 

1. Encourage someone: someone you know, a stranger, a friend, anybody. Make it a goal of your day to improve their day. 
2. Go for a walk / run without watching the clock. Just exist outdoors with God and his gift of beautiful nature. 
3. Make a list "10 Things I Adore Right now". I dare you to keep it to 10. Bet you get to twenty pretty easy.
4. Contact an old friend on Facebook, just tell them your hope they are doing well in life.
5. Eat Fruit outside. As Marge Simpson tells us, "Fruit is nature's candy," and something about eating it in its element is just...right. Unless you are stung by a bee, which is the worst (but this shouldn't be an issue in near-winter). 
6. Listen to one song that you love while doing nothing else. Just you and the music. I bet you like the song more thereafter. 
7. Thank God, then say Amen. No requests. Just thanks. 

NANOWRIMO UPDATE 1: The Pitch

Below is the tentative "back cover matter" for the novel I am writing for National Novel Write Month this year:

Interview with Second Chances on Stronghold, Faith, and More

Hi all, In the midst of beginning National Novel Write Month, I did not have time to compose thoughts for this morning. That being said, I decided to re-hash some old ones. Here is a long form radio interview I conducted over the summer regarding my novel, my addiction, and a few more thoughts. 

More Reviews for Called to Stay

A month ago, I reviewed Caleb Breakey's wonderful book, Called To Stay. But I'm not the only one. If you want some varied perspectives on the text, just click on any of the well-written reviews below:

This will be insanity...NANOWRIMO 2013. 50K words in 20 Days.

So,

Here we go. I am officially kicking off National Novel Write Month for the second year in a row.

First year, not so hot.

But I planned for this one, and I have high hopes that the first draft will be bad, which is better than awful, which makes me pretty happy.

I already know I am out of commission on this Sunday, and I want to be done before leaving for vacation on the 22nd.

So, that gives me, what?  20 days.

Yeah. Thereabouts.

HERE WE GO!!!!

Word Count: 0