Write Good or Die

Today I'm using a book title for the blog, although I haven't read it, it seems strangely appropriate.  And the writing quote that came up on of my gadgets was "Ass in the chair" - Nora Roberts.  Now given the level of output that woman publishes, I think it's good advice.  I'm not saying that Nora Roberts is high art.  But the woman writes and writes a lot, and I still read her stuff now and again, even though she's not the best writer.  Her stuff is mind jello.  It's like watching the Cartoon Network.  Her writing is not going to make me think or show me any universal truths or wisdom, but the stories are engaging and it lets my brain rest a bit.  And she has published a holy ton of books.

Today I didn't feel like writing.  But it was on the schedule so I did it.  And I think what I got today works, and got me much further down the road towards being done.  It might need work, but now I have stuff to work on and fiddle with, and if I hadn't put my ass in the chair, and waited until I had inspiration, I wouldn't be any further along.  Maybe someday, I could write a novel that's heading a little more towards literature, but I don't think I need to be a Writer with a capital "W".  I think I just want to tell a decent story.  So that's the road I'm on for now.  Does anyone know where I could buy a seat belt for an office chair that would work on a timer?  Because that would be cool.

So anyway to the numbers.  I hit 150,051 words and 492 pages this morning.  Given that my original goal was around 100,000 words and 300 pages, this is a little frustrating.  But there's only about a day and half left in the novel, and the wrap up. And then of course, the months that I will spend revising, but that's another topic for another day.

In knitting news, I finished the Absinthe socks last weekend during the sports event that shall not be named.  (Not because the Pats lost, but because the sports event annoys me, in general, and in specific, now that it is in February instead of January where it tends to interfere with my birthday frequently).  Not that I watched the sports event, I pointedly watched Pride and Prejudice instead.  Colin Firth version.  He's a total hottie.  In any case, I've started the sweater I'm designing with short rows.  I'm using Creative Focus Cotton from Nashua Handknits.  Adding in the yardage for the socks and the first skein of this sweater, I'm closing in on my having knitted 10 miles of yarn.  I'm at 9.77 miles as of this morning.  Yes, I know, just ignore me okay?  I think my next project will be the Sipalu bag from Knitpicks, because it will get rid of boat loads of yarn in my stash, because partial balls do not count and I think there's like twenty separate colors of Palette listed in my stash for that kit. Then I can use the leftovers towards either the dragon taxidermy project or the knitted marine aquarium project. And it will count as a kit that I owned prior to 12/31/2011, which is a requirement of the 2012 Yarn & Fiber Stash Reduction Plan. Woo hoo!

 
In spinning news, I have 17 ounces of romney fleece dyed in cochineal and logwood grey (varying tones of purple and grey) from the Copper Moth that I'm working on.  I'm flick carding it and getting a lot of waste and a lot of broken tips.  I'm not sure how much I'll actually net once the process is over.  It's actually got so much stuff coming off of it, that I have to put something down to catch it all while I flick card.  I've managed to card my fingers quite a bit which is annoying.  Once I had a full pan of flick carded locks I started spinning it to give my fingers a break.  It's not quite the effect that I had hoped for, but I think that the colors are more separated that it would be if I had simply run it through the drum carder.

I haven't done as much as I would have liked on the cookbook, but hopefully, I can manage that soon.

I think that's all for now.  Between working on the novel and writing this post this morning, I've been stuck in this chair for three hours.  Time to go get ready for knitting guild.  Stay tuned for further updates as they occur.