Alas...the end is near

So I have to admit defeat. I didn't win this year at Nanowrimo. I reached 25,000 words but fell short. This month was a strange one. It was like everything was against me to complete the 50,000 words. I got extra work, wrote an article for a magazine, had three evening meetings, Grey Cup (OK I could've skipped that one), a birthday party for my nephew. I tried and that's OK. I have the beginning of an interesting story that I'll finish at a less hurried pace.

The end is near

What a crazy month for Nanowrimo! I missed 3 evenings and was asked to grade three assignments for a local Bible college - there's another 3 evenings gone (but I'm not really complaining about that one). 25000 words to go in 6 days. Now that's a challenge.

The challenge

Day 3 of NanoWrimo and I'm way behind. I need to dig deep for creative muse - it's there but hidden under self-doubt, etc. I'm thankful for my encouragement team (Wife and daughter). I'll work through this brief slump and be on track in no time. I have a story in my mind, two main conflicts/choices for the main character and a turning point - the climax, and conclusion haven't popped into my head yet, but they will.

My antagonist is shaping up to be a nasty individual. excellent.

Nanowrimo 2011

So begins another Nanowrimo - What am I writing on? I have an idea for the beginning of a novel and some thoughts of where it will go.

30 days of insanity. Caffeine. and creative genius.

Can't wait.

First PSE9 photo edit

I just completed an extensive photoshop elements 9 project for a birthday present for my sister-in-law. I took many shots of my nephew playing soccer (he's 8). I wanted an uncluttered action sports shot, but didn't have one. So I used one photo for the background, cut out an action pose from another and brought in the soccer ball from another. Then I added the border. Lots of work for the first time, but rewarding.

20/30 Project

I am reading a book titled: "150 Projects to Strengthen Your Photography Skills," and I tried out a project yesterday, which I call the 20/30 project. You go out for a half a day at a location and every 20 minutes take a photo. And the shot has to be done within 30 seconds. This is a great exercise in creativity and making me think outside of the box in such a quick time frame. I tried it yesterday when I went out for a walk to a park with my wife and daughter. Since we were gone for 1 hour I got 3 shots for the project as seen below. For some reason my third shot isn't showing. go to my flickr page to see more