Building a chair is hard work. I'm building a Morris Chair along with a fine group of fellow woodworkers under the tutalage of the Chicago School of Woodworking. I've worked on this chair for over 40 hours and it's reached the point where a visible chair is forming, but a long road of chiseling, sanding, varnishing, and touch-ups remain to be seen. The building of our chairs has not been without its mistakes. The important part of this is that each mistake is a learning opportunity for each of us at the shop. It's a chance to build upon what we have already learned. This is what makes me continue to go back to grind of building this magnificent chair.

Dryfit of Morris Chair © 2010

The Donated Art Project, © 2009

The Donated Art Project, © 2009

I received my copy of the Donated Art Project! It was thrilling to open the package and see this lovely book. I feel such an honor to have been part of this project, and I thank Dawn Wheat for having included my work alongside the work of fellow artists.

Artist, Dawn Wheat put together a call for art to compile into a book that in turn is selling via blurb. You can read more about the Donated Art Project here.  You may purchase the Donated Art Project here.

Every November since 2002, I have set aside each day to write valiantly in order to achieve status as a winner of Nanowrimo! Nanowrimo stands for National Novel Writing Month and it happens every November. Now, November is almost here, and I am itching to start. But I need to prepare first. Last year was the first year I completed the challenge and I'm hoping to do so again this year. What I think truly helped me in last year's win was a) dedication to write EVERY day, even when I was tired, b) I set aside time to write: early in the morning or late at night and c) I had an outline to guide me on my plot. 

This year I have had so many projects that have kept me from outlining my plot to the level of detail that I had last year, but I've been mulling my story over since the third week of last year's Nanowrimo, so I don't feel too out of it. And yes you did catch that correctly, I came up with the idea last year during the last Nanowrimo event. Evidently this is absolutely normal. Usually in the midst of writing your current novel, you come up with new ideas and you want to shelve what you're working on and just plunge ahead into the new idea. But that's a distraction for the progress you've already made. The best advice I got came during one of the pep talks that Nanowrimo.org sends out - to not be distracted by my own ideas! And I think that's a great problem to have. Ideas are great fodder, so instead of letting it distract you from tasks at hand, write them down, and plan to see them through - once you've finished your current project.

So let's get writing for the month of November! I'll see you in December.