Well, it’s over. Waahhhhhhh! The last two days zipped by; one moment I was facing two chapters left to write, feeling nervous, excited, and already nostalgic for this unbelievable month of novel writing called NaNoWriMo, the next I’d typed the last word, pressed the Save button, and it was all over. I wrote 1,420 words…
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NaNoWriMo Has Created So Much in Me
Only two more days, two more sleeps, two more chapters until the end of National Novel Writing Month. I’ve had so much fun, writing alone yet in a group of hundreds of thousands, that I’ll be sad to see it end. I’ve achieved far more than I expected; heck as of today, I achieved the…
Met and Passed 50,000 Words for NaNoWriMo
Last year, I didn’t think I could do National Novel Writing Month — write a 50,000 word novel in the 30 days of November — too onerous. This year, I wanted to try but not sure, again, if I could. Then I read a Writer’s Digest article about it, checked it out, and in a…
Santa Claus Comes to Town
One of my favourite memories of winter was when the snow first fell and Santa Claus came to town. I wrote this short, memory-story for an e-mail course I took to relearn how to write back in 2003. It took place on a day like today, many years ago, when Santa Claus came to Toronto,…
My Early Days of NaNoWriMo
I’ve completed four days of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), and I do believe it was a good decision, joining NaNoWriMo. The days and the writing have been scary, like pulling hens teeth, slow, and exhausting. But no matter how much I think I’m not going to do it or how much I want to…
Day One of NaNoWriMo, and I’m Off!
When I first heard about National Novel Writing Month, I thought that I could never do. When I read about it last month, I thought, hmmmm… When I came across other people talking about it online, I thought this is just what I need to get my novel written. I don’t have someone to organize…
Less Than 24 Hours to NaNoWriMo
Less than 24 hours now, and National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo, begins. By this time tomorrow, I won’t have started writing. First, I got to prepare, breathe deeply, have lunch, and pray pray pray. Then I begin. I’m both excited and a little bit terrified as NaNo-Day approaches. I’ve filled out my NaNoWriMo profile,…
The Core of The GI Diet by Gallop: The Glycemic Index
Aside from my rebellious first impressions of The GI Diet by Rick Gallop, I have to admit that this book does one thing very well: makes the glycemic index intelligible and practical. Dr David Jenkins* at the University of Toronto developed the glycemic index as a way to measure how a particular food affects glucose…
New Calendars on CafePress for 2010
It’s only October, but already people are looking for Christmas gifts, big and small. So to that end I’ve created two calendars on CafePress for 2010. One showcases Toronto architecture with some stunning natural vistas to boot; the other is all about flowers and leaves that have been manipulated in Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo…