This means that I’m going to my favourite brew-pub, where they have a special enormous mug for birthday kids… which by various constraints and mis-timings I have never held. I slightly worry that I’m going to draw the wrath of mysterious unseen forces by mentioning this plan aloud.
Let us push worry to one side, and start the drinking early.
The guy chanting “hops, hops, hops…” has pinned down why I don’t like a lot of US craft beers. Some people don’t want 1200 International Bitterness Units in our pint, eh?
This stuff, on the other hand, is right up my alley:
I may follow my giant mug with a bottle of La Trappe Quadrupel, if they’ve got any on hand…
Today’s pen (which looks very like the passage of light through a proper trappistenbier): OMAS Arte Italiana
Today’s ink: Edelstein Topaz (which is indeed my birthstone, for those who care about that sort of thing):
We had freezing fog here this week. Freezing at this time of year is not uncommon, but fog is pretty rare. It lasted the better part of a day, and unlike freezing rain what it mainly did was make things pretty–
So, I’m willing to be charitable, for the moment, about winter. Let’s go sledding!
†Here’s what happened: I keep my story ideas in two different places. I have a couple of notebooks that I’ll write them down in, and I also have a Google spreadsheet as a back-up. When I started in on the story, I did no more than scan down the Google document to see what caught my fancy as the next story up, and the vague description I’d put down there tickled me so I got down to scribbling.
The vague description I’d typed… oh, at least a couple of years ago.
Thus, when for reasons of book-keeping (literally– I move the notebook page into a binder when the story is underway or done) I had the original idea in front of me, I saw that I had forgotten the vector I’d initially intended… and it was much better than what I’ve spent the last two weeks banging away on.
It’s not all lost work. There’s a good deal of fine description that is sticking. It’s not that long a story, in any event, and the much better aspect soothes what sting I might still feel. But the lesson is learned– if you want to remember something, write it down… and then bloody well read it when the time of remembering comes about.
†While I technically began this one rather a while ago, this week saw a complete change in direction which we might as well call a do-over. For a change, I’m actually pleased with how it’s currently developing, despite the apparent slowness (Monday was a household chores day, enhanced by a horrible cat/plant interaction with much fallout).‡
…so Fate is shaping up to keep me from touching it again until next Tuesday, alas.
†This story has really been dodging me, and I’m not convinced it’s done– while it’s now in a state that others can see it, and it produces more or less the effect I was after, but I was struck last night as sleep descended with a much more betterer approach to the whole damn narrative. This one in its current form and “Kick a Cat…” may have been mere experiments of writing, destined to lie on a shelf forever (unless I become famous, in which case they might disappoint readers of a posthumous anthology).
‡I’m not given to saying this, but I’m really not enjoying my time with this pen– it and my hand don’t work well together. I won’t condemn the model as objectively bad, since it’s doing pretty much everything a pen ought, but I think I’m going to retire it from my lineup. I have, fortunately, other pens I may resort to.
I don’t know if it’s altogether wise for Fountain Pen day to necessarily fall within a few days of Hallowe’en; what do we have, then, to keep us functioning and joyful for the next few months until this golden confluence is less than half a year away once more?
(Overdramatizing for comedy is how I have fun)
ANYWAY, while I sit here and quietly enjoy scribbling with (probably) the oldest pen I’ve got, here’s a fellow expressing his thoughts on the day:
There is, by the way, nothing wrong with even an XXF point on a pen. Sometimes you need a fine line in your life. I revel in all widths of point.
A merry NaNoWriMo to all those who intent to expose themselves to that particular source of stress this year. I will pursue my usual policy of continuing to write through the month at my own pace, but to those who think they can manage a novel in four weeks, I offer a hearty bonne chance!
What's up at Ravens March. 