Day	Pen	Ink
25April 26 April 27 April 28 April	Hero 100 Pelikan M600 Pilot Elite 95S Parker Duofold AF	Namiki Blue Diamine Syrah Edelstein Olivine Pelikan blue-black

No clever alternatives to the current layout. I’ve been distracted by a new COVID outbreak at work, and by the nasal inflammation of stuffing the test swabs up my nose. Still negative, hoorah.

Also, hoera for 5 May– Liberation Day for the Netherlands.

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Day	Pen	Ink
25April 26 April 27 April 28 April	Pelikan M600 Hero 100 Parker Duofold AF Sheaffer Targa	Diamine Syrah Namiki Blue Pelikan blue-black Herbin Bleu Myosotis

I haven’t thought of anything clever to do with this progress report when progress is diffuse and mostly internal. There is progress of that sort, happily, although the fortress of United States tax requirements is not only unbreached but as yet unassaulted. I’ve realized that I can probably get some advice from the provincial Writers Guild and possibly even from the Horror Writers Association, as I’m a member of both.

I just have to… you know… do something that involves someone who isn’t me. After two years of glorious enforced stand-offishness, I’m rather out of practice with that stuff.

Day	Pen	Ink
18 April 19 April 20 April 21 April	Parker Duofold AF Pilot Elite 95S Pelikan M600 Hero 100	Pelikan blue-black Edelstein Olivine Diamine Syrah Namiki Blue

That’s pretty blank. Maybe I’ll rethink this format change.

Kickstarting Jollity

First, and as threatened yesterday, I have tossed a story onto the public stage which was hitherto held within the papery confines of a published anthology. If you’d rather read about space werewolves, just nip over to The Moon Forest over on my writing outlet (and if you’d like to see it in its native ecosystem, with other scifi-flavoured boogens, you can still get the book). The first of my seasonal gifts to the world!

And having spent most of my lunch break getting that lined up, there’s just time to offer a music video. It’s in a very old style, but to keep from overwhelming anyone with a yuletidal wave, it’s not a carol.

Today’s pen: Wing Sung 618
Today’s ink: Namiki Blue

Day	What	How Much	Pen	Ink
21 June 22 June 23 June 24 June	First draft of “Anne’s Big Day”. The second jab. First draft of “Anne’s Big Day”.	Three manuscript pages. A tiny poke, and a period of normal immune response. Four manuscript pages.	Pilot Vanishing Point Lamy 27 Platinum Curidas Waterman Executive	Namiki Black Diamine Writer’s Blood Platinum blue-black Edelstein Olivine

And Now For Something Marginally Different

The less-fun and not-usual thing I bring today is a useful link to what happens when someone who understands science gets fed to the back teeth with people saying dumb things about vaccines. If you know someone who is drifting away from sense and one of the actual benefits of modernity, try this small bit of text.

Now, to balance that out, here’s some delightful cartoon cats, one of whom is a terrifying psychopath. The other one wears a cap.

Today’s pen: Pilot Vanishing Point
Today’s ink: Namiki Black

Day	What	How Much	Pen	Ink
31 May 1 June 2 June 3 June	Blinkin’ work duties. The Curidas page.	Too much. Go ahead and click the link!	Pilot Vanishing Point Platinum Curidas Pelikan th.INK OMAS Arte Italiana	Namiki Black Platinum blue-black Herbin Vert de Gris Diamine Honey Burst

Oopsie

Day	What	How Much	Pen	Ink
24 May 25 May 26 May 27 May 28 May	Queen Victoria’s birthday The decreasingly over-ambitious, increasingly time-anxious edit on “Legion of Candles”.	Some lounging I suspect would not have amused her majesty. Under the limit!	OMAS Arte Italiana Sheaffer Imperial Triumph Platinum Curidas (still picture only) Pilot Vanishing Point Pelikan th.INK	Diamine Honey Burst TWSBI Royal Purple Platinum blue-black Namiki Black Herbin Vert de Gris

So, yeah… no entries here at all last week. I had to apply my time to the scraping down of the story… and more time than that. Victory came as the light faded from the sky on Friday– the final count was 4951 words (1305 below the last time I called it finished), AND YET the story still made sense.

This may explain a couple of previous rejections.

To explain the next rejection, I decided to change the title at the last moment. I made sure that this change was not only on the title page, but also reflected on the page headers (look up Shunn format, if you’re curious) and also in the name of the file. BUT NOT in the email’s title, which still had the old name. So, a lot of work followed by pointing a gun at my own foot– perhaps I’ll miss.

A quick bit of film to make up for Friday’s absence. This week should be more sensible, although who can really predict… the future?

Day	What	How Much	Pen	Ink
17 May 18 May 19 May 20 May	The decreasingly over-ambitious edit on “Legion of Candles”.	16 of 19 pages covered in red ink, so almost ready to hit the keyboard.	OMAS Arte Italiana Pilot Vanishing Point Sheaffer Imperial Triumph Pelikan 140	Diamine Honey Burst Namiki Black TWSBI Royal Purple Monteverde Malibu Blue

Day	What	How Much	Pen	Ink
10 May 11 May 12 May 13 May	A story best thought of as carb cleaner for my writing engine. A probably over-ambitious edit on “Legion of Candles”.	Nine pages! Needs to be under 5000 by month end, currently… 6008. *gulp*	PenBBS 500 Pelikan 140 Pilot Vanishing Point OMAS Arte Italiana	TWSBI Blue Monteverde Malibu Blue Namiki Black† Diamine Honey Burst

Yes, indeed; production! I won’t tempt fate by proclaiming myself cured, especially with a story I don’t expect to ever see the light of day, but there’s a glimmer of optimism to be seen.

†You won’t actually find this on the linked page (yet) but… I mean, it’s black ink. One is very like another.