Posts will resume after a brief interlude

On July 10, 2015July 10, 2015 By Lee (@disciple96)In Laudato Si, Papal Encyclicals, Updates, WritingLeave a comment

I’ll get back to reading and posting about Laudato Si soon, but I’m taking a brief break while I work on a novel for Camp NaNoWriMo. Right now I’m over 17,000 words in and am finding it difficult to think of anything else. But soon I will resume reading the encyclical and putting down some more thoughts about it. Plenty of other people have said plenty about it, as I am sure you are aware. Some of them even have something worthwhile to say. While I’m away, working on the novel, I leave you with this worthwhile and short video commentary and summary by Al Kresta. (If you haven’t ever caught his show on Catholic radio, I highly recommend that you check it out.)

“Published on Jul 9, 2015: While specific scientific and economic points can be debated, since they are prudential judgements of the pope, the doctrine surrounding them are truths of faith and are binding on the consciences of believers. So why don’t we focus on those aspect of the encyclical, since they really aren’t controversial at all?”

What a journey that was, Camp NaNoWriMo WIN, WOOHOO

On July 31, 2014July 31, 2014 By Lee (@disciple96)In Updates, WritingLeave a comment

Another session of Camp NaNoWriMo is winding down and I just validated my word count. WIN! WOOHOO! But the best part is that just now, today, moments ago, I opened a new document in Scrivener and started typing up what I know about the setting, the characters, their relationships, their goals, the forces (or what-have-you) keeping them attaining those goals, and suddenly I felt like I knew where the story was going. I am beginning to know these characters, they are becoming real, deeper, fleshed out, alive. I’ve had glimmers of that before while developing this story. But those glimmers would appear and tantalize me, then fade away.

So annoying!

But I kept working on it — and taking breaks from it to do other things (read, play with the dogs, stargaze, watch shows like Sherlock and The Last Ship, play with the new slow cooker while teaching myself to cook — my favorite kitchen gadget is my iPad, don’t know what I would do without it). Looking at this latest version, I can see elements of earlier versions of the story, but I think this one is going to work much better than any of those. Hope renewed! I may just get this story written yet! And then there’s the wee matter of publication but that’s still down the road. Waaaay down the road. Still have a lot of work to do, but I’m excited about it. Thrilled, actually. Yay! Thanks for reading and I hope you’re enjoying whatever project you are (or aren’t) working on. Peace be with you! :)

Progress Meter

Camp NaNoWriMo begins again July 1st

On June 30, 2014June 30, 2014 By Lee (@disciple96)In Bible Software, Updates, WritingLeave a comment

Camp NaNoWriMo, the July session, begins at midnight. I’m not going to try to update the blog every night after writing. (I haven’t been updating it weekly, even monthly, have I? Oops.) I will update the progress meter nightly.

And I will update the blog, too, uh huh, will too. Eventually. I have some posts in the works: some are reviews of books I’ve been reading, some for apps, and some about things I’ve discovered while doing research for other writing or just exploring my Verbum software. Oh, didn’t I mention that? No, I suppose I didn’t since I haven’t blogged much. Well, I will. That will be an ongoing source of posts as there are so many books and things to discover in Verbum I shall never discover them all. Joy! :)

Now I’m off to feed the dogs and feed myself and watch the Journey Home on EWTN and think some more about the story I’ll be writing for Camp. Thanks for reading and peace be with you! :)

Got the novel word count validated, WIN!

On April 25, 2014April 25, 2014 By Lee (@disciple96)In Uncategorized, Updates, Writing2 Comments

Got the Camp NaNoWriMo novel word count validated just a few minutes ago: 52,065 for a win! Yes! Now the next phase of novel-writing work begins. (Hey, how many phases is this thing going through, anyway, huh? Sheesh!)

Progress Meter

See Other Writing for badges and meters from past NaNoWriMo events.

Nightly Update, Camp NaNoWriMo Day 21, WOOHOO!

On April 21, 2014 By Lee (@disciple96)In Updates, WritingLeave a comment

WOOHOO! Did it! Finis! The End! Caput! Well, not exactly. Validation at Camp NaNoWriMo doesn’t begin until Friday, April 25, but that’s not gonna stop me from whoopin’ and hollerin’ around here for all of another two or three minutes tonight–until I pass out from exhaustion, that is. Tired, sleepy eyes, I has them.

That’s it for tonight, I really am going to turn off the computer and crawl into bed with the dogs and get some much needed rest. Of course, if I happen to dream a scene or two, I’ll have my phone and iPad by the bed, so I can capture any bits of brilliantness that might otherwise disappear into the night.

Thanks for reading and I hope your Easter season continues to be blessed and filled with graces. Peace be with you! :)

Word count goal for the month: 50K. Nightly: 1,667. Tonight: A little over 2K. Total: 50K.

Nightly Update, Camp NaNoWriMo Day 20

On April 21, 2014 By Lee (@disciple96)In Updates, WritingLeave a comment

Okay, so I went to the evening Mass at my parish and I got there early so I could prepare, you know, evening prayer, rosary, look over the readings of the day, but I noticed that there were no other cars around and I thought, Ruh roh, I’ll bet they only had Mass this morning, I’ll check and see if the door is locked, and it was. (Deep breath.) So I got back in the car and looked at the clock and got out my phone (remembered to take it this time and it’s a good thing!) and checked the website of the next closest parish (which is NOT close, lemme tell ya, well, actually, the next closest had started their Mass at 5pm so that didn’t help, so I had to go to the next next closest parish), and there was an evening service at that one, it’s big because it’s closer to the city, but that means it’s far away from where I live and far away from my parish. So I lead-footed it, er, I mean, I casually non-chalantly and oh-so-very-slowly–alright, alright, I lead-footed it all the way to that 6pm Mass. And got there with a few minutes to spare and found a parking place near the front door.

I almost passed out in the parking lot from the shock.

After Camp NaNoWriMo is over, I promise I’ll get back to writing something for the blog, I will, no, I mean it, something about one of the gazillion books I’ve been reading. About some of the issues facing us as Catholics. Something!

Thank you for visiting and I hope you had a happy Easter and that your Easter season will be blessed and grace-filled. Peace be with you! :)

Word count goal for the month: 50K. Nightly: 1,667. Tonight: Under 2K. Total: A little less than 48K. Woohoo!

Look at this photo gallery from the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. No wonder they call that place “the Rome of the West”!

EWTN Bookmark, 4-20-2014, “John Paul II, Man of Prayer: The Spiritual Life of a Saint”, Doug Keck interviews Joanna Bogle, British journalist, blogger, author, TV presenter.

Happy Easter! Nightly Update, Camp NaNoWriMo Day 19

On April 19, 2014 By Lee (@disciple96)In UncategorizedLeave a comment

He is Risen! Happy Easter, y’all! May your Easter season be blessed!

Word count goal for the month: 50K. Nightly: 1,667. Tonight: Under 2K. Total: 46,247. Woohoo!

Hallelujah, He is Risen!

Nightly Update, Camp NaNoWriMo Day 18

On April 18, 2014 By Lee (@disciple96)In Updates, Videos, WritingLeave a comment

Tonight just stats and a video. I hope your Holy Week has been a blessed one. Thank you for reading. God bless you!

Word count goal for the month: 50K. Nightly: 1,667. Tonight: Under 2K. Total: 44,650. Woohoo!

Dr. Scott Hahn, The Fourth Cup

Nightly Update, Camp NaNoWriMo Day 17

On April 18, 2014 By Lee (@disciple96)In Uncategorized, Updates, WritingLeave a comment

Today I discovered some interesting textures in the story, some parallels between sets of characters, some echoes of events and experiences that are not identical but similar. I can use those to bring out different aspects, different facets of experience and meaning. It’s something I hadn’t thought of or realized before. It’s something I’d read about in a writing book a long time ago but didn’t really get. Until today when I saw it in this story. Love when that happens. :)

Thanks for dropping in, do drop in again, and may you have a blessed Good Friday.

Venerable Fulton J. Sheen – Good Friday video.

Word count goal for the month: 50K. Nightly: 1,667. Tonight: Over 2K. Total: 43,003. Woohoo!

(Technically I wrote another three hundred or so words after midnight so those should count for tomorrow, er, Friday instead of tonight, er last night, Thursday. Argh! Brain. Hurts. Must. Sleep. Soon. But not until I finish getting another idea down and back up the project on Dropbox. And the Time Capsule. I know some people back up every few weeks or every few days. But I back up my work several times a day and the Time Capsule has its own schedule that I don’t even have to think about.)

Nightly Update, Camp NaNoWriMo Day 16

On April 17, 2014 By Lee (@disciple96)In Updates, WritingLeave a comment

I was going to spend the day with pad and pen, or iPad and stylus. Did that happen? No, it didn’t happen. I spent the day reading and watching videos instead. Not just any old reading and not just watching any videos either. It was all novel-related. Well, most of it was. Okay, some of it was. But I also spent some time working on my beat sheet and I think that is really going to pay off. :)

Bishop Sheen is a man after my own heart, he really tells it like it is!

Thank you for reading and God bless you! :)

Word count goal for the month: 50K. Nightly: 1,667. Tonight: Under 2K. Total: 40,333. Woohoo!

Nightly Update, Camp NaNoWriMo Day 15

On April 16, 2014 By Lee (@disciple96)In Updates, WritingLeave a comment

Overload. That’s what happened to my brain today. Overload. Too much information. Short circuit. Too much research. This was supposed to help my imagination, not swamp it! Ack! I think I’ll spend tomorrow with a pad and pen–or an iPad and stylus, though I don’t like any of the styli I have–and doodle some ideas (Hi, Marty, I thought of you when I wrote that). I may even get out the note cards–the index card app. Or just use the index card portion of Scrivener. Ack again! The whole point is to make it simpler! Well, that actually is an argument for using the index cards within Scrivener. That way whatever I come up with will already be there in the project, ready for the next step.

And my next step right now is to close this laptop and go to bed. Thank you for dropping in. May your Holy Week be blessed as you prepare for the Easter season! Peace be to you! :)

Bishop Fulton J Sheen’s last Good Friday talk before he went to be with the Lord.

Word count goal for the month: 50K. Nightly: 1,667. Tonight: Under 2K. Total: Over 38K. Woohoo!

Nightly Update, Camp NaNoWriMo Day 14

On April 14, 2014 By Lee (@disciple96)In Updates, WritingLeave a comment

A little R 'n' R: Rockin' 'n' Readin' — A little R ‘n’ R: Rockin’ ‘n’ Readin’

Another rainy day. Stayed inside with the dogs (they are so bored with me!) reading Schiller’s History of the Thirty Years’ War (available in various formats for free at Project Gutenberg). Instructive. Enlightening. Whether he is correct in all his conclusions or not, it’s a fascinating read. I gained some insights that will help me construct situations and motivations for the novel. Every few pages I have to stop reading and type up some notes, inspirations and observations.

Thanks for reading. God bless you and peace be with you. :)

Word count goal for the month: 50K. Nightly: 1,667. Tonight: Under 2K. Total: Almost 37K. Woohoo!