It almost goes without saying that last night I spilled my martini across my work laptop’s keyboard thus sending it into spastic stochastic scrollings, up and down, and thus banishing me to my old desktop in my basement office. If I want to get any significant amount of writing done, I’ll have to do it down here in this dim moldy dungeon. (I do write by hand in my journal, but it’s a slow and artsy process, ill-suited for iron noding.)
This mixologist mishap, compiled with other inauspicious omens at the outset of my first attempt at THE IRON NODER CHALLENGE 7, bode poorly for me finishing it. But then again, I know I won’t finish it if I don’t start. So start I shall, and thus proceeding, I need a plan.
So, here’s a napkin sketch map of how I just might make it to 30 nodes in as many days:
- Daylogs. Mauler says I get five, and I shall use them. (This, obviously, being my first.) But I plan to spread them out so as not to grow too dependent on them.
- Finished pieces, previously unpublished or posted. I have a few of these, though I’m not exactly sure how many. Some are nearly ready, some need significant polishing. But whatever the case, I’m only going to allow myself ten of these total. And I pledge that I will not post anything here that has been posted anywhere before, though I don’t pledge the converse. I may very well post to my blog pieces that I try out here first, and that is why I welcome any and all feedback from you, fellow noders.
Okay. So with five day logs and possibly ten nearly finished pieces that leaves me writing from scratch 15 more raw nodes. This looms as a huge challenge given that I'm also polishing my book this month, but I just might make it, if I hit a groove. A few ideas for how I could:
- Book reviews. I have been taking notes on books I’ve read for a some years now. I have a bunch on file and I should be able to pull together some reviews based on these. I think this should be good for at least 3 nodes in the quest.
- Nodeshells.
- My own. Back when I was more involved here at E2, I created more than my fair share of nodeshells. I feel like it’s incumbent upon me to fill out some of these, and there’s no time like the Iron Noder present. How ‘bout I pledge to three for now?
- One random. I think it might be fun to just find and fill one nodeshell at random, as a free writing exercise. We will see if this actually happens.
- Upcoming performance pushouts. I have a couple of fun things coming up in November. I usually push these out on my blog, but this month I’ll push them out here first.
Okay, that’s approximately nine plus approximately 15. That leaves six fresh pieces to pull out of my proverbial whozzywhutzit.
I think I can do that.
I think I can…. I think I can….
“Believe what seems idiotic,” IceOwl instructs me. ”What do you have to lose?”
I honestly don’t know. And honestly I would ardently jump on board, if I didn’t find belief, in and of itself, so problematic. Icey thinks I’m having my mid-life crisis, and I am strongly inclined to agree with him. He was right about my vasectomy after all, which I got eight years ago, and still ranks easily in the the top five decisions I have ever made.
Let's give this "belief" notion a whirl.