Random Tuesday

I haven't been writing here much & I keep telling myself that's going to change. I'll blog more this week, then next. But honestly, I feel as though I've come upon a bit of a writer's block... it doesn't help that it's been gloomy around here & I haven't been in the mood for taking photos. No photos typically means boring to me.... so, no blog.

I have been pretty busy though, so here's a random list of things I've been up to lately:

1. skating: Pat & I try to go at least once a week - so much fun!
2. applying to jobs: ugh
3. concert: went & saw Béla Fleck & the Flecktones last week
4. movie: The Rum Diary - read the book that day, watched the movie that night
5. NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month, see below
6. my special project: see below
7. editing: wedding photos for my Aunt
8. crafting & listing new items
9. reading & journaling

Yep, that's right - even though last year was an epic fail, I decided to participate again this year. I really do love writing & NaNoWriMo is a good excuse to do so. I've put a little less pressure on myself this year though: instead of writing one complete story, I'm going to stick with a story only as long as I'm interested. Last year I just gave up when I lost the thread of the story I was writing. I didn't know where to go next, so I didn't. This time, I'll just skip to another story instead of giving up.

Although I suppose that doesn't help me much in the long run. Starting new projects is the easy part. I'm all gung-ho & into the planning part, but the execution is where I flounder.

Which brings me to my special project... will I follow through with it or let it fall to the way-side? That's definitely why I haven't been talking about it much here - if I don't tell you about it & don't follow through, then I can pretend it never really happened, right?

Well, enough of that. I'm committing. I'm going to (partly) reveal my special project - something I've been working hard on for a little over a month now. It's also another reason I've been blogging less, or at least the reason I haven't been showing my journal pages recently...

Basically, I'm setting up a daily journal challenge. I'll host it on a private blog & only members who have signed up for the challenge will have access. There will be prompts each day with plenty of examples from my sketchbooks & lots of encouragement along the way. The basic theme will be growth - hopefully everyone will learn a few new techniques & a bit about themselves, make a few new friends & end up with a journal full of inspiration for those days when it's lacking.

So... what do you think? Would you be interested in signing up for something like that?

I already have 6 months worth of prompts blogged & ready to go - in case anyone was worried that this will be another of my unfinished project! Oh no, I'm committed now! I will follow through with this - even if no one signs up!

Which brings me to one last questions: how much would you be willing to spend to join?

I know there are plenty of artists out there that do similar journal challenges for one month & sell them for around $20. My challenge will be for an entire year, but this is my first one, so I'm not certain what's a fair price.

Any questions, comments or advice would be much appreciated!