Happy Halloween!

This one wasn't by either of us, fyi :P

So, if you haven't been following me on Google Plus, this month (and why haven't you??) you didn't see my month long tribute to the fun and spookiness of Halloween. I featured a lot about the old Universal Monster movies, some neat craft ideas, and....well....lots about old Universal Monster movies.

Ahem.

O.k, so you really didn't miss all that much, but I also revealed the results of our Sometimes Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest. We missed last year, hence the "sometimes annual".

Anyway, what we do is get a bunch of snacks, pop in some Halloween themed movies and go about carving pumpkins. Since it's just the two of us, the "contest" portion of the night really isn't all that "contesty"...but it's still loads of fun.

We did two, separate, sets of pumpkins as the first started to rot after only a couple of days. I had read where, if you smear Vaseline inside as well as in the cut out holes, the pumpkin will last longer and, now, I can confirm that. After about a week, the second set of pumpkins we carved still look brand new.

On the first Carving Night we loaded up on all kinds of stuff that's not good for us, like egg rolls, mini pizzas, mozzarella sticks, and pie....pumpkin, naturally. We each picked two movies...my wife went with Halloween Town 1 and 2 and I chose The Wolfman and Mad Monster Party.

A before shot.

Another 'before'

Our "supervisor"... Spooky

The (tasty) innards

Tracing the pattern

S.H.I.E.L.D..of course I'd do something comic booky

My wife tried a shaving technique to make a smiling face/graveyard

The finished products.

As I mentioned above, due to the fact that the pumpkins started to dry up and rot a couple of days later...and my wife wasn't satisfied with her experimental shaving offering....we decided to carve up a couple more unsuspecting pumpkins.

This time we just went "old school"...my wife using our cat, Jasmine, as a model for hers while I just went with some generic creepiness. These didn't turn out half bad, I have to say.

For the movies, this time, I picked Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein (which my wife had never seen...but loved...) and my wife chose Hocus Pocus.

These pumpkins were much smaller (by design) and it didn't take us nearly as long to carve them up (again, by design).

While I'm sure neither of us will ever make the National Pumpkin Carving Tour (is there such a thing?), we had a ton of fun and, after all, isn't that what Halloween is all about?

Here's wishing you all a very safe and happy Halloween and watch out for all the little creatures if you happen to be driving tonight!

It's Alive.....Alive!!

In our last episode....er, I mean, in my last post...I mentioned the fact that my writing pace has slowed and I needed more rigidity in my schedule, where writing is concerned.

Since then, I've been wondering if I haven't really, subliminally, been holding back so I can unleash a flurry of 'literary abandon' during November and National Novel Writing Month?

Nah, I'm not buying it either.

Regardless, I'm going to be spending the next three weeks roughing out an outline as well as tidying up a few of my character backgrounds. My plan is to bring Last Chance fully to life during November.

I managed to "win" my very first Nano, back in 2011, but fell short (by quite a bit) last year. I "pantsed" it those two years and would like to see 'how the other half lives', so I've decided to put some planning into my pantsing.

Not sure if that makes me a "planster", or what.

Anyway, I'll be participating in NaNoWriMo this year....how about you?

Oh, by the way, if you need a buddy over on the NaNo site, my handle is Mmeans68. It looks like you can, now, update some of your novel information, as well, so look me up while you're over there. :)

IWSG: October, 2013

Hey, you should write a book.

I did, actually, a couple of years ago.....I wrote it in a month.

A month? Wow! When did it come out?

Ummm...well...it didn't. Not yet, at least. I still need an ending.

Oh, I see. Well that can be tough, yeah. So, how about recently? What are you working on now?

I have a story in the works and it's........coming along.....clears throat.

That's cool! So, when do you think you'll be finished?

(sighing) At this rate, who knows?

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This month's IWSG finds me in a similar spot as last month. No 'new' insecurities to speak of, but I'm beginning to wonder about my 'sense of urgency' as far as getting a book done, much less published.

I've been working on my characters and plot to my latest work, Last Chance, at a decent clip, but I haven't been the most diligent about sitting down to write. I've been doing it as the mood strikes me. Sometimes I'll write for a few hours, other times, just a few minutes or when I'm jotting down an idea for a character, plot point, or situation. 

I mean, I'm really in no big hurry to finish and I want to make sure I do it right.....but I also can see the need to be a bit more regimented in my writing.

I definitely see more "to do" lists (I'm a big list maker) and some scheduled writing in my future.  

I think it's time to buckle down.

The preceding entry has been an Insecure Writer's Support Group post. Hosted by the Ninja Captain, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the IWSG is a sounding board for writers, their writing related issues, and possible solutions. It's a judge-free zone where the focus is listening and, maybe, lending a helping hand to our fellow writers. 

This month, Alex is aided and abetted by Julie Luek, Rachna Chabria, Beverly Fox, and Iima Todd so drop by and show them some love for their efforts :)