Ready… set… write!

November was always a slow month for me when it came to updating Open Diary… mainly because November is “Nation Novel Writing Month”, known to us writers as NaNoWriMo. This is when we all get together online and in person at write-ins and pump out 50,000 words in 30 days, kind of like a marathon for the mind. Setting an imaginary deadline gives us a much needed kick in the arse, and when the month is over.. you have a new manuscript! Yeah!

I’m off to a good start, 5000 words in the first day. While I’m being a big lazy today, I will make up some words later tonight after the boys go to bed. I also have other writing commitments I have to meet, as I’m finishing up a comic book before the boys come back after school. Usually I don’t take the boys until Friday, but there is no school tomorrow and usually when that happens on my weekend, I take the extra day.

For my birthday, a friend of my also gave me 3 tickets to tomorrow’s last football game of the season for our local CFL team. Our team has already been eliminated, but I’m going to take the boys and try to have some fun. It’s going to be cold tomorrow, so we’ll dress accordingly, and I might even take a blanket too.

Speaking of my Birthday, year 42 got off to a killer start, literally! My brother had the day off so he took me out for an afternoon matinee of “Jigsaw” which is the newest in the Saw series. I was getting a little tired of the series, but I have to say this new installment was pretty good. It has some great twists and a decent plot, which was hard to predict. It kept you guessing and saying WTF right up to the very end. I had fun, and if you’re into horror films, I have a feeling you’ll dig it too. After the movie, my brother and I met up with my Dad and he took us out for dinner. We hit a sports bar and ate wings while watching game 5 of the World Series.

I’m a huge baseball fan, but I didn’t like this year’s playoffs. It’s clear to anyone who seriously watches the game that MLB has been juicing the damn ball. Pitches are being lit up right, left and center and many pitchers all season have been dealing with blister issues, especially pitchers who toss sinkers and sliders. Now pitchers are saying the ball is even worse in the final round of the playoffs… which is just pathetic. It’s one thing to change the ball between seasons, but in the middle of the playoffs? Yu Davish couldn’t toss a single slider without floating a fat one over the plate… that’s his best pitch and it’s gone. If I was his agent I’d be furious. I’d be seriously considering legal action. Every pitcher in baseball should… can you say “Class Action” boys and girls? I’m pretty sure deep inside that mammoth collective agreement that looks like War & Peace is a clause stating that the players have to be informed in writing of any changes to the game, and I think that includes changes to the fucking ball. MLB denies changing the ball, but stats don’t lie: that ball is juiced. I really hope the pitchers sue, cause that was low… even for those guys.

End of rant… I’ve got to get back to work and then try to do some Nano words if I have time before the boys get here. I’ll do my best to update again soon but make no promises. I usually slow down in November cause of Nano but I’ll make an effort to be a good beta tester. So until then, take care peeps!

Peter