This is a super-short post to show off what I’m going to be working on for NaNoWriMo this year.

I know that Painless Vim isn’t finished yet, although it’s very close, and basically all I’m doing is a little bit of cleanup and formatting. If you’ve been waiting with baited breath for Painless Vim to be finished fear not! I will still be working on the Little Vim Book that Could during the month of November. In fact, my goal is to have it completely finished. By December 1st, even while I’m “winning” NaNoWriMo for the sixth straight year.

In previous years I’ve been doing graduate level classes, having babies¹, and changing jobs during NaNoWriMo, and I’ve always found time to make it work. What’s more, the impetus it gives me tends to help me get more done in the rest of my life as well. The saying about giving work to busy people still holds true. If I turn myself into a busy person I tend to be more capable overall. Until I freak out and melt down, of course. So I guess there’s still something to be said for balance.

More About Pacifica

Which is all very nice, but you may possibly be interested in the book cover I’m showing off here. You’ve got questions, no doubt. Questions like “What’s it about?” “Who designed your cover?” “Would you be willing to let me redesign your cover, because it’s pretty bad?”

The answers are “I’ll tell you in a minute”, “I did in about two hours using Pixelmator”, and “Yes” in that order. I like playing with Pixelmator, but I’m not super great with it, and if there’s a graphic designer out there who wants to take a second pass at this I’d be happy to let you.

The book is my first foray into cyberpunk. It’s a near-future look at what’s its like to be on the losing side of a war for independence, and how to keep your pride even when you’ve got nothing left to be proud of.

If I remember (and have time) I’ll probably post excerpts through the month. Wether or not I actually develop Pacifica after November remains to be seen, but if I’ve learned anything from five successful NaNo’s its that even writing an ultimately wasted story isn’t wasted effort. I’ve learned something from every book I’ve written.

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