If you know me, you know this is a constant struggle: my day job keeps me super tired. Brain tired. It’s hard to come home and write, or print, or make books after a work day. So I keep all that creative stuff bottled up until I have enough time to dedicate to it (sometimes I luck up and it happens on a weekend). Since my job is seasonal, it means I sometimes get long-ish breaks and then I feel like a puppy who’s been cooped up inside for too long. You know that dog that bursts through the front door and starts running laps around the yard, and all you see is a blur?
That’s how I feel right now.
I was supposed to start writing my next novel on November 1, with all of the other super-dedicated NaNoWriMo folks out there. But it’s true confessions time: My word count is zero.
Big, rotund -0-.
BUT I have an excuse. I had to get this other project underway first. Because I know myself. I know I’ll lose my mind if I sit still and write all day every day. I have to intersperse something else creative (and let’s be honest, some push ups and downward dogs, too).
So first I got a little printing out of my system. I’ve had this project in my head for a long time, and we all know how that goes, when you have something taking up space in your head because you just can’t dedicate enough time to sorting it out.
I had lots of birds fluttering around in there. Birds that needed to be letterpress printed. As a calendar. As book covers.
It’s been a long time since I did any real printing to speak of. So long I thought surely the members of the letterpress society were going to come into my house at night and take away my membership card.
But really, this is something I love to do. It makes me happy. And I’d stopped making time for it.
So I carved some blocks over the last couple of days. I drew birds, I carved birds, and I made a book and a mockup of this calendar for an Indiegogo project. (If I’m committed to a project with backers and deadlines, then I HAVE to finish it. No backing out. See?) When setting up the campaign page, though, I had to overcome my fear of recording my own voice. I had to get with the 2010s and shoot a video (I know. I know.). So I had my sidekick shoot a little video, I added some music, did a voice over, and planned out some pretty cool perks for anyone who wants to support the project.
I’m using the funds raised from this Indiegogo campaign to get some new tools and equipment for my little home studio, so I can actually start functioning as a small business. You can help by spreading the word to anyone you know who might like some letterpress printed items. Visit the campaign page and check out the perks: they start at just $25. There’s the 12″ x 19″ wall calendar, the handmade books like the one pictured above, and a few other surprises. The best part? This calendar can be trimmed at the end of the year so you’re left with a nice print ready to frame.
So now, the writing begins. My brain is a little less cluttered and I have a plan. I’m with you, NaNoWriMo peeps. For real. But let’s hope I’ll have some breaks that include printing and book-making. Until next time!
P.S. I myself am a bird nerd, just for the record. I’ve been watching the titmouses in my yard go berserk over the feeder and the suet, tumbling through the branches like little ravenous acrobats. There’s a lot of twirling and loop-dee-loos happening out there, so I couldn’t help but draw them for the calendar.
