Stu vs 2012 (Resolutions for Next Year)

2011 has gone by in a blur and was filled with ups and downs. More on that another time. However by far the best part of 2011 was watching my son go from this:



To this:


Anyway onto 2012. Usually new year resolutions are either made to be broken or are so ludicrous that we have no hope of actually achieving success. I've thought long and hard over the last few weeks about what I actually want to achieve next year and believe my resolutions are actuslly achievable. Some of this determinations comes from reading about my wife's aims for 2012. Please feel free to read about her passion for all things sweet related at http://little-sprinkles.blogspot.com/

Next year I intend to:

1. Read more (My bookshelves are filled with books left untouched). Please look to the left for more on what I intend to read in my 2012 Reading list.

2. Push on with my Writer's Bureau Children's course. I started last May and am currently bogged down with assignment 2. By this time next year I want to be booged down with assignment 6.

3. My lifelong passion is to become a published author. Next year I intend to finish my first children's Book and publish it via the Kindle. So watch out for Captain Cosmo: Space Adventurer on a Kindle near you.

4. Finally get a fulltime teaching position and do away with all this unpredictable supply malarky.

5. Spend more quality time with the family (anyone who knows me knows how much I depend to technology and my gadgets. In 2012 I promise to use these less. Ironically I'm typying this out on my IPad - lol.

6. Lose a little bit of weight. Tone up a little.

Well that's it. Not too far fetched I hope. Anyone else care to share thier own?

Stu vs. NaNoWriMo Day 13: A Bit of Description

Looking at my stats page on the Nano website isn't making me feel that great. My average words stands at around 300 and I am way below the diagonal line. Finishing seems like a distant dream and I blame life an work getting in the way.

However this mamouth undertaking has given me a drive to write. i've worked on my story more in the last 13 days than I have in the last few years. My problem is that I'm a perfectionist. I edit as I go and like nothing I write dismissing it as cliche, boring or just not good enough.

Today I've been working on my second chapter which involves a lot of description. I would give you a sample but my latop has decided to have a midlife crisis and it won't connect to the internet. Thank the lord for Mr IPad, here to save the day. I promise my next excert will be up tonight. I really want some feedback on it.

Stu vs. The IPad

So I've been after an IPad since it's unveiling last year but a lack of camera and word processing tools left me somewhat unconvinced. So fast forward 12 months and Apple released it's IPad 2. To cut a long story short I succumbed and am actually writing this blog using it. What can I tell you about Apple's thin box of tricks that you don't already know? Well my only disappointment is that it doesn't have a USB slot. The apps are great, a mobile version of Apple's IWorks is great too.

I'm still playing with other bits but suffice to say I'm happy and can't wait to take it on holiday next week and do some writing.

On a completely different note I have received my course materials from the Writer's Bureau and am already getting stuck in. Prepare to see some character profiles up soon