NaNoWriMo Recap

NaNoWriMo is over. Sorry about not posting anything during the month. I wanted to, but NaNo writing consumed me.

First things first, I won. But, I’m not done with this story by a long shot. I think I’m halfway though, if I’m lucky. I plan on finishing the current section of the story, and then going back to the drawing board. I like where it’s going, but I need some better focus. Now that I know what the start of the story is, I want to get it plotted out better.

I will say, that in these last 3 days since NaNo finished, I feel relieved. But there is a bit of a letdown. It’s like a NaNo-blues, I guess. I know what I’m working on next, so that’s good. I just need to get working on it now.

So, on my docket for blog posts. A review of the new DestinyQuest book, The Heart of Fire, now that I have time to read/play through it. I also wanted to talk about tablet computers and their ilk, so watch for that one. Over at Hero’s Tale I am waiting for some input for the next part. Please go read Part 12, and leave some thoughts!

In the meantime, I’ve got work to do, and a chapter from NaNo to finish before I start on the next parts. Time to put my nose to the keyboard.

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Coffee

I’m going to give a quick overview of how to make your own pumpkin spice coffee. It might take a little bit of work, but it’s easy, and tastes great! You could even just make it a pumpkin spice drink, minus the coffee.

  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree (a can of pumpkin works fine)
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin spices
  • 2 tablespoons vanilla extract

In a small pan, add the milk, pumpkin puree, and sugar. Turn it to low and stir. You want the mixture to be steaming, not curdling. If it starts to curdle, turn the heat down. I usually add the spice towards the beginning, just to let the flavor steep into the mixture. The vanilla I add towards the end.

If you don’t have pumpkin spice, you can make your own. It’s a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and allspice. If you are measuring, approximately 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon cloves, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon allspice.

Once the mixture is steaming, pour your desired amount into a cup (it’s really to taste) and then add your brewed coffee. Just keep it stirred as you drink. The pumpkin puree likes to settle (like some homemade hot chocolates).

You might be able to tell from this, but I’m a bit of an experimenter when I cook. With this recipe, I don’t measure all of the ingredients too closely. This is one that you can do a lot of guesswork, and it will still turn out good (unless you burn the milk or add too many spices). I learned this way of cooking from my mom, who also likes to experiment in the way she cooks.

There are a lot of other recipes out there as well. Just search “make pumpkin spice latte” in Google. You’ll find quite a few. If you find some other good ones, or variations of your own, let me know. I’m always up for trying something new!

NaNoWriMo 2012

2012 NaNoWriMo logo

November is upon us. That is the month my wife loves, because I’m not in her hair bugging her. Either that, or she hates because she becomes a single parent. Why? One word. NaNoWriMo.

And you’re right, it’s not a word. It’s four. National Novel Writing Month. And it’s exactly how it sounds. Write a novel in a month. Or to be more specific, 50,000 words. It’s a fun challenge, and I’m undertaking it again.

I plan on posting updates as I go, and maybe some snippets of what I’m writing. I’m also going to include a widget on the sidebar to show how many words I’ve written. I like to keep that up to date, so if you visit, you’ll see where I’m at. Or, you can go to my profile page and see some info there. I keep that one pretty basic, though.

So, what I’m I writing? This year is a rewrite. Again. Two years ago, I did a rewrite of a project, and I’m rewriting that one. I’m not happy with the direction the story went, and it needs reworked. So, that’s what I’m doing. The working title is Hero’s Tale Book 1. And yes, it does relate to my Vote Your Adventure story. But, I’m not going to say how at the moment.

I plan on talking more soon. After all, you need to know how to make your own pumpkin spice coffee, right?