But first, a photo.

Learn about this shot and view my links after the break.

I took the picture above in Alcatraz Prison back in April (and it is part of my Escape to Alcatraz set on Flickr). This was actually shot on one of the auto modes, the No Flash setting, I think. I had only just recieved my Canon T2i a couple of days before, so I was still learning how to use all of the settings.

Still, despite this being taken on a full auto mode, I’m happy with it. And I’m not above using those modes when needed. When you wanna get a shot, you gotta get it however you can.

I had to rotate this shot and crop it in Photoshop so that the Library sign was level. The funny thing is, I didn’t even notice that sign until I was editing the photo last week. I took the shot with the light pouring out of the window as my target. Lucky me!

On to my links:

• On Tuesday, I talked about Playing with Depth of Field. I like using the manual aperture settings to control what is and isn’t in focus.
• Wednesday had me blogging about the problems I have with outdoor photography while wearing photochromic lenses.
• Friday’s blog was about Painting with Light.
• I wrote an article for Examiner.com about Where to Beat the Heat in Downtown Lansing.
• Then I did a review of the bento box lunch at Omi Sushi in East Lansing for Examiner.com. Yummy (includes photo slide show).

Other links

• Brian Briggs over at bbspot.com gave me a bit of link love by linking to my Fictional Restaurants I Would Skip article. Thanks, Brian!
• Jeff Van Camp, aka JVC on LansingNext, claims that the Last Airbender is worse than the Phantom Menace. Bummer. I was looking forward to seeing that too.
• And Erik, another friend of mine, decided to liveblog the entire Lord of the Rings film trilogy. It is a funny, funny read.

But first, a picture, just for you. I’m going to start doing these recap posts on Mondays instead of Fridays from here on out.

This moth invaded my bathroom last week.

• I blogged about reflection photography. I enjoy trying to snap fun shots of reflections, such as in the picture below.

• I shared a recipe for easy mini-pizzas. Yummy.
• I wrote about fictional restaurants I wish I could visit for Examiner.com.
• …and then I wrote about fictional restaurants I would skip.
• Later in the week, the edgy Fraggle Rock skit for LansingNext was given its own podcast.
• On Friday, I blogged about hoping to write for Cracked.com.
• Lastly, Saturday brought us a brand new episode of LansingNext (guests: Dominic Cochran and Philip R. Moon).

Busy, busy busy. Look for a brand new blog post to tomorrow!

- This week’s episode of LansingNext: 012 “Of Moose and Mentor.”

- This week’s special episode of the Magic of Eyri Podcast, “Adapting a Novel to a Podcast.” This was a panel talk I did at Penguicon last weekend (which I still need to write about, sigh). Joining me on the panel is the super-talented Mary Robinette Kowal.

- Oh, and that podcast made it on BoingBoing. Woo hoo!

- I threw together a story for Examiner about where to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

- And lastly, this week’s development stories for Capital Gains. One. Two. Three. Four.

Have a fun weekend.

The month off from releasing episodes will help me built up a bit of a buffer so that I’m not worrying about releasing episodes week by week.  My goal is to have at least two episodes totally finished by the first of the year, if not more (or at least some more scripts finished). I’ve been going full throttle on my free podcast since last Spring, so I figured I’ve earned a break. The less stress around Christmas, the better. I am looking forward to giving myself a bit of a breather–in a way, it is a Christmas present to myself.  I may take that time to re-record episode 001 (“A Shameless Summer“) as well.  It could certainly benefit from it, as I’ve become much better at producing episodes since then (if I do that, I’ll still keep the original version online, so one can compare and contrast).

#

And here’s your weekly round-up of my various writings running wild around the back alleys of the Internet:

• Divide and conquer your hunger with the soup and sandwich combo at Soup Spoon Cafe, Examiner.com (11.16.09)
• Hold the cow and grab a spicy black bean burger at Michigan Brewing Company, Examiner.com (11.18.09)
• Find a fast, spicy lunch at Bangkok House, Examiner.com (11.19.09)
• This week’s High Noon Fantasy Hockey, IllegalCurve.com (11.16.09)

#

The big news of this past week is that the first draft of my next novel, working title Night of the Lonely Werewolf, is done. Yep, all 94,000+ words of it are finished.  I opted to print the dang thing out (all 499 pages of it, double-spaced at 12 point font) as I go through the editing process.  I’m glad I went this route, because I’ll at least have a hard copy of the first draft, and I like taking notes as I do that always important first read-through.  I may need to invest in more red pens.

I'm oldschool. Markin' up the paper with a bunch of red marks.

This is the novel I started for last year’s National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo).  Not happy that it took me almost a year to write the last 44,000 words after cranking out the first 50k in less than 30 days, but “thems the breaks.”

“Life happened” right after the holidays last year and I fell off the writing horse for a few months–but I dusted myself off and get right back on, spurs an’ all.  Getting that first draft finished is key, after that, things kind of fall in place.  But reaching that final goal of a workable first draft–no matter how good or bad it is–is super important.

I didn’t want to become a writer with a few half-finished novels lying around, so I’m happy that I soldiered on and finished this thing.  The interesting thing is that I got some of my better ideas after that six month dry spell, life’s funny that way.  I actually enjoy editing my novels and watching it change into something even better.

#

And here’s your weekly round-up of my various writings infesting other parts of the Internet:

• Lansing’s International Flavor, Capital Gains (11.04.09)
• The Big O Mess at Grumpy’s Diner will put a smile on your face, Examiner.com (11.10.09)
• Photo tour of the Michigan Brewing Company Brewery, Examiner.com (11.11.09)
• Sip some apple cider at Decker’s Coffee Company, Examiner.com (11.12.09)
• This week’s High Noon Fantasy Hockey, IllegalCurve.com (11.09.09)

Some more great news: I am now doing a weekly column about fantasy hockey for the hockey blog IllegalCurve.com. My first column went online today. They pop up every Monday at noon (I turn them in Sunday night-ish).

I know what you’re thinking: where can I get an awesome hat like this dude? How the heck can he do all of these side things, along with his other freelance work, the podcast, his in-progress novel and his day job?

Answer: I’ll make it happen. There will be a bit of a learning curve as I get used to these added duties, but I think once I get in the habit things will get smoother. Also, as a person who works better under pressure and with deadlines, this will strengthen my time management skills.

I’m already getting better–I set up a Google doc today to act as a note pad for my hockey column during the week. I read about hockey daily anyway, and this way I’ll have a running tally of news and ideas–unlike last night when I had to spend a lot of time looking for stuff while working on my first column.

My second Examiner story went way smoother today as well.  I made the mistake of using the advanced publishing tool for the first story and it resulted in way more work than I needed to do. Heck, I wrote all of the Soup Spoon story and started a new story tonight while at the laundry mat. I’m confident I’ll do fine.