Whimsical Dreams' Irregular Newsletter:

Another Good Year for Writing

Dragon Reader Tote Bag

In This Issue:

1. New Design For Book Lovers
2. November: National Novel Writing Month
3. What About Hallowe'en?
4. Extras

1. New Design For Book Lovers

I've got a new design!

Actually, more than one, but I didn't find the time to send out the summer newsletter, so how could you possibly have known? At any rate, I've got one up, some more waiting in the wings or in process. This one is -- big surprise, I know -- a dragon. Really, you're shocked silly, aren't you.

It's a book-junkie dragon, and it was one of those images that flowed pretty easily off the fingers and onto the paper.

It was supposed to be a bookplate, but that's pretty uncommon these days, and I'm not all that sure where I can get those made. So... why not apply it more broadly?

As always, if you want it on something I didn't list in the shop, let me know; I'll make it so. It's also available as small prints from deviantArt (a very different paper stock).

Link: http://www.cafepress.com/whimsicaldreams/3888037

2. November: National Novel Writing Month

This year I'm managing to tell you ahead of time! It's almost National Novel Writing Month, again. Here's a bit of what the NaNoWriMo people have to say about it:

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30....

Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.

There's much, much more on their site. I know several of my friends wrote last year, and at least two of them finished. I am going to to do this someday (although probably not this year).

On the other hand, if you're going to do it, you can't go wrong with a blank book, right?

Link: http://www.nanowrimo.org/

3. What About Hallowe'en?

Um. Well. I once again don't have any Hallowe'en-specific designs. Or Thanksgiving, for that matter. (Although I do have Autumn Expectations...)

I'm not sure why that happens (maybe because what usually comes to mind is something so inconceivably trite that I can't bear to put it down). So instead, I'll point you to an illustration by someone else.

Here's a whimsical trickster image, with pumpkins, painted recently by Anne Rodrigue, of Quebec. She's one of the artists whose work I watch and hope to learn from. Enjoy!

4. Extras

As always, is there a design you like and it's not on an item you want? One you remember, but I've retired for a season or longer?

Let me know, and I'll make it happen. Cafepress has a lot more (and at a lower cost) than ever before. What works for you?

I can also do custom and commissioned work. Even if its about Hallowe'en! *chuckle*

As always, thanks for visiting Whimsical Dreams. You are of course welcome to forward this email and to stop by my various online galleries and leave comments!
--Kir