So, it's been over a month since I wrote B is for Bridge, which is flooring to me. My life has been so hectic of late that I honestly thought it had just been a few weeks.
Anyway, As of last night, I'm back to work on my novel on a hopefully-regular basis, but to mix things up I'm writing it by hand now. No way to measure the word count, but I'm quite enjoying it. It's been a while since I've started anything at the pen-and-paper stage.
For those of you who are interested in these things, I'm writing in an acid-free ruled journal, hardcover, that my girlfriend's parents bought me. I think it's from Lee Valley. I'm using a Bic GripRoller Fine, which I actually bought for inking back when I was still drawing regularly. It has a great flow to it, so it just glides over the paper.
I just introduced a new character into Heart of the World Machine who was inspired by two bands I've been listening to lately: Tinariwen, who are a Tuareg folk/rock group, and Corb Lund, who's a local alt-country act. If you're wondering how those two things could ever collide into a single character, you need to read up about the Tuareg, and then cross-reference Corb Lund's latest album "Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!" and tell me what you come up with.