Hello, readers! Today I’m writing with a Blackwing Eras edition pencil. After writing with a Blackwing Pearl and loving it so much I quickly wore it down to a stump, I went ahead and invested in a dozen more. These have a matte black coating with gold paint and metal accents. It’s a nice, soft lead, which makes for a very smooth writing experience. I’ll probably start buying the natural edition from now on so I can just throw the shavings in my compost pile.

I didn’t post yesterday because I slept most of the day. I felt severely fatigued for some reason, so my wife let me catch up on my sleep while she cared for and entertained the kids. I did, however, manage to get a solid first day of writing in for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) 2025. There was a nonprofit organization heading up the movement for something like a decade and a half. I tried previously, but only halfheartedly. This year, as a sign of my commitment to writing, I’m committing to hitting the goal of 50,000 words written. The official organization may have shut down, but many folks online are still going forward with participating anyway.

Through the /r/writers subreddit (or something similar) I found a post from someone seeking others to join a Discord for mutual support, encouragement, and accountability. I just so happened to be the first to join, which was kind of cool, because I’ve been able to see the server slowly buzz to life rather than joining a server in full swing and feeling like I’m drinking from the firehose. I enjoy a smaller Discord server. Some of the larger ones are too overwhelming for me.

This is the first year I actually did a modicum of planning, and I can tell it’s already helping. I’ve developed a character with a name I don’t hate, and I figured a pretty interesting way to open the story. I’m able to envision the events unfolding naturally, almost on their own, and I’m just playing the role of fly on the wall (with a notebook and a fancy pencil). I have already written about four handwritten pages. I’m excited to tell you more, but I’m keeping it secret even from my wife until it’s ready to be unveiled to the world.

My main goal with this effort was simply to practice further build my writing discipline and habit, and finish a story. Not only am I confident I’ll finish, but I might even end up writing a novel that’s enjoyable to read. I’d consider that a nice bonus.

This is the end, my only friend, the end. I will catch you soon, probably tomorrow. Thanks for tuning in.

—Jared Caraway

We listened to CDs last night while staying up late playing Ticket to Ride (great board game, if you’ve never played it). One of those CDs was Bleed American. I really didn’t give this album the attention it deserved when it was still fresh—but it still holds up excellently today, particularly this song.