This post was originally posted on December 4, 2015 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
At the very end of October, I decided to participate in NaNoWriMo, an “event” where you commit to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. I started an account. I joined the local Facebook group. I was excited. I had an idea. I was ready to write.
In fact, I was going to write here about the experience of writing a novel.
As I started to read the advice from others, I realized that they had been planning for months. Working on outlines. Character concepts. They had a plan. I only had an idea. I was not ready to write.
No worries, I thought. I’ll rough together an outline quickly. Make some decisions about characters and I’ll catch up.
I never did.
This week marks the end of NaNoWriMo and I have virtually nothing written. My first attempt at NaNoWriMo* was a complete and total failure, although I have a sweet outline and a couple of (very bad) chapters.
But this failure was one of the driving concepts behind The Advent Resolution. If you aren’t prepared to tackle big goals, they won’t happen. And if you never set aside time to prepare, you’ll never be comfortable setting those ambitious goals.
I’ve got a lot of goals and ideas for the next year. I’m too often guilty of trying to tackle them all at the same time. Right now, I’m trying to work out which projects I will tackle and which ones will stay on the shelf.
So I’m committing this first week of Advent to thinking about focus. Wondering how to tackle these goals while still being a great dad and a husband. I’m reflecting on the influences in my life that strengthen and sustain me. I’m trying to remember how to focus in a multitasking world.
We’ll see where it leads me.
The Advent Resolution is simple: Prayerfully prepare for the coming year.
* I plan to try again. Next time, though, I’ll actually be prepared.
This post was originally posted on December 3, 2015 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
When I purchased my second fountain pen, I started to think about purchasing a case to hold my pens, but I wasn’t impressed with most of the options on the market. They didn’t really fit my style and needs.
Finally, I came across cases from Nock Co., co-owned by Brad Dowdy from the Pen Addict podcast. Their cases were exactly what I was looking for. I also love that Nock Co. is located a few hours down I-20 from me in Atlanta* and all of their products are manufactured in the USA.
BRASSTOWN, closed
I was instantly drawn to the Brasstown, a durable nylon case zippered case with a fold out insert that holds six pens. (Material-wise, it reminds me of my beloved Timbuktu messenger bag.) The Brasstown looked perfect, but it seemed like overkill for my two pens so I ended up not buying anything.
Fast forward a few months and my collection of writing instruments had grown. I started looking for a case again, and this time, the Brasstown made sense.
Nock offers their cases in a selection of “colorways” — pairings of colors that span across all their products. I liked a couple of the options, but wasn’t sure which one to get. When I finally decided to order, though, all of the Brasstowns were out of stock.
After a couple of weeks, they restocked – and this time – with a new colorway: Red/Midnight. I instantly fell in love and ordered one.
On the Red/Midnight Brasstown, the outside of the case is a bright red with a navy blue insert. The insert is sewn into the case and unrolls to reveal six slots. Each slot holds a single fountain pen but you can fit two smaller pens into each pocket if you want to.
The stitching is gray and looks sharp, especially on the navy insert. The zipper has two sliders and seems sturdy.
Brasstown, Open
I was pleasantly surprised by how much the Brasstown holds. As expected, it easily holds my three fountain pens, my mechanical pencils and a couple of gel pens. But you can also put other pens and accessories in the main compartment. I’ve got mechanical pencil lead, erasers and more in the bag. And there is plenty of room for more. I can’t imagine ever needing another bag.**
The Brasstown is $35 and I highly recommend one if you are looking for a larger case to tote around your precious writing instruments. I’m very happy with mine.
(If the Brasstown is too big for you, check out some of Nock Co.’s other options. The Chimneytop and Lookout are different approaches, but also look awesome.)
* Their cases are named for mountains in Georgia. Nice touch.
** If they ever release a black/neon green or garnet/black colorway, I’ll be buying the entire line.
This post was originally posted on November 29, 2015 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
One candle
I’m a big fan of the season of Advent — the time in the church year where we wait and prepare for Christ to come. I remember opening Advent calendars when I was young, counting down the days to Christmas. Advent is also the beginning of the church year – the liturgical New Year’s Day.
Last year, I got this idea to make my New Year’s resolutions at the beginning of Advent.* It’s the beginning of the church year so I figured I’d make some appropriate resolutions for the “new” year and get a jump on 2015. But my “Advent Resolution” didn’t seem right. Advent’s about preparing and waiting. Starting my “New Year’s Resolutions” on the first Sunday in Advent was just taking action a month earlier. I never got around to making any “Advent Resolutions” last year.
This year, Advent starts on November 29. And I’ve got a plan. I’m going to use the start of the church new year to prepare for the calendar new year.
The Advent Resolution is simply this: Prayerfully prepare for the coming year.
I resolve to thoughtfully and prayerfully consider how to change the things I want to change in 2016. Then, take action on New Year’s Day.**
I’m not limiting this time of reflection to spiritual or religious changes. Everything is on the table. Diet, exercise, personal growth… pretty much anything. I’ll research and pray and think and write and plan. And when 2016 rolls around, I’ll be ready to act.
I’m excited to start my Advent journey. I’ll be writing about it and will post thoughts and reflections here.
* A quick Google search indicates that using Advent as “New Year” for religious resolutions has been done before…
** Advent ends on Christmas Day. So I suppose that I should start my New Year’s Resolutions on December 25. For various reasons, that would be difficult, so I’m starting January 1.
This post was originally posted on November 18, 2015 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
NOTE: While this page may have useful insights, be aware that it was published more than 10 years ago and may not be relevant for current software versions.
I don’t think I’ve ever posted a tip for Adobe Acrobat, but I found something this week that was amazingly helpful.
I had a large file with many pages that I needed to email. (Dropbox and other sharing services weren’t an option for this client. Only email.) I needed to divide the PDF into several smaller PDFs. There are many ways to do this, but most require some trial and error.
I stumbled across a feature in Acrobat that lets you split a PDF into multiple files and allows you to set a maximum file size for each resulting file.
NOTE: I’m writing this tip about the current version of Acrobat that is included with Creative Cloud. The Adobe Acrobat DC (2015) interface is wacky and a radical departure from everything else Adobe makes.* It’s closer to the current version of Microsoft Office than Creative Cloud.
Open your massive PDF and then click “Tools” at the top of the open window. You’ll come to a page with lots of icons for editing functions. Select “Organize Pages” from the “Create & Edit” grouping.
Select “Organize Pages” from the top row.
At the top of the window, you will now have an button for “Spilt.” Clicking “Split” opens up a row below with more options. By default, Acrobat will split your document into multiple files with an equal number of pages, but if you select the “Number of Pages” combo box, you get additional options: “File size” and “Top level bookmarks.”
The toolbar for “Organize Pages” has the “Split” command.
Choose file size and then set your maximum file size. Click the split button and the separated files will be saved to your desktop.
The options button for the “Split” row gives you complete control of how and where the files are saved. So if you need to use a particular naming convention or have Acrobat save the new file to a specific directory, you can make those changes there.
If you absolutely need to email a PDF and compressing or downsampling the file isn’t an option for you, then “Split” will absolutely save you time.
* I’ve been told the Acrobat team and the Creative Cloud team are completely separate. It looks like it.
This post was originally posted on November 13, 2015 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
I get asked a lot what it’s like to have three kids. Mostly from people with two kids thinking about whether they want to have another. Sometimes, the question comes from younger couples who are thinking about having kids.1 And I always struggle to answer.
My standard answer is that when you have three kids, you have to switch from man-to-man to zone. You lose a little control. You are outnumbered. And while that is completely accurate, it sounds scary and intimidating, which isn’t at all what I want to communicate. I love having three kids.
My other answer is that with three kids, how far apart they are really matters. I’ve had friends with three kids under four years old. For us, our oldest was seven when her brother was born. Those are two radically different situations. But that doesn’t really answer the question.
Sunday morning, an interaction with the kids gave me the answer I was missing. We were waking up and getting ready for church.
Middle child: What are we doing for breakfast?
Me: I don’t know. We’ll probably have a small breakfast now and maybe go to brunch after church.
Youngest: WHAT! We can’t go to a restaurant! We need to go to church! (He LOVES Sunday School.)
Me: We are going to church. We might go out to eat after church.
Youngest: Why can’t we eat at church?
Me: Because they aren’t serving breakfast at church.2
Oldest (from another room): We’re having breakfast at church?!?
And that’s what it’s like having three kids — like adding a person to a game of telephone. It gets a little bit crazier. Funnier. Unpredictable. Often delightful and occasionally frustrating. But never boring.
Bob Wertz is a creative director, type designer, Ph.D. student and researcher living in Columbia, South Carolina. He’s been blogging since 2008.
When my wife and I got married, we weren’t sure we wanted kids. ↩︎
And I was very surprised when they actually had breakfast at church. ↩︎
This post was originally posted on November 11, 2015 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
NOTE: While this page may have useful insights, be aware that it was published more than 10 years ago and may not be relevant for current software versions.
This week, I needed to copy pages from one InDesign file to another. Thankfully, it’s super easy.
Select the page you want to copy from the pages palette. Choose “Move Pages…” from the flyout menu on the pages palette. (Or Layout > Pages > Move pages…)
You can then choose which pages* you want to move and where you want to move it. The default is to move the pages to another spot in the same document, but you can select any document that is open.
Select the destination with the “Move to:” combo box.
And you are done. As a bonus tip, there’s a similar trick in Photoshop, too, that I’ve written about in the past.
* In case you were wondering, it doesn’t matter if the documents you are merging are different page sizes.
