Completed Novel

There it is, a completed first draft of 50,108 words to complete the National Novel Writing Month Challenge. Done!

This is one of those hard posts that is difficult to make, simply because of the image above. Everything that could possibly be thrown at me in November, was thrown at me. From making the decision to move, leave a job I've been at for five years, falling into the same, sad routine of making the same mistakes with people who aren't serious about being in your life, to losing the family dog of over 13 years, it just felt like everything was falling apart. I don't like to use my blog to talk about overly personal things, but I feel like a lot of people go through the same shit, and we don't talk about it for fear of being judged.

And yet, in this darkness, I was able to pen a 50,000 word novel through it all. I'm looking forward to this new transition, and continuing on pursuing my writing and pushing my art.

Edward Hopper at the VMFA

A few weeks ago, I went to the VMFA to see the Edward Hopper exhibit. It was mainly about his artwork in hotels, and they even had a room at the VMFA set up like one of his paintings that people can rent out. I am someone who strives for detail, and was surprised at how simple his paintings were. In each one, the loneliness stands out as the models are so disconnected from each other. I found out his wife kept insanely detailed notes about his work, and had tons of journals about their travels. More than one person remarked at how lifeless the people in his paintings looked. They were simple, but damn they were amazing to look at. My favorite painting was the house hotel (5th painting down) where the light kind of glows from around it. 

The museum officials could be overbearing and would walk all the way across the room and get on to patrons like they were children. It was annoying. I've been to the Smithsonian more than once, as well as the Museum at Cairo, and none of the officials were as overbearing as the ones at the VMFA. It was difficult to study the brush strokes and colors without some jackass pestering you. 

Shortly after going, my phone began to act up and I took it in to get repaired. It took them a few days to get it back to me, and when they did, all my photos were wiped out. These were a few that I sent to myself, but the detailed shots as well as personal pics and messages ... all gone. 

Anyway, I plan to go back before the exhibit leaves. Hopper has been one of my favorite artists, and I plan to get to the Art Institute of Chicago to see his Nighthawks painting some day. 

Writing Update

If you've been following my blog for years, you know that I also write. Right now, I'm doing the National Novel Writing Month, where you see if you can crack out a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Right now, I'm sitting at over 30,000 words and along with having to put down our dog of over 13 years and getting a new job, this shit is exhausting. I'm detailing it in my blog, and you can click on the link and follow my progress, along with some of my other writing projects.
https://johnpriceauthor.wordpress.com/2019/11/18/an-update/

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