The past few days, I’ve been spending a bit of time off line. I’m still managing to get at least one blog post up everyday, and get at least 1,667 words of the novel written each day. I’m holding my own on the never-ending influx of emails. So, it doesn’t feel like I’m making any headway, but it doesn’t feel like I’m losing ground either.

Yesterday, Fiona and I went for a hike in the Naugatuck State Forest. The day before, we went with Kim to Sperry Falls. Both days, Barley came along for a romp in the woods. (See our photos on Flickr.)

Apparently we weren’t the only ones taking advantage of a beautiful fall weekend to take our dogs for a walk in the woods. Heather, whose blog I found via MyBlogLog took her dog, Lily for some walks in the Ohio foliage.

But perhaps these autumnal strolls are good for the writing anyway. Yesterday, I received a NaNoWriMo ‘pep talk from Sue Grafton’. In her email to all NaNoWriMo participants, she writes of her dreams for her novels,

The pacing will be relentless, yet the story will ebb and flow in a manner that will produce both thrilling surprises and quiet moments where the reader can reflect on what's gone before.

This weekend was filled with quiet moments of reflection, and it showed up in the sections of the story. I’m that the pace will quicken before I know it.