Teenage Writer

The War Horn - Official Cover Art!

2012-02-28T12:21:00.000-06:00

Though my blog has been rather quiet lately, work on The War Horn is going on at a steady pace. The formatting is ready and almost all the endorsements are in - after I polish the text a bit and get two more critiques, it'll be ready to be uploaded!

In the meantime, my patient blog readers, feast your eyes on this: The War Horn's official cover art!

"Tobias" is my middle name and the name of my great-grandfather; thus, being much more awesome than "Jake", I used it as my pen name.

Let me know what you think.

And in the meantime, how's writing going for all the rest of you?

Signing out.

The Writer's Purpose

2012-02-12T17:03:00.000-06:00

(Note: this post is something of a sequel post to another article I've written, We Are The Writers. If you haven't read We Are The Writers already, I'd encourage you to read it before continuing on to this post. And one more note...this post is long and fairly impassioned. Only read it if you have time to focus on it.)

So here's what I've said: writers are paradoxes. Writers are some of the most meaningful people in the world. Writers are insanely sane.

Whether or not the logic processes that I used to explain this paradox are valid or not (isn't that ironic?), I think we can all say that writers have something in them that makes them be more meaningful when writing meaningful things. I recieved mixed feelings about my last post and created something of a discussion, and I'm not surprised. It was a crazy post, after all.

I called it one of my greatest posts. But in hindsight, THIS post is the culmination of my writing on this blog. This is the heartbeat of my writer's existence. And, like I said, this will be long.

In this post, I'll dive into something dearer and deeper to me than the awesomeness of writers: the PURPOSE of Christian writers. I have a feeling that this will be less controversial but more challenging to all of us. We Are The Writers presented ideas: The Writer's Purpose will provide direction for those idea-driven people. We Are The Writers presented philosophy: The Writer's Purpose will present theology. (And don't shy back at that word, theology. It invokes visions of fifty-pound Bibles and heavy seminary textbooks and St. Augustine. But it's important, so keep reading.)

The Purpose

What is the purpose of a Christian writer?

It's a simple question that has a simple enough answer. However, let me clarify that question: what is YOUR purpose as a Christian writer?

Like I said, the answer probably comes to mind easily.

Here's my own answer: my sole purpose as a Christian writer is to glorify God. My sole purpose in LIFE is to glorify God. After all, that's why I moved to West Africa!

But honestly, what does that mean? Someone once told me that "the glory of God" is the answer to every Sunday school question, but "the glory of God" doesn't answer this one: what does glorifying God mean?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that the way we glorify God the best is by living for Him. For example, when Jesus and, afterward, Christians, did miracles, the people glorified God. Healing people and doing Christ's work glorifies Him. Living for Him and praising Him glorifies Him. We are to live as "living sacrifices" to God, according to Romans 12.

Another passage states that whatever we do, we must do it as if we were doing it for Christ.

The way we glorify God is to impact the reader FOR CHRIST. We show that His goodness is so good that we cannot help but want it: we show that His holiness is so holy that we must throw ourselves on the ground and shout, "Woe to me!": we must show that His forgiveness is powerful and can wash the foulest clean, but that each man truly is foul and must be cleansed: we must show Him in EVERY aspect.

But I'm not saying you should write novels where all the characters get converted and the reader has a nice accept-Jesus-Christ-and-you-will-be-saved epilogue to tie it all together. Far from it. But the desire to escape cheesy writing and cliches does NOT let us escape the fact that we are still to glorify Him in WHATEVER we do.

So our purpose as writers is to glorify God. Simple enough, right?

But let me reinforce this: every book, every chapter, every WORD you write must be for the glory of God, if you are a Christian wanting to write a Christian novel. Many people have said, "Write what you're passionate about."

I'm not afraid to say it: my greatest passion in life is not writing. It isn't reading. It isn't blogging. It isn't even having good Christian fellowship or going to church.

My greatest passion in life is to see the glory of God spread to all nations and to live my life according to His purpose and FOR His GLORY, whether that be in writing or not, wherever He might call me.

Whether you write a novel or not, the decision to live solely for God will impact every single aspect of your life and fundamentally change your worldview.

If your passion is not for God, then you should not be writing a book you consider "Christian". If your passion is for a THEME, such as sacrifice, then you are off. If you hold anything besides God to be your greatest passion, then your novel will not accurately reflect the glory of God.

If you have any other motivation to write a novel than to glorify God, then you need to take a step back.

So that is our purpose, to glorify God. But what does glorifying God in writing look like?

That's what my second point is about.

The Action

These thoughts have been simmering in my head for a long time. The balance of theme and message and faith is a tricky one, but we must all choose where we will stand.

There are three ways that a Christian writer can write a book for God's glory. (The first one may be disputed, but I think it could be pulled off. I tried my best to pull it off in my novel The War Horn, actually, but in some places, it seeps into the second kind of story.)

1) First, the Story with the Theme. A theme is the most common way to express an ideal that originates from God. All three categories have a theme: but only one of them is the Story with the Theme, a story that uses theme and only theme.

What is theme? For the purpose of this post, a theme is a "good" ideal-like aspect of humanity. Forgiveness, love, and sacrifice are all powerful "themes".

The Story with the Theme uses the plot and characters to show the reader this "theme".

The most common example of The Story with the Theme is found in The Lord of the Rings. J. R. R. Tolkien hated allegory, but he did want to write books that would "cleanse" the world, in a way. He didn't want to write a novel to get a point across, but he (debatedly) wanted to write a novel with a theme to get across. (Note the difference in wording. He wrote a novel and included a theme, rather than making a theme off of which to write a novel.)

Sacrifice and heroism are two big themes in The Lord of the Rings, and, coupled with my faith, I find them quite inspiring. I, and millions of others, love Tolkien's books.

2) The Story with the Message is the second kind of story. It's a story with Christian MESSAGES, which is different than a theme. A message, for the purposes of this post, is sort of a "clearer" version of a theme. It's not necessarily black-and-white Christian, but to the one who looks for it, the parallels to Christianity are evident.

The example for this one is C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia. Many people have read them and never realized the Christian themes, but it's evident to most Christians, and certainly more evident than Tolkien's Christianity.

3) The Story with the Faith is the third kind. It's a story with an evident faith that includes in that story a message AND a theme. The "faith" in this kind is basically the worldview of the author clearly expressed in the events of the story and the characters.

The best example of this is found in Bryan Davis' writing. If you read any Christian speculative fiction, then you've undoubtedly heard of Bryan Davis. He's a Christian writer who writes his entire worldview into his books. His books always have a theme, a message, and often expresses his faith in Jesus Christ.

Where Will We Stand?

Where will you stand, writer?

To glorify God means that we will be fighting, you know. God is counter-culture, because men are sinners and He is holy. Our words may not be popular. We may be called "bigots" or "Bible-thumpers", but should that stop us?

Absolutely not!

We must stand firm. We must fight the fight of the faith, not only with the armor of God but with the words He has given us. Our words are our most powerful weapon, and we must wield them according to our King's commands.

But we have three kinds of story to balance, and to the average Christian writer, it's hard. Some of us don't want to be "preachy" and try to proselytize the audience, and yet we want to express our faith in a way that glorifies God. In many ways, we'll lean towards one or the other.

And it's hard. So, so hard. The Christian writer's job is to write in blood, for the pain and hardship of trying to make the intangible tangible is one of the most difficult jobs there is; and in the same way, we are writing with Someone's blood so that every page will reflect it.

So which way is better?

None of them are better than the other.

I think that God uses each and every style of Christian writing. And I think, in some ways, he uses others more. I've heard a story from Bryan Davis himself (I met him at a writing conference) about how his book literally saved someone's life. And for those of you who don't know it, Davis's journey to publication and his faith in his writing is truly a remarkable and Christ-filled tale.

And yet, I don't think many non-Christians will read Davis's books. They're clearly marketed for Christians, and thus are avoided, in most cases.

In the end, the decision is up to you and God.

Here's how I do it: every single novel I write, I place in God's hand. I tell Him, "This novel is Yours. Guide me as I write this." Sometimes they end up differently. The Book of Shaldu, for instance, is between The Story with the Message and The Story with the Faith (and will probably lean towards The Story with the Faith once I rewrite it), while The War Horn is mostly a Story with a Theme.

(This method also lets me pull off SOP - seat of pants - writing. But that's another subject altogether.)

And I pray that, in whatever way He might do it, that He would use my novels to further His Kingdom and glorify Him. And I pray the same for you: in whatever you might do, do it for God's glory. Wherever you stand in this journey we call writing, and wherever you might be in determining how God wants you to write, let me tell you this:

Do it for God's glory.

I have a baton in my room here in West Africa. When I graduated a missions class called Perspectives, I was handed the baton, and the baton read, "Every tribe, tongue, and nation or BUST!!!"

That's the war cry of missions. We Christian writers have our own war cry, however. "Write a story to glorify God—or BUST!"

Soli Deo gloria, blog readers.

Glory to God alone.

A Worldbuilding Fiasco

2012-02-11T15:20:00.002-06:00

This post will be short, but I have a couple points to make about worldbuilding in a fantasy or science-fiction world. Don't worry, more news on The War Horn will be coming soon: hold your horses and I'll get to you as soon as I can.

So I just have one question...does anyone else feel the pressure to worldbuild like nobody's business? Like, on a "Silmarillion" scale?

That's what's been plaguing me lately. I'm five thousand words into a document titled "A History of the Elathim". And I'm not even halfway through with my "worldbuilding".

You see, this document basically records the history of this fantasy world, and specifically of a certain people. To give you an idea of how massive this project is (in comparison to writing out a "quick" history), I'm writing the history of seven nations, their fall, and the rise of the three other nations (or mini-empires, more like) that took their place. Right now, I'm done with the preliminary histories of TWO of those first seven nations. That's what took up five thousand words.

Besides this, I've written out a royal genealogy for two of the nations (and hope to write one out for each nation), in addition to drawing out a detailed map of all seven kingdoms. And I created a non-Roman calendar.

Seriously.

I really did think that I was just writing out a short little background on the history of this people, but it's looking like this little project will end up being more than fifteen thousand words, minimum. One thing led to another, and I had all kinds of things to sort out. It's actually like exploring new territory. I've got a genealogy with 36 names on it, and each name has a story behind it. (Resist the urge to explain, resist the urge, resist the urge...)

So that brings me back to my first question....does anyone worldbuild obsessively like I do? I feel kind of alone here. XD If so, feel free to let us know how you do it, at least for my state of mind.

I'll leave you with an example of my madness...a quote that touches on primitive genetics.

"It seems to me to be evident that....the traits of the Elarasters are passed on from one generation to the next, like a family heirloom might; but this is contained within their blood, in packets, if you will, of information that determine the life of a man or woman....however, I estimate that it only manifests itself once in a thousand births, or less, and only among the Elathim." — Loc Shallin, "A Treatise on the Origins of the Elarasters" Printed in 829 W.C.

I have to admit, though...this worldbuilding is great fun. XD You ought to try it.

Who Gets to Pre-Read?

2012-02-04T05:23:00.002-06:00

The time came to draw names. And then I discovered that I had no hat. (Sadly, my fedora was left behind in the States.)

So I improvised and used my sister's trenchcoat pocket. What's cooler than a trenchcoat, anyway?

However, I'll belay the talk and cut to the chase:

The winners are....

LARK

FARRAH

ELDRA

CIARA

and

DAUGHTEROFLIGHT

Congratulations, winners! I'll send you The War Horn in your respective formats ASAP. Since internet is limited, however, there might be a delay. Be patient and good things will come, as the saying goes.

Remember: you need to read this within two weeks and, if you liked it, write an "endorsement" that's less than a hundred words long.

Many thanks to all who participated! If you didn't win, no worries: I'm hoping to have The War Horn available before February reaches its end. Once the cover art is finished and the pre-readers have read the book, then it's just a matter of days before The War Horn comes to a website near you.

Want to Pre-Read The War Horn? Read This Post!

2012-01-29T09:27:00.002-06:00

There comes a time where a writer gets so familiar with his work that he can no longer detect what mistakes may remain. You can always keep revising, but the work in question will never be perfect. Novels that are actually published aren't perfect, they're mostly perfect.

With The War Horn, I've done all the editing that I can do. The final revision is finished.

So what do you do?

You get pre-readers to read the work in question.

And, my blog readers, those pre-readers are you, and this work in question is The War Horn.

Yes, readers, your wildest dreams have come true. (At least, I hope that this is your wildest dream. O_o) This post is the "READ THE WAR HORN FOR FREE!" post.

This'll be very simple. There will be five lucky people who get to pre-read The War Horn. However, before I go on to explain how these five lucky people shall be chosen, I need you to read something. In order to pre-read The War Horn, you need to be able and willing to do three things:

First, you need to be able to read the War Horn within two weeks, if not sooner. The War Horn is just over 110 pages print length, a quick and easy read, so this shouldn't prove to be any trouble for you.

Second, if you have any feedback whatsoever, please send it to me. If you see a typo or an inconsistency or a passage that just strikes you as awkward, let me know. This is the last polish before The War Horn is put for sale, so it's important. (This doesn't mean that you should do an in-depth critique.)

Third, if you liked the book, please write a paragraph of one hundred words or less telling why you liked the book, and send it to me in an email. This will be the equivalent of an "endorsement" and will go in the front of the book, along with your name or alias. (If you're willing, you can also put your age in the endorsement, and your blog address, if you have one, but those are both optional.)

By participating in this pre-reading contest, you agree that you are able and willing to do the above.

Now, what do the readers get out of it? You will, of course, get to read my novel before everyone else, and get your name in the front of the book with your endorsement. Like I said before, the endorsement bit is only if you liked the book. In addition, I'll mention all of the pre-readers - whether or not you actually liked the book - in the acknowledgments.

Here's how you can get your name in the hat:

Comment below (or email me) and tell me you want to pre-read The War Horn. Include your email in the comment, or, if you're not comfortable with that, send it to me in an email. That's it. If you want to earn an extra "entry" in the hat, you can blog about it. Send me the URL either through a comment or an email to validate your entry.

If you have a preference for format, let me know in the comment section while you're entering. I can send it to the winners in either .doc, .pdf, or .prc format. (PRC is Kindle's format. If you have a Kindle, all you have to do is hook it up to the computer and copy-and-paste the file. You can then read it on your Kindle.) If you don't specify a format, I'll send it in .doc.

The contest starts right now and will close next Friday, on the 3rd of February. Once the contest closes, I'm going to literally draw five names out of a hat. If you win, I'll email you a copy of The War Horn in your format of choice, as well as write a short blog post announcing the winners.

Let it begin! Allons-y!

Back—In Blue

2012-01-28T07:24:00.000-06:00

I'm back, but not in black. I'm wearing a faded blue Kansas shirt. (Faded because my poor *snif* Kansas shirts are slowly deteriorating. That's your cue, Darth Vader: "NOOOOOOOOOO!")

And guess what? It's another update. Not quite as exciting as something like "GET A FREE COPY OF THE WAR HORN!" (although that's coming soon, muahahaha!). However, I hope it proves to be informative, if not entertaining.

Right now, I'm still hard at work with The War Horn.

You see, I lost a day this past week, and I still can't figure it out. All of a sudden, it was Friday, and I didn't even know what had happened. I seriously thought it was Thursday. So that meant that schoolwork went in Blue Overdrive mode and also produced a vial of Stop Writer's Cramp because of some weird chemical reaction. Go figure.

See, that's much more interesting than "I was busy with school so I couldn't revise", wasn't it?

However, sources tell me that I said to my parents, "The War Horn will be finished on Sunday!" so we'll see what happens. If that's true, then the "GET A FREE COPY OF THE WAR HORN" post will be coming soon to a blog near you.

For a more serious update, here's a post-within-the-post in reply to some comments made on my previous post.

Firstly, I do eat one meal a day. And now I can't think of eating three meals a day. Meh. (And, while I'm on that thought, I find it funny that people say "How can you survive on one meal a day?", because it's perfectly normal here.) It's a wonder I didn't swell up and roll around like a soccer ball. Or football, as the locals call it. I think I'll forever eat this much in times to come. In all seriousness, though, our entire family is a lot healthier than we were two months ago because of our change in diet.

However, the conditions we live in are not as healthy. It's almost crazy, what's been happening. My sister, when we first arrived, had an extremely minor case of typhoid. But that was just the beginning, and it centers mostly on our pets. Every single one of our pets has had some sort of accident or sickness that could have proven fatal, or did.

So here it is: we got a dog, it died; we got a mongoose and it temporarily paralyzed itself and couldn't walk for a week; we got two more dogs, and they both died of roundworm; we got another dog, and it got bit by a dog that might have had rabies and is now quarantined; and we got a cat that jumped off a top bunk and had a seizure so bad that we thought it was going to die. It did, however, recover, and continues to attack us in the middle of the night. (There's a reason she's named Ninja.)

That is, in brief summary, some of the weird happenings.

But I digress: back to the questions.

Concerning life-or-death situations...well, I don't think so. We've had some situations that were tense and could have been dangerous (a drunk guy yelling at us, men smoking drugs nearby, a supposed plot to steal our welder), but I have yet to have a life-or-death encounter.

Belly-laugh? Nothing that stands out, although there are little family-related jokes here and there. :) There was that one time that some children were yelling "Chinese man!" at us, peppering it with "Ching change gong gong!". One white person is the same as another, I suppose. ;)

Similarly, I was driving one time with another white person once who had lived here for quite a while, and had married a Liberian. When we passed a group of white people, he leaned out the car window and shouted "White man! White man!" in Liberian English at them. They didn't even look up.

Something that normally wouldn't happen at home? Everything. Heh, it's such a large category. We go to an outdoor market for much of our food, we walk most everywhere we go (or catch a taxi), all of the children wave at us when we pass (oftentimes saying "White man!"); the list goes on. Anything more specific? XD

Oh, and we all (probably) had worms. :P That was fun. Dewormer is cheap here, thankfully. And I think my entire family is just waiting for me to come down with malaria. The mosquitoes like me too much.

As far as I know, there are no elephants. Liberian "bush" is basically a sub-Saharan jungle. There are, however, monkeys, mongooses, genets, various kinds of birds, lizards, and other fauna.

Cassava is one of my favorite Liberian foods. It's a leafy vegetable: cut up, and put with peppers and onions and garlic, and then mixed with the meat and cooked. It has a dark green look to it and is rather oily. (In fact, the first Liberian dish that I ever had was cassava with goat. It was in America, months before I came here, and I thought it rather weird.) I have not, however, heard of it being in cake. O_o

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask! I've got a storehouse of information in my noggin. I haven't even scratched the surface of my life here. Which is why I have trouble writing coherent blog posts. ;)

As for me, folks, I think I'm going to go swimming soon. :D

Au revior!

The Reports of My Death Are Assuredly False

2012-01-20T16:07:00.000-06:00

Well, it's been a sight longer than I expected, folks. I've so many stories to tell that it would take ages to recite them: so I'll settle for a few scattered tales to update my dear blog readers. Pre-written blog posts are great, eh?

First of all, I am alive.

Second, I'm in the midst of my final revision of the War Horn. Be prepared for a post about pre-readers soon!

Third, I'm doing One Year Adventure Novel again, with my sister. This time, it's a fantasy. I've got some epic ideas for it. Here's the preliminary synopsis:

"Elijah Finarod. Once, he was the pride of his people. Now he's imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit and haunted by the one he did. A bloody war is raging across his world, and Elijah is unexpectedly freed to seek a way to end an ancient curse, the only hope they have of stopping the war. But he's being pursued by unknown assassins and he's being hunted by his own people. Nevertheless, Elijah is determined to stop the war at any cost. For Elijah Finarod started the war, and now he was going to end it."

Fourth, I've never been so grateful for chicken and beef. For the first two weeks we were in this house, we ate fish and nothing but fish. (The fish was in the sauce over rice, of course...not fish plain. That would be a nightmare.) And did I mention that I abhor fish?

Fifth, I wrote out a genealogy of the House of Finwë from Tolkien's "The Silmarillion". Go figure. (Finwë fathered Fingolfin, who fathered Turgon, who had a daughter who was named Idril who married a mortal named Tuor, and they had a son called Eärendil and he married the half-mortal-quarter-elf-quarter-Maia Elwing and they had two sons, Elrond and Elros...) And yes, "Finarod" in the synopsis above is a nod to Tolkien's characters "Finarfin" and "Finrod".

And last, I miss all you crazy and wonderful writers. ^_^ You're all awesome.

That is all.

*ahem* Kidding! Considering the time I have with no internet to waste my time on (actually, between revisions and school being renewed once more, it's not that much), I ought to write something a bit longer, eh?

Here are a few notes that I've composed concerning life in Liberia. However, I'm not even sure what you all want to know...so shoot me a few questions in the comment section, and I'll write another blog post in response. Fair?

Concerning FOOD:

The fundamental elements of food are thus: rice, sauce, meat. The meat is in the sauce (or soup, sometimes), and it is poured over rice. That's Liberian food in essence. The sauce may include something like palm nuts, potato greens, cassava, etc. The meats include goat, beef, chicken, and fish. And maybe lamb, but I have yet to eat lamb here. And the food always has peppers in it.

My favorite is "pepper soup", followed closely by cassava. Pepper soup is, essentially, a soup with some sort of tomato sauce base, with a meat and lots of peppers in a broth; sometimes over twenty peppers in that soup alone. As I said on Facebook the other day, "IT BURNS US!" (To give you an idea of the heat of the little Liberian pepper, it is ranked the same on the "heat" scale as the habenaro pepper.)

Concerning ENVIRONMENT:

The place where we live, as I have described elsewhere, is a concrete building with tile floors, and you can only reach it by crossing a wooden monkey bridge across a freshwater lagoon. It's a moment's walk from the beach: you can look out the window and see the sea along the horizon. This means that we get a sea breeze during the day and night, which is phenomenal. The windows are always open to let in the breeze, and in the shade, it's not actually that hot. Sitting in the sun is another matter.

Right now, we're in the dry season. It hasn't really rained for weeks, and the weather is steadily, degree by degree, climbing upward. I have no idea what the temperature really is, however, save that it's somewhere over ninety every day; that was the temperature three weeks ago.

Concerning CHANGES IN LIFESTYLE:

This is a fairly big category. Below, I shall list the changes that have taken place in general life.

Firstly, we don't have running water. We have to go out and manually pump all the water we use. So that means I use a dipper, half a bucket of water, and some shampoo when I get grimy enough to take a shower. We have plans to dig a well, however, and use an electric pump to pump water to a mini water tower, which provides the pressure we need for running water.

Second, our meals have decreased. We now dine in what we think is a typical Liberian manner: one meal a day, commonly in the afternoon. If we get hungry later on in the evening, we eat a small plate of leftovers from dinner. In the mornings, we eat fruit, and, some days, popcorn.

We've also learned to conserve electricity and computer charge. Because we need our computers for school, we turn on the gas-run generator most nights, which gives us electricity to charge electronics and run certain things. We do, however, have some solar power. We recently received a fridge/freezer that runs on solar power, and half the lights in the house - one in each room - run on solar power.

Most Sundays, we've had house church instead of going to church. We dig out a few hymnbooks we brought with us from America and sing hymns, afterward praying and then studying some Scripture.

Concerning PETS:

Inevitably, we've gotten pets. You've probably already heard of our mongoose, Mae. Or Minkey, as my sister calls her. She's extremely accident-prone, so much so that she seems to be disabled. Three of her four legs don't support her very well, and we're not entirely sure why. However, she did hit her head some days earlier and it swelled up; afterwards going down again. We think this might be the issue, some sort of damage to the brain. Right now, though, she's still eating and drinking and going to the bathroom on our beds, so that's a good sign, and her legs still retain movement.

So far, we've had four dogs. The first one (whom we named "Jax mi Dog" after the "Jax mi Katt" character in Jill Williamson's epic trilogy) died after a week, contracting some sort of illness. We buried him beneath a palm tree. Several days later, we got another puppy, whom we called Pippin. He's a typical Liberian mutt. We made sure he got shots, and right now he's a troublemaker in good health.

We also got two German pointer mix puppies from an American family. Their mother is huge and scary, so we're hoping that these two puppies - "Stan" and "Valli" after two West African missionaries we knew in Kansas - will grow up likewise.

You see, dogs in Liberia are not only pets (and to Liberians, they aren't really pets at all), they're guards. They're as good or better than a security guard, especially the big dogs. I've witnessed it myself: the mother of our German pointer puppies scared the pants off of one of our Liberian friends.

And lastly, we got a grey kitten who enjoys exploring my bed and playing with my shirt while I'm trying to sleep. We mostly got her to make sure the mouse/rat population stays down. At least, that's why Mom and Dad got her.

Concerning LIFE:

Get up. Do school. Eat dinner. Revise/do OYAN. Go to bed.

That's life right now. Pretty interesting, eh?

So, how are you all doing? How's the writing? How's life in general?

And if you have any questions, ask away. I'd be happy to answer them...but don't expect to get an answer right away. I have over four hundred unread emails, and the only internet I get is from a USB internet stick that's slow as molasses. And I rarely use it, anyhow.

Farewell, write well, and stay out of the heat!

Er...cold...

Never mind.

Sand And Houses And Also Rather Important News

2011-12-30T13:15:00.001-06:00

I felt unsatisfied with the capitalizations of this post....so I capitalized everything. ^_^

Now, down to business! I'll keep this short.

Things have been busy in a slow kind of way. That means I've been procrastinating up a storm, unfortunately. However, we did sign a lease on a house - which means we're moving in tomorrow. And as of right now, we don't have any plans for internet.

That doesn't mean I'll disappear entirely. I'm still not sure how much I'll be on, though. I might be gone for months. Or I might be back in a week and say, "Hey! We got internet! Hullo there again!" So don't get your shirt in a knot.

However, it should mean a decrease in blogging. I have one post I'll hopefully write before I "leave", so there.

The house we're getting is really nice, actually. It's owned by a missionary, and we'll be leasing it from him; it has four rooms and it's really close to the beach. However, the reason that we're getting it for an affordable price (because houses of this sort, on the beach, are normally expensive) is because the only way to get to the house is to either walk to it along the beach or cross a long walking-bridge across a lagoon. It's really picturesque, actually.

Things are also moving slowly in my revisions of The War Horn. I cut another three hundred words of chapter one and haven't added a single word. However...I think I'm getting close to actually rewriting the beginning. We'll see. <_<

In short, I'm alive, I'm trying to write, and I have one more post coming up. And I'm procrastinating. Right now, all of the other posts I have planned - the continuation of "Ninja" and my sequel post about writers - are on hold. Sorry about that. Perhaps I can sit down and pre-write them when I don't have internet.

And while you're reading this, if you haven't already, check out my poll on the sidebar and the excerpt I have up on one of my pages—Prologue: Assassins.

So keep your eyes peeled. I'll be back.

Hopefully.

A Christmas Present From Me To You

2011-12-25T06:37:00.000-06:00

Right now, you're probably just waking up - and it's Christmas Day! How wondrous! You probably won't even read this until Christmas is done and over, with your stomach full and presents galore seated 'round you.

However, to celebrate this time of giving and the celebration of our Lord's birth, I figured I'd give you a present. And being a writer, what more can I give you but the gift of words?

Temporarily up on my blog is a new page, titled simply "Prologue: Assassins". This is the prologue from The Prophecy of Einarr, and it'll only be available until sometime in early January, when I'll take it down.

Merry Christmas, and try not to eat too much!

Christ is born, hallelujah!

What is the True Meaning of Christmas?

2011-12-24T07:36:00.000-06:00

Today is Christmas Eve.

Christmas, in America, is THE most popular holiday. Billions are spent on it. (I'll address that later in this post.) And all sorts of people are asking - what's the true meaning of Christmas? It's probably the most cliche seasonal question there is. And many things have addressed it; from Charlie Brown to Santa.

"It's about presents!"

"Goodwill!"

"It's all about Christmas spirit!" (Ever heard that one before? "There's just no Christmas spirit anymore." That's another popular cliche.)

The cartoon Charlie Brown, oddly enough, hits the peanut on the mongoose, though. Linus stands up in A Charlie Brown Christmas and quotes the Bible, reminding everyone of the true meaning of Christmas. Good old Linus, eh?

In our heads, we know that Christ is the meaning for Christmas. And we even try to make everyone know that. We post on Facebook ("Remember the CHRIST in CHRISTmas!"). We write blog posts about it. We tell our dogs and our mongooses.

But still, even though I knew this in my head, it didn't really hit me until a little bit ago. Up until this point, I had been saying "Merry Christmas!" and "Have a fantastic Christmas!" and all that, but I had yet to think, "Wow! Christ is born!"

Maybe that's an advantage to being in Liberia on Christmas. I'm missing my relatives in the U.S. right now and fondly remembering all of the Christmas traditions we used to have and will have again. But I am (more or less) removed from tradition this Christmas.

Because sometimes tradition can keep us from things that are really important. (Although it can be wonderful, too.)

So I guess the point of this post is this: readers, don't know it in the head and not feel it in the heart. Remember.

Christ is born.

This miracle is proclaimed everywhere on Christmas, but somehow, it doesn't affect us.

Christ is born.

GOD came to MAN and the Word became flesh. And dwelt among us. How can we even begin to wrap our heads around this? The creator of the universe, in all its terrible beauty, the God that created us became one of His created.

And when we don't remember this - when America splurges on gifts and lights and presents (that are not inherently bad...in moderation) - this is what happens.

Because last year, Americans spent $450 billion on Christmas. Clean water for the whole world, including ever poor person on the planet, would cost about $20 billion. And people are dying every day because they don't have clean water.

So, readers, remember. Like Linus said, and like so many others have said, Christmas is about Christ. It's a celebration of the miracle that happened when Christ became flesh. Because when we truly focus on Christ, things change. It's because we focused on Christ that we moved to Liberia in the first place, if that's any evidence to you.

Remember.

How to Meet Me in Five Easy Steps

2011-12-23T06:53:00.000-06:00

Step One: Buy The War Horn.
Step Two: Buy the One Year Adventure Novel (OYAN) curriculum, if you don't own it already.
Step Three: Do the OYAN curriculum.
Step Four: Sign up for the OYAN Summer Workshop.
Step Five: Go to the OYAN Summer Workshop.

The reason step one is there is because The War Horn is funding my quest to go to the Workshop. ^_^ If I can somehow get two thousand dollars...I'll be there!

So! I've got news.

First and foremost, I received an email from Amazon shortly after I published my last post on The War Horn. In short, they gave me the go-ahead for The War Horn. (In length, they said that *I* couldn't publish it on my parents' account, but my parents could publish it on my behalf. Which is the same thing. XD)

So I've been working on The War Horn, and I'm hoping to have my parents and also pre-readers be reading it by mid-January or sooner, so we'll see. Right now I'm doing some research to make my historically inaccurate novel more accurate.

I have, however, come up with a few plot kinks that need working out. Because I had received numerous critiques of my opening scene (and I rather agreed with them) I cut it and I'm working on finding another one. But it's difficult, since the novel (after the scene I cut) opens with my character waking up. Which is not a good place to start a novel. It's positively boring.

See, the problem with my novel is, it gets steadily better in terms of plot/excitement/stakes as the novel goes on. If my readers stop at the first chapter, they won't realize what they're missing. So I need to do something to really catch their attention - BUT, I *need* to start at the beginning. Which is normal life. So I'm going to work on two things.

1) Questions. I'm going to raise a few questions in the first chapter and work with my monologue so that, even though the questions aren't particularly intense, they'll want to keep reading.

2) Prose. I'm hoping to establish an easily-readable writing style that draws the reader in. Because there's certain books you read that just draw you in if only for the writing style, right? Mark Twain's work, for instance, is epic because he writes in such a clear voice that it's a joy to read the most boring of things.

However, I think I've pretty much gotten my research covered, so I'll be moving on from that to working on the first chapter.

So, writers, how's your writing coming along? Written anything you're particularly proud of lately?

And, on a completely different note:

^The official trailer for "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey", coming out in December 2012.

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

2012 is far too long to wait! I can't stand it! D: It doesn't help that I'm rewatching Lord of the Rings, either. This trailer is, in one word, EPIC.

What do you think of it?

Talk to you later, and remember to check out the rather important poll on my sidebar. And thank you to those who have already voted!

Before You Get Too Excited About Santa and Christmas Presents....

2011-12-20T11:42:00.000-06:00

...take a good long look at this post.

Ever heard that one Santa Claus song? The really popular classic? Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Just listen to the words.

"He sees you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake! He's checking his list, checking it twice, gonna find out who's naughty or nice."

Creepy, no? I mean, seriously, the whole thing is fishy. Are you sure that's a song? It sounds more like a warning to me...

And then he breaks into your house.

So do the smart thing. Do what a friend of mine suggested:

"So...when Santa 'comes down the chimmney'....light a little fire to warm the house...and our hearts!"

On a completely different (but still holiday-themed) note, I've been chuckling over this video for several days. Turn the volume all the way up and try to last to the end. If you can't watch it to the end, I don't blame you.

Have a fantastic Christmas, and enjoy your snow! In the meantime, I'll be sweating. ;)

The War Horn - Plans and Schemes

2011-12-19T06:03:00.000-06:00

Of late, I've been scheming. Plotting.

I posted about this on my other blog, but in essence, I want (very badly) to go to the 2012 OYAN Summer Workshop, which I went to this past year. Problem is, plane tickets cost mucho money, eh?

So...I had an idea.

It was midnight.

I was staring at the ceiling. Again.

And then I had the brilliant idea to publish The War Horn as an eBook and make thousands of dollars and be rich and have enough to go to the Workshop.

Right.

So I started on my quest - I went to CreateSpace and looked into their Kindle Publishing options. If I would publish The War Horn, it would be self-publishing. It's such a weird little book that no one would even touch it. At 25,000 words, it's a short little novella, and the genre is very hard to define. It's supposed to be somewhat historical, but, as I've said before, it fails in that respect. It does, however, have fairly good writing quality (by my standards) and one of my greatest endings. (I only have a half-dozen endings to choose from, anyhow. ^_^)

Turns out, Amazon has this thing called Kindle Direct Publishing. It's really straightforward: upload your book, upload a cover, select a few options and set a price, and BOOM! you're published! And they have a fantastic 70% royalty rate. That's seventy cents out of every dollar. $700,000 out of every million.

Problem is, they have an 18+ age rule.

However, I'm fairly certain that I could use my parents account to publish without violating their rule, since I would have parental permission and an account for payment methods. I emailed them about it, but the only reply I've gotten so far basically said, "We're busy right now, we'll email you later." Except, much longer and more diplomatic.

So, what do you think? Good idea, bad idea?

Also, I may - just maybe - be looking for people to pre-read the novel. And critiquers. Not before my family, of course ;) they'll read it as soon as I'm done with my own edits.

Thoughts?

Oh, and one more thing. If I published the War Horn as an eBook, would you buy it? Speak truthfully. The price would be somewhere below four dollars. I'm setting up a poll on the sidebar - take a look and vote, and/or comment below.

Until we meet again,

Review: The Land of Darkness

2011-12-17T09:52:00.000-06:00

"It is not the land that is dangerous, Callen. The danger lies in your heart. Others have lost their lives searching for the bridge. Are you certain you are prepared to pay that price?"

Jadiel is twelve and things couldn't get much worse—or could they? Not long after her mother is killed in a tragic accident, her father, Kar'el, marries a vile and abusive woman named Huldah, but Jadiel sees how he simmers under Huldah's intoxicating enchantment. Jadiel's wicked stepmother means to get rid of Jadiel, and sends her off with a threat and an impossible task: bring back the leaves from the Eternal Tree by the next full moon or her father will die. Heartsick and hopeless, Jadiel sets out alone and afraid.

Callen, a wordworking apprentice for Jadiel's uncle in Wolcreek Vale, discovers some weathered drawings of an exquisitely detailed bridge made entirely of wood and embellished with mysterious symbols that appear to be ancient script. Obsessed with finding this bridge, he sets off seeking clues to its possible existence, unknowingly beginning a perilous and mystifying undertaking. On his journey, he rescues Jadiel from brigands and learns their quests are linked—as the elusive bridge Callen seeks is crafted from the rare tree Jadiel must find. The trail of clues leads them to the forbidden Land of Darkness, where they must face the greatest dangers of all—what lies in their hearts. (From the back cover.)

The Land of Darkness is the third book in C. S. Lakin's Gates of Heaven series: modern fairy tales with an allegorical twist.

Each of the books are different in their own ways and styles, and only loosely linked, so my review may differ from my reviews for the rest of the series.

The Wolf of Tebron (the first book) was as fairy-tale as fairy tale can be, with beautiful prose and vivid description, with a fairly slow-moving plot. The Map Across Time, in contrast, was a fast-moving, time-travel story with a fairy tale flavor and high stakes.

And the Land of Darkness is neither, unique in its own way and tied to the other books by its world and its genre.

It balances plot and fairy tale, and, unlike the others, was heavily allegorical to the point of obviousness. I'm one of those fellows who likes to dig for the meaning, and I both read and write books that have hidden meanings and good plot. The Land of Darkness, I feel, was my least favorite in the series for this reason. The plot was held together by the strength of the allegory alone, whereas the fairy-tale aspects of The Wolf of Tebron was what enabled the plot to move. But by the weight of the allegory, the plot slowly built up and then concluded itself quite nicely.

And the little strands of continuous plot that are weaving themselves through the stories (such as the Keepers) are building up to something. I can't wait to see what it is. :)

The characters, I felt, didn't quite live up to their potiential I was quite attached to Adin (the main character of The Map Across Time), actually, so even though I "liked" these new characters, I didn't quite love them. And, to be honest, Callen (one of the main characters) really annoyed me at times. But it IS really hard to write such a character. Overall, the characters had good depth, although I would have liked to have the characters of Jadiel and Callen developed a bit more. The development of the minor characters was fantastic, though.

While this book was my least favorite in the series, it's still a great book. The writing quality is top-notch, and the description is beautiful. I'm sad to say that the simple description of a cave put many of my own "scary parts" to shame.

The worldbuilding is quite good, and it would be even better if we had a map to follow, for there are a lot of different locations and references and histories that were hard to keep track of. But that's a good thing; I really enjoyed the worldbuilding.

All in all, the Land of Darkness is a good, clean read, with some rich allegory behind it. Recommended. Rated 8 out of 10. :)

(Many thanks to the author, who provided this an advance reader's copy of this book for free in exchange for a review. I was not required to write a positive review.)

(You can also see my review of the previous book in the series here.)

Until next time,

We Are The Writers

2011-12-15T12:34:00.005-06:00

Maybe you're looking for another funny post. Maybe there'll be a few funny bits in here, but I can't guarantee anything. This post is born from philosophical writerly musings at midnight, and who knows how it'll end up. These are the deep musings of Jake of the Sadaar, and, like a wandering pen, they might just wander into something meaningful. I'm writing as me, in a Chesterton-esque manner.

But I assure you, it's the whole and honest truth as I see it. The true form of a writer. And to those of you who actually know me and saw that video that I made with Millard, these are the words to accompany the face.

All right. So, my last two posts may have put my sanity in question. And, by the reception of the latter post, it wasn't taken seriously. That's okay; I'll write a counter post anyway.

Let me set you straight.

Fiction writing is, quite possibly, one of the most amazing careers one can take on this earth. Especially for Christian writers.

So many of us call ourselves insane, I've noticed. And, perhaps, by the rules of logic and imagination alike, I can show you the truth of this statement:

I'm convinced that those that call themselves insane (namely, Christian fiction writers) are some of the most sane people in the world.

Let's go.

1) Writers are Sane

All right; all things considered, many people would probably argue with this statement. From an outside viewpoint, Christian writers have some of the weirdest personalities and occupations in the world. Torturing characters with sadistic laughter. Making weird videos. Writing posts on philosophy to follow up a post about why you shouldn't write.

But there are so many paradoxes in the world. Christ died so that we could live. The things that make us happy make us cry. The intangible can cause tangible things.

And I have a sneaking suspicion that writers are walking paradoxes.

Forgive me, but I'm going to repeat myself and quote G. K. Chesterton.

"The poet only asks to to get his head into the heavens. It is the logician who seeks to get the heavens into his head. And it is his head that splits."

Writers and poets are very much similar. Some writers are poets; some poets are writers. We are interlinked. So, on that basis, I think it's reasonable to say that you could replace "poet" with "writer" and get the same result.

We are people of imagination: we imagine things, and write them down. We want to get our heads into the heavens.

And, conversely, those that try at logic are, very often, insane. As Chesterton said, "The madman is the man who has lost everything except his reason."

Could it be possible - dare I say it - that WE are not the people who are insane, but rather, the rest of the world is insane?

We call ourselves insane, but WE are the ones that are sane.

Another Chesterton quote: "To be sane is more dramatic than to be mad." And, are not writers dramatic? We have to be. We write romances and adventures and fantasies. Drama is an integral part of that.

Remember that post? Writing is a trap, get out? See, I thought I was losing my sanity. As I wrote more and more, I thought I was losing it.

But, as it turns out, I wasn't losing my sanity. I was losing my insanity. As soon as I reached insanity, I realized that I was the sanest I've ever been.

2) The Paradox of a Writer

Paradoxes are wonderful things. Being warm in cold weather, cool in hot weather: wouldn't that be a gift?

And, as I will show you in a moment, writers seem to be paradoxes in themselves.

We write away our insanity through the drama of the written word. And yet, the very best writers are logical AND imaginative.

For those of you who edit and revise a lot: doesn't telling just kill you? Don't weak verbs make your head hurt? Synonyms? Internal monologue? It takes a lot of mindpower to work on writing mechanics. And somehow, the writing mechanics are what make the drama of words possible.

The very thing we rebel from - I'll call it "sanity" for the sake of keeping the traditional words - is the very thing we need to convey our insanity. Or, if you'd like, we must use insanity to keep us sane.

We may use structure to make the unstructured more meaningful.

We are paradoxes. And maybe that's what makes us awesome.

3) The Meaning

All of these musings, this point is what it builds up to. We are not only insane, we're sane. And, on top of that, we use insanity to keep us sane, and thus create a paradox.

And I think this somehow unlocks something else.

Because there's another paradox I see.

As Christian writers, we are striving to make our writing beautiful. Meaningful. Christ-filled; glorifying our Lord so that all can see the light. We're pouring all of this into our writing, and I think that, in pouring out ourselves, we fill up again.

I've been musing over this a lot. Here and there, there are little things that are different. When I was younger, it was hard for me to be moved. When I heard the news that my great-grandfather had died, I didn't shed a tear. (That may sound callous, but it's not. I genuinely missed him, but I didn't cry. As it was a long while ago, I don't recall if I cried later on or not.)

And it hit me, that I can be moved. Maybe it's just because I'm growing stronger as a Christian; and I know that's a good part of it. I think, though, that part of it is being a writer.

Because my heart soars when I listen to Jon Maiocco's "Ever After" Celtic song. I want to have an adventure, to fight on the side of good, when I listen to "All The Strange, Strange Creatures" (a Doctor Who soundtrack). When I read the stirring climax of "Return of the King", I feel as if I'm riding with the Rohirrim, and my pulse accelerates.

Because we strive to move others, perhaps it gives us a greater opportunity to be moved. When we strive to make a reader cry, maybe it lets us cry ourselves.

To let a reader live a rich life through a novel is to make life all the richer.

And that's why a writer's life is so brilliant and colorful. We're not afraid to laugh and do silly things; but we're not afraid to be passionate about things, either. We pray for one another and we debate one another: we write alone and war together.

And, out of it all, are forged friendships as strong as steel, and truly meaningful novels that set out to change the world.

(Thank you very much to G. K. Chesterton for his writing style and some of the material in this post, even though he's dead; and a huge thank-you to Pathfinder, who talked with me late into the Liberian night and gave me much of the inspiration for this post.)

So, to sum it up:

Writers are awesome. Period. Exclamation point. More specifically, you guys are awesome.

Over and out.

Blog Revamp

2011-12-14T17:23:00.000-06:00

Hey all! After more than a year of having the same-old, same-old, I've finally revamped my blog. And when I update my blog, I REALLY update it. If you take a look around, I've redone the size of the blog, the style, and added a header. I also updated my pages, and added new ones. Read around; you may find some of it to your liking.

So, what do you think? Is the layout good? Is the header good? Does the blog in general look good in new clothes?

Let me know what you think of the change. And stay on the lookout for my blog post on writers; it's scheduled to post tomorrow at noon CST. I consider it to be one of the best posts I've ever written.

Over and out,

Review: The Errant King

2011-12-14T12:07:00.000-06:00

"Deep in the caves of the distant Hinderlands, an ancient menace stirs. Townsfolk shudder at violent memories of The Red Queen and even dare to whisper the name Raudrim. At the same time, word comes to Alastair that Cythraul has at last resurfaced, seeking a devastating weapon in the ruins of Grayvalon. Blood-soaked clues lead Alastair into a confrontation from which only one warrior will return alive. Meanwhile in Anglinore, young Lochlan Stormgarden, the new High King of Myriad, leaves the pomp and politics of the throne once too often. While blending in with the people of his kingdom, Loch suddenly realizes that he's put them all at risk. The fate of his new found love Arianna, his best friend Telwyn, his family, and indeed the world of Myriad all depend on the decisions of the errant king." (From Amazon.com)

I was ecstatic when I received Wayne Thomas Batson's newest book, The Errant King. Just in time, too; and it had an incredible cover that taunted me all through NaNoWriMo. As soon as I could, I pulled it out of my backpack and devoured it. In some ways, it fulfilled my expectations: in others, not so much.

The prose, as always, was fast-paced and easy to read. The book immediately dived into the questions that Sword in the Stars (the previous book) had left, and definitely hooked the reader into reading more.

The quotes at the beginning of the chapter were delightful, and helped give detail to the world. The world-building in general was some of the best that Batson has done. Really great stuff.

And this book also saw the return of Alastair Coldhollow, who is one of my favorite characters of all time. I loved the scenes with him: such a wonderful, conflicted character. I can't begin to describe how awesome the Iceman is. :) And his scene near the end with Telwyn was just...fantastic. I love it.

The plot was fast-moving, definitely one of Batson's best. It began with two subplots: that of Lochlan and Arianna. It introduced some great characters, such as Millard the Mark (named after a friend of mine: loved that he was a fairly major character!), and, later on, Frank.

However, it's not all sunshine. There were several aspects that disappointed me in this book: one of which was a slightly suggestive scene. It wasn't much more than a gal cozying up to Lochlan, and him basically shoving her away (not really, but that's the gist of it), but I really wish Batson hadn't included that. Up until now, I had regarded Batson as one of the cleanest authors in Christian speculative fiction, certainly much cleaner than Ted Dekker. And while I still think of him in that way, I'm a little disappointed in him for having such a scene in one of his novels.

The aspect of romance in this novel was also very disappointing (to say the least), almost enough by itself for me to drop a rating a whole star. In essence, two characters fall in love in a week. That whole area of the novel was damaged because of the unrealistic romance. That destroyed my "illusion of reality" that I had in the Errant King, and it irritated me.

The character of Frank is also a strange one. In one way, it's really interesting and rather funny, and in others, kind of just....weird. It's like putting something from a magical fairy tale in a brick-and-mortar epic fantasy novel.

And a few things towards the end—a "weird" thing here, a slightly unrealistic scene there—felt odd to me, as if the author hadn't had enough time to really polish his novel and rewrite the scenes that needed it. Or maybe that's just me.

The end of the novel, however, left many questions and a great sense of anticipation for the next book. And since it's supposed to be a seven-book series, I predict much epicness to come.

In short, The Errant King a really good book; a quick, fun read with some really beautiful moments, and a bit disappointing in some areas. Very much recommended: rated 8.5 out of 10.

(And, on another note, don't you love scheduled posts? I have posts scheduled for the next few days, thus, my sudden blogging-spree. My post about writing should be up tomorrow, and I think it's one of the best posts I've ever written. Wait in suspense until then. ;))

Why You Should Be A Writer

2011-12-13T18:12:00.001-06:00

You still there?

You know that post I wrote before? Well, it's hard to explain, but one way or another it found its way to my blog.

In The Silver Chair (one of C. S. Lewis' Narnia books), a person has a moment like that. He says that, when he's tied to the Silver Chair, he'll say all sorts of things that they (the protagonists) shouldn't believe.

Well, it's sort of like that. I'm tied in a metaphorical Silver Chair right now, and I must have tied the bonds rather tight. But I assure you, I'm in my right mind. And writing's not all that bad. It's actually pretty amazing.

You see, I was spouting those things off BEFORE I tied myself to the chair. And now I'm in my right mind.

So will you let me go now? Please?

Maybe?

I'll write a counter post, I promise. Just to let you know that I'm "sane" again.

So...uh, I'm still tied here. Hold on, wait! Where are you going? I'm tied to a—chair!

Hello?

Why You Shouldn't Be A Writer

2011-12-13T14:11:00.000-06:00

I suppose there's only one place to begin to talk about writing: how terrible it is.

Because really, if you're considering writing as a "hobby", or maybe you're a new writer trying a hand at things, stop where you are. Drop your pen or your computer or whatever. And run. Do as much as you can to get away from it, because once it has you, it'll never let you go.

It's ruined my life. It'll ruin yours.

You know those ridiculous medicines that have a list of side effects as long as the Mississippi River? Writing is one of them. It's almost a kind of dope. And the list of side effects includes:

Dreaminess, lack of attentiveness, obsessive bouts of staring at a blank computer screen, possible stress symptoms, cramped fingers, headaches, nausea (from the chocolate), lack of sleep, trouble sleeping, long showers, possible back problems, eye deterioration, possible social issues, and it's very possible to catch a psychological disease only known by its acronym: NaNoWriMo.

So get away while you still can. Never, ever write. Why? Why even ask? Why would you ask "Why not?" before jumping off a cliff or running to hug some random lion or throwing yourself into the penguin pool at the zoo? Writing will ruin your life, I assure you.

I've lost DAYS of my life because of writing. No doubt I'll die at the age of twenty, blind as a bat, without the hearing benefits, because I've blown out my ears with soundtracks.

It's an addiction. You need to get away from it. I'm already mired, there's no hope for me. I'll probably end my days with a pen in my hand, head on a computer keyboard.

Just keep going, they'll tell you. Voices of friends, bah! I can tell you which shoulder the voice is coming from, and it isn't the angelic one.

Just keep writing, you're doing fine, you'll end up fine, you'll love it. That's the sick thing, you end up loving the very thing that has you enslaved. I can still see through it, but I'm slowly going down. My day is approaching, the day when I won't have this mental clarity. I'll be a speculative-fiction-writing zombie from the movies. Night of the Living Writer. It's a scary thought.

You see me as Dr. Jekyll, but Mr. Hyde is on his way.

You'll be stuck to your couch, your wrists superglued to the computer so that you'll never get away. Heed my warning. You're still young and innocent, you can get away.

It reminds me of that Doctor Who episode. But those stupid people were like me. They went in when the walls had GET OUT scribbled all over them. Silly people. But now I'm mired: my head is above water, but I'm about to go under and be reborn as some dripping, sadistic writer.

Please, blog readers, I beg you. There might be hope for you.

GET OUT.

Ninja: a Tale (Part II)

2011-12-09T15:11:00.000-06:00

With deep questions like "Where have my socks gone?", humor to flavor the pot, and epicness like you've never seen it before...sneakiness and also certain dark-clothed characters are back in the next installment of Ninja: a Tale. Part Two.

(If you haven't read the first part of Ninja, you can find it here.)

So, without further ado, I present to you:

A Tale

(Part II)

In Which I Become a Ninja and Wear a Fedora

"So," I said, walking behind Baldersot. "Can I come with you?"

He didn't look back. "Why?"

"Because..." I hesitated for a moment. "Because I'm nice?"

Baldersot snorted, stopping and looking back at me. The cloth around his head wiggled again. "And what will you do if I say no?"

I grinned. "I'll follow you anyway."

"Fair enough!" Baldersot resumed walking, adjusting his fez. "Come along, and try not to lag behind. The caterpillars will get you otherwise."

I followed him down the brick road.

It was a half-hour before I spotted anything. Far ahead of us was a bump. And the bump grew bigger, like an itchy mosquito bite (or not), and soon became the figure of a large stonewalled city, with a single spire jutting out over the walls, glaring down the brick road.

"Oh, katana," Baldersot said. He stopped and dropped his bag. "They're on blue alert."

"And blue alert is?" I questioned. I peered down the road. Two blue flags hung on either side of the gate.

"It's an acronym," Baldersot said. "And blue's a good color."

"Never mind the acronym," I said. "What does it mean?"

"No non-ninja people allowed." Baldersot opened up his bag. "The Reds are coming, so we'd better get inside. Or become jelly."

"But I thought you said...?"

"I have an extra pair of ninclothes. They'll have to do." Baldersot tossed a wad of black clothing at me. "Put 'em on over your clothes."

I started putting on the clothes. "So you just carry extra clothing around? To change into?"

"According to the Official Ninja Handbook," Baldersot said, "it's one of the essential things to have if you ever encounter someone who needs to be ninjatized or if you have an emergency."

I poked my head through the top of a dark, rough shirt. "What sort of essential things?"

"Instant coffee, a battle and/or cooking pan," Baldersot recited, digging through his bag, "three socks, a stick of dynamite, and a spoon. Except, I misplaced the spoon. A caterpillar ate it."

"Socks?" I had heard some weird things in my life, but...

"Yup," he said. "Three left socks. 'Cause sometimes, creatures steal your socks, but only the left ones. So I have a stock of 'em locked up in a metal can." He took out a can and opened it, peering inside. "Oh, blast it. They're gone. I'll have to restock in Sneaking."

I finished putting on my clothes and sized myself up. Not bad. Except, it seemed to be missing something.

"Here," Baldersot said. He threw a long piece of black cloth at me. I caught it. "That's to wrap around your head."

Oh. I tried wrapping it around my face, but it unraveled itself.

Baldersot made a face. "Oh, never mind, let me do it. We ninja have special schools for this sort of thing. And I got an A+ in Head Wrapping Class." He wrapped it tightly around my head, until my entire head was covered, except for my eyes and the very top of my head. The cloth was thin enough to breathe through, thankfully.

"And, to finish it off," Baldersot said, taking out a pair of black gloves and a hat, and handing the gloves to me, "The touches of an artist."

I put on the gloves. They appeared to be some sort of black leather. They were a little rubbery on the inside, which would be good in case I had to climb a wall. Or a pole. But they looked cool, anyway.

"And last," Baldersot said, "the hat!" He gave me the hat he had pulled out of his bag. I looked it over.

A black fedora. Epic. I had left mine at home, something I did far too often.

I put it on and struck a ninjalike pose, imagining myself wielding a deadly ninja pole or a double-edged sword. "How do I look?"

"Like an Elf pretending to be a ninja," Baldersot said. "And Elves don't understand the delicacies of ninja grammar. Or why we wear black. But if you don't do anything but walk and talk, you'll do. Try not to stare too much, and always say 'I ate too much pineapple today' if people talk to you." He turned back to the road, putting his bag over his shoulder. "All right, onwards we go!"

"Allons-y!" I said.

Concerning Chesterton and The Prophecies

2011-12-08T14:09:00.000-06:00

Well! It's been an interesting few days. How's it all going for you?

Currently, I've just finished reading two books by Chesterton, and I've also been musing about my writings. Shall I begin?

First things first. Chesterton is amazing. I've just finished rereading Orthodoxy, and now that I'm a bit older, more intellectual, and not skim-reading it, it's really a treat of paradox and imagination. Here's a few quotes that I found particularly meaningful and/or funny. (Feel free to skip ahead to the writing. Few share my love for Chesterton XD and I completely understand.)

"The word 'good' has many meanings. For example, if a man were to shoot his grandmother at a range of five hundred yards, I should call him a good shot, but not necessarily a good man." (G. K. Chesterton)

"Actors who can't act believe in themselves; and debtors who won't pay. It would be much truer to say that a man will certainly fail, if he believes in himself." (G. K. Chesterton)

"The poet only asks to to get his head into the heavens. It is the logician who seeks to get the heavens into his head. And it is his head that splits." (G. K. Chesterton)

"A madman is not a man who has lost his reason. The madman is the man who has lost everything except his reason." (G. K. Chesterton)

"The commonest kind of trouble is that it is nearly reasonable, but not quite." (G. K. Chesterton)

"To be sane is more dramatic to be mad." (G. K. Chesterton)

"Seriousness is not a virtue." (G. K. Chesterton)

"For the only courage worth calling courage must necessarily mean that the soul passes a breaking point - and does not break." (G. K. Chesterton)

"There was some one thing that was too great for God to show us when He walked upon our earth; and I have sometimes fancied it was His mirth." (G. K. Chesterton)

Also, the honorable Whisper the Spy introduced me to another of G. K. Chesterton's books, this one fiction: a tale known as The Man Who Was Thursday (A Nightmare). It's a fantastic story of spies and plots and humor and philosophy and....weirdness. The end is so deep/weird that I didn't really get it. XD But the first three-fourths were fantastic. Here's one quote I found rather humorous:

"What are we going to do?" asked the Professor.

"At this moment," said Syme, with a scientific detachment, "I think we are going to smash into a lamppost."

Now, on to writing!

A few nights ago, I decided (on a whim) to look at some books. Only, these weren't ordinary books. These were the books about which I had told my sisters, "I will never look at them again."

In other words, my first three novels. Some of Ye Olde People can remember the days when I wrote those: the days when my writing was young, my technique inexperienced, and my plot a terrible mess. Thankfully, I've improved.

But, back to the story.

I broke my own promise and took a look at the books. (It was a nightmare, I assure you.) One thing led to another, and I decided to count up all of the words I had written in my entire life.

Of course, I didn't have "all of the words I had written in my entire life" on this computer, so I sufficed to count up MOST of the words. It includes all six of my novels, my poems, and my short stories. However, it doesn't include the stories I had written on other computers and the handwritten tales of my childhood.

So, in total, I've written

284,712

words

in the last few years. Which means that I've probably written over 300,000 in my life. Over 200,000 words of that is in completed novels.

Much more than I expected. It's no one million, but it's almost a third of the way there. (They say it takes a million words to write a great novel. Or a publishable one. Whatever the quote was. >_>)

In the past few weeks, I've also determined that, after I finish the Prophecy of Einarr, I want to go straight ahead and write the last book in the series, instead of continuing with my rewrite of the Book of Shaldu. So many things changed in the Prophecy of Einarr that need to be included and forshadowed in the Book of Shaldu; so I want to knock out two birds with one stone and make sure that, if any more plot twists come along, I don't have ANOTHER rewrite to do. I'll also have a better perspective of what the Book of Shaldu needs to be like after I actually finish the series.

And once I finish the series AND the rewrite, I'll revise all three books. And after that...who knows. But "after that" is a long time coming. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

How are your writings going, folks? Good? Bad? If you're not a writer (and even if you are), have you read any good books lately?

If you aren't a writer or a reader, how in the world did you find my blog? ;)

And also, if you wanted me to write a blog post about one writing topic, what would it be?

Ninja: a Tale (Part I)

2011-12-03T15:30:00.003-06:00

Today, I set down my Kindle and said, "I need to write a story about ninjas. And it's going to be epic."

Thus began my quest for ninja epicness. And a quest for grammatical correctness in the term "ninja". (Also, thanks to Eldra and her brother Goose and especially Leauphaun, who edited and filmed the video, for their own thoughts about ninja and grammatical correctness in their epic video about ninja.)

In the style and spirit of A Battle Fought At Midday, I am pleased to present to you the first installment of:

A Tale

(Part I)

In Which I Am Out of this World and Meet a Ninja in a Fez

It was a dark night, but not a stormy one. Horns honked in the distance, people talked, and far-off I could hear the sound of street music.

I was sitting on my bed, as I often did. The time was nearing eight o'clock in the evening when the bedroom vanished.

And in its place stood a man in dark clothes, with black cloth wrapped 'round his face (leaving only his eyes visible) and a fez perched atop his head.

Of course, the first thing I asked was not 'Where am I?' but this: "Why are you wearing a fez?"

"Of all the things to ask," the man replied, his voice muffled through the black cloth. "It's the height of discourtesy to poof in front of someone, you know."

I looked about. I stood in the middle of a long brick road. To either side of the road were long stretches of flat land that was filled with a whole lot of nothing; that is to say, the most delightful form of nothing. Weeds and wild flowers and lizards and the odd toad.

A thought occurred to me. "Where am I?"

"Not where you're supposed to be, I gather," the man said. "If you had appeared in front of me on purpose, I might take offense and chop off a finger or two. Or throw a brick at you."

"Sorry," I said. "But really, where is this?"

I already gathered that I had been transported in some way; then again, it wasn't terribly alarming. It had happened before. I had once dueled Procrastination on a literal mountain made entirely of sand, after he had transported me there.

But that was a different story.

Speaking of Procrastination...I jammed my hand in my pocket and felt around for the Pen of Doom, in case I needed it.

Yup, it was there. Good thing, too. It's no fun being stuck in an alternate dimension without your favorite pen. You can't even do signatures.

"You must really be out of your way." The cloth shifted queerly about his forehead, and I concluded that he must be raising an eyebrow.

"Do you have problems with answering questions? I've asked two, and neither has had the slightest of an answer." I gave the man a second glance, observing his heavy clothing in the warm sun. "And who exactly are you?"

"I'll answer your questions backwards," the man said, "since you seem to be of a backward sort. Firstly, I am Third General Lieutenant Robby Baldersot of the Urban Conglomeration of Ninja Being Impressive and Ninjalike. Also known as UCONBIN. You're currently three-fourths of the way to the City of Sneaking and also one-fourth of the way to New Barcelona, depending on which way you're headed. And I'm wearing a fez because they're cool."

Interesting.

"Which way are you headed, then?" I asked. Perhaps he'd let me tag along. "New Barcelona or Sneaking? And who named the city Sneaking?"

"You're a fellow of many questions," Baldersot said. "I'm headed to Sneaking. It's the world capital of ninja. And they're meeting for the forty-third time to discuss whether or not the title of UCONBIN is grammatically correct or not."

"Why wouldn't it be?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Ninja," was all he said.

Heroic Teddy Bears, Unite!

2011-12-01T15:12:00.000-06:00

I'm teddy bear at heart.

I saw this on Whisper's blog and couldn't help but repost it. XD

The Dragon is Dead!

2011-11-29T13:17:00.000-06:00

Someone, last year, described NaNoWriMo as a dragon. And the title seems apt, for always heroes go to slay the dragon, to defeat the dragon. The dragon is a challenge, and likewise, NaNoWriMo is the biggest and baddest dragon of them all. One of the greatest challenges a writer can face.

And today.

At 6:36 PM (Liberian time).

The dragon—was slain.

50,000 words.

One month.

Finished.

The novel itself isn't finished, but it'll be finished soon. I'm hoping to stop around 60,000 words. :) In the meantime, feel free to admire my winner's badge on the right sidebar. ;)

How'd NaNoWriMo go for you all? And to those of you rushing to finish, remember:

GERONIMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Of Goats and Amazon

2011-11-26T09:34:00.000-06:00

Greetings and hallucinations, readers and Elves and the odd ducks, all o' ye!

It's been a "cool" couple of days in Liberia. It rained last night, which helped. :) The temperature is wandering around 86 degrees. Again O_o

As of right now, I'm feeling less-than-charitable towards the giant known only as Amazon (occasionally followed by a ".com"). In the last few days, I've learned or experienced the following from Amazon:

1) Amazon Instant Video (which we have, since we're Prime members) is NOT available in any other countries besides the U.S. Which means no more free Doctor Who. And the internet connection isn't strong enough to download Doctor Who episodes either, even if it wasn't prohibited by the guest house for that very reason. Luckily, I've found *ahem* other ways to watch. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

2) Getting apps is tricky. The good ones cost money, while some of the free ones either rip you off, or they're a "demo" without explicitly saying so. Not Amazon's fault, but there are only two or three apps I use on a "regular" basis.

3) Today, we ordered "Inheritance" in eBook form, since shipping ANYTHING physically is hard. Vren downloaded it (since she bought it) and started reading. Since I usually get to read things first, she wanted to have the opportunity to get things first, for once. ;) The problem is, the "Cloud" wasn't working. It's where you can download the same file on different Kindles, since it's all saved to Amazon.com. Inheritance wasn't even showing up on the Cloud, however, and thus started an hour-long process that not only made us buy it twice (and cancel one of the orders), it eventually made me send an email to Amazon. We'll see if we can get this resolved so I can actually READ it. xD

Despite this doom-and-gloom, which is all Kindle-related, it's been a great couple of days. A few more notes about Liberia:

1) Lizards. They're everywhere. Dark ones with bright red heads and tails, little green-ish ones, and the unfortunate fella that my youngest sister managed to capture...

2) The food is fantastic. And very spicy. More on that later.

3) Wireless is touch-and-go.

4) Water is a must. I learned that the hard way on our first day here. Needless to say, we've all come to appreciate water very much.

Now, back to food. If you want a typical Liberian meal (as far as I know, this is fairly typical), here it is. Photo courtesy of my talented and camera-happy sister. The picture at the top of the post is also one of hers. Please do not copy or take or store (and whatever) these pictures without prior permission. :)

The staple is always rice. Always. They say, "If you're not eating rice, you're not eating." Rice is on pretty much every meal. Most of the Liberian meals I've had have some sort of sauce-thing to put on top. In the case of the above picture, which we ate yesterday, it was a somewhat weird-looking but delicious and hot combination of rice and fish and potato greens (the plant of the potato). Also, there's a chicken foot. I have a picture of me eating the chicken foot...but I won't post that. ;)

Other staples include cassava, which is similar to potato greens in look. It's a plant. I've also eaten okra. Combined with these is usually a kind of meat, or a combination of meat. Meats include fish, goat, beef, etc.

Here's another taste of what Liberia looks like. Besides these pictures, there's quite a few others on my sister's blog. The link to her blog is a couple paragraphs back.

The road to a market.

To give you another taste of Liberia, let me tell you a story that occurred yesterday. A very strange and wondrous tale.

So Dad and I had to head back to the guest house by taxi. We had a taxi already for the whole family, but it wasn't big enough to fit us all. There were only four open seats. So we had to use one of the stand-by-the-side-of-the-road-and-wave-your-hand-taxis.

So the first one picked us up and then dropped us off at a street junction, where we were going to get another one. Street taxis in Liberia always have two things in common, in my experience: they're beat-up, and they have stickers. The first taxi we went on had two big JESUS stickers on the airbag compartment, saying things like, "I've been washed by the blood of Jesus!"

That's the problem with Liberia. They know the words, but it doesn't change them. More on that at another time.

So we got off on this busy junction and hitched a ride in another taxi, one that already had three Liberians in it: two in front and one in the back. Dad and I jumped in and went.

Partway through the trip, the driver pulled over to the side of the road and let in ANOTHER Liberian, making four of us in the back row. Needless to say, things were cramped. And then, a young Liberian man ran across the four-lane street and nearly got himself run over, which made all of the Liberians in the car burst into loud shouting. One of them leaned out the window and yelled at the fellow.

The shouting soon morphed into general loud-talk.

And in the middle of this, crammed with four Liberians in midday traffic, honking horns everywhere, and loud talking in my ears, I look out the window. Guess what I saw?

A brand-new truck with "POLICE" shining down the side of the truck. And in the back was a goat, peering over the bed of the truck at me with dark eyes and a scruffy little goat-beard.

It was so random, it made me laugh.

Liberia—First Impressions

2011-11-22T08:50:00.001-06:00

Hellooooooooooooooo Stonehenge!

;)

Greetings and hallucinations from Liberia, bloggers and readers and writers and the occasional sane person! I'n back, and quite literally in an all-new adventure. I'm hailing from Liberia, West Africa!

So far I've survived, and it's actually quite cool here. It's afternoontime and 86 degrees. You Americans should all be up about this time. It's forties in Kansas... *jealous*

But in all seriousness, I think it's the only time that I haven't been sweating since we arrived...

If you want an in-depth report of what's happening and how things are going, take a look at my sister Manny's blog post about Liberia, 'cause all I'm going to do is give you a list. Keep in mind, I have somewhat of a more positive outlook on things. I think it's all awesome. ;) And staying up late in the plane and watching Doctor Who on my new Kindle Fire wasn't that bad either. (All four of us were kindly donated Kindles before we left, which was awesome.)

So, where to start? There has been so much happening that I can't even begin to tell you.

Differences! That's the ticket. I can compare and contrast the U.S. to Liberia. Give you a feel of how different everything is.

Temperature:

Liberia: 86 degrees

Kansas: 42 degrees

Seasons:

Liberia: Rainy season and dry season

Kansas: Spring, summer, fall, and winter

Rain:

Liberia: (in Monrovia) 136 inches yearly (the most rain of any world capital)

Kansas: 36-20 inches yearly

Language:

Liberia: Liberian English (heavy accent/dialect that often leaves off consonants)

Kansas: American English

Internet:

Liberia: No internet cable for high-speed internet (although one is coming and will be available in 2012)

Kansas: High-speed internet

Climate:

Liberia: Wet in the rainy season, dry in the dry season, "hot" (by American standards) all year 'round, tropical-like

Kansas: Ranging from cool to warm to hot to cold, temperate

Landscape

Liberia: Tropical sub-Saharan jungle (I think O_o I haven't been out in the "bush" yet), small mountains, trees

Kansas: Flat plains

Employment:

U.S.: 9% unemployed

Liberia: 85% unemployed

Wildlife:

Liberia: So far, I've noted lizards, birds, dogs, and my sisters tell me there's a pet wildcat upstairs.

Kansas: Deer, foxes, coyotes, skunks, possums, raccoons, etc.

I can't think of any more. <_<

Other, personal notes:

1) Liberians like their car horns. Or motorcycle horns, since there's more motorcycles than cars. And Liberians use their horns all the time.

2) Right now it's one of the coolest times of the year in Liberia. Yes, at 86 degrees. We came at the time of bearable temperature so that, I hope, we'll be more accustomed to heat by the time the dry season comes.

3) The internet connection at the guest house we're staying at is...fickle. XD The connection from the tower likes to go down a lot. (And we are at a guest house. The house we're supposed to rent isn't ready yet. :) )

And also, I was SO CLOSE to finishing my NaNoWriMo novel before we left. My word count was 47,704, and I plan to finish sometime in the next few days. The novel itself won't be finished, methinks, although I'm close to the end. I may park somewhere around 60k by the end, who knows.

I'd post some pictures, but none are available right now. They're taking a long time to upload, and Manny refuses to send me some because it'll take a long time. ;) I'll just have to wait and post them later.

How's everything going with you all?

(If you ask me questions in the comments section, and there's a lot of them, I'll paste them all in a post and write out the answers. Just so ya know, if I don't reply. Either that, or the internet connection went down again.)

Geronimo!

2011-11-17T22:59:00.000-06:00

I board a plane in 38 hours, if my mind serves me correctly. Or maybe I should get a calculator.

*checks* Yes, 38 hours.

And guess what? The packing craze has hit, and the last twelve hours have been a hectic time of packing and unpacking and repacking and cleaning and carrying and packing.

And also guess what? My word count is 40,000 words.

I tried giving up. I really did. I felt like that poor cat.

But I've been bothered back into stubbornness. I received feedback from my sisters like this:

--

"I'm giving up on my novel. I'm tired, it's been a long day, and I don't have enough time. I'm giving up."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

"No, you're not. You will write that novel. It doesn't matter that you're tired."

--

Needless to say, I discovered that my sisters had the same stubbornness and passion for debating that I have. So I'm going to do this crazy thing. Another friend told me, "COURAGE, Jake! Courage! Just think what an epic story this will make. ^_^ Not just the story you're writing, but also the tale you'll be able to boast to your friends, of this brave feat accomplished. XD"

So let's go.

TEN-THOUSAND WORDS.

THIRTY-EIGHT HOURS.

ONE NOVEL.

Just When I Thought I Couldn't Write Any More

2011-11-14T15:50:00.000-06:00

It speaks for itself.

NaNoWriMo Log—Days 11-14

2011-11-14T14:50:00.001-06:00

(The rest of Day 11)

[10:10 PM]

Preparing to word war after working with my grandparents and writing blog posts and such for five hours.

[11:40 PM]

I've hit 21,000 and hoping to write 3k yet tonight. We'll see what happens, I guess.

I need to be careful, though. I was drinking a glass of milk in the kitchen when I had a bit of an epiphany; I'm very concerned about my word count. Enough so that I'm thinking, "What can I write next that will get my word count up?"

I came close to losing track of the story, or even caring about the story. It became about word count, and it should never be that way. If I get 3k, I get 3k, but I need to focus on the story.

Here it goes. *eats a few Cheez-Its and writes*

[12:30 AM]

Well, I got to 21,600 words, and I can't keep my eyes open. I'll have plenty of time to write tomorrow, at least.

DAY 12

(Nov. 12)

CURRENT WORD COUNT (today): 27,122

WORD GOAL: 27,800

Thought of the day: The Internet is distracting: DON'T GET ON IT.

[4:10 PM]

I have a little more than 5,000 left to write, if my sources are correct. *checks again*

Yeah, that's the correct number. I've written a little today, but I need to dig in my heels and WRITE. I need to stop procrastinating and surfing the internet.

Blast, I had forgotten how distracting the internet is. >_<

[4:30 PM]

Word warring.

For ten minutes XP

[5:05 PM]

I'm writing like the wind and really loving it. I got to an epic part and saw all the way to the end of "Part One" of the Prophecy of Einarr.

[5:15 PM]

I'm about to do something extremely clever. :D :D :D :D I love where this chapter is taking me! I've got an epic figuring-out scene that I'm writing where they realize the plot twists and THEN I have a cool little thing where a character relates a crucial piece of information just after I cut out of the scene. I then reveal that information later on and it comes as a complete surprise. :D EPIC.

[5:45 PM]

Passed 23,000.

[8:10 PM]

The writing is really slow, but I'm at 24,000 at least. And I stopped for supper. About to do an hour-long word war, so maybe that will help me out.

[9:20 PM]

I'm at 25k and I'm mentally exhausted. I'm going to take a trenchcoat walk in a few minutes.

[11:30 PM]

Well, I talked with some really nice people on the One Year Adventure Novel forum, but that didn't get any writing done. I'll buckle down and see if I can kill the last 2k or so of words before heading to bed.

[12:10 AM]

I have a thousand words yet to write.

Geh...

Well, let's get 'er done.

[12:20 AM]

Broke 27k.

[12:30 AM]

I need to go to bed, I'm getting up early for church in the morning. My final count is 27,122. Just a few hundred words away from my goal, but if I write much longer, I won't be able to get up tomorrow. At least I wrote about 6k today. Hopefully I'll make up the 700-odd words tomorrow. Good night.

DAY 13

(Nov. 13)

CURRENT WORD COUNT (today): 30,000

WORD GOAL: 31,500

Thought of the day: Word wars are good. ^_^

[1:15 PM]

I need to write. O_o What's my goal? *calculates* 31,500. All right, not bad.

[7:30 PM]

I've been writing, but I've not been keeping this up.

Oh, and let me tell you what happened today: I was in Hesston, Kansas and eating Mexican at a restaurant. Hesston is a farmer town. Conservative, Republican, and very Mennonite.

Someone walked into the Mexican restaurant. He had a few windblown wrinkles and graying hair, a thick, Western mustache and tight clothes. He wore the BIGGEST belt buckle I've ever seen, and topped off the picture with...a Stetson.

I couldn't stop staring at the Stetson through the entire meal. XD "Thou shalt not covet!" <---Hard today.

[10:15 PM]

The internet is so stinking distracting. >_< I need to write a lot. I'm at 29,000, and I'm aiming for 31,500. Let's go.

No more internet or breaks until I reach 30k.

[11:15 PM]

I'm at 30,000 exactly. Gah. >_< I need to take a break, I'm tired.

[Sometime afterward]

I'm going to bed. XD Good night!

DAY 14

(Nov. 14)

CURRENT WORD COUNT (today): 30,300

WORD GOAL: 35,200

Thought of the day: Write, write! Write until you drop!

[2:05 PM]

I should be writing, but instead I'm running around in righteous anger at this article: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118046098

If you watch Doctor Who, you should be mad too. XD

I need to buckle down and keep writing. *nods*

Hey all! How's it going? How's NaNoWriMo, NaNoers? Need a word war? Shoot me an email. :)

Important Africa News and NaNoWriMo Log

2011-11-11T17:30:00.001-06:00

If you follow my blog or read it, please read the first part of this post.

Well, the clock is ticking. In eight days, I'm getting on a 22-hour plane ride to Liberia. Just a few days ago, we bought our plane tickets. Who knows what will happen?

You'll see a decrease in blogging, if I'm able to blog at all. But I'll find some way to keep you all updated.

So you have eight more days of blogging, and I'll be pretty active in the next few days, since I'm staying with my grandparents. It's been fantastic, folks. Thank you so much for being my followers and reading this blog!

Oh, and did I mention it? I'm going to try and finish NaNoWriMo before November 19th. *gulps* This should be interesting.

So read on, folks, the drama continues. For the glory of the King!

--

DAY 9 & 10

(Nov. 9 & 10)

CURRENT WORD COUNT (today): 20,400

WORD GOAL: 20,400

Thought of the day: Midnight writing time. What you do when you're desperate.

[12:15 AM]

I'm combining these two days.

It's been a LONG day. We bought our tickets to go to Africa.

Which means I have ten (nine, now) days to write the rest of my novel. I need to get to 20,000 words today. (Which is "tomorrow" in normal speak.)

So I've implemented new goals that would allow me to accomplish that. And yes, that does say that I need to write SEVEN THOUSAND words in the next 24 hours.

It's complicated. And I got the plot hole fixed. I'll tell you the rest of the story later.

For now, it's after midnight and I'm WRITING.

Hoping it doesn't kill me,

GERONIMO!

And wow, I can see why people love Apple. These Apple headphones are unbelievably good! (OO) Wow.

And I admit, this fix to the plot hole is remarkably similar, now that I think of it, to a Doctor Who reference.

Shadows. The shadows are growing.

HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Give me word count or give me death, plot! GAR!

[1:00 AM]

Well, I'm around 13,400 words. Every little bit helps, I suppose. But I'm not giving up and going to bed yet :|

Also, Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack is so epic and catchy, it's distracting. I can't listen to it without paying attention to the music instead of my novel. XD

[1:30 AM]

Maybe it's just because it's 1:30 at night, but I'm writing a scene that's a little creepy, and it's giving me shivers. (OO)

[1:45 AM]

I'm around 14,400 words right now and turning in. I'm freezing and tired too. And the scene was a sorta creepy. *shivers*

The lights are going out...

[11:30 AM]

Coffee! Ah, extra-bold coffee is brilliant. Can I just say, Sumatra blend coffee from Starbucks is PHENOMENAL?

My stomach is warm and full of coffee, so I'm ready to write. :D 6,000 words today! ...hopefully...

I'll need to turn of this PotC music first, however...

Mmmm...I wonder....

Look at me! No plans, no plot, and no weapons; and oh, I don't have ANYTHING TO LOSE. So if you're sitting up there, Procrastination, with all of your silly little villains and silly plot bunnies, and you've got any plans on taking my novel, TONIGHT—JUST REMEMBER WHO'S STANDING IN YOUR WAY! Remember every day I ever stopped you, and then, DO THE SMART THING!

Run for your life! The Sadaar is here, trenchcoat and fedora and all! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHGHHHH!

^Doctor speech revitalized and revised to fit a writerly battle.

Let's get going. :D

[12:10 PM]

I'm at 14,900, and I'm going to go take a shower and then help Dad outside for a little bit. Be back soon.

[1:55 PM]

Dad's on the phone right now, so I'm going to take this opportunity and write some more.

[2:10 PM]

Hit 15,000. 5k to go!

[3:50 PM]

Grandpa just came out to the farm. And guess what he brought with him?

THE ERRANT KING. Wayne Thomas Batson's newest! FIVE HUNDRED PAGES of epic epicness! (OO)

And it gets better:

MY NAME IS IN THE BACK.

GAAAAAAAAAAAH!

(Manny's picture. Hence the purple outline.)

Along with Vrenith and Manny's names. :D And I believe my name pick (I created a name for Sir Batson to write as a character) is also somewhere in the book.

And now I have motivation to write 5,000 words tonight. :|

Must...read...eeurgh...

[4:50 PM]

All right, I ate lupper (we never had lunch, so I'll probably just have a snacky thing for supper) and I'm raring to go.

The Errant King looks wonderfully tempting right now... >_<

[5:05 PM]

Broke 16,000. Let's GOOOOOOOO!

Group of People A has now met Group of People B. They must band together and head east.

Why east? Well, they'll figure it out. I just need to find an incentive. >_>

*finds it* Bwahahahaha!

[5:30 PM]

16,500 words.

[5:35 PM]

I caved and read The Errant King's prologue. So epic. :D And Vrenith is a character in the prologue! D:

[6:00 PM]

Well, I finished the chapter and now I'm in a bind. I'm not entirely sure where I'm going next.

Brainstorming time, I suppose!

[7:05 PM]

Well, I tried doing what I did last night, but it didn't work: mostly because it's a lot earlier and there's cars outside, and also Beatrice got sprayed by a skunk. She STINKS.

Speaking of which, let me tell you a story. It's a true story. It happened last night.

(Me, in my trenchcoat and beat-up fedora.)

Last night, I was in despair. While I was really happy that we had bought our plane tickets for Liberia, it also meant that I had to complete NaNoWriMo in the next ten days. And I had a giant plot hole that was killing me.

As I stood by the water heater, I glanced around the room. Vren was writing, Ryebrynn was on the computer.

My computer's screen had just busted out of it's plastic and needed to be fixed, and Dad was in the process of fixing Manny's computer. He had computer guts spread all over the dining room table.

So I had no computer. No fix for my plot problem. And ten days to write 40,000 words.

What would I do?

I jammed my thumbs in my pockets and did my best to look dramatic. "Sisters, desperate times call for drastic measures," I said. "It's time. Time to put on my trenchcoat."

So I turned, running dramatically up the stairs. I burst into my room and leaped over the piles of junk and boxes, reaching into my closet and taking out my trenchcoat. I put it on and buttoned up. I grabbed my battered fedora and crammed it on my head.

I ran back down the stairs and flew into the dining room. "The greatest novels come from the depths of despair," I said. "I'm going looking for Inspiration." and then I pushed open the door and went out into the night.

I shoved my hands in my pockets and strode across the yard, to the road. And then I walked down the gravel road, the full moon shining down on my fedora.

As I walked, I pondered my novel. I contemplated the deep questions of life.

And then, I heard a car coming.

I weighed it for a moment. Okay, so there's a tall, six-foot guy wearing a battered fedora and a trenchcoat walking down the road at eleven o'clock at night.

Yeah, probably won't go well with the farmers that live around here.

So I turned and ran like everything, my trenchcoat dramatically flying behind me. As I ran, I realized that this was just the thing my plot hole needed: something to chase it off the road. Figuratively speaking.

I reached the yard, and inspiration struck: the pieces fell into place, and my novel hole was solved.

All because of a car, a trenchcoat, and a fedora at eleven o'clock at night.

It was fun. :D

At any rate, I tried doing the same thing (minus the car) but the skunkified Beatrice smell chased me back instead, in the light of a full moon.

Hold on...

A moon. THE moon. At night. But before it rises. A waning moon.

The time after sunset and before moonrise. The dark.

The long walk.

OHHHHH YES.

Fixed! BWAHAHAHAHAHA! The walk has done it again! HA HA! Praise the Lord!

D:< Game face! It's time to get serious and GET WRITING.

[7:35 PM]

I want to read the Errant King so bad. :P

I need to write, though. I went downstairs and talked for a bit, and the minutes just fly by! O_o

[8:50 PM]

I'm somewhere around 17,000 and I just finished eating supper-snack-thing. Eggs-over-easy and some sausage. Mmmmm!

[9:40 PM]

I'm writing a winding-down scene. It's one of those scenes that helps the reader relax a little bit after nonstop action and yet provides vital information. ^_^

[9:45 PM]

Hit 18,000 words.

[10:20 PM]

Word warring with Vrenith. It's a write-until-you-reach-your-goal war. Vren has 2,500 words left to write, and I have 2,200. But she writes faster.

D: Let's write!

[11:40 PM]

Vrenith won, but I won't tell you my word count until I reach my goal. :|

[11:55 PM]

20,400 words exactly! I got my goal! D: Epic! That means I wrote 7k today (if you include 24 hours ago, midnight to two o'clock this "morning"). Even if you don't include that, I still wrote six thousand or so.

But now it's midnight, and I need to go to sleep. No reading the Errant King tonight. *sigh*

I only had 300 words to go when Vren won. The only reason I didn't get done sooner (after Vren won) was because I finished the scene. It made the word count just under 20,400, so I fiddled around with it until I had revised it enough to where I reached 20,400.

DAY 11

(Nov. 11)

CURRENT WORD COUNT (today): 20,400

WORD GOAL: 24,100

Thought of the day: Word wars! :-o

[10:50 AM]

Time to rumble! I've got 3,700 words to write. I can do it *nodnod*

And also, I discovered that I'm going to stay at Grandma's house this weekend. That equals internet and word wars. :D Hurrah!

All right, time to crank up the soundtrack and get some writing done.

[11:30 AM]

Well, I don't exactly know how it happened, but I didn't get any writing done. O_o And now I need to take a shower and help Dad outside.

I'm hoping it's not one of those days where I work outside until it's late...

[5:00 PM]

Well, I worked and then came to my grandparents house to stay. I've been using internet, so no writing yet.

Some things that have inspired me in my writing craze:

Hmmm. I just realized that it's all PotC soundtrack. Which I haven't even seen. O_o Interesting.

And also the Doctor's Pandorica speech, which I've already posted earlier. I can shout it word-for-word now to the entire world. ;)

How's it going with you folks? Tired of NaNoWriMo yet? ;) Keep going! You can do it! *nodnod*

Over and out,

Review: Invasion

2011-11-09T11:58:00.000-06:00

He didn't ask to be a hero, but now all that stands between us and chaos . . . is Colt.

Colt McAlister was having the summer of his life. He spent his days surfing and his nights playing guitar on the beach with friends. He even met a girl and got his first car. But everything changes when his parents are killed in a freak accident.

He's forced to leave his old life behind and move to Arizona with his grandfather. The only person he knows at the new high school is a childhood friend named Dani. And Oz, a guy he's sure he's never met but who is strangely familiar.

But what if his parents' death wasn't an accident? His mother, an investigative reporter, was going to expose a secret mind-control program run by one of the world's largest companies. Before she could release the story, what if agents from Trident Biotech made sure she couldn't go public?

Vowing to uncover truth, Colt is drawn into a secret world of aliens, shapeshifters, flying motorcycles, and invisible getaways. (From Amazon.com)

Invasion, I have to admit, is a book like few others. It takes comic-book fiction and makes it reality. That brings both pros and cons with it, but it definitely makes it a speculative and fairly original novel.

There were, however, several things that bugged me about this book. The first is probably unique to intense perfectionist writers (namely, me): the writing quality really, really bothered me. If I didn't pay any attention to it, I could immerse myself into the story, but there were times where it jerked me out of the story. Jerky dialogue beats, slightly forced dialogue, telling; stuff like that.

Another was the "con" side of comic-book fiction. There were many times where it got cheesy and lost the illusion of reality. Hitler's army, for instance, was actually made of aliens and robots and men from earth.

Say that again?

There were convenient clean-up crews for the mini-battles that kept cropping up as well. And Colt's grandpa...well, if you read the book, you'll see.

Since I'm not into comic books, it might just be me. But who knows.

On the other hand, this was a quick and fun read. There's no bad content, no cursing, and a fairly quick plot. Easy to read, and lots of action on the side.

The characters, while not entirely fleshed out, were good enough to move the story along. The dialogue, likewise, was often clever and funny. I had a few moments were I actually laughed. (Which doesn't often happen in novels.)

There was plenty of car chases and jet pack fights and secret organizations and whatnot to keep the plot going fast and the pages turning.

And though the list of "cons" was longer than my praises of this book, I think that the good outweighs my minor quibbles, in this case. It's a good read. If you're not as picky as I am, maybe it'll be your next favorite book!

Rated 7.5 out of 10. (Four stars)

(I received this book for free from the Booksneeze program in exchange for a review. I was not required to write a positive review.)

NaNoWriMo Log—Days 7-8

2011-11-08T23:24:00.000-06:00

DAY 7

(Nov. 7)

CURRENT WORD COUNT (today): 11,679

WORD GOAL: 11,669

Thought of the day: Rainy days! On these sort of days, write, even if you don't want to.

[12:15 PM]

Well, I'm armed with Starburst and ready to write again. I did sleep in (a LITTLE) because we got home at midnight (again <_<) and had an extremely busy day. I couldn't keep my eyes open, literally. I had to walk around the house with my eyes halfway shut to do anything.

We did have a fantastic goodbye party though. I saw a lot of old friends and had a great time, wrapping it up by watching a Doctor Who episode. ;)

Also, it's raining. We needed it. :) It's supposed to rain close to an inch today, raining some all day and some of tomorrow. I was hoping for snow, but only northwest Kansas is supposed to get some. XP

Now...to writing! Let's see what the story has in store for me this time... *chomps on a Starburst*

[1:15 PM]

Okay, I didn't write at all. I listened to soundtrack for a while and stared at a blank screen. Nothing was coming, so I went down and took a long shower to ponder it up.

Now I've got a general idea of where I'm going and I'm ready to start. Geronimo!

[1:45 PM]

10,500 words. And counting. ^_^

[1:50 PM]

I'm going to go take a quick break, grab a drink, and check on the weather. Be back soon.

[2:00 PM]

Well, it's raining hard and there's puddles everywhere. The farm is going to be a mud pit once this rain's finished. :| Beatrice (one of our dogs) is already muddy and wet.

I'm resisting the urge to curl up on my bed and read a book...

[2:10 PM]

*stops for a moment to play on his guitar for a bit*

[2:40 PM]

I must have a low attention span or something...I can't seem to concentrate on this. After I played my guitar, I wrote a few words and then went outside and got soaking wet.

Come on Jake, just write. You don't have that much left to write, just write it.

[3:00 PM]

[3:40 PM]

I got my goal, so I'll turn off my computer for a little while. There's lightning outside, so I'm running on battery power alone. I should probably conserve it. :)

[4:15 PM]

There was enough rain that it puddled up the whole yard. So I went puddle jumping in my KU hoodie and borrowed boots. ^_^

Needless to say, I am now soaked. Hopefully I'll dry up. ;)

[5:10 PM]

I'm still wet. ^_^

It's getting colder and colder. There's a vicious wind out of the north that cuts to the bone. I wonder if the puddles will freeze tonight...maybe the weather changed, and we'll get snow after all?

*hopes so*

[7:00 PM]

Supper time! :) I haven't written yet, but I probably shall after supper, unless the family has other plans. O_o

[10:20 PM]

Well, I didn't write at all. :P And I'm deciding to go to bed while I still can. Final count was 11,679. :)

Oh, and my jeans are finally dry. ;)

DAY 8

(Nov. 8)

CURRENT WORD COUNT (today): 12,932

WORD GOAL: 13,336

Thought of the day: Let there be snow!....or, not...

[10:05 AM]

Greetings and hallucinations! I'm up and about and also, I woke up without an alarm. O_o Interesting.

At any rate, I'm going to write until lunchtime. I hope I get my goal during the next two hours, because after lunch, I'm going to take a shower and then we'll all leave to get internet and THEN we'll have supper at someone's house. That's the good thing about moving to another country—everyone feeds us for free while we're still here! ;)

So! Writing time!

And it didn't freeze or snow last night...*hmph*

[10:30 AM]

Hit 12,000. :) And my fingers are FREEZING! AGAIN! Sheesh, why doesn't it just snow instead of making everyone cold? At least I'd get something out of it.

Also, I've noticed that my humor is leaking more and more into my novel. And I'm about to make a sly Doctor Who reference. In my novel. Mwahahahahaha!

[10:50 AM]

Edon barely heard him. "What in the name of sanity is that?" Edon said, staring at the strange and battered hat.

"Oh, this?" Sadai said, reaching up and stroking his hat. "It's a fedora. They were all the rage during King Radion's reign. Can you believe it, a man was selling it for a silver senereis! I got a good deal."

[11:00 AM]

Taking a break to brainstorm.

[11:15 AM]

This is driving me crazy. I have a big giant plot issue staring me in the face, and I can't figure it out. GAAAAAAAAAAHH...

At any rate, I have one scene left to write until I hit that plot issue. I'll write that and then do something drastic, I suppose...

[11:45 AM]

I'm at 12,900, and I hit the plot issue. XP Hopefully I can figure it out later.

For now, I'm going to take a shower and eat lunch. See ya.

[12:35 PM]

Well, I took a shower and ate lunch and all that. But I still can't figure out my plot issue.

I'm about to do something YOU should never do. Never, never never. Don't ever do it.

I'm going to go and play a computer game when I should be writing.

[2:30 PM]

The world is drowning! We've gotten tons and tons of rain, and it's still coming down. There's a river running through the yard, and the other parts of the yard have turned into a lake. Beatrice is an unholy mess of water and mud and fur.

Hope it stops soon. The Chevelle is missing a back window, and we need to go somewhere. (OO)

So, by the way, it didn't stop, and we drove all the way with a wet cardboard window. And then it caved, and I had to hold it in place with freezing fingers.

And when we drove back, it snowed like nobody's business. (OO) It accumulated, a little, but it's mostly melted now.

I might be able to write more tonight, but I don't know if I can. This plot problem is killing me. >_<

How's it going with y'all? (I've decided that y'all is more efficient than you all.)

NaNoWriMo Playlist

2011-11-06T21:50:00.000-06:00

The Battle, from the "Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" soundtrack.

The Lighting of the Beacons, from the Lord of the Rings soundtrack.

(The best bit is from 3:50 - 5:40, if you don't want to listen to the whole thing.)

The Battle of Pelennor Fields, from the Lord of the Rings soundtrack.

Forth Eorlingas, from the Lord of the Rings soundtrack.

The Sun's Gone Wibbly, from the Doctor Who Series Five soundtrack. (The Eleventh Hour)

(Part of this soundtrack is similar to the I Am the Doctor soundtrack.)

I Am The Doctor, from the Doctor Who Series Five soundtrack. (The Eleventh Hour)

The Doctor Who Theme (2005-2007), Doctor Who Soundtrack.

I have all of these set in a playlist on shuffle, when I'm writing. :) Great stuff!

NaNoWrimo Log—Days 4-6

2011-11-06T12:51:00.000-06:00

DAY 4

(Nov. 4)

CURRENT WORD COUNT (today): 6,677

WORD GOAL: 6,668

Thought of the day: Make sure your room is suitably warm! Cold fingers make it hard to type.

[12:50 AM]

Writing. Everyone else is in bed, and I really should be too...hopefully I can make up for today's deficit tomorrow.

Yeah, I'm going to bed. I wrote 200 words and if I write much more, it'll be junk that I'll have to scrap in the morning. Good night!

[11:20 AM]

I took a long walk this morning and did a phenomenal amount of brainstorming. I've got tons of plot twists on the way, and I can't wait to write them! :D Praise the Lord that I was able to figure out a lot of the plot problems that had been borrowing me. Out of that problem came plot that I had not foreseen, and it's fantastic.

And now I've stol—borrowed candy from downstairs. These waxy peanut butter things are really hard to chew on...but Whoppers are awesome too. (Note to self: never chew waxy peanut butter things. They get stuck in your teeth, and then people start staring at you because you're making weird faces, trying to position your tongue to get the stuff out of your teeth.)

Soundtrack time! Let's see if I can write 4,000 words today, eh? D:< (Game face. Rawr! It's time to get the game on and beat the word count.)

*blasts "I Am the Doctor" in his ears at 100% volume*

GERONIMOOOOOOO....! D:<

[2:00 PM]

Well, the parental units had to use the computer, but I'm back on track now. Still writing.

[12:30 PM]

I'm at 3689 words. Part of my time was spent rewriting a scene that needed to have crucial information in it (and didn't), so it didn't really add to my word count. I'm working where I'm supposed to be working right now, though. I'm taking a lunch break, be back soon. *nodnod* I *need* to write about 3,000 more words, but I'd like to work ahead. It's Friday, though, so I'm hoping to stay up late again.

[1:05 PM]

Lunch is over, let's get plugging. Whoppers for dessert. ;)

[1:30 PM]

Just wrote a scene that I really, really like. Take a look!

"It's too dangerous." He could hear the fear in Ryni's voice. The foreboding. "All it takes is one man, just one. If just one Cloak escapes, we're done for. The enemy will descend on us like a vulture."

Sirius stared down on the empty town. Terafain. He had visited it once. It had been alive, then.

Now it was a shell of a town. Worse, a prison. After the war, that short, short war, there was no life left in Arowdae.

Sirius turned back to Ryni. "Have we confirmed that there are real prisoners down there?"

She hesitated. "Well, yes."

"Then we're going through with the plan. Send in someone to notify the prisoners." Sirius's pulse accelerated. He had said it a dozen times, and, High Lord willing, he'd say it a dozen times more. "Tell them that the Eclipse is coming."

Things are going smoothly and really well. I've hit gold all over my novel with new subplots and conspiracies and organizations. This plot will be a LOT more complex than book 1.

My word count is sitting at 3886. I brainstormed some before I kept writing, so, though the word count isn't moving very fast, my plot is.

[1:40 PM]

Good gravy, my fingers are freezing. Am I supposed to write with gloves, or what? Brrrrr!

[1:55 PM]

My hands are still cold. This is worse than playing guitar at midnight, outside, in the cold.

No, scratch that. You don't have to press strings when you type.

At any rate, I'm at 4,200. I LOVE this character that I'm writing. Eclipse is his name. He's a man living under an alias. A vigilante sort.

[2:30 PM]

4,653 words. And my blinkin' fingers are freezing.

[2:45 PM]

Heading to the dump with my grandpa to drop off some stuff, so I won't be able to write until afterward.

[10:00 PM]

Well, my hurry-up-and-help-then-write plan was an epic fail. Our trip took several hours, and then I got home and helped work around the farmyard for the remainder of the day. We got a lot done though. :) We tore out several bushes and trimmed trees.

Once the sun had set, we came inside and ate supper. We played games for a while around our new (and borrowed) dining room table. Our grandparents on my dad's side loaned it to us.

And I'm only just now getting around to writing. Unfortunately. >_< I've found that writing is a lot harder without internet and comrades encouraging one another on. I have many friends encouraging me, yes, but not on a daily basis, since I'm internet-less right now.

And I lack Word Wars... *sigh*

Still, I'll plug on! I won't go down without a fight, no sir! Give them blood and vinegar! Battle before breakfast! (Anytime AFTER breakfast is then before breakfast as well. Which means anytime that is not during breakfast is battle before breakfast. And battle during breakfast is rather ugly, because I'm rather peckish at that time...I'm not a morning person.)

Allons-y!

[10:30 PM]

5,100 words. Not bad. Still plugging, though. My brain is telling me to go to sleep, but I have a long time yet before I allow that to happen.

The sun's gone wibbly...

[10:45 PM]

5,300 words. Gah, I'm tired. My eyes and my mind are working fine still, but I keep yawning. I really need to go to bed, but I can't yet! No sir! Keep writing, that's the ticket! Keep going!

...this novel is going to need some editing after November...those late nights...

Keep...going...

[11:00 PM]

5,500...

(11:11 PM)

How special. 11:11. One one one one.

Only a thousand words to go now. I'm almost to 5,700.

I'm cold. Oddly, my fingers aren't cold yet. Weird. I'm shivering. XP Did I mention that our house has one heater, and it's downstairs in the living room? I'm upstairs, and in the opposite corner of the house. Which means my room is the coldest. No heating.

And it's below freezing tonight...yay...

I'm wanting to give up and go to bed. But my writer's mind says that I need to be stubborn and forget about cold and weariness and whatnot and keep writing.

*sigh* Guess I'll listen to my inner writer. I've never been more grateful to have a bed and blankets to pile on it. Unfortunately, I can't use it just yet...cheese crackers, it's cold...what I really need to do is brainstorm, which my tired brain can't do after 10:00.

KEEEEEEEEEEEEEP WRITING!

Keep telling yourself that, Jake, keep doing it...I wish I had some coffee...

I'm having spazzes, it MUST be late. This shouldn't happen until after midnight! XP

[11:40 PM]

I'm somewhere around 6,000 words. Gah, I'm tired.

KEEP GOING, KEEP GOING....

DAY 5

(Nov. 5)

CURRENT WORD COUNT (today): 10,005

WORD GOAL: 8,335

Thought of the day: The same as it was yesterday. Brrrrr!

[12:20 PM]

YES. Relief! I made it. I'm at 6,677 words. I can go to bed now.

Amazing how sleep is such a motivator after midnight...I've never appreciated a warm bed more than I do now.

Good night, world! I'm caught up...for now. I hope to write a lot more tomorrow (i.e. later today).

[4:30 PM]

Don'tcha just hate it when you wake up in the morning and your parents tell you that, "We have to leave in fifteen minutes because we're going to a family reunion and we just decided that we were going last night."?

That's what happened. So I woke up, got a shower, and we ran out the door. We drove forty-five minutes to a tiny little town with a big Methodist church and had a family reunion from my dad's mother's side. Free food made it worth it, methinks, but we only just got home.

We may be doing other things later today, so I'd better get writing while I still can. I'm glad I'm not behind...that means I only have to write 1,600 today. :) And writing so much yesterday gave me some great ideas for the upcoming plot.

Poor Vrenith has a fever, so it's a good thing she wrote ahead for today. Her novel is somewhere around 8,500 words right now. I think the family reunion just made her fever worse. :(

Also, at the family reunion, a person I don't know (but I'm related to him) told about the time he took his cousins snipe hunting. O_o

Better get writing! *turns on music and goes to stare at the computer screen*

[4:45 PM]

Well, my novel is coming along briskly. Maybe too briskly. My chapters so far are short and fast-moving. Once I get all of my characters introduced and reintroduced and situated, I'll wind down a bit and then bring in the main plot.

Maybe my method is a bit unorthodox (there are quite a few characters and quite a few scenes) but I think it'll be interesting to read and fast-paced. We'll see how it goes.

It does worry me a bit, however, that I have a lot of character storylines and subplots. I have *counts* four character POVs. There's one main character, but three supporting characters that have a lot of screen time. They're all in different places with different scenarios. I'll be combining two of them together in the near future (at least in scenarios), but that's still a lot of places for the reader to be in at once.

[5:15 PM]

I broke 7,000, and things are coming along. I've got a chapter that, while it has conflict, is a fairly slow chapter that winds things down a little bit. I like it though. :)

[5:45 PM]

Around 7,600. Not too far to go now. :) I'm writing fairly fast (at least, "fast" relative to THIS NaNoWriMo) and this chapter is turning out very well. Don't you just love it when you *know* that two characters that don't know each other are going to meet by chance? XD

[6:15 PM]

Blech, I am FREEZING. XP My fingers are numb again.

I reached 7,800 and then popped downstairs to see what Dad was up to and grab a snack. I'm up again and hope to reach my goal before I head back down.

[6:25 PM]

I broke 8,000 words! ^_^ Today's been a great writing day, methinks. I haven't had any major problems yet.

Of course...if I say that, don't you know what'll happen?

A couple days ago, my dad and I were driving in my grandpa's pickup, down from the farm. My dad told me, "Well, Jake, it's about the time of day where we see deer," and as soon as it left his mouth, he slammed on the brakes—a young buck leaped across the road just in front of us, and we narrowly escaped hitting it.

That's what happens...

[6:30 PM]

Going to go help Dad outside for a moment. Be back soon...hopefully...

[7:35 PM]

Why does this always happen? <_< I leave for a "little bit" and come back a long bit later.

Well, I worked outside for a while and then we came inside and ate supper. I'm going to be writing for quite a while longer, methinks, because tomorrow is going to be hectic. Three church services and then a going-away party after church. Who knows what'll happen?

So I'll see if I can work ahead some, in case we have one of those days where we get home at midnight.

And now I'm armed with waxy peanut buttery candy thingies. :| Allons-y!

[8:40 PM]

I'm at 8,800. That means I made my goal for today, and then some. :) Working on tomorrow's!

[9:10 PM]

9,200. Battle! I love battle. (: It's fun to write. Sort of. It's a bit difficult to write the middle of a battle, though.

*runs downstairs to grab some chips* Writing makes me hungry. ;)

[9:30 PM]

Back. *nodnod* Hopefully I can hit 10,000 tonight, which would be epic. It's also tomorrow's goal! Well...technically, tomorrow's goal is 10,002. :| Dun dun dun...

[9:40 PM]

9,600 words! Only 400 left! For once I don't have to stay up 'til midnight to meet my goals. ;) I think that the rest of the chapter should suffice to finish off my goal.

[10:05 PM]

All right, I'm done! :D My word count is 10,005. Hurrah!

And good thing too, because I need to get up early in the morning. XP 5:45. Gah.

[10:15 PM]

I just calculated it: I wrote 5,352 words in the last 24 hours. That's pretty epic! :D I went from being very behind to very ahead. Awesomesauce! D:< See that? Game face. I put it on yesterday and never took it off.

That means I DOUBLED my word count in 24 hours. YES.

BEAT THAT, PROCRASTINATION! Eat my dust!

That's actually kind of disgusting, if you think about it. If you eat dust, it turns to mud...gross....

[11:00 PM]

I was playing guitar on my bed when I heard Mom shouting. "The whole house is shaking. Eric [Dad], what did you do?" (Classic, right?) She thought it must've been someone nailing something into the wall or jumping up and down.

I stopped playing guitar. The glasses on my bookshelf were clinking, like they do when someone walks into my room. Only, no one was walking into my room.

I could feel the bed shaking, just a little bit. The glasses kept clinking.

I just sat there for a minute. The shaking died down, and I could hear Vrenith downstairs, saying that the couch had been vibrating.

[11:05 PM]

Sorry, I just went and talked with Dad. He says that it's all over Twitter. Some earthquake just took place. Woh. (OO) The epicenter was somewhere in Oklahoma.

Poor Dad was in the kitchen and couldn't feel a thing.

So yeah, it was an earthquake. We had been speculating about it before Dad checked Twitter, since there had been an earthquake at 2:00 AM this morning near Oklahoma City.

What we felt was, indeed, an earthquake. The first one I ever felt!

And I'll always remember, "Eric, what'd you do?" XD

DAY 5

(Nov. 5)

CURRENT WORD COUNT (today): 10,005

WORD GOAL: 10,002

Thought of the day: Remember to set the clock...

[5:45 AM]

Guess what? I was supposed to get up at 5:45 AM. Only, I forgot to reset my clock for daylight savings. You know what that means?

Yeah. I got up at 4:45. And no one else got up.

I'm sure I'll be sleeping well tonight...I got a grand total of four hours of sleep. XP

So it's been a fun day, and I need to be off. I'd post something more interesting, like another video, but I don't have much time.

Gotta fly! Allons-y!

NaNoWriMo Log—Days -1 - 3

2011-11-03T20:30:00.002-05:00

DAY -1

(Oct. 31)

WORD COUNT: 0

WORD GOAL: 0

Thought of the day: Candy and coffee can be useful to boost energy and morale during a writing splurge. And music is especially good for your mood. On the other side of the spectrum, doing schoolwork kills energy and mood.

[1:45 PM]

Schoolwork. >_> Don't you hate it? I have to do geometry before doing anything for NaNoWriMo. However, Mom said that if I can do today and tomorrow's schoolwork today, then I'll be allowed to stay up until midnight to start NaNoWriMo.

*chomps on a tootsie roll*

I'd prefer a Butterfinger, actually...

Well, I have a lot of schoolwork to do if I'm going to be able to stay up tonight. I'm hoping to get more than just two days' worth, that way I can get a head start on NaNoWriMo to last me through the busy days this November. Au revior!

I hope Geometri doesn't eat me...

[3:20 PM]

After several weeks of no school (due to moving), I've forgotten how much I hate geometry...

[3:30 PM]

Did I mention that I also hate writing geometry proofs?

[4:00 PM]

I've found that Doctor Who soundtrack helps me go faster. ^_^

[10:00 PM]

Okay, slightly freaky...someone just showed up at our door. A trick-or-treater wearing some sort of white fabric over his/her head. O_o We're in the middle of nowhere. We didn't expect visitors, so our porch light was on.

We stole a piece of Dad's candy to give him/her, but...seriously? The nearest town has less than a hundred people. And it's getting late.

Just wondering...who goes poking around century-old farmhouses to trick-or-treat? That's straight out of a Halloween movie.

We turned out porch light off, though. No sense in taking chances. ^_^

And also, two hours until NaNoWriMo starts! (OO) I hope inspiration hits this old farmhouse once midnight hits....and I also hope no other trick-or-treaters hit. <_<

[10:15 PM]

Well, I feel silly. Manny and Vrenith staged the little trick-or-treat trick. Since I only glimpsed the trick-or-treater, I didn't realize that it was Vren wearing a mask.

Yeah, I admit it. They sucked me in. I was completely fooled. *shakes head*

Three cheers for sisters though. XD I have to admit, it was a brilliant scheme. Everyone was fooled.

[11:10 PM]

50 minutes! I'm preparing for a midnight head-start before a write-out tomorrow. Schoolwork is mostly done, so I'll have plenty of time to write.

I'll need to get up early for once, though. xD

Ah, midnight writing, how I've missed thee!

[11:25 PM]

I'm getting impatient. As the Doctor would say, "Is this how time normally passes?" *runs downstairs to get a glass of milk*

[11:32 PM]

*transfers "Doctor Who Theme" to computer in preparation for NaNoWriMo* The suspense is killing me... XP

But this soundtrack is epic. ^_^

[11:50 PM]

Ten minutes!! D: *creates a document entitled "The Prophecy of Einarr"*

DAY 1

(Nov. 1)

CURRENT WORD COUNT (today): 3,022

WORD GOAL: 1,667

Thought of the day: Keep writing until you can write no more. And then, write more anyway.

[12:00 AM]

MIDNIGHT! NANOWRIMO HAS STARTED!! WAHOOOOO!

See ya in the morning, folks! I've got energy and writing to burn! :D :D LET THE WRITING BEGIN!

[1:15 AM]

Well, I'm turning in. I got 850 words written, not a bad sum. It's a little over half of my daily quota. And I really like the words that I did get written. They're a good start, I think.

I need to brainstorm before I write more, and also it's getting late.

Vren wrote 2,000 words, though. She writes as fast as I used to! I admit, I'm more than a little jealous. But hey, I wrote 850 words of great quality. Nothing to be ashamed of, ja? Maybe my pace will pick up later on in the month.

So far, I haven't used up my inspiration or energy, so hopefully I can direct that straight to my word count tomorrow. Or today, actually. O_o

[11:30 AM]

Well, I've been up for a little while. Talked on the phone and had breakfast. (I knew staying up late wasn't a good idea if I wanted to get up "early"....) I'll take a shower and do a few other things, and then get started.

[12:40 PM]

All right. Let's get this party started. *goes to write*

[1:10 PM]

My prologue is finished, at 1,319 words. ^_^ It's a good prologue, methinks. I like it.

[2:40 PM]

I just discovered that I lost an entire scene from the Book of Shaldu. I can't find it anywhere.

Blast....

I'm at 1,570 right now. I went and took a walk, though, so I haven't written much.

[3:00 PM]

I hit my goal for today, even though the going is slow. I'm at 1,699 right now. I need to brainstorm before I write any more, so I'll take a short break.

[4:00 PM]

Worked outside some. I'm trying to figure out how to grab some more excitement and conflict for this scene. It's not moving at all. >_>

[8:15 PM]

I worked outside for quite a while, so I didn't write. I got back to it a little bit ago, though, and I broke 2,000. Since we're having a Who-A-Thon tomorrow (hours of watching Doctor Who in celebration of Vrenith's birthday), I need to make sure that I have my quota for tomorrow at least partially done.

Also, I figured out that scene, and I really like it now. *nodnod* I'm writing fairly fast. Although, since I jumped several months from the end of The Book of Shaldu to the beginning of The Prophecy of Einarr, I'm having a hard time letting the reader know what happened during that time without "telling".

[10:25 PM]

Nearing 3,000 words. I'm going to bed soon, since I have to wake up at 6:30 tomorrow.

My novel is turning out to be lighter than I thought it would be. There's quite a bit of unexpected banter that just popped out of nowhere.

[10:45 PM]

My final word count for the night is 3,022 words. Good night!

DAY 2

(Nov. 2)

CURRENT WORD COUNT (today): 3,022

WORD GOAL: 3,334

Thought of the day: Getting up early is good. You get more writing done that way.

[7:12 AM]

Well, I'm up and showered. The sun isn't up yet, so it feels earlier than it really is. O_o At any rate, we'll leave soon. Lots of time for Doctor Who! :D

DAY 3

(Nov. 3)

CURRENT WORD COUNT (today): 3,022

WORD GOAL: 5,001

Thought of the day: Doctor Who might not be good if I'm supposed to be writing, but it sure helps my novel's epicness.

[12:20 PM]

Well, we didn't get back home until midnight, and, guess what? I left my computer at the farm.

Yeah.

At any rate, yesterday was epic. :D Vrenith got a trenchcoat and a lot of Doctor Who-watching for her birthday. We watched Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead, The Christmas Invasion, Partners in Crime, The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang, and most of the Eleventh Hour.

Some of my favorite quotes include:

"You know when adults tell you that everything's going to be fine, and you think that they're probably lying just to make you feel better?"

"Yeah."

"Everything's going to be fine."

(The Eleventh Hour)

"I'll have to give it a target to get a closer look. You know when I have really brilliant ideas sometimes?"

"Yeah—"

"Sorry." *jumps out into the open* "LOOK AT ME, I'M A TARGET!"

(The Pandorica Opens)

"Hold on!"

*dangling off the edge of a building* "I AM holding on!"

(Partners in Crime)

"Donna?"

"Yeah?"

"Stay out of the shadows."

(Silence in the Library)

"Who takes the Pandorica takes the universe! But, bad news everyone, 'cause guess who! Hah! Me! You're all whizzing about, and it's very distracting, so could you all just be quiet a minute because I—AM—TALKING!"

(The Pandorica Opens)

The rest of the Doctor's Pandorica speech is even more epic. I'll give you a link sometime.

Also, I need to go take a shower, and then we're leaving. Again. I sure hope I have time to write 2,000 words today. O_o

[8:18 PM]

Spent some time with a good friend talking over my novel. I refreshed my memory on some things and solved a plot problem. :) It's been hectic today, so I'm just getting around to writing. Hope I can write 2k yet tonight. (OO)

(Present time)

How've you been? NaNoers, how's it coming along?

Also, I reached 85 followers. When did that happen? (OO)

I'd do a giveaway, but...things are kind of sporadic right now. XD Did I even spell that right? O_o

Also, here's the video I talked about in the Log. It's EPIC.

(As a warning to you, there is one instance of the D word, for those of you who won't watch it because of that. I understand completely. :) )

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

EDIT: Also, this was my 200th post! Hurrah!

NaNoWrImo Log—Day -3 and -2

2011-10-30T18:05:00.000-05:00

(I'll be randomly posting from my NaNoWriMo Log from now until the end of NaNoWriMo—I hope it's not too crazy for you! ;) )

DAY -3
(Oct. 29)

WORD COUNT: 0
WORD GOAL: 0

Thought of the day: Take a lot of walks and long showers. They help with inspiration.

[7:30 PM]

It's Saturday, the 29th of October, and time to brainstorm. Rounding it, there's two days until NaNoWriMo. I'm writing my synopsis right now, to give me something to go off of. This novel isn't nearly as well-planned as my last NaNoNovel, but I'm hoping for a good result. Time will tell, eh?

I've got my writing soundtracks in a playlist:

1) The Battle (Narnia)
2) The Lighting of the Beacons (Lord of the Rings)
3) The Battle of Pelennor Fields (Lord of the Rings)
4) Forth Eorlingas (Lord of the Rings)
5) The Sun's Gone Wibbly (Doctor Who)
6) I Am the Doctor (Doctor Who)

I'm hoping to add "Doctor Who Theme 2005" to that list, but I have yet to download it from my sister's computer.

All right, time to stop procrastinating and go write that synopsis!

[8:00 PM]

The synopsis is written. Not that bad of a synopsis, actually, although I need to work on it some more.

Arowdae is defeated, but the worst is yet to come. Darkness begins to cover the skies. Plants die, trees wither, and hope begins to fail.

The worst nightmare imaginable has been released, and the country is in ruins. The Refuge that held the last of Arowdae's free has been overrun. All that stands between Arowdae and complete destruction is those that rally under Edon Silversword.

And from the ashes of war, the son of Tanoath is rising, a leader who is determined to live—and fight.

In the meantime, the man who was once King is in chains. He's found light in his prison, but can it free him completely? Can he stand what is to come?

Those that follow the High Lord must hold on to hope. The last prophecy of Shaldu points the way to the Prophecy of Einarr, which holds the key to destroying the darkness. But what does the image of the blue half-moon mean, and who else is searching for the Prophecy?

In a ravaged land, light and darkness will collide once more.

And yes, it did take me a half-hour to write that. Don't judge me. I was perfecting it. Although I sure hope that I don't write that fast during NaNo...I might have to sacrifice quality for quantity.

[8:20 PM]

Mmmmm...sugar. I stole some caramels from the kitchen. :D This shall fuel my brain, ja? The Sprite is not agreeing with my stomach, though.

I really like the concept of a blue half-moon...it has to do with a secret organization. Mwahahahaha!

[8:30 PM]

[while chomping on caramels]

I really like the idea of a NaNoWriMo log. I'm going to post this on my blog whenever I can. Hopefully I can do this every day... *adds a word-count thingy at the top* That would be awesome. Then, I'd update it on my blog once I get internet.

It might get long. O_o I tend to gab. The reason I never journal is because I'm not writing it to someone, and it just fizzles out. Since I'm writing to my blog readers, this works out.

*finishes caramels and goes down to steal more*

[9:00 PM]

*glances at the books beside his computer on the desk* Well, I need to read these. I have two review copies I need to read and review before we go to Africa. This shall be tricky...juggling book reviews and school and NaNoWriMo. ^_^

The books, if you're curious, are "Invasion" by Jon S. Lewis and "The Scroll" by Grant R. Jeffrey and Alton L. Gansky.

*eats a caramel*

You know, some people talk just to talk...I'm not one of those people, of course. ;) *ahem*

Over the last few weeks, I've been working myself up for NaNoWriMo. It's gotten to the point where I really NEED to write something, but I can't because it's not November yet. And I think that's a good thing. That "need" will probably last a day, though, and then Procrastination will kick in and I'll kick him back.

Maybe I'll write a poem... *disappears*

[9:15 PM]

Two roads diverged in a Kansas wheat field
And I—I took the one trampled the least
And, stopping by the golden heads, I kneeled
And I—I wondered if the gold would go good with yeast.

I'm a very original writer. ^_^ Get it? Wheat, yeast? Bread? BWAH—uh, you didn't get it, did you?....blast.

[9:20 PM]

Maybe this will suit your tastes.

I look up to the starry sky
And see a sickle there
A silver curve about to die
And be reborn anew.

I look up to the starry sky
And see a sickle there
And then, bemused, I wonder why
I look up and think of Dreamworks.

Okay, I admit it. I'm talking for the sake of talking. And now my caramels have run out...

[9:30 PM]

It's really sad when your NaNoWriMo Log is longer than your novel. But I have an excuse—NaNoWriMo doesn't start for another 50 hours!

At any rate, I need to get reading those review copies. And I have church tomorrow. Good night!

DAY -2
(Oct. 30)

WORD COUNT: 0
WORD GOAL: 0

[6:00 PM]

It's been a busy day. Church, lunch with friends, and then we came to our grandparents' for internet. I haven't done any brainstorming, although since I wrote my synopsis, things have been pulling together. I think I have my entire prologue planned out.

I don't have the energy to write much more. <_< I'm 3/4ths of the way through Invasion, though. Not a bad book, though the concept is cheesy.

How have you all been doing? NaNoers, ready for NaNoWriMo?

Kansas - Again!

2011-10-29T16:01:00.001-05:00

The farm might not have internet, but it sure fuels inspiration. I'm going to need it if I'm going to do NaNoWriMo!

A battered stop sign near the farm. :)

The north pasture. And the cows. ;)

Both of these pictures were taken by my sister Manny. We're living at the farm now and loving it!

And good luck to those of you who are doing NaNoWriMo! Only two days left until it starts!

In Which I Am Not Sure What to Say

2011-10-21T16:51:00.000-05:00

Greetings and hallucinations, readers! I'm back!

(In an all new adventure...)

Don't you just love it that I blog only when I've exhausted all the other things I need/want to do on the internet?

The thing is, I'm not sure what to blog about. I keep "updating", and I really hate doing the same thing over and over. It gets old. And it probably gets old for you.

So what to do? Let's mix it up. To the side is a picture that I am very fond of - the Doctor, tipping his Stetson.

And now for updates: as of right now, I'm still planning on doing NaNoWriMo. We haven't left for Africa yet, but it's looking likely that we'll be off before the month is up. But we'll see what God has planned, aye?

The novel in question is the Prophecy of Einarr (the title of The Prophecies, Book #2). So far, I've got a hazy direction for it, and possibly a prologue idea, which is likewise hazy. Ah, the life of a SOP writer...

I plan to do a lot of brainstorming at the farm this week, however. It'll be a quiet week, away from civilization (and internet :P), with only school and yardwork to contend with. Hopefully I can spray some cleaner on this novel and make it shiny instead of hazy.

In the meantime, I'm hoping for snow before we leave for Africa. It was actually below 30 two nights ago - I can always hope! A lot of weatherly change can happen in a week.

This turned into an update, didn't it? Sticklebacks...

So, those of you who are doing NaNoWriMo, what're you doing? How's the brainstorming/outlining going? Are you prepared for a month of literary abandon?

If the answer to the latter is no, then you're ready. It's called "abandon" for a reason.

And, to get this post meaningful in some way or form, here's a little writing tip:

ACTION BEATS

Action beats are extremely useful in dialogue. In fact, if you use them often enough, it becomes habit and saves you the trouble of editing your dialogue to make it interesting.

Here's a few lines without beats:

"How're you doing?" Joe asked.
"All right," Tom replied. "You?"
"Well, I'm surviving," he said.

(As a side note, I'd recommend using basic words like "said" in dialogue. Words like "expostulated" and "screeched" (etc.) distract the reader. There are purposes for such words, however, if used sparingly in your novel; i.e. "'Forward!' he thundered")

Action beats are basically actions that are used to indicate who is talking in a conversation. After all, that's why we use phrases like "he said", right? And it provides a visual of what's happening during the conversation, making the dialogue much more interesting to read.

Here's what action beats are like, used in prose.

Joe plopped himself down beside Tom. "How're you doing?
"All right." Tom shrugged. "You?"
"Well..." Joe grimaced. "I'm surviving."

Not the best of writing quality, but it'll do.

So, have you written anything good lately?

With that, I have books to read and more to brainstorm. Au revior, readers!

::POOF::

Another Little Blog Post

2011-10-17T23:18:00.000-05:00

Hey folks! I'm back again. It's a little strange for me to blog twice in one day, but I figured I'd get a post in while I can.

Here's what I've been reading/am reading/have to read.

The Book of Names: great book! I'd recommend a read. Fantasy lovers should greatly enjoy it.

Corus the Champion: just finished it today. It's even better than the sequel. :D Great story. Read it, folks!

Can't wait to read this one: the sequel to the previous two, it comes out later this month.

This oddly reminds me of the old Doctor Who credits. xD Despite the slightly old-school look, it's shaping to be a good book (though I haven't read it yet). It's sitting on my Kindle and waiting for me. The last of a trilogy—I'm really excited to read it.

I haven't read anything by this author before, but it's an MLP (Marcher Lord Press, a speculative fiction publisher) book and, from what I read of the Kindle sample, is a going to be a great book.

Recently republished by Marcher Lord Press, Kathy Tyers' Firebird Trilogy is supposed to be one of the great sci-fi classics of Christian fiction. Besides, it's 1100 pages—I wish all books were that size!

Have any of you read any of these books? If so, what did you think?

Have YOU read anything awesome lately?

Over and out,

NaNoWriMo

2011-10-17T17:12:00.000-05:00

I'm planning on doing it. The Prophecies, Book Two. I've got death and twists and pain and...maybe a couple happy scenes. Maybe just one. Or...never mind.

DUN DUN DUNNNNNN...

And that's about it. ;) I don't get much time to write these blog posts, y'know. How's it going with you all?

Quick Update, Folks

2011-10-12T19:31:00.000-05:00

Hey, readers, it's me!

I'm trying to type up a quick update on how things are going but my hands and my fingers—GAH—itch! Mosquitoes love me...and all they can eat are my hands. All the rest of me is secure.

Anyhow!

First, writing-related news. The short story I'm working on, the Letter, is getting close to the climax. However, I've hit some plot problems and I'm trying to work them out.

I started a rewrite on the Book of Shaldu not too long ago. Due to the fact that the heavily narrative and telling style of the novel was strewn throughout the entire book, it's just about easier to rewrite the whole thing with properly corrected prose and also fix the numerous plot holes.

I'm also thinking about doing NaNoWriMo. In Africa. (No, we haven't left yet, but it's likely that we will before November rolls around.) It would be crazy.

Crazy awesome.

Other-news-wise, yesterday was my day-of-birth. It was an absolutely fantastic day. And, (we didn't even plan it that way) my friend Millard came and stayed at our house while he was in KC. He's a great guy. :D

My sister Manny also cooked up some awesomeness. Literally and figuratively. She and Mom made pie and cheesecake that night, and Manny came home with clothing as a birthday gift.

But it wasn't your normal clothing gift.

No, sirr'ee.

She bought me a—

GENUINE—

BUTTON-UP—

TAN-COLORED—

TRENCHCOAT.

I've been wearing it since. I'm wearing it now, actually. It's EPIC.

Well, I have to fly. See ya, folks!

The Wonder

2011-09-27T20:52:00.000-05:00

As the recent months have passed, my writing had become strangely silent. After a frenzied period of time where I raced to finish up my edits on The War Horn, it just...stopped. I submitted TWH to the contest, and that was that. (I'm still waiting to hear back from the contest, actually.) Schoolwork came, our move hung over my head, and my keyboard's smolder turned to ashes.

I could claim that my life was busy. I could claim that inspiration had deserted me. I could claim that I procrastinated. (I did, really, but that's not the point.)

Some might call it writer's block, but nothing was really blocking me. I just didn't do anything.

Here's what happened: I lost my drive. No, scratch that. My drive was still there. I still wanted to tell a good, meaningful yarn to the world and glorify my Creator.

But I lost my desire to fulfill my drive and accomplish my goals.

I keep telling myself I needed to write this or write that or torture a character or something. But I never did it. Sure, that's procrastination, but there's a reason behind procrastination as well.

Where was the allure?

Writing had begun to boil down to words and mechanics and editing. And it took this little short story to regain what I had lost.

Hearken back to when you first started writing. Why did you do it? Why would you write a story? What lured you? (Keep in mind, when I say "Why did you do it?" I don't mean, "What drove you?" but "What drew you?")

Maybe it was a desire for fame. Or a desire to create a book like the ones you read all the time. I know that the latter was part of my desire to write.

But here's the thing. There's something about writing that draws us.

I've been pondering it all day long. And yes, in the shower too. It's the Thinking Room, wot.

There is something about a blank sheet of paper. There's something that clicks, something that hums, something utterly amazing that happens when a writer sits down at a computer, pulls up a blank document, and writes.

Anything could happen. And anything will happen.

When I first began writing, I found it utterly engrossing. I had a childlike fascination with it. It was magic, really. You could create, you could make something out of nothing. You could tell a story.

Those words have lost their magic. In this context, the simple words "you could write a story" are amazing. You have the entire world at your fingertips. You could write whole species into existence, whole worlds could be created, and history could be rewritten. You have all of your infinite imagination to fill.

Daniel Schwabauer said, "People read to live vicariously." (i.e. to live through their imagination.) And the same is true for writers.

This, in my opinion, is the allure of writing: we can write to live vicariously. We get to choose what we want to do. We can race against time to save the world, we can fly with dragons across an azure sky.

And so, we write, not only for ourselves, but so that we can share it. We want others to see the glory that we see. And for Christians, we also want others to see the glory in Christ that we see and experience.

And that's why my writing ground to a halt. I lost the allure. So much of my writing had come down to revision and grammar and mechanics that I lost what got me writing in the first place.

That changed, however. I started writing a little story. I've begun so many stories and never finished them, but this one...this one had potential. It had allure.

And then I wrote this section. In that moment, my keyboard lit, my imagination roared to life, and the ultimate lure and desire to write came rushing back.

--

"He wanted to see home before he died," Rodney said, taking in a deep breath and letting it out. "He wanted to see the grasslands and smell the free breeze. He wanted to taste Kanai fruit again. He wanted to see his old house by the creek and the wood."

--

In that little section, I caught a glimpse into my character, and not only that, his homeland. In this little story, I saw a new world. And it took my writing back to life, because now I want to see new worlds again. I want to write new characters and explore new places. The very word "write" takes on new meaning.

Write well, readers. And when you write, don't leave the wonder of writing behind. Keep ahold of it. Don't let it diminish.

--
Jake

Various Newses

2011-09-24T20:56:00.000-05:00

No, I have no idea why I added an extra "es" top, and no, I'm not related to Gollum, and no, I haven't been reading Lord of the Rings.

Questions done? Good. No?

No, we haven't left yet for Africa. I'll post before we do, be sure about that, even if it's a 50-word post. :) I'll keep you informed.

In the meantime, I still love Kansas and Cheez-Its and Doctor Who. And writing.

Kansas!

I wish these were conveniently and accidentally dropped off at my house. ^_^

Stetsons are cool!

And speaking of writing, all I've been writing of late are geometry proofs (technically, I'm filling in the blanks) and essays. Blech.

Hold it, I tell a lie. O_o I have written five hundred words or so in a modest little story I'm writing in my spare time. It's a fantasy tale in a world called who-knows-what. (No, that's not the name. Call it that and I'll get out my Cheez-It cannon.)

In the meantime, I've been watching Doctor Who and doing a lot of schoolwork. The series finale of Doctor Who is actually next week. (I am SO. EXCITED. GAH!)

Also, I wish to inform you that the Director at Castles, Quills, and Cameras is having a giveaway! This most excellent blogger is giving away two books; one of which I can attest to being a great read. :) Here's the link to the giveaway post.

And...well, I've run out of things to blog about. O_o Ask me questions, folks. Maybe I'll have a Q & A post next time. It'll at least give me something to blog about. ;)

See ya later, friends! Write well, and may your ink stay full!

I'll leave you with one last quote: "He who laughs last thinks the slowest."

Review: The Dragon's Tooth

2011-09-15T15:58:00.000-05:00

For two years, Cyrus and Antigone Smith have run a sagging roadside motel with their older brother, Daniel. Nothing ever seems to happen. Then a strange old man with bone tattoos arrives, demanding a specific room.

Less than 24 hours later, the old man is dead. The motel has burned, and Daniel is missing. And Cyrus and Antigone are kneeling in a crowded hall, swearing an oath to an order of explorers who have long served as caretakers of the world's secrets, keepers of powerful relics from lost civilizations, and jailers to unkillable criminals who have terrorized the world for millennia.

N. D. Wilson, author of Leepike Ridge and 100 Cupboards, returns with an imagination-capturing adventure that inventively combines the contemporary and the legendary. (From Amazon.com)

"North of Mexico, south of Canada, and not too far west of the freshwater sea called Lake Michigan, in a place where cows polka-dot hills and men are serious about cheese, there is a lady on a pole." ~The Dragon's Tooth

I first heard of the Dragon's Tooth through the fantastic book trailer that premiered just before the release. (See the bottom of this post for the trailer.) It was professionally done and really did a great job at catching my attention. After hearing several good opinions on the book, I decided to check it out from the library.

To say it outright, the Dragon's Tooth was a good book. In comparison to 100 Cupboards (the book, not the whole series in general), I liked the Dragon's Tooth better. Varied characters with rich histories abounded, and the world as we knew it took on a new shine in light of a secret society. For the most part, the characters were well-done and unique. From quirky guys to grim leaders to traitors, they were a motley and colorful bunch.

Wilson's characteristic humor was present throughout the book, albeit in lesser amounts than in his other series, The Books of the 100 Cupboards. (I reviewed 100 Cupboards some time ago. I'd link you, but I don't have much time. By the way, I ended up finishing the series. The two following books were MUCH better than the preceding. Highly recommended.)

Wilson's writing style is definitely unique. His peculiar and trademark style is like few I've read before. It relies on a lot of showing, which is a good thing. His description, while vivid, left me feeling a little confused during the first few pages. It takes a while to get used to it. If you've read any of Wilson's other books, you'd know what I mean. (An example of this style is found in the first sentence of the book, which I posted above.)

The plot of the novel wandered about, a string of half-random events that wove together into the conclusion. There wasn't a driving force to it. It was the difference between planning an attack or trying to survive a battle, if you get what I mean. One seems more structured and the other darts about. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn't have the I-have-to-finish-this-to-read-the-end-or-I'll-die drive that it might have had.

The plot and settings were fairly unique, though I could see a couple of parallels and similarities to Harry Potter in it. These weren't particularly large, however, and didn't bother me.

The idea of a secret society woven throughout history was a brilliant one, as were other such concepts scattered throughout the book, like keys that could open any door. There was also a lady on a pole, a tooth that could kill transmortals and mortals alike, secret passages, and a really, really cool oath that Acolytes have to take. (See the video below.)

There were several borderline things in this book. Firstly, there were dead people who appeared to still have their spirits near their bodies. (However, that section was a little confusing when I read it, so I may have misinterpreted that.) There was also the concept of transmortality. While those things didn't pop up much, it did make me wonder how Wilson (a Christian) would resolve it in the future installments.

In summary; the plot, though wandersome, was unique, the characters were great, and the writing style was a little confusing. There was nothing really spectacular about this book, but there's nothing really bad about it either. I really liked it, but there wasn't much to make me love it. It's a fast read.

I'm hoping, however, the next few books will improve. The same happened with 100 Cupboards, actually. The first book recieved a "forgettable fantasy" rating from me, while the following books were fantastic in many ways. If this series does the same, it'll prove to be amazing.

In a word, recommended.

Rated 8 out of 10.

Check out the epic book trailer:

(Note: I won't be blogging too much, due to the fact that we cut our internet. I'm posting this pre-written post from Starbucks, actually.)

Review: The Realms Thereunder

2011-09-08T20:50:00.000-05:00

A homeless man is stalked by a pale, wraithlike creature with a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth. Maimed animals and a host of suicides cluster around a mountain in Scotland. And deep beneath the cobbled streets of Oxford, a malicious hoard besieges a hidden city.

Freya Reynolds is a university student with a touch of OCD and an obsession with myth and folklore. Daniel Tully is living rough on the streets of Oxford, waging a secret war against an enemy only he can identify. Years ago, they found themselves in a world few know is real. They have since gone their separate ways and tried to put that adventure behind them.

But the mythical world is now bleeding into our reality-a dark spiritual evil that is manifesting itself in forgotten corners of the British Isles. Alex Simpson is a Scottish police officer who specializes in hunting mythical creatures. Together, they must confront the past, the present, and points beyond to defeat the ultimate threat to humanity.

Nothing they've seen so far prepares them for what awaits...in The Realms Thereunder. (Description from Amazon.com)

Ross Lawhead is the son of the well-known fantasy/legend author Stephen R. Lawhead. Having read much of Lawhead's work, I looked forward to reading this novel (which, by the way, has a fantastic cover). In some ways, I wasn't disappointed.

I expected a novel grounded in British mythology and legend (one of the senior Lawhead's trademarks), and I found it. This book felt as old as the earth itself, so steeped was it with mythology and old tales. From forests that give gifts to strange creatures to sleeping knights and underground cities and ancient, immortal people, this book had a lush and detailed world. And, at the same time, it was a dark and dangerous world. The earth was ancient, and while ancient good is harbored underneath the surface, ancient evil is awakening.

The creatures and races were likewise unique. From gnomes whose mantra is that you "always end up where you happen to be", to terrible creatures, to villains and olde-speaking knights, the creatures were diverse.

The characters were well thought-out and three-dimensional. They weren't amazing, but they weren't bad either.

The writing quality of this book was average, but this is, after all, the author's first published novel. There's bound to be a few rough edges. The writing style itself reminded me, distantly, of Tolkien's writing.

Probably my favorite aspect of the book was the short snippets here and there—slipped in naturally—that caused me to stop and think. There were some beautiful, poetic moments in the book where the character of the characters was revealed. Clever dialogue dotted each page; the knights spoke like knights, the Brits like Brits, and gnomes...well, it's hard to compare gnomes to anything.

The book's biggest opportunity was in the plot, and I felt like it missed the mark. It had great potential, but failed to live up to it completely. I expected a novel that happened after the preceding, inciting events (i.e. Freya and Daniel's previous journey), but it didn't turn out that way. That was probably the biggest drawback—the book kept flashing back. If anything, we spent more time in the past adventure than we did in the previous one, and it was rather annoying for the reader. The characters and situations in the present were much more interesting than what was happening in the past, and as a result I wasn't quite that interested in the past storyline.

When I had finished the book, I sat back and thought to myself, "It ended just as it was getting started." Due to the flashbacks, it really felt like it. Events in the present had just begun to move, and the previous storyline had been resolved—and then the book ended.

Still, don't let it stop you from reading this. It's a good book—good characters, great worldbuilding, great potiential, with a few drawbacks. Pick it up sometime and decide for yourself.

Rated 7 out of 10. Recommended, read it. :)

(I received this book for free from the Bookneeze program in exchange for a review. I was not required to write a positive review.)

Some Rather Important News

2011-09-07T19:41:00.000-05:00

If you follow my blog, please read this post. It's rather important.

Take a look at this picture. And then, read this post.

It's hard to find a way to put this. To put prayers and work and God and glory and emotion into a sentence, into a blog post; such a task is hard.

Basically, you might find a slight decrease in blogging here at Teenage Writer. Maybe a major decrease in blogging. Maybe even a stop in blogging. Who knows?

The thing is, God's been at work, and some of His plans are coming to fruition.

Like I've told other people, long story short; the Sadaar Clan (a neat name for me, my siblings, and my parents) is moving to the bush. The big Bush. The biggest Bush of all.

Africa. Liberia, to be specific. See the arrows? I'm a fantastic artist, as you can see. ;)

We're going to be off, soon (once God sells our house) to see what God has in store for us in Liberia. It's going to be fantastic.

So, what will this move mean for Teenage Writer? I have no idea. I may be able to keep blogging. I may not. We'll see. At this point, I'm unsure how the move will effect my writing and my blogging.

But one thing I do know; we need as many prayers as we can get. Prayer is essential for this to work. So, if you could, please pray for the family, for Liberia, and for the house to sell. Once the house sells, we're pretty much off on the adventure.

And don't worry, I won't disappear right away. I'll still be around, and I'll keep you all updated.

Thanks for reading my blog, folks. You are all fantastic. :)

ALLONS-Y!