Tag: writing like a boss

Exercise, The Bane Of My Food Loving World + Update!

With NaNoWriMo fast approaching (What? It’s only four days away?!) my final October evenings have been spent trying to prepare for writing a novel in thirty days. As I squeeze lore from the lemon that is my mind right now, I stare at the screen hoping for more loreonade. My mind is putty because today I pushed my body to do things it doesn’t enjoy. Heavy lifting. Manual labor. Cleaning (No, wait… that is deeply satisfying). As someone who eats fast food more than anyone should, I’m a bit out of shape (despite a circle being considered in that group). After gaining some weight during my travels back home, an additional ten percent to put it into perspective, I have been making strides to eat healthier. Today was a different beast entirely.

The backroom at work has been somewhat of a nightmare for a borderline OCD guy like myself. I like order and when things make sense. Safety is also always a good thing. So after speaking with my manager we decided to tear down the backroom and rebuild it. I got to plan, design and execute my idea! Oh how delicious gratification is! However when we began to move stuff around today, as good as it was feeling to have everything in order and tidy, my body disagreed with the methods at play. So after about eight hours of continuous lifting and moving, muscles I didn’t know I used began to groan under the most basic movements. Crouching? Agony. Sneeze? Searing pain. The end result was worth it… for now. Order has been chiseled from chaos and beauty born of insanity.

Fast forward five hours.

Present Me hates Past Me for not worrying about Future Me. Future Me is currently excited for bed, while Present Me is trying to be productive. Damn Past Me has destroyed Present Me’s productivity by overworking us all. In short: Working hard all day keeps the night time productivity at bay. However, that being said I think I know where my story is going to start. Unless it changes, the beginning will introduce one of the antagonists and one of the protagonists as well as two forms of magic, set the kingdom and initiate the plans for a coming war. In my mind, I can already see the battles ahead between two factions! Necromancy in my world is classified as a Forbidden Magic. Forbidden magic simply means you are tapping into an energy that is not your own which changes you through the Magician’s Curse (actually from Jefferson’s story at the top right). Necromancy in particular is cruel in the sense that unlike other forbidden magics that can cause insanity, the caster remains clear of mind while their body decays. In short, you waste away until you are classified as a Lich (skeletal magician). The other form of magic early on is Sacrificial. In order to give life, a life must be taken. These two magics won’t be pitted against each other just yet, but I’m excited for the development!

So many things! Four days! Oh man, this is getting crazy! So many consequences to using magic! So little time! Okay, well I open my store in the morning and still have a ton of things to clean up and move there so I should probably sleep. As for you ladies and gents beyond the screen, are you ready? Have you started early? I am considering also trying to do a blog post (short or long, doesn’t matter) after every NaNoWriMo writing session. Not sure how wise that is, but it’ll be nice I think to touch base with the others out there and help celebrate the wins of Team NaNo! Talk to you soon and remember, FOUR DAYS!!!

The Journey – Shattered Memories

Just tuning in? Great! You’re not too far behind in one of my latest short story attempts. Here is my sacrifice to the WordPress Gods that this post doesn’t up and disintegrate like my last one! Some changes have been made from the original writing that no one ever got to see, but each was for the better. The last piece of this story (Renamed The Journey – Broken Dreams) is located -> Here! <- Enjoy!

***

“Wake up.”

“Huh?” I asked, my voice weak and from the depths of slumber.

Once again the voice penetrated my comfort, harsh and stern, it was at least familiar. “We don’t have all day.”

I opened my eyes wide and the stark white room sent my head spinning. I sat up abruptly and closed my eyes in defence, my hands rubbing half of my face each. “More questions?”

“Of course. Perhaps you’d enjoy some breakfast?” The voice asked again. I immediately made the connection between the voice and Doctor Harris. My stomach grumbled for me and I slowly opened my eyes. Through the narrow slits, I swallowed my morning breath and blinked at him. “That’d be good.”

He motioned toward the table and I adjusted my hospital gown, to at least appear somewhat decent. Of course, at the look of the incredible looking sandwich on the table, all of that went out the window. “Oh my god…” I said between mouthfuls, it was uncontrollable, as though I were watching myself with utter embarrassment. “Ham, cheese… this is so good!” If it had been poisoned, I wouldn’t have even noticed. It was gone before I considered examining it.

“Ahem…” Doctor Harris cleared his throat at my incredible display of gluttony and smiled politely. “Where were we yesterday?”

I felt the air evacuate my lungs and my heart skip a beat as the images from the crash came flooding back. Couldn’t I have a moment just to forget? I stared at him, my heart as cold as his icy blue eyes. “I don’t quite remember… something about where we are?”

“Yes, good. Your short term memory doesn’t seem to be affected.” He glanced up at me from his notebook, and I detected a hint of sarcasm. He took a sip from a glass of water before him and leaned back in his chair. “Well, I suppose I’ll ask again. Do you know where you are?”

“I’m in Morning Sun, Iowa…” I could tell even I was unsure of my answer, my tone completely giving me up to the Doctor. “At least, I was… No idea where I am now.”

“I told you. You’re in a hospital. Not in Morning Sun, but in Mount Pleasant.” Doctor Harris  stated. He didn’t realise it, but he hadn’t actually told me all of that. But new information, was good information.

“Why am I still here?” I could feel my panic begin to choke me. “Where is my father?” I stood and leaned across the table, hands firmly on its top, waiting for his answer.

The doctor stared at me for a moment and his eyes squinted for a second. “Tell me about your father.”

“No, not until you tell me if you found him or not!” I yelled, and could feel my pulse pumping through the veins in my neck and hands.

The doctor calmly motioned for me to sit down as he fumbled around with some papers until he found a plain white envelope. I sat, breathing heavily and stared at the parcel as he passed it to me. “Here,” He said in the most emotionless voice I’d ever heard. “Are these your parents?”

“Parents?” I asked, dumping the photos clumsily onto the table. I stared at the two images before me, a young couple most likely not even thirty in age. “No, I’m almost as old as these two… they’re not my parents at all!”

Again the Doctor calmly motioned, but this time it was for me to be quiet. As his hand hovered in the air, I stared at him. With the adrenaline in my veins, I considered ripping that arm off and beating him to death with it, but alas, I needed answers. “If those aren’t your parents…” He said, his hand lowering to retrieve the folder. “Then I’m afraid your father wasn’t involved in the accident.”

“That’s stupid! I was there, I was in the accident!” I yelled with no concern for volume, my head shaking in disbelief. “Look, we were driving a van and we got hit from the driver’s side… the vehicle divided in two and I was separated from him!”

“I’m sorry, we only found you and those two at the scene.” Doctor Harris said softly. “There was no van, and certainly no other victims. You were lucky that a man came bumbling by and spotted you in the snow.”

Was this another dream? They always felt so real. Maybe dear old Dad had put me in a mental institution, guess I pushed him too far. The words crept from my mouth amid my confusion. “But I-”

“But nothing. It’s time for more of my questions.” The Doctor sternly interrupted. Shocked at his sudden bravado, I felt as though a mute button had been pushed and my words were gone. “Okay…” He said with a sigh. “Next, do you know what day it is?”

“Thursday, twenty third of October.” I shrugged as I spoke, in all honesty I assumed the accident was two days ago. Maybe it had been only one.

“Good.” Doctor Harris said with a reassuring smile. “And what year is it?”

“Twenty twelve.” I said confidently.

The Doctor suddenly stopped writing in his notepad and glanced up again. “Sorry, could you repeat that, a bit louder please?”

“Twenty twelve…” I said confidently. “Two thousand, and twelve.”

The Doctor leaned back in his seat and raised his eyebrows as he stared at his small notepad. The year was written on the page and underlined three times. “Is everything okay Doc?” I asked uncomfortably.

“Oh yes. Everything’s fine.” He quickly replied as he glanced to me and back to the pad of paper.

Suddenly, a voice crackled over a speaker in the corner. “Harris, that’s enough for the moment. Can I see you in the office?”

Doctor Harris hurriedly hopped up and gathered his belongings. “I’ll be back in a little bit.”

“Who was that?” I asked, the whole situation suddenly made me feel extremely uneasy.

“That’s my boss.” He said quickly as he made his way to the door. “Feel free to have a rest, you need all the energy you can get to recover.”

“Thanks…” I said as the door slammed shut behind him. “…for nothing.” At least he hadn’t found my Dad’s body. Perhaps he was still alive and wandered off.

***

“What is it Val?” Doctor Harris asked. “I’m on the verge of-”

“I know.” Val said, his tone sharp. “Listen, this girl just confirmed she came from the twenty first century. Before you go back in there, you need to do your research.”

“Of course, how silly of me.” Doctor Harris smiled nervously. “I’m just so excited. If she can naturally travel through time, imagine what this could mean for us!”

“Yes. But it’s only a matter of time before the others catch wind of this.” Val stated, his tone grim.

“We already know.”

As Val and Doctor Harris turned to the clean cut man standing behind them, he smiled politely. “James Hargrove. Nice to meet you gentlemen.”

“Who are you?” Val asked, annoyance in his voice. “And how did you get in here?”

“The same way you two travel through time. The only difference is, I’m a few tiers higher than you.” Hargrove said as he leaned and stared into Tamara’s room. “Do we know what we’re dealing with here?”

“A natural traveler!” Doctor Harris proclaimed. “She somehow can see the fourth dimension.”

“That’s preposterous.” Hargrove said calmly. “The human brain cannot handle such a thing. To see every point in time at a location in the universe is simply too overwhelming for the mind to comprehend.”

Val suddenly pushed his way between the kind doctor and Hargrove. “Well why don’t you tell us how she travelled back from twenty twelve to nineteen thirty four with nothing but some cuts, scrapes and head trauma!”

“I’m not sure.” Hargrove said. “But she’s my prisoner now. You know the laws against unauthorised time travel. She’s killed eight people just by appearing and causing the car accident in your time.”

Doctor Harris cut in. “Yes but-”

“No excuses, you have a code to uphold!” Hargrove yelled as he turned to face the doctor. “You two have both made some terrible mistakes. I’m sorry.” As Val and the Doctor were about to protest, they disappeared into dust and Hargrove stood between the piles as they settled to the floor. “All unauthorised travellers are to be handed over immediately to our group.” With a shake of his head he turned to the nearby door. “Come in and clean this up. The girl is coming with me.”

The door opened and Val and Doctor Harris entered the room. They looked to Hargrove who stood amid the settling dust and gave a quick smile. “Now remember, you’ve been brought here for a purpose. Once the girl and I leave, things are to continue as though we were never here.”

Val and Doctor Harris nodded as they cleaned up the piles of dust, unbeknownst to them, that they were cleaning up their own remains.

***

I’d love any and all feedback on this piece of writing, or any piece of writing I’ve posted! Hell, even just an email to say Hi is fantastic by me! I seriously try really hard to get back to everyone who takes the time to leave a comment or email! Thanks and I’ll most likely post again later, hope this was worth the Digital Devils and the wait!

Curse The Digital Devils!

So, you know when you have everything planned to happen a certain way and then you check while you’re away and it doesn’t? So it seems the next portion of my story, “The Journey” disappeared into the matrix and I’m left with what appears to be a two hundred and thirty seven word draft that was the only part I had actually removed from the story. Thanks a ton devils from the digital land! Technology is incredible and until it decides it doesn’t want to work for you any more. When the computers rise up, they’ll simply drain all of our bank accounts to zero, order more computers for back up and crush us mercilessly, MERCILESSLY I SAY!

Phew… now that my insanity plea is solidified it seems I have to rewrite my story post. But that’s fine. I was sort of happy with its direction. But first, how are you NaNoWriMo Writers doing? Let’s see here…

Ravings of Nonsense has added a few words, getting up to eight thousand, one hundred and seventy eight. Don’t give up!

I think we’ve lost M.L. Swift and J.R. Vowles to the NaNoWriMo heavens… their last counts, are the last ones we have. Let us know how it’s going gents!

Christine Fichtner hasn’t posted a new count, but was at a healthy thirty thousand last I posted and she’s informed me that she’s at thirty eight thousand now! Home stretch Christine! You’ve got this!

Valourbörn hasn’t posted an update either, hopefully Alex is still crushing the word count, especially after getting back on track!

ElitistGeek was sitting at twenty seven thousand last week and I’ve noticed the old tracker is at a delightful thirty six and a half thousand.

Nikki and her Novel are sitting pretty around thirty eight thousand. Here’s to hoping she makes up the smidgent she’s missed and I’m confident she’ll get it done!

Morrighan and her Muse are sitting at thirty three thousand, which is a bit behind but nothing to worry about! I think she’ll definitely pull through in the days ahead. Hopefully she’ll leave the editing for December and just focus on the art of writing! Not that editing is a bad thing, but November is National Novel Writing Month, not National Novel Writing and Editing Month (Man, that’d be a mouthful… NaNoWriEdMo)!

I think there will be a few who will achieve the fifty thousand word goal they’ve set for themselves! This is a great effort whether you wrote five hundred or fifty thousand. To write is what we are celebrating! You’re all winners in my book and I’d like to see you all celebrate the win of making the effort and the time to write this month! It’s not easy, especially in the holiday season!

As for me… I’m embarrassingly still at the eighty five thousand mark of editing my novel. My partner wants to read it so badly and I guess as this is my first foray into seriously looking at publication, I’m nervous for anyone to read it. I could finish it tomorrow. I could finish it right now. But a part of me is purposely holding back and I can tell. Some of my writing is really well done, but I definitely feel I could easily add another ten thousand words in description alone as the story is so dialogue heavy.

Either way, I’ve got to rewrite a continuation of The Journey and I’ll post it ASAP! Blah! Cheer on the above writers and reach out,  follow and like them! Maybe that will get them back into the swing of things! Later and wish me luck!

In a last line to all you NaNoWriMoers out there… think of it like this, until December, Deleting is a form of Censorship! Get those words out there and hit those numbers!

NaNoWriMo Filler: Don't Be Wordy!

So today I had a nice post planned; it was going to be creative, it was going to be fun.

After reading a few hundred odd NaNoWriMo Day Nineteen posts, I snapped. I lost it. Why you ask? Because people are using words as filler.

Now, I know what you’re thinking… a book is filled with words, what’s the big deal? The big deal is I was always taught conciseness. People are going out of their way to avoid using contractions and being super descriptive… and for what?! To reach some silly goal?

First thing I’ll say from my milk crate with my megaphone is if you’re doing that, for the love of the writing gods and your muse, please stop. You’re not doing yourself any favours, and you’re not winning. I can write fifty thousand words of rubbish too, anyone can. I understand it is a goal to work towards, but the person who “fails” NaNoWriMo at forty thousand words with a finely written story has in my mind achieved more than writing an additional ten thousand words of rubbish.

Bleh!

Sorry for the rant, but my brain imploded and my inner writer exploded like Bruce Banner turning into the Hulk. It was uncontrollable, and I apologise.

So I’ve ranted and raved and yelled from my milk crate… but what can we do to add to a story and not have it be meaningless? Okay, let’s talk about productive filler, shall we?

The first thing I love to do is add in a character. More characters add depth to the story if done correctly and also add emotional fodder. I mean this wholeheartedly. In a story where you may have finished with thirteen thousand words from the target fifty thousand, adding in a character earlier (around ten thousand words in) can offer you a chance at some side stories as well as protagonist interaction. This can drive depth of your protagonist as well as help the story progress. Also this offers a fun opportunity later if you decide you want to challenge your protagonist. Death is virtually mainstream now in movies and literature (Thanks George R. R. Martin for killing off every character I’ve loved) but the things that make those stories successful is that it progresses past that point. A character dies, how does your protagonist react? Were they responsible? Will there be underlying guilt? Adding in a character puts the muse hard at work at weaving them into the story and makes it much more rewarding than lengthening every don’t and it’s to do not and it is.

Another fun thing to do is play with foreshadowing… this is another of the tools in my belt and I love it because it makes a story feel real. Also it is fun as hell that the hobo in scene two is secretly a man who is a fantastic swordsman who the characters have to return to later, and when they were already so close to him. Having things like these happen gives your readers those “Oh wow!” moments that keep them not only turning pages forward, but backward as well! I love trying to surprise the reader with things that make sense, but also it keeps the story interesting as it’s not just the main conflict that is driving the story. Sometimes it’s the tiny moments that push the characters that are most rewarding! If that isn’t clear enough email me or comment and I’ll try to explain it better with some examples!

So I suppose in short, please find more creative ways to fill those fifty thousand words. I beg of you not only as a fellow writer, but as a reader. NaNoWriMo is a writing challenge, but I think instead of just writing fifty thousand words they should celebrate quality over quantity as we are enforcing terrible habits into potentially good writers. I think if you complete a story arc, and it is over twenty five thousand words, that is something to be extremely proud of. Forcing some arbitrary number upon you and making you feel as though you’ve failed isn’t the writing celebration I’d be hoping for. But hell, I’m just glad they’re celebrating writing at all so I’ll take it!

Okay, so now that all of that is out of the way… here is an update from me (embarrassingly). All excuses aside, I have not moved from my eighty five thousand word mark in the editing of my novel. I have written a ton more in short stories and ideas behind the scenes, because when I have a good idea I experience the creative dam shattering and flooding a poor empty screen with words. I have thirteen one line story ideas on post it notes on my Mac Desktop… and I revisit them everyday. But all of that aside… damn you editing… damn you.

I’ve announced as well that I’ve got a pair of puppies coming soon to a few people and I may have even mentioned in the blog at some point. For those of you who like dogs or cute things, I’ve got a picture you may enjoy and I’ll post it below. My puppy is a miniature dachshund and he will be my first pet ever! This is exciting for me because I’ve always wanted a dog and well… when I was looking at the pups this one snuggled right in and made himself at home. Yes, my face melted. I am considering the name Thor and it hurts me that everyone I tell assumes I’m basing the name off the movies. Norse Mythology… it’s a thing. Look it up. That being said… I did like the new movie.

My puppy, possibly named Thor!
My puppy, possibly named Thor!

Also WordPress has deleted my entire final paragraph upon posting. No idea what’s happened there but let’s try it again! So for those of you falling behind in your NaNoWriMo efforts, would you like me to post your progress so it holds you accountable? Or is there anything I can help with? Also thanks to everyone who has emailed me or commented on the blog! Sorry if I don’t get back to you straight away as my inbox went from two emails a day to forty and I am working on getting back to any and all. The more the merrier I say! Also, if anyone takes the time to write to me, I will reply in one way or another! Anyway good luck and hope to hear from you (yes you!) soon!

NaNoWriMo's and Other Writers Unite!

Bam! Before I write anything, thanks again to everyone who is now following my blog! My visits went off like crazy and my phone is constantly vibrating with other writers commenting and messaging me to talk about writing! This has been a great time for me and I am so glad that I have opened up this Pandora’s Box of writers! I feel like I’m not using enough exclamation marks! What do you think?

Excitement aside, the effect of the community has pushed me to hit back at my editing and hit hard, going from being halfway through to editing roughly a quarter of the book in my past two days off. I edited from fifty six thousand words up to the eighty five thousand mark, and now all I see is the Matrix… but instead of numbers it’s nothing but Arial font, size ten. Thanks to all of you who have commented or followed me back, I have made these strides. If we all stick together, there is no telling how we can affect and influence each other’s writing! 

Today’s post is a post to see where everyone stands in their NaNoWriMo or Current Writing target. So consider this a support group. I don’t expect names or anything like that, but post in the comments your goal, your current word count and if you’re looking for a writing partner. When I say partner, I mean someone to check up on you. I’m fully on board with checking up on all of you if you’d like (I know I would) but if you wanted to break off and just check in with each other. Not everyone posts their progress everyday and knowing that random stranger is going to email you, may be the push you need to give it the priority you want. 

I know from past NaNoWriMos that it is easy to make excuses. Family events pop up, Christmas shopping to do, cleaning, sleeping from working hard, yadda yadda yadda… They all sound important. But I personally think the one thing that helped me the most get to my target of one hundred thousand words was making time for it. Sounds easy enough, right? Wrong. I am in no way a morning person, in fact I can avoid sleeping and be just fine(ish), but once I sleep, getting up is the devil. After re-evaluating my priorities, I decided that the only time that was never interrupted was the early morning. No one ever calls you at five AM to say “Hey, Let’s hang out!” So I woke up before work, before my partner, before the sun… and I wrote.

Some of it was drivel for the first while. (Did I mention I’m not a morning person?) Once the routine developed, I began to feel better. My creative juices began flowing easier. I was writing, with NO interruptions! It was a hard fought battle, but I had won! I will do it again for my next novel and I won’t think twice. So, I’ll leave you with the above homework (Comments, Goals, Partners) and the following things I did to get to my “redonkulous” target of one hundred thousand words!

1) Find an uninterruptable time to write, make it routine.

2) Do NOT include research time as writing time. Wikipedia will devour your soul (And free your mind).

3) Instead of setting a time goal, set a word goal. I used to say, I will write two thousand words today. I sat there. I wrote. It was painful sometimes, but it happened and it got easier as time went on. This also ensures you hit your goals.

4) Do NOT over structure. I set plot targets at every twenty thousand words, for example: the following events need to happen before this word target has been met. This allows you much more freedom and allows your characters to “play”. I found that if I designated every scene, the structure confined me where sometimes the characters were enjoying their moment.

5) Always write. No matter what. No matter how terrible you think it is. No matter how boring or unrelated to the story it feels at the time. Write it. The reason is forcing yourself to write through a block can offer inspiration into other directions and forces your brain into the routine you want. Only you can stop yourself from writing altogether, even if you can’t think of anything… just do it. 

Okay ladies and gentlemen, this has been a fun post to write and I am open to questions, comments, concerns, arguments (or discussions as I call them) and homework! If you’ve got the time- homework below and I’d love to know what you guys think of the five things I did to get to the one hundred thousand mark! Embrace the community I am trying to build here within my comments! Participation is key! Talk to you soon and happy writing! 😀

(PS- Thanks again, you… yes you! You may not know it, but you are my inspiration!)

A Quick Thanks!

Wow! So roughly twelve hours ago I decided to embark on a quest to seek out other writers in an attempt to find fellow struggling writers such as myself and give them support. What an awesome community us writers have! The quick comments and follows I’ve received back have been overwhelming and quite frankly made me eager to get back to my computer to see what has been happening! I went from my life time views being around thirteen hundred to over fifteen hundred in that short twelve hour span! My views have exploded and with like minded people! It’s all I could have hoped for! So thank you so much for your support and for all of you who have now followed me, you have my attention! If you need/want/would like anything, and I mean ANYTHING read or just want to chat, feel free to drop me a line!

Also, for those of you stuck during NaNoWriMo, I applaud you. Writing fifty thousand words on a deadline can be stressful and soul crushing. But from my own personal experience with the “Fifty Thousand Words of Doom” I can honestly say do not stress. If you don’t meet your target it is not the end of the world. NaNoWriMo in spirit is to give us writers a reason to get tapping away at those keys and unite us with a common cause; to celebrate the art of writing. People tend to think, “Oh woe is me, I have failed” when in reality, the fact they are writing at all is a success. The only failed writers are the ones who lose passion for writing altogether, so do not let the stress of NaNoWriMo kill your passion. If you need someone to check up on you, I dare you to keep me up to date with your word counts… maybe I’ll even post them here, MWA HA HA! Public shame! (For a good cause :P)

I am so amped up on life right now! Having this much interaction on my blog has really struck me and I have procrastinated most other duties I had for today just to rush back to this very page and speak to you all again! I haven’t been this excited about writing in a long time and I really hope that I can share my wins with you as I myself struggle to get the fabled published book. Because I’ve been so inspired, I must indeed rush off and get back to it and today I leave you with one of my oldest surviving pieces of writing (everything else was lost to floppy disk failures, failure to back up or the fabled room flooding) but here is my first published poem in a compilation from high school (Oh God, that was just over a decade ago…) aptly named, Not Quite Nostalgic (I’ve posted this awhile ago, but it still holds a special place in my heart). Hope you enjoy and stay tuned… I’ve got some wild ideas coming up! Exciting times ahead!

Thanks again everyone! TJ – The Canuck Amuck

 

Not Quite Nostalgic

A sea of hope, a beach of sand.
Some have never seen nor heard,
The whispering winds across the land.

Though I have seen many a time,
The lapping waves, in all their beauty,
Rising and falling, almost in rhyme.

The tide across the sandy beach,
No worries or cares, just silent sounds.
No lesson to learn, nor to teach,
Not quite nostalgic, yet my heart still pounds.

The Lands of Anglia

Through the snow covered trees and far up the rocky mountain side, a society of men and women live in seclusion. They are considered thieves and barbarians, as they are among the only remaining creatures that still warship the animals they hunt and feed upon. Their homes are made of stone and ice, to shield them from the harsh climate however their weapons are made of wintersteel, a metal so cold that it regains its chill even after smelting. The barbarians are considered one of the first people in the land of Anglia and have lived in the mountains for centuries. They dare not stray from their gods of the hunt, strength, fertility and justice and nor do they stray from their star forge, where the suns rays radiate down through a large transparent rock wall to melt even the strongest and coldest of ores.

Meanwhile in the south, the lush green pastures and rolling hills are dotted with small inns and farms, leading to a great kingdom where heroes are born and legends are truth. The tall walled city of Ritharlia stands tall over the beautiful emerald forest surrounding it, its gorgeous white walls almost glowing in the sunlight. The city’s nightstone tiled roofs give the city a rich yet ominous feeling, as the dark blue color almost absorbs the light during the day. Some even say within the city’s walls it is darker than outside of them. The people inside the city range from the poorest of the poor to the richest of the rich. As Ritharlia stands in the middle of the contintent, it has become a trade hub for people from the port city further south or the people who dare come down from the northlands.

FInally the port city of Makta, is considered the gem of Anglia. Those from around the world know and have heard of Makta’s crystal clear waters and ports with fish so plentiful you can scoop them up with a rope and bucket. Considered to be the newest of the three major civilizations in Anglia, Makta was founded as a branch out to the nearby continent of Loras. When trade between the two continents exploded, Makta grew from the ship building dock it had began as into a larger area of commerce. Some even say the merchants who watch over the port wield more power and wealth than the high lord of Ritharlia.

Hidden away deep in the expansive forest surrounding Ritharlia lies the royal ancient forest. The forest is known to the barbarians as Sojourn. This is the place they believe the gods had come to stay before the white walls of the kingdom rose from the trees. It was once rumored a weapon of immense power was left in the hands of mortals and that the lineage of the Ritharlia has been defending it for centuries. That weapon was left behind in case the balance between the light and the darkness ever shifted unevenly. Only one with a true heart and neutral mind could wield the blade.

Tales of a once great city beneath the sea have been told for as long as the northlands have had pictures to convey stories. However, the mystery surrounding this city which had never been seen again is often regarded as tales or legend. The tales speak of the link between the elements and their respective ancient temples, and how the Altar of Agua is directly linked to those folk of the sea. However the ancient lores spoke of these temples and altars, yet despite the many adventures to find them, none have ever been found.

A final lore revolves around the Triad. Also known as the harmony, the Triad consists of three beings of immense spiritual power in: Discipline, Wisdom, Courage. There are many relics surrounding this relationship, however when the world is in complete and utter jeopardy, will the three align and beat back the evils to restore balance. No matter who, or what they may be.

*Three Short Introductions coming soon*

Distractions Abound

As a man who when he puts his mind to anything, can most accomplish that said thing, I have the amazing ability to become absorbed into the many distractions that life has. In fact when it came time to figure out what to do today I simply sat down, laptop and book in hand, and loaded up facebook and email straight out of habit. That being said today has been a busy day with a Christening and Reception, and finally seeing the litter of puppies I’ve chosen my new pup out of. My god, it is hard to choose when all of them are half a foot of adorable.

Also, puppies are now on the list of distractions. As of December 7th, I will be the proud new owner of a miniature dachshund and he is a sleepy little pup. In fact all I can think about is how awesome it will be to have him come to my house, cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war (pun intended). Although I know he will take away from the millions of other things I would love to achieve, at the same time, he is my first pet ever so it will be an interesting experience overall!

Batman has taken a back burner, as well as Pokemon… and I judge myself for not devoting more time to these games I love. Especially when I know the PS4 is coming out soon as well as the new Zelda 3DS I’ve already slapped a deposit down on. At the moment, not having kids means getting virtually everything I want, so there is no rush on that! Probably should put more focus into editing my story, but going over it with a fine tooth comb has been rough. Editing is always the hardest part and ensuring that you haven’t let anything out. I think my goal is instead of NaNoWriMo, I’ll give myself until the end of November to complete the edit and pass it off to the first person to read it: My Lovely GIrlfriend. She has been patiently awaiting the moment she is allowed to read my story, so before any editors or anything… she’s first (And she can catch the mistakes I didn’t and ask the questions I knew the answers to).

Waiting for my iBook short story to be published has been a harrowing experience as I check for myself every single day to see if my story is up. There are a few people wanting to reread it and the presentation is crisp and clear with the iBook Author program. The price is free so everyone may enjoy the story but I am hoping that because it is free that I will get much more feedback and thus make myself a better writer! (I hope it’s not soul crushing…)

Lastly my obsession with the silk bound book has reached new heights as I attempt to hunt down the final three in the “Art of” series by Watkins Publishing. I am currently hunting “The Art of Strategy, The Art of Love and The Art of the Samurai.” I am torn on the Art of the Kamasutra as it doesn’t fit in with the others in my opinion. But also, it would complete the set… so… I blame Pokemon for needing to catch em all!

Lastly I need some new music… I need to renew my free JB HI FI NOW subscription as the last one ran out, but I used that thing all the time and now I don’t know what I did without it! My latest obsession is Nero’s Doomsday from the end of The World’s End trailer (which I still have to see!) but for some strange reason I feel compelled to… exercise… damn you dubstep, damn you.

On a final note, I dreamt the other night that my free iBook took off and got a huge cult following, people loved it and eventually I was involved in making a movie out of it. In my dream I was giving an interview about why I chose to give it away for free when I said the most pompous and arrogant thing I’ve ever said, dream or otherwise: Stories should be told, not sold. Sadly, the people loved it, and then it became my thing that all my stories were free and everyone and their friends downloaded them, but I made all my money from merchandise and movie rights. Not a bad business plan, maybe I’ll stick with the concept… but drop the higher than other author attitude. No one would like that guy! Anyway feel free to check out the last few posts for a retrospective and a poll!

Creative work… coming soon…

Without Looking Back, How Can We Go Forward?

Today’s post is a bit of a retrospective on this very blog here. Some followers are new and some have been around a while, but either way this will be a post gateway into the start of projects of the past (As some may resurrect soon) so with that in mind! Let’s hop into ye ole writing DeLorean and take a journey down memory lane! Also, we will take a brief look into the (hopefully) very near future with some projects that are nearing completion as well as some that are… moving along in the direction of completion! Without further ado…

The very first post just over two years ago was one that began as a self reflection post about who I am and how I came to be this way. This culminated into an eight post series into my history and life. If you haven’t read them, feel free as you’ll learn a bit about me.

Into the Looking Glass: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight.

Then I wrote many a writing and struggling writer post for support and to reaffirm what I’d learned. Eventually that lead to the episodic content short story entitled Unbiased Law about a robot detective who was struggling to solve a crime and got in way over his head. Have a read!

Unbiased Law:  One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three, Twenty-Four, Finale.

Wow, I didn’t remember writing so many of those! Perhaps I’ll edit those and make them into a free eBook for all my adoring fans (out there… somewhere…). Either way, Episodic content became a fun addition to this blog and I enjoyed writing it so the trend suddenly started! It made sense for a blog so that way it was easier to plan my next post… also I treated it kind of like a radio drama! My next story began as the winner of a poll I had put out there to the readers. Super Zero was the story of a child going through the growing pains of attending school. Perhaps the story was too familiar or perhaps it wasn’t my most inspiring work, but it did fizzle off as something better appeared on the horizon.

Super Zero: The Start of Something New, Land of the Bullies, The “After Math”, Tale of the Green Ranger, A Cape of Courage, Girl With the Tangled Hair, After School Special, Eccentricity, Return of the Phantom in the Closet

As I continued writing I decided that the Film Noir feel of Unbiased Law and the Campy feel of Super Zero weren’t to my tastes at the moment so I started heading into a different direction. I began to write about a secret society of Super Heroes that experienced a death in the team. It was more drama than I’d really written before, so as it was my first venture into that subject matter, I don’t feel as though it was my best work.

Heroisms: Immortality, Nemesis, Sacrifice, Achilles Heel, Choice, Destiny, Impervious, Disguise, Vengeance.

Then I revisited an idea I will probably revisit a million times, the concept of a mediocre assassin trying to break into the world top ten. As a character scraping to get by, this modern day assassin is both cynical and demanding of sympathy. Everyone can relate to the everyday struggles, his are just actual physical struggles. I may bring old Sherman or Brad back out of retirement. I’d love to know what you think!

Middle Class Assassin: Tough Times, A Life of Routine, The Recruitment Process

Also there are loads of short stories and ideas and concepts littered through the hundred and some odd posts on here. If you’re new, drop me an email or comment! I’d love to hear from you!

In closing I have one last update to bring to you: My short story, Circle of Vengeance, is in the processing to be available for download through the Apple iBookstore in hopefully another week! This is hopefully the beginning of something good and either way at least it gets my name out there so when I finish my actual novel, I can link it back to that and hopefully it’ll drum up some buzz! Either way, I’ll let you all know when it hits the store and I will post again tomorrow, roughly same Battime, same Batblog. (I’ve been playing too much Batman.)