TOLKIEN!! And Why He Can't Come

If you have read the post of this title, (which most people do), and have looked at the sidebar at the number of followers this blog has (which many of you may), and if you follow this blog (if you're reading this, and you don't, go ahead and follow! Excluding parents), and you actually know what I'm talking about, (if you don't, go two posts down and read), then you already know the subject of this post. You guessed it; Something Tolkienish is about to happen...

Unfortunately, it has been postponed. Until further notice. It requires a week for myself, and I don't have a week yet in which I can do it, since I'm on vacation all next week, going to my aunt's wedding the next, and something I forgot the third week, I can't do it. Hopefully, if I have built enough suspense, then most of you should be going, "Darn!" and slamming your fist on a nearby table--or something similar in reaction.

So that means y'all will have to sit tight and wait.

TRANSLATION (for those who can't understand my rambling); Since I'm going to be gone for about three weeks, I can't do the Tolkienish thing that I promised once I reached 25 followers.

WAIT! Don't leave. I have some spoilers for the upcoming giveaway (yes, it is a giveaway!).

First; It is golden. Literally.

Second; It is book(s).

Third--Whoever guesses the prize correctly gains another entry into the giveaway. Seriously. But no one will ever guess.


EDIT; It must be a specific edition of the book that you are specifying. Otherwise it would be guessed in an instant. :D

SECOND EDIT; Only three tries per person, either all in one comment or three.

A Jumbled-Up Box of Randomized Words that Smells Strange--Probably Texas

If you don't understand the title of this post, no fear; you'll understand by the time this is done. :D

First of all (of many, that is), I am BACK! Yes. :D Can you tell? I've been back for a while, but the intoxicating combination of heated writing, amazing books (Jeffrey Overstreet!), and internet problems lured me away from the blog.

My first mission trip, for those of you who were wondering, went wonderfully. I may post a debriefing post on my other blog soon, so keep a lookout.

Second, my editing on Novel #1 has gone officially fantastic! I've rewritten in nearly 3500 words today alone. And I have finally found a title (a working one, at least), after many days (or years) of searching; Quest for the Kingdom.

Give me your opinion on it! :D

Third, J. R. Parker's book, Kestrel's Midnight Song, was just endorsed by Wayne Thomas Batson! That makes me jump. Strange. Anyway, he compared it to Paolini's writing, so if that doesn't interest you, than nothing will. Click here to check out his post on it.

Fourth (yes, I know--this is getting long), it is far too hot here in the Midwest.

Fifth, these select lyrics, from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, always tickle my funny bone. :D

When I think of his last great battle
A lump comes to my throat
It takes a man who knows no fear
To wrestle...with a goat

At the time, they [the brothers] were speaking of Joseph and his blood-stained coat. It makes me laugh so much. :D

Sixth, would you, readers, mind if I posted a review on a nonfiction book? Obviously, it's good enough for me to post a review on it, and yes, it's a Christian book. But I'm not going to reveal the title just yet. :)

Lastly, my followers jumped while I was gone. Only one more follower until I reach the big 25. And then... *evil laugh*

Something Tolkienish shall happen... Moohahaha. :D



[PS; For those of you who didn't get the 'Probably Texas' bit, I went to Arlington, Texas on my mission trip.]

Going to be Gone

Hey, everyone, I'd like to warn you that I'll be gone June 20-26 on a mission trip. So that means there will not be any posts for that week.


Besides this, I'd like to fit in a couple events/news that I had no idea where else to put. :)

First, Wayne Thomas Batson is having an Amazon Blitz on June 22 for his new book with Christopher Hopper, Venom and Song. If you like fantasy and love the Berinfell Prophecies, then that's the place to be. Elves are going to invade Amazon's bestseller list! For those who are in the Tribe contest, it also means MEGA Vanadils. Go here for more info.


So, as Wayne Thomas Batson says, "Light the torches and gather the pitchforks!"

It's time for Elves to invade Amazon.

Second, once I reach 25 followers, something Tolkienish is going to happen...

Top Four Time-Wasters for Writers

What are the four most time-wasting things for writers, things that make distract them from the writing they're doing, and how do you stay away from them?


4) Over-Brainstorming

Believe it or not, brainstorming a little too much can be a bad thing. Sitting and staring at the computer screen/paper, thinking about what you're going to write stops being helpful after about a minute. Once you have the general idea of what you're going to write, then write it. Otherwise you might end of 'brainstorming' the entire time and never get a word down. Taking a long time to brainstorm is best done when you aren't able to write. During a long car voyage or if you can't get to sleep are two examples that I use constantly.


3) Noise

Noise distracts you, big time. Music is one classic example. While for many people, music helps them focus, most of the time I find that when a good song that I like comes on the radio, I think, "Oh, look, my favorite song is on," and so get distracted from my writing. However, there are select times and tunes where music is useful. Like when I was writing at 12:00 in the morning and was being creeped out by my own writing and the silence. :)

Talking and movies in the background is terrible as well. I don't know how many times I hear my name spoken, and leave to computer to find out who's talking about me. Movies are the same. Terribly distracting. I have found myself, while trying to write, ending up watching the movie just because it's a movie.


2) Self Criticism While Writing

Now we've come to one that almost tops the first time-waster; self criticism while writing. You're your most critical critic, but doing that while still writing isn't good. I touched on this several times before, and every word I said is echoed here again; it's a lot harder to finish a novel while you're constantly editing than to finish a novel and then edit.

By doing this, you'll lose time (and possibly waste some).


1) The Internet

I bet you saw this one coming. The internet is seriously the most distracting thing for writing ever invented. You get on the computer to write, and you instantly have a choice; write, or get on the internet? It's honestly a hard question.

I am guilty of this. Very guilty. I had no idea there were so many things more appealing than writing. And the internet is a classic cause of false writer's block. I get on the computer to write and find I want to get on the internet. "Well," I say to myself, "It must be writer's block." Writer's block is real, but oftentimes the cause is just that you would rather be doing something else; like the internet.



So the bottom line; Stay away from the internet, get away from the noise, and just write. :)

And the Winner is...

A couple of days ago, I, and several other people, did a Word War for the Smokin' Pen Award.

And the winner is....

Who wrote 3751 words...

In one night...


Eldra!


You can copy the picture below and put it on your sidebar, if you like. Congratulations!




I'll be starting regular blogging again tomorrow, so look out! :)

Word War Begins Tomorrow!!

Yes, leap for joy! It is time for a Word War, the prestigious and nonexistent-until-five-minutes-ago 'Teenage Writer Word War I'.

For those of you who don't know what it is, and for those of you who do (I'm changing things up!), here's a list of rules.

1. A Word War is simply a war of words. Whoever writes the most words in their novel/story/poem/etc. in the allotted time wins!

2.The Word War begins at five in the afternoon Central Time tomorrow. (I think that's what my time zone is called...) It ends at dawn the next day. (I know some of you; you'll write half the night.) :D

3. In order to enter the Word War, you must first a) Put in your current project and word count via the comments section, and then b) the next day, tell me how many words (through the comments section) you wrote in the allotted time.

The winner will win my completely made up award; The Smokin' Pen Award. You can save it one your computer and (if you have a blog or website) post it on the sidebar.

I will participate, writing in Sadaar, my third novel, but I won't recieve the award if I win. It'll go to second place, then. :D

Get ready for the WORD WAR!!

Tip for June 9, 2010; The Gift of Goals, Part One

There are two kinds of goals; time goals, and word goals. At least, that's what I call them. Word goals are a certain word count that writers want their novels/stories to have. Time goals are how long until you feel you have to finish your novel/story.

In this post (there will be more!), I'm going to write about time goals.

Lately I have set a goal for my current novel, Sadaar; I want to finish it by the end of summer. To some, such goals are impossible. "What?" they might say. "There is NO way I could do that."

Perhaps. Perhaps not. Here's the way I actually do my goals;

1) Ask God to help you make the goal. It works. No kidding.

2) I force myself to write. Writer's block? Sit down and think about what's blocking you, and then remedy the situation. If my creative juices are gone, I keep writing, no matter how dry the stuff I'm typing out is. That's what editing is for! Also, ignoring the internet helps.

3) Do not, whatever you do, don't start editing before the novel is done, unless it affects the plot. This one may differ from each person, but as for me, there are so many mistakes out there, I will never get my novel perfect before going on to write the next piece. I keep on writing and never look back at what I wrote until the novel is done and in front of me. Then I edit like mad. :)

And for those who don't have goals, you might want to think of making one. This, too, may differ from each person, but for me, I find that my productivity goes up a level by having a certain self-imposed date that I want to finish my novel or reach a certain part.

All in all, I think that time goals are a good thing to have, especially if you want to write a lot.

Some Updates

Blogger was down yesterday, so I apologize for not blogging.

I'm just going to bring some stuff up-to-date, as I don't have enough time to write a full-fledged post.

Okay, so first, here's some writing updates.

-I've hit a couple of plot flops in my third novel, so it's kind of ground to a halt. On Friday, I plan to try to revive it.
-I am currently editing/rewriting the Dark King. :D
-My rewriting for my first novel is bucking along very well. I've been adding some subplot, and I'm very pleased with the result.

And next;
-I am busy over the next couple days, (especially on Thursday), so I may not be able to blog.
-If I can blog, be looking for writing tip (yes, I revived it!).

And that's about it, I think. :)

Review; Curse of the Spider King

The Seven succeeding Elven Lords of Allyra were dead, lost in the Siege of Berinfell as babes. At least that's what everyone thought until tremors from a distant world known as Earth, revealed strange signs that Elven blood lived among its peoples. With a glimmer of hope in their hearts, sentinels are sent to see if the signs are true. But theirs is not a lone errand. The ruling warlord of Allyra, the Spider King, has sent his own scouts to hunt down the Seven and finish the job they failed to complete many ages ago.

Now 13-year-olds on the brink of the Age of Reckoning when their Elven gifts will be manifest, discover the unthinkable truth that their adoptive families are not their only kin. With mysterious Sentinels revealing breathtaking secrets of the past, and dark strangers haunting their every move, will the young Elf Lords find the way back to the home of their birth? Worlds and races collide as the forces of good and evil battle. Will anyone escape the Curse of the Spider King? [Description and image taken from Amazon.com]

This was actually the first book that I read by either Wayne Thomas Batson or Christopher Hopper, and it is one of the best.

One of the things that was both good and bad was that there were seven protagonists. Seven. Quite a bit. But CH and WTB manage to pull it off masterfully.

Mr. Batson's humor, seen often in his other books (like The Door Within), was also present. There was a particular paragraph about a cell phone (COTSK fans will know what I'm talking about) that literally made me laugh my head off.

Mr. Hopper's description skills and other qualities shone through the pages of this excellent book as well.

The character development could have been a bit better on a few select characters, but altogether, considering the enormous amount of characters, protagonists and other characters alike, the development was superb.

The combination of these two authors was, to say the least, amazing. I can't wait to read their next book in the Berinfell Prophecies series, Venom and Song. (which, incidentially, comes out in several days!)

Rated 9.1 out of 10

[NOTE; Sorry about the image, it was the only one I could find. :) ]

Assorted News

Sorry for the fitful blogging, everyone. This will be a short post, mostly just because I have half a dozen short things to say.

Sorry, readers, but I've decided to postpone the Top Ten list until further notice. I have been VERY busy (how are you not surprised?) writing, editing, etc. In fact, I entered a short story I recently wrote (no, not the Dark King) at a C. S. Lewis contest at the Pen and the Parchment. You can go over there and vote for your favorite story soon.

On a completely different note, I have good news; I have only 404 Wases to eliminate from my first novel. Ah, make that 402. Wish me luck on my Was manhunt! :)

Besides this, Wayne Thomas Batson's (author of the Door Withing Trilogy) and Christopher Hopper's (author of Rise of the Dibor) Tribe-Building Contest has begun! Click here to get more details.

I'm making a little bubble at the top of the page (in fact, you should be able to see it already) with the current word count of my third novel (the one I'm currently working on). I'm hoping to finish it this summer and start outlining another book soon.

And my first random post is over. And I like dark chocolate. :D