Schedule Tweak

I'm tweaking my schedule a bit.  Due to my general laziness on general posts, I'm specifying the posts as literary criticisms.

Literary criticisms will be an umbrella-term for book reviews, mid-book analyses, and writing style evaluations, both for individuals and general styles.

As I posted a book review yesterday, I'm keeping this as my last general post.

Tired

I feel unusually tired today.  Odd enough, I think it might be because I haven't done much the last few days.  Monday I had the first four periods of school off because of a minor English standardized test and today I got the same time off because other people were testing (new security measures).

Oh well, I'm too tired to think of something profound to say, so as far too often I do, I will leave you there.

Brief Note

I am a much better writer than an extemporaneous speaker.

2012: Looking Back

 I accomplished a good bit in 2012.

• Started this blog
• Wrote 122 blog posts
• Wrote over 30 flash-fiction pieces
• Started a Twitter account
• Read a few books, including my first sci-fi tomes
• Assisted a Varsity soccer goal
• Maintained wicked grades
• Received a paper rejection with a personal note
• Received my first half-dozen or so electronic form rejections
• Polished a short story
• Critiqued several chapters of other writers' manuscripts
• Began a novelette (or long short story) that has promise

Merry Chirstmas

Merry Christmas all ye faithful.  I'm having a great one and I hope everyone else is as well.

The Voice Season 3 Final

The final of The Voice is tonight.  Who shall be the victor?

Will it be Nicholas David, singer with soul, an amazing beard, and a flowing mane?

Perhaps Cassadee Pope, the veteran band leader with power and versitality?

Or Terry McDermott, a Scottish rocker given "just a little bit more" (Blake Shelton) of the ability to rock?

Only Carson Daly knows.

My Next Big Thing

I'm honored to state that Mr. Hargett of Strands of Pattern tagged me in the My Next Big Thing (mine will be the next big thing right after his).  I must answer ten questions about my current WIP.  I don't really know many bloggers who actually do these tagged events, so I'm not going to tag anyone, sorry.

 

1.   What is the working title of your book?

The Lost Mountains

2.    Where did the idea come from for the book?

I chose five or so objects randomly and included them in the first scene.  After writing that, I pretty much kept adding in things off the top of my head.  My latest idea for a minor subplot was made because I wanted a character to stroke his mustache.  I started building a character and a subplot around the idea.

3.   What genre does the book fall under?

It's Epic Fantasy with a bit of Heroic Fantasy (a knight instead of an everyman protagonist).

4.   Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I don't think it would translate well into a screenplay.

5.   What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

When a band of knights hits its prime, an equal gang of evil creatures awakens with the intent to destroy all good.

6.   If you plan to publish, will your book be self-published or published traditionally?

I refuse to self-publish.  If it isn't good enough to be traditionally published by a large press, I'll just have to write another.

7.   How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I haven't finished yet, but I started it in June of 2009.

8.   What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

The Hobbit (although with an older audience)

9.   Who or What inspired you to write this book?

My cousin Zachary Shenal and my sixth grade English teacher

10.   What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

It has dragons (albeit with some twists) and a rather unique magic system.

Legion

Mr. Legion is both insane and sane at the same time.  In his opinion, he is sane, while his hallucinations are not.  Yeah, hallucinations, really cool hallucinations.

Legion is a novella by Brandon Sanderson.  I downloaded the audiobook for free on audible.com, and you can to.  The characters and premise are brilliant.  The plot could be a bit better, but Brandon discovery wrote it on a plane, so I'll cut him some slack.

Go check it out!

My Reading Habits

• I read a lot of adventure and fantasy, but recently began reading a bit of sci-fi.
• I don't read books more than once (I've done partial rereads a couple of times, but never the whole way through).
• I read very slowly, averaging between 2 and 3 minutes to read each page depending upon how many words are on each page.
• I reread a good bit as I'm reading, especially when I begin losing focus.
• Due to losing focus, I've recently begun taking a lot of mid-reading naps that sometimes go on for a couple of hours...
• I tend to read in bursts were I get a lot or reading done, followed by periods of time when I read practically nothing.
• From the time I was in 5th grade through 8th grade I competed in Reading Competitions, which unfortunately meant that I read a lot of little-known literary and mainstream fiction that didn't help me out quite as much in writing as the speculative fiction that I'm reading now.
• I only remember one book that I started and didn't finish.  (Not counting books that I'm currently reading, of course.

Me

I've decided to be a bit more open with information about myself.  I already changed my picture to one not taken in the dark and now I'm going to list a few personal facts.

1.   I am 15 years old.
2.   I play soccer, both at the Varsity level and AYSO.
3.   I am a sophomore in high school.
4.   I am a Pittsburgh Steelers fan.
5.   I am an Extemporaneous speaker in Speech/Forensics.
6.   I recently joined my school's newspaper.

100th Post + Knights of MicroFiction #8

This is my 100th post!  I haven't received a lot of attention over the course of my previous 99, so I decided that I would do a blog-hop for #100.

The prompt for the hop is:  In 300 words or less write a scene where the main character realizes he/she is thankful for something.  Include the words "turkey" and "Mayflower" (this could be May flowers too or other creative variations).

If anyone would like to participate, you have until 11:59 pm on November 15th to post your entry.  Make sure that you sign up on the Linky List on either Imagine Today or Write. Skate. Dream. first.  

Here is my entry:

Not Manna But Meat

            Mayflowers dot the path I tread.  Low to the ground, I inch forward on hands and knees, paying ever close attention to the underbrush.  Small scrapings reveal more to me than perhaps anyone else.

            The path seems to go cold at a large oak tree.  Its swindling branches hold hundreds of broad green leaves.  In a lower, thicker branch, a creature sleeps.  I am ready for the kill.

            Leaning back, I shift into a sitting position and reach behind me.  My musket pulls off smoothly from the back of my shoulder as I place the butt against its front.  I pull my bag of powder out and fill the flash pan, then load.  A spark ignites the powder, throwing me back with the force while also expelling a ball of merciless lead.

            The beast releases a squawk that pierces the night.  It flaps, sputters, and falls to the ground.  I pull out my knife.  There’s no point in letting it die slower than it has to.  My knife oozes red in my right hand as the turkey’s eyes stare blankly at me from its head in my left.

            I smile with equal emotion.  The creature wasn’t a nuisance, nor a threat, but it had to pass.  There is hardly any food left in the settlement.

            I look up to the sky at the translucent face of the Creator.  “You’ve always provided for me,” I mutter.  “Thank you.”

Election Day

Edit: It's Election Day.  I hope that you voted.

Ender's Game (Ending Note)

I loved Ender's Game through and through.  There wasn't a dull moment.  It only took me about a week and a half or so to read it, my quickest read in months.  Shortly after my midpoint analysis I came to my final conclusion about the point-of-view.  It is third-person omniscient that happens to be rather limited, not third-person limited as I originally thought.  I gave the book 5/5 stars on goodreads.

I tore through the next book in the Ender Quartet, Speaker for the Dead, in only three days.  Other than the half-annoying/half-cool use of Portuguese, I loved it.  It was very different from Ender's Game, but it too received a 5/5.


In completely unrelated news: NaNoWriMo, bring it on.  There are only 28 hours until "go time".

Ender's Game (Midpoint Analysis)

I have some mixed feelings toward Ender's Game thus far (about half-way).  There are a lot of things I like about it, but a few things that I don't.

The characters in Orson Scott Card's premiere novel are incredibly designed.  They're compelling and exceedingly clever.  That's also a downfall.  They're too smart.  I don't care if these children were made in a lab, Card bends the golden rule of science-fiction "it has to be plausible", not in the technology or setting, but in character.  Granted, the characters are only as smart as Card himself.  That, however, is a plus, he's very intelligent.

I've never encountered the point-of-view style found in Ender's Game.  It's neither a positive nor a negative attribute.  Third-person limited seems to be the POV, although statements break in in the first-person occasionally.  Thoughts with a flourish?  Perhaps.

While I consider this book "adult" for the purpose of my "currently-reading" list, I'm not really sure on that.  It's violent for sure, although not sickeningly so.  The main character is a child young enough to be a chapter book protagonist, further complicating the audience.  The prose has a few too many "tells" and reads at a far lower level than The Wheel of Time, poking at young adult.  I'm sure I could find Card himself explaining the audience if I looked hard enough, but I'd rather continue speculating, at least for the time being.

Overall, I'm excited about Ender's Game and the rest of the series.  It's a change for me, a necessary change if I want to become an editor of speculative fiction, taking with open arms.  I might leave further comments when I finish.

One Book Down, Many To Go

I finally managed to finish The Great Hunt, which I had slowly hacked away at since May.  It was a phenomenal book with a ton of plot-lines and characters.  The book filling its slot on my "currently-reading" list is Ender's Game.  I've never read a sci-fi with an adult audience, so I'm excited for it.  Hopefully I'll finish it in less than five months...

Lack of Pictures

I realized that I almost never have any pictures on my blog.  As I can't think of anything else to post, I'm going to create a home-made image using Microsoft Word (yes, Word) for a writing genre fit for October.

Trope Dilemna

I was writing a list of epic fantasy tropes and realized that my novel didn't include two of them.

My protagonist, Fredric, a virtuous knight, is by far not an everyman.  He is wise, strong, and chivalrous, although he's a bit more stern for his own good.  Now that I think about it, I could even have him go a little pseudo-Whitecloak...

I have no ancient cities with massive structures.  I could pump up the size, but none of the magic in the book supports towers the size of skyscrapers and cities on the scale of those found in the Wheel of Time series.  I suppose I could add it.

Thoughts?  Should I change things or keep it as it is?

Morning Writing Exercise

I've started myself a new habit.  Not a bad habit, but a good one.  Every morning, I get up 25 minutes early and write to a prompt for twenty minutes.  I hope to achieve two things in doing so.  One, I can get my brain firing early on in my day.  Two, I get more practice in writing.  My first three days I've been using prompts that I made up myself, but later on I may use prompts from Writing Excuses or any prompts that anyone would like to give me.  My flash fiction posts may or may not be one of my morning writing exercises.  My latest flash fic, Guard Weasel, was my first morning exercise.

Pop-Tarts

I love pop-tarts.  In fact, I just had a pack of raspberry pop-tarts.  My favorite flavors (in addition to raspberry) are cherry and brown sugar and cinnamon.  Yes, this is quite random.  No, I'm not going to waste any more of your time.

Miracle

It was a true miracle that I remembered to post.  I was in bed listening to my iPod and happened to select a podcast that was an update and included an old episode within it.  This led me to want to look up one of the people from the old episode.  Without being guided to pick that particular podcast, I can say with fair certainty that I would have forgotten about posting.  Big thanks to "The Man Upstairs".