Can Anybody Write?

Can anybody write? This is a question that I have seen circulating in the writing community for a few years now. I know for a fact that many writers ask themselves this question and I know many avid readers who proclaim that "not everyone can write."

I asked a question similar to the very basic one mentioned above over on Facebook and Google+. I learned my lesson as far as asking broad questions, but I also received a load of excellent responses. Due to those responses, I considered summarizing several of the different viewpoints put forth and then setting them down here for you all to consider, but I have decided against that for this post and I may do it for my next.

This post, however, is about what I feel a writer is and whether or not anybody can write. I know some people will agree with my definition. I know some will not. But is that not the true beauty of the thing we call the internet? (By true beauty, I am not denying the greatness of cats and rainbows.)  We can read the opinions of others and decide whether we agree or disagree without feeling pressured to make a decision right off?

To keep things simple and direct, here is my working definition of a writer: A writer is an artist whose constant use and mastery of words goes beyond what is commonly taught, whose life is devoted to quality writing, and who consistently writes because it is simply what they do.

To back up this working definition I have three things and accompanying question that allow me to know if someone truly is a writer.

1. Passion
Do they have a passion for their work and continuously seek to improve the quality of their work?

2. Talent
Do they have the ability to create work that is enjoyable, as an art-form, to readers?

3. Perseverance
Do they push on with consistent writing despite disappointments or rejections? 

Before  I answer the question of "can anybody write," I would like to clarify something. By consistent writing/consistently writes I mean that the person writes something worthwhile at least every week. There are seven days in a week, this should not be too hard to do. I do it with articles for my church newsletter or with short story prompt websites.
Also, honestly, a declaration of talent should come from someone other than one's mother or loved one.

So, can anybody write?

No.

Individuals have varying talents, that is what makes them individuals. Writers are talented with being able to write well, but they also possess passion and perseverance. There have been posts and discussions about the difference between the hobby writer and the professional writer. I would say my thought of a real writer would fall under the professional category due to the perseverance aspect. A hobby writer fails qualification due to the sporadic occasions that they actually write.

In my mind, an individual must possess all three, Passion, Talent, and Perseverance to be a real writer.


There you have it. I have left out a bunch of word definitions and qualifying arguments, seeking to give you the simplest view of my answer to the question as possible. I believe I have succeeded.

Sincerely,
Joshua A. Spotts

Here are some websites with prompts to help with writing something every week.
1. Cleverfiction.com
2. http://www.pw.org/writing-prompts-exercises

Cleverfiction is the site I use. It is a good community and has some interesting prompts.
Poets and Writers is a well-known and respected website for writers.
If you have a twitter, I am sure there are some good twitter accounts to follow for prompts as well. The internet is a marvelous place and resources for helping writers abound.

Three Things to do Before Editing your Novel

1. Write the novel.
....
As important as writing the novel is, I'm just joking here. But can a writer edit a novel without writing one? Of course! It just wouldn't be the writer's novel, it would have to be some other writer's novel. The title of this post dictates, however, that these are three things to do before editing your novel. Thus we can determine that these things should be applied to a novel you have already written.

Okay, here we go.

These things come from my own observations, or more aptly put, my own regrets. But I think they are good ideas in general.

1. Create a chapter-by-chapter outline of your entire novel.

I am no outline writer. Indeed, when I get an idea the flesh is put on it as I write. But I know that a precise, though brief, outline of what each chapter is about in my novel would be very helpful. That way, if I have a question about a certain event I can reference the chapter outlines and go directly to the chapter in which the event was supposed to happen. I have spent a lot of time flipping back through my novel when it would have been faster to look at my chapter outlines. I know I have written one of these lists, but the file is buried in my many files within several folders. Thus, in conclusion of this section I would advise not only writing a chapter-by-chapter outline, but printing it out too so that you don't forget you have it.

2. Create a list of characters.

This list allows you to keep track of your characters. It should contain the rudimentary descriptions of your characters as well as the primary occurrences in their lives. It would also be helpful to note which characters, usually minor, die and when or when they leave actual influence to the plot-line. I lost track of one of my characters that I had early on. I forgot about him. If I had created this list I would have been  noticed his unexplained disappearance earlier instead of getting halfway through the edits and then saying, "hey, what happened to so-and-so?"

3. Create a list of the major events.

When I saw major events, I mean major, plot twisting events. This meshes with number one certainly and probably even number two, but it will allow you to see individually every major event. This will help you spot plot holes, I know it would help me. I have a mental list, but I still have to flip back through pages to reassure myself that a certain event has already happened.

There you go. I intend to put these three things into practice for myself this afternoon. I regret not having done it earlier, considering I am halfway through my final edit, but they should be useful things even for the second half. If you think it will be hard to compile these lists, you're thinking rubbish. At this stage you know your novel better than anyone else, so compile those lists and edit that killer novel of yours!

Sincerely,
Joshua A. Spotts

Why You Should Enjoy Editing Your Novel

     As I said in my last post, I have been editing the final draft of my novel. I have been learning many things through this process, chief of which is the necessity of enjoying the editing process. Why is it important to enjoy editing one’s own novel? This is a question I have pondered for several days now. 

     Editing a novel is a very long process and can be, at certain times, painful. It is painful because we, as writers, love our work. You may tell yourself that you hate your work, that you want it to be better, but while that is a good mindset, it is a lie. We are inherently biased toward the work of our hands, which in the writing profession is the work of our hearts. The marks of a red pen tearing apart your carefully worded sentences is a painful thing, there is no denying this.  

           

     Writers must naturally develop a tough skin. This tough skin helps with editing and those dreaded rejection letters. In short, fellow writers, you just need to deal with the pain. It doesn’t go away, but it can be dulled by understanding the necessity of editing. Disregarding the pain, dulled by your tough skin, it is important for you to enjoy the editing process which is necessary for your novel to reach excellence. 

     The importance of enjoying the process can be broken down into four basic elements: Perspective, entertainment, lesson, and choice. 

     You may now be wondering what these four, seemingly random, words have to do with enjoying the editing process. Well, my friends, I shall tell you from my own speculations. 

1.      Perspective: This is important because we must always have the proper perspective when editing. We edit to make our work better. This is the core of the editing perspective, but there are other elements, one such being audience. When editing your novel you must remember your target element and take the perspective of what they expect/enjoy while editing your novel.

2.      Entertainment: Novels are, at their basest level, a form of entertainment. And entertainment by its very nature is something we enjoy. This is why entertainment is an important element to enjoying the editing process. If you do not enjoy the process of making your novel better, how can you know that your reader will enjoy your final product?

3.      Lesson: Memorable novels are those which have some lesson in them, disguised or obvious. Novels which present lessons to their readers are novels that are remembered because they caused the reader to take something away, to ponder something even after they were done reading. These novels are also enjoyed more and, oftentimes, are read more than once. This is why making sure your novel has some lesson to be learned is important to enjoying the process. It is the same logic as #2, if you do not enjoy putting in the lesson, how will the reader enjoy learning the lesson? My geography professor is a perfect example of this. She does not enjoy teaching us. She does not put any passion in her lessons, and therefore I do not enjoy her lessons.

4.      Choice: This element is far more important than all the others, because only you can choose to enjoy the long process of editing your novel. Take enjoyment in working to give your readers a better piece of work. Choose to enjoy the process which gives them something worth enjoying.

     Well, I shall stop rambling now, but I implore you to remember that if you do not enjoy editing your novel, it is likely your readers will not enjoy reading it.

Sincerely,

            Joshua A. Spotts

3 Reasons to Edit by Hand

I have edited sixty pages of my novel by hand over the past few weeks. After three rounds of editing on my computer, two by myself and one by a friend, I had not expected to change so many things during the hand edit.

I printed out all 231 pages with the expectation that I would read through it like I would any other book, making sure I had filled any plot holes. That was my objective. I sat down at my desk, tea to one side, red pen in hand. One minute later I was making marks on the paper, rewording sentences, choosing better words to convey better emotion, all that fun, good stuff. In essence, prime objective was laid aside and I set to tweaking my novel to increase the readability.

I am becoming a huge fan of editing by hand. Here are three good reasons to edit by hand:

1. There are less distractions. (practically none)

Think about it. When you are editing on your computer there are a host of distractions, because editing is not really a super exciting or engaging process. One distraction is the internet and all those marvelously addicting websites out there. Another distraction is writing. Oh, yes, I did say it. Writing will distract you from editing. For myself I have at least three word documents open at a time on my computer at all times. If I grow tired of editing all I need do is hit alt+tab and immerse myself in another writing process. When editing by hand, there is only you and your manuscript. When editing by hand, there is no internet constantly calling and no other projects that beg for your creative attention.

2. It is easier to notice parts that do not flow well.

Have you ever been reading a well-written passage in a book and that feeling is just right with what is going on, then one phrase, perhaps even one word, does not fit, therefore shattering the mood? Editing by hand permits you to catch these sort of things because your mind is used to finding them in text on paper, but not in text on a computer screen. Most of the changes I have made while editing by hand concern flow.

3. It assists in making realistic dialogue.

Last night while editing I came upon a section of dialogue and started reading it out loud without even thinking. It then occurred to me that I had been doing that since I began. Reading dialogue out loud helps with editing it because real dialogue, therefore realistic dialogue, is audible. I think that when editing a manuscript by hand a person is more likely to read everything out loud, murmur or full-voiced, which assists particularly with dialogue as explained above.

So the three reasons to edit by hand are:
1. There are less distractions.
2. It is easier to notice parts that do not flow well.
3. It assists in making realistic dialogue.

I am sure there are more reasons. If I find more while I continue my hand editing process I will update you all on what they are. I encourage you all to try editing by hand if you do not already. It really is quite helpful.

Sincerely,
Joshua A. Spotts

Elements of Writing

What are the elements of writing?

This question came to me as I sat in an art class. My teacher, a little woman with yellowing teeth and thinning grey hair, was lecturing on the elements of art. With a passion in her frail voice she told us how texture, material, lines, perspective, and symbolism are all used by the artist to portray something to the viewer, be it just a beautiful painting or some underlying message. 

Now I have always considered art and writing to be very close. They are both lifestyles and art-forms that seek to express or capture something, some ideal, some beautiful thing. Indeed, it can be said that writing uses symbolism and perspective and even material/texture in the format used or the book cover.

So are those the elements of writing? Does writing only possess symbolism, perspective, and material as its elements? I say, "no!"

There is something else, even though these things are indeed necessary and helpful in both writing and art, that is behind writing. This thing is emotion. No matter how precise we get with what we use in writings, writing in itself is dry without emotion. Humanity connects with humanity.

A reader, or in the case of painting, a viewer, can feel what the writer/artist puts into a piece of work. They can touch and be touched by that piece of soul any truly creative person puts into their work. This soul element is the most important, indeed it is the fundamental, element in writing. 

Ireland Bound

Writers are scholars.  And I, Joshua A. Spotts, will be heading to Ireland, land of saints and scholars. I have one goal for my writing while over there: Inspiration.

But beside inspiration, I will be studying. And yet, studying and inspiration I would say go hand in hand. Because what is inspiration if not thoughts? And what is studying if not the formulation of thoughts?

Already I have been developing several Irish based book just via the geographical and language research I have conducted.

I will be posting pictures of Ireland and possibly Scotland during my time overseas. I'll also post speculations as they come to mind and I have spent some time pondering them by the Irish Sea.

3 Reasons for Editing

In the writing process there are two stepping stones to get across the river of success.

The first stone is what many call "writing." It is the act of putting words to page. It is the act of crafting something. Many writers would prefer to step on this stone and then leap across the river. But when they land, they sink into the mud, creating a mess, and going nowhere further.

The second stone is editing. It is the act of refining. The writers who step on this stone are able to make a graceful departure onto the river's opposite bank and just keep going.

Here are three specific reasons why editing helps writers keep going toward success instead of sinking down in the mud.

1.  Editing makes your work shiny for the publishers', reviewers', and editors' eyes. Thoroughly edited writing attracts the eye, helping you get noticed.

2. Editing makes your work flow. Editing shows the shallow points of a character. It shows plot holes. And unless a mistake is shown and recognized, it cannot be fixed.

3. Editing teaches you. I know from experience that I learn from editorial comments. When I correct mistakes that editing has found, I learn not to make those mistakes again. The less mistakes made in the initial writing process, the easier editing is. But, I will warn you, editing never becomes unnecessary.

5 Reasons I Love Being a Writer

While working in a factory this summer I decided to create a list of 5 reasons I love being a writer. So, here it is!

#1: I create things.
Everything I do while writing is an act of creation. If I am writing a feature on someone, I am creating a profile of them to share with readers. If I am writing a short story, I am creating a memory in the mind of the readers. If I am writing a novel, I am giving the readers an entire world for them to enjoy.

#2: I plant emotion.
When I write I am planting emotion into a story and that emotion seeps back out to the reader, connecting them to the characters and the story.

#3: I serve others.
By writing I give people enjoyment of a good story and I give them relief from the stresses of the world.

#4: I teach others.
With my writing I can impart knowledge and moral lessons to the readers. I can educate the readers about things they otherwise would never have known. I can help the readers understand things that they may have known about but not understood.

#5: I don't have to work meaningless tasks in a factory full of people going nowhere in life!!!


What are some of your reasons that you love being a writer?

Review of Touching Smoke

Fallon Braeden has never attended a single school consistently in her life. She has never lived in anything apart from hole-in-the-wall motel rooms. All her belongings fit into one duffel bag. She and her mom had always been drifters, moving from place to place, only stopping long enough to resupply on cash before moving out again.

It all changed one day when Fallon began attending a high-end boarding school. After only one week, a massive earthquake consumed the school. Panic and smoke fought to choke the children fleeing the premises.

Fallon, confused and abandoned, is rescued by a handsome man with superhuman powers. He was the same man who she noticed has been following her mom and her around on a motorcycle. He was the same man whom his mother had run off the road a week before. And there he was, rushing her from the burning, crumbling building, and away from unearthly killers in mad scientist's garb who can throw flames and hover off the ground.

This intense action is only the beginning of Touching Smoke, Airicka Phoenix's debut novel. I can assure you, the rest of the book is just as exciting with several surprises and a few delightfully written action scenes. The entire book is a massive chase with the main characters running from the flame throwing men and several other strange people who work for powerful man called Garrison.

Now, seeing as this is a paranormal romance, I cannot neglect to talk about the relationship between Fallon and her rescuer, Isaiah. Fallon feels a deep attraction to him, and it isn't just because he is frightfully good-looking. He, in turn, feels he must protect her no matter the cost. But, toward the book's end, they both begin to wonder if their love is real. This leaves plenty of room for a sequel.

Vampires and Werewolves are the cliche staple of paranormal romance novels. Touching Smoke defies that cliche. And for that I am very glad. Although the entire book is filled with characters of superhuman abilities, the superhuman aspects do not come from being able to transform into a wolf or sucking blood and living forever. The question is, where do the characters superhuman abilities come from? And how do they impact Fallon and Isaiah's relationship? Well, my friends, you'll have to read the book to find out.

I give this book a 4 out of five stars because there were several plot aspects that I saw coming, but that's just me. And I rarely give five stars to anything. Overall, however, I really did enjoy this book and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for romance with a mixing of action and thrill.

Communication Complications #2

I work with a Mexican (I am in no way dissing Mexicans here) at my summer job. Off work, he's a nice guy, but on work he mumbles and does not understand English hand signals. For example, he once held up his pointing finger, you know, the one that means "one minute." So I waited a minute.

Then he came storming around the  corner he had disappeared behind. He told me I was supposed to come  help him. I could barely hear him. Of course that could be due to the loud machines all around us. Anyway, because of the communication difficulties between us, it is very hard to work with that man.

I was also trying to explain once how we could hang a part horizontally. He had no idea what horizontally meant. I had to hang the part horizontally to show him.

I learned that communication complications come not only from language and hand-signal problems, but that it can come from background noise as well. I would say that the background noise is the largest problem between us. Normally, I could dumb down my language and listen closer to understand him, but with that background noise. It is really hard.

This evening, on the way back from work, I realized that even in writing we deal with background noise. We deal with it in our own writing and in the setting and mind of the reader.

In a book for children you can expect that the child, with the amazing, though distract-able imaginations that children have, will have a lot of background noise outside the words you put on the page.

In a novel for teens and adults you can expect that outside stresses will cause background noise.

So, in order to communicate clearly in your writing, you should write with background noise in mind and make sure you cut out background noise within your writing itself. Background noise in writing can be things like poor grammar, cliches, and phrases that are used in only certain areas.

You can help keep a child's attention off outside background noise by keeping your sentences short and your words simple.

With YA/adult books you can eliminate outside background noise by keeping your story full of unexpected things and trying your hardest to draw the reader in. Teenage and adult readers often read a book to take a break from the world of stress outside your pages. Give them a new world and make them forget the outside background noise.

Keep on writing, my friends!

Sincerely,
Joshua A. Spotts

Prologue

Hey! I just thought all of you might enjoy reading the prologue of the novel version of Wind of Destruction! Sorry if it's a little rough. This is straight from my mind to you. As if I was telling it around a campfire or something. 
Sincerely, 
Joshua A. Spotts 

Prologue

I am no ordinary killer. That is what they told me. That is what they buried deep inside me. Like an old wound healed over but not cleaned, it festers. It destroys me from the inside out. But I have accepted it like a warrior accepts death. It is who I am.

            There are many men who have felt the warmth of blood on their hands. There are few who truly enjoy it. I am one of those few. The deep, rich red color is to my pale hand like jewelry is around the neck of a fair lady.

            The Irontrees stand tall around me, like the shafts of giants’ spears left on an ancient battlefield. Some call this forest beautiful, a holy place of creation. I recognize it for what it truly is…a place of destruction.

            Only one road leads through the Irontree forest. It winds with the Mrazias River partway into the forest, and then a bridge crosses the river at its narrowest width, and the road cuts straight through the rest of the forest, running through Bones Ravine.

I kneel above the road and watch as a few loose rocks tumble down unto the road below. It is cracked and I can make out a few bones stacked behind a small boulder. An entire skeletal foot sticks out within view from the road. Some killers are unprofessional. That skeleton was probably just a victim of revenge.

Something moved in the ravine. It came out from one of the caves. Backing up from the edge, I picked up my crossbow. It was already loaded and drawn back. I sighted down the shaft. A small man, probably an outcast monk, picked a few plants from a patch of tilled ground near the boulder and the skeleton. He scurried back up the cliff-face and stood in his cave’s entrance, back to me.

He was probably harmless, but I couldn’t let him scare my target. This mission would be hard enough without that. I laid my finger to the crossbow’s trigger. I felt the smooth, curved metal press into my skin as I put pressure on it. Then it gave way and the bolt shot forward. The sound of its whistle as it cut through the air was beautiful. A startled scream erupted from the small man’s throat, echoing in the ravine. He fell into his cave, a crossbow bolt through his heart.

I began to crank the crossbow back again when I heard the rattle of coach wheels and the clatter of horse hooves coming up the road from the south. I closed my hand tighter around the crank and wound the crossbow back. With a satisfying click the string found the trigger notch. I laid a bolt in the shaft. Taking out my knife, I cut a rune unto the bolt to give it accuracy. Then I waited.

Three horsemen, fully armored, rode from the protective shade of the trees into the open sunlight of the ravine. Behind them came the coach, pulled by four horses, silver trimming glimmering. One guard drove it. Two guards stood on the back. The windows were round. A tough shot. It was a coach fit for a king and safe enough for a tyrant. Three more horsemen trotted into the canyon following the coach. Behind them marched six pikemen.

I tallied them all in my head. Fifteen guards. The pikemen were standard infantry. But the men on horseback were knights. And the coach guards were likely the best of the group. I had one shot. I closed my eyes. I listened to the sounds all around me. The horses’ shoes on the broken road, the metallic symphony of armor, and sweet hum of my crossbow string, the hiss of the hot sun. 

I aimed the crossbow away from the coach, turning the sharp, glinting point of the crossbow bolt back toward the man in the middle of the three rear horsemen. I pulled the trigger and the bolt threw the man off his horse, nearly taking off his head in the process. The caravan did not panic as they should have. I had just killed their leader.

The caravan just kept riding. Then, once the pikemen had pasted the corpse, the coach and riders tore off down the ravine. The pikemen began to climb the cliffs toward me. How could I have been so stupid? My target had escaped me.

No, he had not escaped. I would get him. I threw my crossbow at a pikeman who had made it to the top of the ravine. It hit him in the forehead and he fell backward, screaming. I rushed along the ravine top. I could hear the pikemen shouting behind me.

I felt the earth shake under my feet as my anger boiled forth like a volcano. My target, the Lord Vincent Decarla, had escaped. I watched as his coat rolled away back into the forest. I knew I would never catch them on foot.

The shouts of the pikemen crept closer. I turned. Five pathetic men, holding short swords, advanced upon me in torn uniforms. I grinned like a skull. The ravine had done most of my work for me.

Two of the pikemen fell as they started to charge, my throwing knives in their throats. I whipped my two curved scimitars from their back-slings and cut through the remaining three men like a reaper through wheat. Indeed, that was what I was, a reaper, harvesting souls. But one soul, one foul seed, remained to be harvested. Its name was Lord Vincent Decaria.

Writing and Working

Writing is work. But so is being employed 40+ hours a week. In this post I am going to talk some about how I find both time and motivation for writing after working ten hour shift most days of the week.

Finding time is difficult. After work I only have five hours of free time before I need to go to bed in order to get up at six the next morning. What I do is I come back to my Brother and Sister-in-Law's and do whatever non-writing related things I have to do. Then, when I know I cannot be interrupted, I just sit down, put on some music, and write. The thing most damaging to a good time of writing is being interrupted.

Methods for finding time:

1. Schedule a specific time to write and stick to it! Make it as important as a meeting on your schedule with a dead uncle who has left you millions!

2. Make sure anything you need to do that will distract you from writing is done.

3. Scatter your writing days throughout the week. You don't have to write every evening or whatever free time you have. You can if you want. But if you choose specific writing days you can get the other things you have to do (apart from work) done on non-writing days.

Finding motivation after a full work day makes finding time look easy. Some days I have come home with sore feet, a terrible headache, and a knot in my back. I sit down, glance at my computer, and then pick up a book instead. Now I love reading books, but should I read someone else's book when I should be writing my own?


I have developed a few methods to gaining motivation:

1. I set my laptop on top of books I want to read. This provides me with a physical reminder that I should write when I pick up the laptop.

2. I open my most recent writing project, shut down my web browsers, turn on some music, and just start writing. I don't worry about the quality of what I am typing. I just type. I lose myself in the story I am telling.

3. I think about my dreams. I think about how practicing writing will help me achieve my dreams. This motivates me because I value my dreams. But dreams don't just come true, they are to be worked for.

Malicious Motivation

This past Tuesday I broke. My legs felt like lead rods. My stomach My head throbbed. Tears welled in my eyes as I blinked to fight them back. Fleeing the cozy living room, I rushed into the kitchen where my tears splashed on the wooden floor. Laying my face into my hands, I wept the stress away.

That entire evening I had berated myself for not accomplishing my goals for that day and the last. In fact, I berated myself even more for the extreme lack of progress I had made on those goals.

Looking back, I realize now that my goals were ridiculous. No, they weren't ridiculous, they were obscene. Ridiculous goals are laughable, but possible to achieve. My goals were obscene. I am looking for a summer job and so I spent the majority of Monday, and Tuesday looking for one, and then I spent more time helping my Dad construct a ramp, so, how could I expect to get a few thousand words written each day?

There is no doubt that I had the motivation to write. And perhaps that is what broke me. I pushed myself into a degree of motivation that is unhealthy. I pushed myself into obsession. I was obsessed with accomplishing ALL my goals, particularly my writing goals and I broke. The stress was too much. My motivation had turned into de-motivation.

Yet on Wednesday, when I relaxed and didn't set drastic goals for myself. I wrote 3000 words in one of my novels! This experience has taught me that, while goals are important, and motivation priceless, too much of both or either can do more harm than good. I encourage you, friends, be careful not to put too much stress on yourselves and become prey to malicious motivation.

Summer Reading

This summer I plan on doing a lot of reading. Of course, every summer I plan on doing a lot of reading. Some summers this happens. Some summers I end up reading very little.

The goal for this summer is to read a majority of the books in my Goodreads to-read shelf. The books on that shelf are not organized according which books interest me more than the others. Many of the books are recommendations, some of them from years ago!

These are the book I REALLY want to read arranged in order personal interest:

1. The Chronicles of Prydain (the entire series) by Lloyd Alexander because I enjoy his quick paced style, his sense of humor, and his memorable characters. Also, to my shame, I read the last book in the series before I read any of the others.

2. The Prestige by Christopher Priest because I LOVE the movie directed by Christopher Nolan. I think I've seen it about 11 times!

3. Labor Gabala Erenn: The Book of the Taking of Ireland because I love all things ancient (particularly Celtic) and I'm going to Ireland in the fall! This book is proving tricky to get my hands on. The library system is giving me some trouble. Apparently the public doesn't have as peculiar interests as I do.

4. Jäger des Spotts. Geschichten aus dieser Zeit. by Siegfried Lenz
Yes, it's a German book. And no, I don't know German. So this probably won't be read this summer. Not unless I have amazing language learning capacities. But I want to read this (or at least find an English translation) because it contains my name and a poem my Grandmother had framed is found within this book.

5. Reckless by Cornelia Funk because a friend keeps badgering me to read it and I trust his opinion on good books to read.

I have already dispatched of a few book that were on my list. These are:  

1. Forbidden  by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee. It was a decent book. The basic idea of it, a world devoid of emotion with a corrupt government ruling over it, is not that original. In fact, the beginning of the book reminded me very much of the movie Equilibrium. But the writing was good and Lee's style really complimented Dekker's. Overall, I would say that they created an enjoyable read and I am looking forward to reading the second book.

2. The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander. This is the first book in the Prydain Chronicles. It is fast paced, but not rushed. Despite the pacing, I still connected with the characters. I laughed at them. I mourned with them. I was shocked with them. Alexander is a marvelous story-teller. I wouldn't say the book was brilliant, but I know I definitely enjoyed it as a good, quick fantasy book.

We will see if I can obtain my goal of chipping away the majority of my to-read books by August 12th. Wish me luck!

Communication Complications

Communication is the primary focus of writing. Even in fiction, communication comes before entertainment because you are communicating a story. Even in psychological thriller novels, with their twisting, confusing plots, the writer still has to communicate images and events effectively in order to create the tension over an unknown element.

In writing, you need to know your readers. You need to know how to communicate to them.

One thing you must know about communication, even if you're talking with an English-speaking person, is that it's likely you are speaking in a different style than they are. What I mean by style is that you will speak in a way, using different words and expressions, that will be different from the other English-speaking person.

Everyone has different ways of talking. Everyone presents ideas through different methods. I have sat through a few presentations by students at my school and I have watched and listened (after all, it was expected of me and I'm a writer) and I noticed that no one starts their presentation in the same way. Just that single difference is only one in a host of differences which include voice tone, hand movements, voice volume, eye contact, and jargon.

In one of those presentations there was a student talking about football. Now, I don't watch football much, and I haven't really watched it at all since coming to college, so I didn't understand much of his presentation. In fact, there were several terms that I just didn't understand in the slightest. This is an example of how jargon, a beautiful thing in its diversity, is a large element of miscommunication.

 In order to achieve the clearest communication to the largest group of people, it is important to cut the jargon out of your writing.

There are times, when you know what type of audience you are writing to, where you can use jargon and be appreciated for it. Indeed, it will make your communication all the clearer. But that is only if your audience is familiar with the jargon you use. For example, you couldn't use military jargon when writing for a magazine that focuses on computer technology and people who work in that field.

The removal of jargon is an effective method that you can use to clean up your communication. Remember, jargon (even if not educational jargon) can lead complicated communication. And complicated communication is often times no communication at all. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, to cover what we have talked about, I give you a...nice list!

1. Writing is first and foremost communication

2. The same language does not mean the same understanding of communication.

3. Clearest communication is achieved by the removal of jargon.

Writing Methods Part 2

While there are two extreme sides of writing methods. There are also the middle grounds. It is in those grounds between the two camps that method uniqueness exists. There are many writers who would claim to work from one camp or another. But often times they live on the fringes of the camps, mingling into the middle grounds or backing as far away from them as possible.

These are the two extremes: 

1.I know some writers who stay very far into the outline camp. They plan out every single detail and if something doesn't work, well, they work something else out with a new outline.

2. Then there are the writers, like a dear friend of mine, who spawn a single idea in their mind and then just start writing. They just go with it and let the story tell itself.

I find that many writers would place themselves in the middle ground between the two camps. Or, as one writer friend comically told me, "I think outside the box." Some of them lean more toward the intuitive method and some lean more toward the outline method. But all of them have a mixture of the two in their writing.

Also, I believe that many writers have a journey that leads to their ideal writing method. I do wonder how many writers, you included, are still making little steps in their journeys. Do you still make little changes to your writing method? Are you still trying to find your mix?

My own story started on the fringes of the Intuitive method camp. It worked well enough until I ran into problems. I would create an idea, throw in a main character and a villain and then let them have at it. This did not work so well and it worked terribly for remembering ideas that I wanted to keep. There was one story that I was working on that acted as the kick in my pants to get me on my journey. Looking back, I think it was a bad idea anyway, but I put a lot of work into it and when it failed and I didn't have any plans prepared, I realized I needed to have some security device.

As I started out on my journey I implemented a new element to my method. This new element was my security device. I took a piece of paper and then pondered on my idea for a while. I formed my idea into parts and then detailed what major things I wanted to happen in those parts. This helped because I could concentrate on getting to closer points instead of fighting my way from beginning to end of a whole novel.

The next element I introduced was the spider-web outline. This outline element does not detail major world events or every tiny detail in the story. I designed this element towards my own love for characters. I would place my main character's name into the center of the paper and then draw lines connecting him to all the other characters. I would label these lines with words like enemy, friend, lover, and such.

Recently I added another element of the Outline camp to my writing method. I placed on my spider-web outlines certain key actions character make against characters. This gave me an idea of how certain character became enemies or how certain characters effect others, but I still left it so that I did not know exactly how the characters decided to make those key actions.

My most recent element to my writing method is that I have decided to write the first chapter of every new idea just to see if it writes out well and to supplant it in my mind so that I can think it over.

So, overall, I think my own method consists of my spider-web outline, a synopsis, an elevator pitch, and then the first chapter for every new idea. While I stand farther from the Intuitive method's camp than when I started, I think I still lean heavily toward that method. I enjoy the thrill of the unknown event.

What is your writing method? Which side do you lean toward more?

Writing Methods

Writers are strange. Writers are similar. Writers are diverse.

Writing methods operate in similar ways. Many writers have strange methods. Many writers have similar methods. Many writers have diverse methods.

In my writing class today we talked about two basic types of writing methods.

1. The Intuitive Method  
2. The Outline Method (or the Story Board method)

 The Intuitive Method is where a writer gets an idea and then sits down and runs (or more likely "writes") with it. The writers who use this method seem to enjoy the thrill it provides. There are advantages and disadvantages to it.
Advantages:

• There are more surprises within the story. These surprises are more shocking because even the writer didn't expect them.
• The development of the story may seem more natural. I think this one is debatable and depends a lot on the skill and abilities of the writer. 
• The characters are more genuine in their reactions to events because the writer comes across an event that he didn't plan days before. This forces the writer to decide from the character's perspective in the moment. Life is full of moment decisions and characters are supposed to be lifelike, so this one makes sense. 

Disadvantages:

•  There is one major problem with this method. It is possible for the writer to write a lot down and then realize that the ending sucks or that certain parts just don't work. 
• Another issue could be a choppy plot line, but I have observed this doesn't happen that often. 

The Outline Method is where the writer ponders an idea and then writes down in an outline everything he wants to happen and in a certain order. Only after the writer has everything planned does he begin the writing process.

Advantages:

• The writer can  make sure everything lines up. 
• The writer can make sure the end fits with the beginning. 
• The writer has a chance to avoid writer's block. This one is only a speculative advantage. (See The god Writer's Block)

Disadvantages:

• It is possible that writing with an outline may make the book predictable sometimes. But this also depends on the writer's skill. 
• I once experimented with this style and I made a pretty decent outline. But I never picked the book back up to work on it. (I think I'll talk about my personal method I have developed in my next blog post. It addresses this.)

I think that these two methods can be combined. I also think that every writer has his own unique method. These two things basically just cover the major camps as far as a writer leaning more to one side or the other. Which method do you lean more towards? And what do you see as its positives and negatives?

I plan on talking about mixing the methods and my own personal method in my next blog post.

Sincerely,
Joshua A. Spotts

P.S. Sorry for taking so long to write a post. I blame...Final projects, papers, and exams.

Three and Three Part 2

In my previous post I talked about three things that are proven helpful for blogs. In this post I want to do some quick speculation. I want to present to you some ideas. These are ideas I've been considering for my own blog and perhaps you shall consider them for yours as well.

#1: Reformat your blog. Change the layout. Give the reader something new to look at (besides a new post!) This idea I have read as a suggestion, but I have not seen many bloggers that do it and I don't know the benefits of it.

I can see the logic behind it, on both sides. We, as humans, like new things. Yet many of us are either slow to accept change or dislike it altogether. In my mind, I am of balanced opinion of this one. I know that I want to make some layout changes to this blog. Any suggestions? I feel that this idea is one the blogger can just judge for themselves if they want to use it.

#2:  I have been considering getting my face into the YouTube world. I am thinking about doing video reviews of books and readings of my short stories. These videos would probably hold there own page here in this blog. Any ideas on this one? Good idea? Bad idea? I probably won't do it until next school year sometime. 

#3: Podcasts! Or audio clips! I think I am more excited about this one because it is easier to do. I can just record my voice into my computer using Audacity, convert it to an audio file, and post it in my blog. Basically, I think this will be me just reading my own blog post.

I'm a little hesitant on this one though. Since this blog is angled toward writers and since writers love to read, I just don't know how practical or useful an audio version would be. I could use some feedback on this idea as well, if you would be so kind as to provide it. What do you all think about audio book reviews? Perhaps a podcast of the blog?

In reality, these ideas (apart from #1) are all rather far off. But I do like to speculate ahead of time.

Sincerely,
Joshua A. Spotts

Three and Three

Today I am going to consider two sets of three things. The first set is three techie/gadget things that are proven as helpful to bloggers. The other three things are some ideas I've been throwing around in my mind.

Here we go with the first set!
#1: In this set are Follower Link Options. (FLO for short. My, that's a fun word!)  By this I mean the things that are naturally ingrained in any blogging service. These are RSS feeds, E-mail Subscription Boxes, Google Friend Connect, Networked Blogs, and such.

• RSS feeds allow a reader to get e-mail or phone or RSS service notifications whenever you write a new post.

• E-mail Subscription Boxes are simple and effective. If a reader doesn't want to publicly connect their name with your blog, they can simply enter their e-mail address and whenever you make a new post they receive an e-mail. 

• Google Friend Connect is a much more public following option. People who sign up for this often sign up with their Google profiles. Google Friend Connect allows for personalized notification options whenever you post, giving your readers a feeling of more control. And, we are all humans, right? We all like to have some control.

• Networked Blogs is an interesting system that allows for automatic link-posting on social networks like Twitter and Facebook. This system also allows for other bloggers or just readers to subscribe to your blog via its own "follow button.

#2:  Many blog hosting websites have options that insert a drop down archive menu. These menus often list the posts according to the previous and currents months. The reader clicks on the month he wants to look at and it drops a list down of all that month's posts.
Another neat gadget is a keyword wheel. This nifty thing displays all the keywords your blog posts have ever used. The reader then clicks on a keyword that interests him and it takes the reader to a list of posts with that keyword.

#3: Google AdWords has a Keyword Tool that allows you to research a keyword and see how many people search for it daily. You can use this to find which keywords (while ensuring they are relevant to your topic) are popular and use them to promote your blog in the search ratings.

The second set of three will be written up in my next blog post. Until then, goodbye!

Review of Sword of Time

Review of Sword of Time

            In A.M. Sawyer’s fantasy novel Sword of Time four teens’ post-graduation plans are shattered when a secret government special operations team accidently releases an ancient evil. Instead of having a nice vacation in Australia, the four teens encounter much more adventure than they ever intended. In the Australian Outback an old hermit guides them to a portal that allows them to go to a timeless temple which protects them from the ancient evil, a powerful sage named Kakos.

            The portal leads to a timeless temple where the four teens, Luke, Bob, Tim, and James, learn that it is part of their destiny to stop Kakos. They are given magical weapons, including the Sword of Time, which chooses Luke as its user. With magical weapons in hand the four teens pass through a portal again only to find a world completely dominated by Kakos.

            The four friends join the resistance movement of Lady Fora, chief warrior of the ancient magical kingdom of Basileio. With her they combat Kakos. They return to the distant past to try and save the kingdom of Basileio, to save thousands of magical creatures, and to defeat Kakos once and for all. While there the four friends meet up with Krikos, the younger version of the hermit who saved them from Kakos in the Australian outback.

            Inner conflicts threaten to shatter the teens’ friendships as they struggle against Kakos. After numerous quests to acquire and re-acquire magical weapons and objects, the four teens finally come to the ultimate facedown with Kakos. In the midst of a massive battle between the forces of good and evil, will Luke prove strong enough to defeat Kakos?

            Sawyer’s writing style is shockingly unconventional. His entire book is written from a present tense, second person perspective that seems like a mixture between first person and third person. His writing is first person in the sense that most of the time he is telling the story from very close to the main characters, but it is third person in the sense that he pulls far out and will speak as the omniscient storyteller at times.

            The four teens act like one would expect four teens to act after they get sucked through time and are thrust into a full-scale war. The teens argue with one another. Their dialogue stands out against the setting they are in and their behavior does as well, with one exception. That exception is the chief heroic quality that has stood out for all time, perseverance. No matter the troubles the teens go through, they still move forward to their goal. They vary from the course once or twice throughout the book, but they always get back on track.

            The teenage/young adult reader will connect with the main characters a lot more than an older audience will. The few romantic relationships two of the main characters have with other characters are believable within the setting and are not cliché. The dialogue between said characters seemed stiff in a few places, but the majority of the time it was very heartfelt. The romantic relationships do not, however, take high place in the process of the plot.

            Overall, A.M. Sawyer is a decent writer capable of spinning enjoyable stories. I wouldn’t place him up with the experts yet, but his style does bring something fresh to the world of books. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fantasy novel that successfully weaves time travel into the plot and involves massive battles and high stakes.

Reviewed by Joshua A. Spotts

Joshua A. Spotts is a Professional Writing Major at Taylor University and a book reviewer for Aboite Independent, Church Libraries, and Christian Book Previews.

(I believe that Mr. Sawyer's book is one of the finer examples of self-published, independent, e-books. His style is also very unique and I enjoyed analyzing it.) 

Find this book on Goodreads