Challenge Me

We have not internet.  More accurately I am have no internet.  My two sisters have their smart phones so they get internet on that.  Truth is I don't really miss it.  I miss the music and the wide selection of movies to choose from.  We don't have a TV ether so there is nothing to distract me from writing.  Oh joy.  So I invented a game.  I was looking more for an excuse to spend time with my sisters that did not involve  watching a movie on the laptop.  It turned out to be really fun.  And they actually liked it.   I call it the Challenge, because it sounds cool and I couldn't think of any other name.  We each challenge the others with something random.  So that each person gets two random things that they have to incorporate into a drawing or in my case a short story.  The story has to be short or it will take way too long.  Last Saturday was the last time we did it.  My challenges were 'book' and the 'Chi Rho' which is the Greek symbol for Christ.  But this time the story I came up with would not be told in a few pages.  I'm still working on it, kind of, between editing and crafts and work and reading.  My sisters say that we can't do another challenge till I get it done.  I'm planing to get it done this week.  The game really is a lot of fun and it gives me a writing excuse to avoid editing.  It is also forcing me to write shorter stories and planing ahead so that the story doesn't run away with itself.  This has been more of a rambling post but I put off writing it till too late.  I will do better next time. 

You all have a blessed week.
Morgan J

Three Faces

Lately I've been thinking about two of my favorite characters and why I like them.  In 2009 I started writing my first real novel.  Everything I wrote before was a poor and recognizable copy.  It started with my older sister telling me to write something about WW2 because I was so fascinated by that time period.  I came up with a story that I liked and told chapters of it to myself every night before I fell asleep.  When one of the characters died I actually made myself cry.  My sister encouraged me to write it down and finally I started it.  Without a title we called it German Brothers for the lack of something better.  In 2011 when I finished the first draft I finally found the name; Harder to Win.  I got it from the Bible verse that says "A brother offended is harder to win then a walled city."  The main character was named Johann and he was the first character that really became real to me.  He is the sober, mature side me.  In 2012 I started a long series of books about a family of brothers.  In the second book a villain showed up that I had not been prepared for.  Searcher Maze Mirrorson came in as a bounty hunter and turned into a funny, sometimes crazy young man who is insecure and lonely. 

These two characters are based off two different sides of my own personality.  I read somewhere that every person we bring to life on the white page is a version of us.  We put a bit of ourselves in each character.  At first I was a little skeptical.  So I tried to make up someone based on someone else.  His name is Journey.  And he is by far my least liked character.  He is really annoying.  What ever happens you can be sure Journey will do the one thing that bugs me the most.  Guess what? As I learned more about him I discovered that instead of being completely different, Journey actually has almost the same personality as me.  Now how irritating is that?  That is so like him.  After all the trouble I went to he turns out to be the opposite of all I was trying to make him.  He is like my evil twin.  But, I will not waste this post in ranting on how much I dislike this guy.  Searcher is so much fun to write and when I'm not writing about him I actually start to miss him.  Johann is like my perfect big brother.  If I had a big brother I would want him to be like Johann.  In Johann I put all the characteristics that I want to cultivate in myself.  Searcher got all the mischievous qualities that I enjoy.  Most of the time the Johann side of me won't let me do them but every once in awhile on weekends I can get away with being a little silly.  The part of me that relates to Johann keeps me moderate and mature and matter of fact.  While the bit of Searcher in my head keeps me laughing and having fun.  I love one because he is a better version of me.  And I love the other because he is just fun to hang around, and he gets to do all the things I would be too scared to do.  (Like turn all the lights off in school when everyone's talking.)

I'll see you all in a few weeks,
Morgan J