Summer Vacation

I'm really sorry to say but I have hit a wall.  Not literally.  But I seem to have run out of things to talk about.  I should add another topic, but the problem is I don't have another topic.  So I am going to take a break from this blog and work something out.  Maybe I just need some more variety.  We'll see.   I'll take the next few months off and get reorganized.  Sorry about this.  I'll talk to you all in the few moths.

Wordless

These are some of the pictures I got these last few months.  And sense I was left a little wordless this week these will do till I dig up some words.

Have a very blessed week
Morgan J

How Can I Move the Sun?

This is not my picture

Sunset at just the right angle.  Frogs talking in the creek.  Cool damp air.  Spring is here.  It's in the sun and water.  The winter is fading and everything is coming to life.  This should be the start of the year.  When everything is renewed.  Everything is fresh and alive.  Fresh starts and new energy.  Resently I ran into a little trouble with my book.  I thought I was doing good.  It had been edited twise and the main character has been acting as I hoped he would.  But when I went through the third draft I started noticing that it wasn't feeling right.  The story is too short.  The scenes don't fit together like they should.  Somethings missing.  I'm not sure what it is yet, but every time I sit down to read it I get bored with it.  Now I may not know much about editing, but it's not good when the author gets bored with their own book.  I need to go back and read the origanal draft and find out what I lost.  The first draft was ruff and I cringe when I read it but I still find it interesting.  More interesting then the third draft.   I need a new beginning.  That renewed energy of spring.  Maybe I just need a different angle.  A fresh perspective.  Just changing the angle of the sunset might shine a light on the missing peaces. 

A Snip of February

I've always liked when people posted snippets of their stories.  So I decided to try that in this post.  These are from the First Nightin book.

"Warmth radiated from the bricks and seeped in through his jacket.  The warmth of the building and the sound of feet on the cobble stone street made his eyes droop and he could only think of the comfortable warm sun.  Dart Nightin stretched his legs and let his body sink into the bricks."

""Dart Nicolas Nightin!!!" 

Dart started awake.  The stool swayed.  He clutched at the desk.  Stool, boy and books hit the floor with a clatter that was almost defining."

"The last warm winds of summer shook the gnarled trees making them sing like a torrent of rushing water.  Seed pods hung thick and green on most of the trees.  Dart snagged one as he went by and absently tore it apart dropping peaces along his path.  Soon the wind would blow cold and the seed pods on the trees would turn black and dry up.  Cold weather would come and hold tightly to their mountain city for the next six months."

""Now it was really a fight.  Both of them turned on the Nightin.  On his feet Haven could hold them off and beat the energy out of anyone who came close enough.  He targeted Dan as the weakest of the two.  But that left the other Klassdotter a little more freedom to work Haven back into a corner.  With his back pressed against the wall Haven suddenly leapt into an aggressive attack.  Faking a kick to Dan's legs Haven drove his punches hard into the young man's face.  The other Klassdotter took the opportunity and rushed in from the left.  His weight pinned the Nightin to the wall for a minute.  Silence filled the room like a heavy fog.  Only the ragged breaths of the three men made an impression on the quiet.

`It's over Nightin.  We're done.'

The words were low, barely a whisper in Haven's ear.  But in that hot and heavy silence it was easy to hear.  Unceremoniously Haven dispelled the silence with a loud grunt and shoved himself off the wall.  Taking a few steps away the Klassdotter let him.  Fabric snapped taught as Haven straightened is shirt and re-buttoned his vest.  Dart breathed in the thick smell of beer and sweat."

I hope you enjoyed these snips.

Have a blessed week,

Morgan J

Inspiration of Cold Rain

Cold rain; perfect weather for writing.  It's also perfect sleeping weather.  You look outside see the gray sky, dripping trees and you pull the blanket a little closer.  Once your all warm and snug your ready to write right?  Till your eyes get heavy.  Just a blink to rest them.  Maybe just one more.  A minute later you head starts to nod.  Just a little rest.  The words aren't coming just now anyway.  Forty five minutes later you have to go pick up your brother or meet some friends for a movie and you've slept away all your writing time.  But maybe your not like me.  Your one of those super people who can resist the hypnotic glare of a blank page.  But the words don't sound right.  No matter how you word the sentence it never comes out right.  Every time you write your secant guessing your choice of words and structure.  So you avoid writing.  There is no time.  There are other things that need to get done.  There is a project I've wanted to do for the past few months.  Let me be the one to break it to you.  There is always another excuse for not writing.  We need to stop looking for them and focus on the reasons to write.   Why do you write?  What made you pick up a pen and tell that first story?  I've written several books and never did anything with them.  A few days ago someone asked me why I kept writing when the stories just sat there.  Because I love to write.  I love the feeling of words flowing through my fingers.  Getting to know a character so well that I almost regard them as a friend.  Watching my story take a turn that I didn't expect and be totally surprised.  Or getting mad at my own characters for misbehaving.  What is there not to love about writing?  Well . . .  there is always editing.  It isn't that bad.  I'm getting the hang of this whole rewriting thing.  Without a doubt I love writing.  I just need to remind myself of that sometimes.  When your avoiding your book because the words aren't flowing or your drooping over a blank page try having fun with it.  Forget your inner editor and remember why you love what you do.  Sometimes you need to inspire yourself when your eyes are feeling heavy and the words are all tangled up.

Have a blessed week,
Morgan J

There be Monsters

This is not my picture

There be monsters just behind that first page.  The front may look passing maybe even good, if you squint one eye and strain your imagination.  But after that; beware.  Past that opening scene or first page the words contrive to scramble themselves into undecipherable knots.  Even the best characters suddenly find they can not bare the weight of the plot and pressure.  They over react to the smallest things and fall flat on their faces.  But please don't mention the plot.  It throws people here and there with no regard for them personally.  Even Hercules would not survive the terrible plot that is waiting behind this first page.  In fear and quacking I open the book and try not to let the panic and drama that is pulling the words down make me forget how much I like this story.  This story that I've worked on for the past two years, how could it be so bad? 

This past week I started editing the first Nightin book.  At one point I had Talitha read a scene from the beginning.  When I had first written it I thought it was pretty good.  But listing to her read it was agonizing.  Afterwards I wanted to delete the whole thing, so no one else would ever see it.  Instead I quickly changed documents and started working on something else.  The next day I was back at it, forcing out the words that fought against me.  Finally I had to stop for a minute. 

"What am I doing?  This whole story is terrible, what is the point of rewriting it.  The rewrite is as bad as the first draft." 

That's what I was thinking to myself.  Then I remembered all the times I heard about not giving up on your writing.  Every time I would hear about cutting yourself some slack I always nodded sagely.  "Oh yes of course, I never expect perfection from the first draft."   Till I actually did some editing, and discovered that I couldn't even expect mediocrity.   Editing is scary.  I have to go back and read that terrible story and try somehow to turn it into something worth reading.  Something I could give to someone else to read without cringing.  But the only way I know to make it better is to go over it.  Then go over it again.  And again and very likely a few more times.  I just have to keep telling myself that I am a writer even when I don't feel like one and even when my stories look like a bad soup opera.  I'll have to be brave enough to look that story in the face and pray that one day it will be worth so much work. 

If you have any advice for chasing out the monsters please feel free to drop a comment.
Have a very blessed week.
Morgan J

Stiff Fingers

Shivering there on the couch, my fingers almost numb with cold, I understood why people say you should write about what you know.  My two main characters were hiking up a mountain in a snowstorm and my hands were stiff with the cold.  For the past few weeks, the temperatures have been hovering around freezing.  Which is really cold for this area.  The mountains in the story are colder, but that doesn't keep me from relating to their discomfort and danger.  When I described how the girls hands were stiff with cold I was thinking about how my own hands were stiff with the cold.  When she clung tight to the thick fur of the tiger I could almost feel the warmth seeping into my hands.  Now I would personally not want to do that again.  Below sixty-five is not really my idea of good writing conditions.  But, I was able to show through the words just how cold she felt because I was right there with her.  The next time they are walking in a snowstorm I can pull from these past few weeks for memories of shivering and my own reaction to cold temperatures.  I may have never walked in a blizzard, but I can easily imagine it.  The drifts pulling at my boots and the snow clinging to my eyelashes and matting my hair into snowy dreadlocks. 

I hope everyone is having a great winter and staying warmer than me.
Have a great week.
Morgan J