Whispered Roars

Team Writers

2011-11-23T22:01:00.001-05:00

Breaking Dawn just came out. Cue screaming fan girls. I'm not a Twilight fan by any stretch of the word and no, I am not at all about to write a post about the Twilight novels. But Team Jacob, Team Edward makes for a good title.

Team Writers.

I sat down after a month or so to finally respond to an email from my friend Scott Appleton. You may know him from his Sword of the Dragon series (Swords of the Six, Offspring, etc). His friendly off hand comment about my novel Chains of Hethra got me thinking: I need to write--I need to write now.

Had anyone else mentioned the book, I likely would have cringed at my lack of writing and moved on. But not Scott. Not a fellow writer.

Something about other writers is all around encouraging. Professional or amateur there is a certain camaraderie that stirs me, and I hope them as well, on. Their encouragement is such a great kindler of stories. Why?

Because someone else is creating new worlds and minds and meeting old and new friends in strange places. They know the pleasure and the pain of storytelling. They know--and they want you to write with them.

Keep your friends close and your writers closer. You never know when you'll need their words.

Like that pic, you might be the next Inklings.

To the end,

Nathan

Where Did My Life Go? - Band

2011-11-10T21:11:00.008-05:00

The school year came to a close that year and my one month summer vacation begun. I dug out my pen and hoped to goodness I could write. But one thought clung to my mind: marching band season was about to begin.

The first week of July opens with pre-camp. And this is where I have been ever since.

I wasn't a rookie this year so I had an extra couple days off. But when the fateful afternoon came, i was more than ready for it.

Our show this year was entitled "Dash". And as paradoxyl as it may sound, our marching band peformed a show about a marathon. Races, as we all know, are metaphors for life, and ours was one of the best.

Band camp was a smoldering hot 3 weeks of sweat and blood on the school practice feild. 8 in the morning until 9 at night we worked our butts off mastering the music and mastering our drill. Visual block after visual block honed our marching technique and sectionals fine tuned our musicianship. I never even thought to realize how difficult an activity marching band was until I joined last year.

Not only is the act of marching a challenge unto itself, doing so in time, in row, in line, while playing music and doing so for ten minutes at a time at a fast pace is more than rigorous. Then we have to memorize our music and memorize the drill. Then we make it good.

As fun as getting better is, our bodies can only take so much at a time. So we take a break from the dash and eat, play cards, throw giant dodgeballs at each other, and occasionally save the world from zombies....keep that on the down low.

So many adventures and fun times, it would take a million blog posts to recount.

School rolls around in the fall and we feel like we never left. Now on top of band comes school and life--but we forget it all at practice. Compeition season races to greet us. Time to put on a show.

One performance after another, better and better. The little band that could. We, the band everyone had written off because of a loss in seniority and numbers, toppled giants and forced tears from the audience's eyes. Grand Champions, Reserve Grand Champions, Reserve Grand Champions. Every expectation suceeded, every dream surpassed.

The final performance came too soon. With tears in my eyes, I played the last few notes. I could not have had a better season, and it could not have ended happier.

Next year, my class becomes seniors, taking the torch of leading our organization. Not sure if I'm ready for it yet. But I can say that I am excited. Winter and Spring has brought my cue to write, but when Summer trumpets back.....know this:

I am a Dixie Heights Marching Colonel.

Beside the Fence - Poem

2011-10-12T21:47:00.001-04:00

So I haven't written a word in a long time....and as a writer, this is nothing short of starvation.

Sure, I've penned a million essays for school, a poem for English class, or a clever joke to pass the time. But when was the last time I sat down and crafted something I could be proud of? Something I could sign my name on with pride?

Well, last night I sat down and tried to do just that. This, my friends, was the product.

Enjoy! If you have any thoughts on the poem, fire 'em at me!

Beside the Fence
Nathan R Petrie

I walked beside the fence that night.
The bright moon played its brilliant light.
The wind sung gently through the leaves,
As autumn made its fluid flight.

The fence ran long across a yard,
Of grass, so green, so brown, so far.
Rough posts forced stiff into the ground,
By growers skilled with feilds to guard.
.
I scrutinized the fence, so fair.
And wondered if I might cross there.

A sudden urge pulled me to chase.
A cracking twig did make me race.
The wind blew frigid on my ears,
And cut the warmth right from my face.

It's then the snow began to fall.
The gorgeous blankets smothered all.
They froze the feet and burned the hands,
Yet I pressed on in spite of all.

I ran that night beside the fence,
And I've been running ever since.

Poetry Popping in Places

2011-09-02T21:37:00.003-04:00

Hey Blogger-verse! Long time no see right? Ah, such is life.

I just hopped on today to mention that my poem "Give Me a Sword" has been reposted on another blog! If you wanna read it again you could always check it out on my blog, or you could be really awesome and spam the other blog with comments.

Now....wait for it....wait for it...

THE LINK

Any readers out there? How's life?

To the end,

Nathan

Agape - Part Two: The Outsiders

2011-03-27T15:05:00.019-04:00

God is love. God is holy, God is jealous, God is faithful, God sacrificed his life.

God adopted the chosen into his family--the righteous children, the followers of Christ, the lovers.

However, those who are called to love often do not fulfill that calling. Christians today are often the opposite of love, raising themselves as "godly" and throwing others to the floor as Godforsaken dirt.

In the words of James, these things ought not be so.

Chrisitans are asked to be imitators of God. We're commanded to strive to live as Christ lived. Why? Because this is the life that best glorifies God. And because a live lived in obedience, is a life filled with joy. At the center of this obedience and imitation is love.

God created because he loved. He delivered Noah because he loved. He came to the earth because he loved. And he died because he loved. Every action we ever praised God for happened because of his incredible love. Love for righteousness, love for people. If God is so centered around love, and we are called to live as he lived, what does this mean for our life?

We're called to be lovers.

We've talked about or love for God. We should be willing to die for him--he died for us. Our death should physical and spiritual, laying down our lives and carrying his painful cross to follow him. We talked about how worthy he is of this, and how undeserving we are of his sacrifice. We're all undeserving, and God loved us anyway.

We are to imitate God. And that means loving the world just as he did. Dying for it.

I've been thinking a lot about this lately. That God loved us while we were still sinners. You've heard the verse. "In that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." But do we understand the meaning of this? Jesus died for those who hated him. For people who didn't want him to die for them, but he still did.

We need this love and passion for the lost. Millions are dying. And they're going to spend eternity separated from God.

But we know this--the world is dying, yeah yeah yeah. But it's not just the world. It's your school, it's your coworkers, it's your street, and, for some of you, it's your family.

Christ was heartbroken. Why aren't we?

Pray for this brokenness. Be willing to lay down your life for the lost to see Christ. This is meant literally but in other ways as well. Lay down your desires, lay down your time, lay down your resources. Be willing to give everything to serve the lost and bring them into the kingdom.

Because really, you're sacrificing little and gaining so much. When you die, and you're millions of years into heaven, you aren't going to look back on earth and think, "Man...I wish I had played more video games." Your heart will be shattered on judgment day, wishing you had spent more time on the streets, in your friends' lives, showing the love of Christ.

You'll wish you laid down your life.

Let’s chat,

<
To the end,

Nathan

Agape Times Three - Part One: The Maker

2011-02-26T20:04:00.004-05:00

Hello internet! I've been busy getting a job (Kroger's is awesome), wrapping up the second trimester of school, and once again losing half of my novel to technology malfunction (sad face). But I promised a series on my thoughts on love and so....LET IT BE! (pun intended)

Love is the driving force behind all actions. We wake up in the morning because there is something that we love, we eat because we love our bodies, our routines, our plans. We make friends because we love them, or how they make us feel, and every creative thing we do directly results from a source or an object of love.

But true love, as it was intended to be felt, can only be understood by understanding the one Being with the inherant nature to love.

God. The Lover.

God is love. Therefore to understand love, we study the character of God.

What we find, is much different from the mushy-gooshy nature of the modern day portrayal of love.

What things do we know about God? He is holy, he is jealous, he is faithful, he is gracious, etc. He was willing to die.

God is holy. He is perfect, just. He is set a part, infinitely higher and seperated from other things. He is sinless and seperate.

In this perfect, holy nature God is so set a part that he cannot bear the sight of anything stained by darkness. And yet, he ventured into this world to chase the one he loved.

God is jealous. His one love played the harlot with suitors, giving everything to them, and his heart burned. His love rejected him and ran after others, and he couldn't stand it.

God is faithful. Though his love rejected him, sinned against him, cheated on him, stole his things, destroyed his gifts, he still loved her. He still blessed her. He still loved her.

God died for his love. Though she hated him, though she mocked him, though she dragged his name through the mud time and time again God chased after her and ultimately laid down his life to rescue her from unknown captors. The romance of Good Friday. The meaning of love.

Jesus Christ fell in love with humanity. But they could not love him back as they were dead in their sins. They couldn't love him back. It wasn't possible. They couldn't understand His love nor could they understand love period. Their minds were dead, and their hearts even more so.

But, things had been set in motion by His father. And His father knew that the only way to free them of their broken minds and dead bodies was for someone that lived to die. Christ was the only one truly alive. He was not dead in sin. He knew no sin. He loved and was love.

And so Christ bore the cross for the sake of his bride. To woo her to himself he laid down his very own life.

Is this not astounding? We are that bride. We were unfaithful, we were dirty, we were rotten. And God gave everything for our love. Were we deserving of it? Not by any means. People, Christians even, have this idea that God loves us because we are so lovable. But this simply isn't true.

God doesn't love us because we're beautiful, special, or somehow deserving of his love. How could he? We aren't. We're ugly, totally unworthy, and hate him in our nature. He loves us, because it is his nature to love. Agape--unconditional love.

After all, that is why we exist. To love, and be loved.

God's magnificent example of love is a challenge and, I think, a message to us all. We should strive to love God and to love others just as he loved us. Unconditionally, radically, sacrificially.

God died to prove his love. We should be willing to die for our love of him.

The difference is that He is worthy and deserving of our love. But do we love Him?

Let's chat.

To the end,

Nathan

Catalyst - When the Novel Stalls....

2011-01-13T08:24:00.004-05:00

While writing this post, much of the HTML was lost. Please for give the extremely bumpy nature while I work on fixing it.

Most of the time I think of myself as pretty special. Somehow better than most people, and by most people I surely mean the me of the past. I've got talent, I've got potential, and I've got all of it racing with a head start.

But really, when we get down to the meat and grit of things, I'm just like every other aspiring novelist. And there's thousands of them. I'm nothing special.

My novel stalls.

It gets stuck. It refuses to work with me. Characters change their minds. And the plot refuses to thicken.

And it happens often.

As a writer, I think two things are paramount to completed a good novel. These are more than technical skill and more than magical creativity. Before any work can be done, every writer must be inspired and for that work to ever be completed, he must be encouraged.

In writing circles, even on this blog, we talk a lot about inspiration. Where do our ideas come from? What stirs our mind to seek out and pen new worlds and new people, never before imagined? But I think we often forget what keeps the inspiration going when the novel inevitably stalls.

The encouragement. The catalyst.

I've whined a lot about my novel sitting at a stand still. (Wait...sitting at a stand still? haha) I run out of plot ideas. And before long, without actually

A Song for the Overlooked - New Year!

2011-01-01T15:26:00.003-05:00

Well howdy ya'll! I'm from Kentucky! Don't worry, I brought me shoes with me for the special occasion!

It's officially year two-thousand, eleven in the year of our Lord! WOOHOO!

We had a rocking awesome party at my house to celebrate where we sang a song that I'll let you all listen to shortly but first....time to wrap up stories from last year.

I finished my short story, originally entitled The Outside which I changed and will likely change again. Check out the blog post on it here. And, for those of you interested, I'll be posting the story to this blog fairly soon.

The Chains of Hethra Update: I've been blocked on this story for quite some time, having no idea what to write in the middle portion of the book. I've come to a decision about what to write, outlined several new scenes, etc. I'm confident that I can have this story written by the end of the coming summer if not before. All that is left for me to do is sit down and write it, and I'm going to need to some help getting back into this story...been so long.

I got an Xbox for Christmas along with Modern Warfare 2. For those interested....gamer tag is KeeneyeNP.

I had several posts planned for Christmas, etc, but never got around to writing them. If any are interested, I'd consider throwing some of 'em up here.

I'll have a book review up soon as well as some other things. The New Year calls for a renewal of blog posts right? And I hope you all continue reading!

And now, please enjoy this lovely song about a part of society that is often overlooked. It's a great song to help us keep our focus in the coming new year. Enjoy! And when you're done, tell me about your holiday traditions. Christmas, New Years, whatever! I wanna know! Leave a comment below!

To the end,
Nathan

Give Me a Sword - Poem

2010-12-12T22:41:00.005-05:00

So yeah...guess I've posted several poems lately. It's all good. Right?

::cricket....cricket::

Well, I'm still going to post it. haha.

I tried out a new rhyme scheme and I'm not sure if I like it or not. 10 syllables then 11 then 10 then back to 11 again. Let me know, you poetry buffs, if it worked out or not. The rest of you....enjoy!

Give me a Sword
-Nathan R. Petrie-

Give me a sword and I'll fight to the death.
I'll face off with darkness until my last breath.
Give me a blade and I'll guard who you are.
I'll conquer the masses and carry you far.

Give me a horse and I'll chase after you.
I'll ride day and night until I can see you.
Give me a steed and I'll race to your side.
I'll search for you, call for you, hope you won't hide.

Give me your treasures; I'll watch them all night.
I'll cherish them, savor them, guard with delight.
Give me your gold and I'll keep it unstained.
I'll punish the dirt that invades unconstrained

Give me your confidence; I'll see you through.
I'll prove with my actions the way I see you.
Give me just one word and I'll give you three.
I'll sing them, I'll write them--I want you to see.

But give me your hand, precious lady I'll woo,
I'll give all I have just to hear your, "I do."

The Cuteness of 2 Year Olds

2010-12-03T15:55:00.004-05:00

So I've never actually met my cousin Henry. But he's made his internet debut and it's really really cute :D So.....I'm sharing it with you :D

Enjoy as my cousin recites the pledge of allegiance LOL

Random....I know.

Eternal Echoes

2010-11-25T10:11:00.011-05:00

Recently I got to watch one of the greatest films ever made. It's my dad's all time favorite and he quotes it pretty darn often so I've been itching to watch it in a bad way. We sat at a Skyline Chili once as he explained to me in detail the plot line of most of the story and from that day on I'd been dying to watch it.

Well that day finally came. Just a couple days ago I saw for the first time the movie Gladiator.

I don't know how many of you have seen it, and the point of this post is not to review the movie, but it's pretty stinking amazing. The writing is pure brilliance, battle scenes are epic, and the plot moved me in incredible ways.

And now today is Thanksgiving.

I"m not sure how many of you recall last year's Thanksgiving Day post but it's funny because it runs along the same lines as today's.

There's a quote at the very beginning of the movie. The main character, Maximus, is a general in the Roman army. Their legions are standing on the final battlefield, the last that this war should ever see. Maximus gathers his cavalry behind enemy lines and reminds them simply:

"What we do in life...echoes in eternity."

Excuse the poor quality of the video, I just stole someone's from Youtube, but watch the scene below.

This quote is tremendously powerful I think. Especially for us as Christians, the Royal Remnant if you recall last year's post. We are charging into battle, a battle to defend the purity of this holiday, the honor of our God, and the truth that we have inside of us.

In this day and age the truth and majesty, the power, of Jesus Christ is denied. And it is up to us to stand against the tide and fight for his banner.

There once was a dream that was America. A dream of a nation that raised hands together in one accord and praised the One True God that had delivered them from their chains. There once was a dream of life, liberty, and the pursuit of God's own heart.

The pilgrims knew this that first Thanksgiving day. They threw down the gauntlet and declared that God was God. They praised him for his powerful work in bringing them to this great land, for rescuing them from persecution. They formed the line, and charged into battle. And their actions sent tremendous reverberations throughout eternity.

They are remembered today as pioneers of a new age and a new world. A new world that would become the first of true freedom and liberty.

Now the torch has passed to us, hundreds of years later.

Will you fight?

Hold the line. Stay with me.

My brothers, what we do in life...echoes in eternity.

Sneakily Sneaky Sneakiness

2010-11-24T14:52:00.011-05:00

I mentioned major sneaking in my previous post...and now it's time to reveal the secret.

A message to fans of Wayne Thomas Batson:>

Sneak, the definition thereof: 1.) To go or move in a quiet, stealthy way. 2.) A person regarded as stealthy. 3.) An instance of sneaking; a quiet, stealthy movement. 4.) Carried out in a clandestine manner. 5.) Perpetrated without warning
Greetings Warriors, Shield Maidens, Elves, and all those that dwell in the Realm of Glimpses;

There are passages and doorways…and realms that lie unseen. And there are those who traverse these lands in secret to fight for the One True King. They are many and they are one. They are:

The League of Extraordinarily Sneaky People.

I am but one though I speak for the many. There is a warrior outside our ranks whom we desire to honor greatly. Many of us he has trained, many he has shown light, and into all he has burned a message of hope. His name is Sir Wayne Thomas Batson, the Loremaster.

The League has special things in store. Sneaking of the sneakiest sneakiness. Sneaking of great awesome power. Sneaking so sneaky we needed a new word to describe it—Sneakalotoricalsneakiness….No wait, that’s just ridiculous. >

Our scheme will come to fruition at His Way Christian Bookstore In Ellicott City on Saturday December 4th from 11AM-3PM. This happens to be the first official Sword in the Stars Book Signing as well!

Plan on attending and entering to win one of two copies of Sword in the Stars, a copy of The Door Within book on CD as well as other surprises! And dress in your sneakiest fantasy costume!

If you cannot make the journey, the League has more sneakiness to offer. Contact our leader for more information!

Join our ranks through the Book of Faces here: http://on.fb.me/eEZ1lJ Or contact our leader by email: everlastingscribe@hotmail.com

Oh, did I mention there’ll be cake?

~ The League ::sneak::

Where in the World is Nathan Petrie?

2010-11-20T21:44:00.009-05:00

That's a question I'm always asking. :D But I'm sure any reader of this blog is probably thinking the same thing. You know, assuming you actually read this thing once in a while (which I'm so thankful for my many readers). And, as usual, I"ve been up to no good. And for all those interested, here's what my life has been like. And what I"m looking forward to.

The biggest thing that has kept me busy has been marching band. The season just ended a few weeks ago but until then I was busy with my saxophone just about every night. This being my first year in the program, I wasn't sure what to expect. It was both extremely fun and extremely time consuming. It ate away at a lot of my writing and free time but it was definitely an experience worth having. I"m glad I marched and will likely march again next year. It was a lot of work, but it was really fun.

[I"m on the far right]

I've had lots of books to keep me busy. I won a copy of Imaginary Jesus a while back and the author mailed me to copy about a month later. The book was not only hilarious, but insightful and helpful to my Christian walk.

I also picked up a copy of Radical by David Platt. Seriously guys....if you want to take your faith seriously, I'd highly recommend this book. It challenged me in ways I can't even begin to explain and has redefined a lot of things about my faith. The book rocked and for those of you with a blog, Waterbrook Press (the publisher of Radical) has a sweet new review program and you can snag this book for free!!

As for fiction, I've been reading Masters and Slayer by Bryan Davis (AWESOME!) and re-reading The Door Within by Wayne Thomas Batson for reasons I'll go into later in this post. Sometime before December I'm going to reread The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. You know, get hyped for the epic new movie coming out soon!

At school my classes are getting more difficult, and therefore more time consuming, which has also sucked away a good chunk of Internet vegging. I'm pretty excited/scared for the rest of this year. Just looking at my class schedule makes me feel educated LOL

Since the close of marching band and the rebeginning of my social life I've been diving head first back into writing. And I"m pretty excited about what's happening in that area.

1. I submitted the first half of my novella, The Chains of Hethra, to a scholarship contest called the Overture Awards. It's a pretty prestigious award given out by an Arts organization in my area and I've got a pretty good shot at winning this thing. My guidance counselor loved the story and the AP Senior English teacher, though providing a lot of criticism, seemed to believe in the work as well. Having that backing always feels good, you know?

2. I'm working on a previously mentioned short story to submit to the National Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. My teacher keeps bugging me to submit and since I already have that awesome idea for a story, I"m giving it a whirl. Reading the submissions that won in the previous years I'm pretty sure I can place pretty high in this contest (having a separate category for Fantasy helps ;) lol). This story is going to be awesome. I'll likely post it here once the contest is over with.

3. My novel is still in the rut while I decide what to do about the plot issues. On a whole I've decided not to move forward with stretching it to 75,000 words as I'd originally planned. I just don't think it's possible to make the story that long. The plan as of right now is to try to find a way to combine the 20 or so thousand words at the beginning to the 20 or so thousand at the end. So I'm shooting for somewhere between 5 and 10K in the middle. Here's hoping for a spark of creativity!

4. Not stretching the TCOH novel is good news in disguise. It means you all get to read the story faster, and that I can start writing my other novel sooner! I should be able to breeze through the beginning drafts of this one since I have such a good outline to work with. And then I can work on getting that one edited and eventually published.

Oh and on the negative side of life the space bar on my computer broke :( Which has kept me from typing my writing and from updating this blog. Currently I"m using my dad's computer LOL

So that's what I've been up to. Stay tuned for news on some EXTREME SNEAKINESS that involves author Wayne Thomas Batson!

In the meantime, what have you been up to? And what would you like me to do a blog post/series on? I've got some ideas but I want yours!

I'm all ears :D

To the end,
-Nathan

RowMar: Part 5 - Fuel to Write

2010-10-10T21:29:00.004-04:00

So those of you who follow this blog will catch something pretty familiar on here.

::drum roll::

My testimony!

A while back I posted this video and it received a great response. And so, naturally, I'm excited to share it with you all again.

Except now it's for a school project. Much more official-like.

As with the previous posts, this is all in response to questions my Language Arts teacher asked me on this blog. And this post's question is:

Describe yourself on your quest - what tools, skills, previous experiences do you bring with you (excluding your previous triumphs and accolades).

Well obviously my testimony is a huge proponent to my writing. Hello, I write Christian fantasy. That all hinges on my faith in Christ. And so this transforming experience is very important to my writing. It defines it.

Enjoy.

Some of the things touched on in the video can't really be elaborated down here in any more detail. Pretty much every experience is a source of writing material. If you've written for any amount of time you know this. And the ones that provide the best material are the really hard ones.

And this one tried the very ground upon which I stood.

I screwed up. And it brought into perspective the direction my life was headed, my identity in Christ, and what this faith really meant. And that fuels my writing.

For example. When I write about abandonment or about loneliness, I can do it really well. Why? Because I've been there. I've lived there. I've experienced that. I was dragged away from my friends several different times. I've had family members betray me. I've had strained relationships that eventually fell apart.

What makes me a writer is that I can channel that emotion into a story and make my readers feel the same way.

When I write a character that is searching for meaning, I can do that because I've been there. I've searched. I've cried out in desperation for something to hold onto.

A rebellious character--been there done that. I stared my God in the face and said, "I don't care what you think." And ran the opposite direction.

A servant--been there.

And this is the skill that makes writing come alive. Experience. The ability to take the life you've been given, the life you've screwed up, and turn that into an emotional thrill ride of a novel.

Some things, obviously, I have to fake. I've never been physically abused, for example. But sometimes a story demands I write such a character. So because I have these other experiences, I can guess what that must feel like and create a realistic character.

What experiences help you to write?

Let's chat.

To the end,
Nathan

RowMar: Part 4 - The Christ Figure

2010-10-10T20:50:00.008-04:00

EDIT: I lost a paragraph while writing this. Excuse any bumpiness. I had to try to guess what I wrote. Enjoy.

Four more posts left in this series and I'm still going strong! The next questions get up close and personal. For those of you who haven't heard my story yet....stay tuned!

These questions come from the first post of the RowMar series and I'm gonna jump right into them. If you hadn't noticed...I'm getting tired :-)

Do you see yourself - the hero - as a Christ-like figure?

This project is designed to view ourselves as being the hero in our own Hero's Journey. If you aren't familiar with this literary term I'd suggest you read the previous link. Basically, it's the pattern that most questing stories follow.

In my personal quest, do I see myself has a Christ-like figure?

Depends on the context. I'd like to think of myself as Christ-like in all situations. I certainly strive to be the image of Christ in all that I do. Does that mean that I write just like Christ would? Uh no. Not so much. I think he'd be a better writer.....oh wait....he wrote the number one bestselling book of all time <_<

Once the book releases, though, I can start viewing myself as more of the Christ figure. I am writing this story, after all, for the lost and to encourage the believers.

I can't wait for the release. I can't wait to see how God's going to use this work to change people's lives. I can't wait to read the emails from new creations. New family members in Christ. I can't wait to read how this work encouraged a believer and he shared it with them and that opened communication lines and now he's born again. I can't wait to hear the stories.

Am I cocky? Maybe. I'm pretty confident that The Chains of Hethra will dramatically effect people. The idea is just so....perfect. I'm praying that God will dictate the words I write so that people read it and their lives are changed for the better.

I'm praying this book effects believers' lives enough for them to step out and start living their faith. And what I really hope happens, is that the teen Christians that read this will share it with their lost friends. And then use this to lead them to Christ.

How cool would that be?

As I'm writing, however, I see myself more as the characters I'm writing about. I'm the lost man that denies Alvar. I'm the captive that refuses tot be freed of his chains. I'm the Damans. I'm enchained. I scorn the light and love the darkness.

And I desperately need Alvar to set me free.

However, once he frees(ed) me my response needs to be in following with Alvar's words:

“Wait here, child.”
He shook his head. “Why?”
The man inclined his head toward the threshold of the chamber. “There are captives that are yet bound. Damans that hunt the shadows.”
“I cannot free them.”
Alvar smiled playfully and shoved Barron forward. “Alone you cannot. Bear your sword and you may release them of their chains. Tell them to come to this Tree. I will free them of this world. And when I am ready for you, I will come.”
“I will stay as well.”
Barron turned as a man, sandy blonde hair blowing gently in the breeze, stepped out of the crowd. The man ran to Alvar’s feet. Clasping his hands he knelt before his deliverer, head bowed.
“I will serve you in rescuing the captives.”

May this be my response.

To the end,
Nathan

RowMar: Part 3 - Focus

2010-10-10T20:27:00.008-04:00

Welcome! Ladies, gentlemen, dragons, and the occasional yodeling dwarf to Reflections with Mrs. Ring (or "Rowmar" for short) Part Three!

Welcome, a fore mentioned people, to the longest blog streak I've ever had. 6 posts in a day. This is Petrie insanity at its best!

On my Frantic Perfectionist - Editing on the Fly post, my teacher left the following comment:

So who's guiding this horse Don Quixote?

Writers write - everyday. They work it into their schedule and they do it like a job.

Do you ever have trouble focusing?

Reflect on that for me.

And reflect is exactly what I plan on doing.

I've never read The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha so I'm not too keen on that reference. Anyone wanna help me figure that one out? :-)

I'm going to tackle these questions one at a time.

Writer's write everyday

This is something you'll hear from just about every successful writer. If you want to write, the first thing you've got to do is....(hello) write. And not only that, but write frequently. Most even say every day.

And this is great advice.

However I have yet to be able to follow this.

Some aspiring writers would likely feel like a failure if they couldn't follow this most basic piece of advice. But I honestly don't think it's needed to write everyday. At least writing on one project.

I have an issue with writing on the same project for extended periods of time. I think most writers do. Eventually, the mind tires of plunging through the same rabbit holes. And writing takes a lot of mental effort. So I cannot feasibly write a good story and do it everyday. It's just not a possibility yet. I need my stories to sit.

Sure, I can write every day for a week or so. But once I peek 10,000 words....I'm dead. The story needs to sit. It just does.

However, this does not mean I toss out creativity and "writing".

If I'm not writing on my project, I'm writing another project. If I'm not doing that, I'm reading a book, watching a movie, etc. All of which aid in my writing ability. I rewrite movies in my head, analyze plot structures as I read, etc. And I steal ideas :-)

Or I outline my projects in my mind.

And I'm not alone in this. Wayne Thomas Batson has the same problem. And Scott Appleton as well I believe. And look at them, signed with AMG and still going strong :-)

So for me, I can't write everyday. It's hard to work it into my schedule, and it's hard to find the mental keen-ness. Which leads to my next topic....

Do you ever have trouble focusing?

A resounding yes.

To write well, I need to be in this certain mood, with this certain excitement, etc. And if something's missing, I either knock out 200 words and quit or I knock out 1,000 and it's garbage.

However, I fix this pretty quickly by outlining. The better the outline I have, the easier I can focus and connect with the story. Why? Because it's half written already.

So I'm half and half on the focusing....I mean really.....LOOK SOMETHING SHINY.

To the end,
Nathan

Reflections for Mrs. Ring: Part 2

2010-10-10T19:50:00.003-04:00

As with my previous post this Q and A is between my language arts teacher and myself. See the previous 6 posts for more information on this project. Hopefully you can get something out of this.

If you were the hero of your own quest and the best selling novel were the goal for you to reach, how would the story unfold?

Well that's an interesting question. And my answer goes something like this. Ask Frodo how he thought his life would unfold and I"m sure you'd get a very different answer than how it actually happened. Ask just about any hero from any story and see how much that differs from the result.

So my "quest"?

Well first off we'd need to establish my goal. And I wouldn't say that it's to sell a trillion copies of my books. Writing is a tool, selling books is a tool. I just want to reach into the hearts of this generation and watch God move.

However, doing that requires sales. Selling ten books or a trillion. (Be nice to sell a bunch though lol. Plus....I'd need to to make a living). And the goal for selling is uh......

I honestly have no idea how it'll unfold. But my plan follows something along the lines of....

Finish writing my novella/novel
Submit to FPP novella/novel
Read FPP's glowing response (I'm not biased :D LOL)
Sign novella/novel
Sell billions of copies (er...make that thousands)
Sign with large company
Sell millions

Impractical. Radical. Crazy. But stranger things have happened right?

Currently I'm floating between the first three. I know the publisher likes the story idea. I know he likes the original characters. I know he likes the last half of the plot. Now I've just gotta write the beginning and sell it to him.

Big time.

Easy enough right? (I wish haha).

So let's dream a minute. If your vision for your stories came true....how would that unfold? Dare to be crazy. It's pretty nuts for me to say I intend to sell thousands just out of (or during) my senior year of high school. But you know what, I'm going for it anyway.

In fact, it's nuts to think I could be published.

But I know I'm not the only dreamer out there. So let's hear those radical thoughts.

To the end,
Nathan

Reflections for Mrs. Ring

2010-10-08T17:04:00.004-04:00

Well you've all seen a dramatic rise in the number of posts per week lately I'm sure. It's all for this school project that I mentioned in a previous post. So bear with me as I answer some questions my teacher wants me to answer. And hey, you aspiring writers like me out there (and the awesome people waiting for The Chains of Hethra), you might actually enjoy some of this :-)

Mrs. Ring is my Language Arts teacher for this assignment, if you hadn't guessed that already. Feel free to stop by her blog for an example of what my project is supposed to look like LOL

Anywho, here are her questions for my original post:

What are the challenges for you specifically in taking on this particular "quest"?

The biggest challenge for me here is time management. I've never been particularly good at it and this was something I was hoping to gain from this assignment. To be able to do all my activities to the best of my ability and then make sure my writing is top notch, plus tossing up a blog every night, is pretty challenging. And so My biggest problem with this project has been time management.

What makes this any different from any other story you've worked on before?

The Outside, and I suppose we could include TCOH in this as well, is a fairly unique story in the fact that it is allegory. The vast majority of my stories haven't been straight allegory until lately. Once I got the The Chains of Hethra idea allegories have been flooding my mind. It's pretty awesome. TO isn't all that different from my other stories to be quite honest. It maintains the strong light and darkness contrast, follows a lost character as he seeks redemption and meaning, and eventually pours out the magnitude of the power of Christ. Same goes for The Chains of Hethra. The only difference here is the Christ-figure. In TO, the Christ-figure is simply a light and portrays the freedom and purpose of a Christian life. In TCOH, I focus on the salvation aspects of God.

What do you expect to gain from this journey?

I expect to gain a few things: a drive to finish these projects, the ability to manage my time, and I expect my people-skills to stretch ( ;) lol).

That's all for now! Be back later tonight!

To the end,
Nathan

The Frantic Perfectionist - Editing on the Fly

2010-10-06T21:06:00.007-04:00

So today was actually pretty exciting writing wise.

I got out of my second period class as there was a play of sorts going on that I was unable to attend. Since class was practically canceled, I jumped at the chance to write for about an hour and a half.

As I'd written on Chapter Ten of TCOH ("Imaginary Chains" is the tittle if you care lol) earlier in the week and forgot to move the file to my jump drive I decided to knock out some of this short story I've been wanting to write.

I sat down, flipped open the outline, decoded my horrible handwriting, and started to write.

I busted out about half a page before the story stalled. This is pretty typical for me when I'm writing a story that I don't have a detailed vision for. Basically, if I don't know the next few chapters, I stall pretty often. My un-stucker is pretty simple--read through what I just wrote.

This is a pretty effective strategy or me, and I know for many of you as well. Just reminding myself of where the story is going, what the pacing actually reads like, etc really helps boost my creativity and drive. It really gets the gears turning. I start seeing new things in the scene, where it could go, what's actually happening. The only downside is....

I start writing wherever I feel like.

Basically, I'm an addictive editor.

I must have added around 200 words before I got back to my original "stalling" point. And after I knocked out a few more paragraphs, I redid the cycle and added a couple hundred more through edits.

I get advice from writers all the time: don't edit on the fly, it slows you down, etc etc. But I disagree. For me, this tactic works.

Now, obviously, I don't go through and fix every grammatical mistake, every vague description, etc. Save that for the editing rounds. But I do go back and smooth things out, add plot details here, mostly I slow things down.

Maybe I just want the story to be perfect and am not willing to wait til it's all finished :-)

What about you? Do you have a problem editing on the fly? Is this effective? Or are you better at just throwing it all out there and sifting through it later?

Let's chat.

To the end,
Nathan

Brain Storm + Sugary Tea Storm + Cold Storm = Writing Storm

2010-10-03T15:33:00.005-04:00

Ladies and Gentlemen I have a semi-important announcement that belongs on your Not-Important-At-All-To-My-Life List. Are you ready?

After three and a half months, I finally wrote on The Chains of Hethra.

Can I get a round of applause?

I'd put the novel off for so long because I was frustrated with trying to turn The Guardian's Tree novella into The Chains of Hethra novel. I had 16,000 words for an introduction/inciting incident and I had about the same amount of words to wrap the story up. But I was having extreme difficulty connecting the two segments of the story, especially with the huge 70K word count goal looming above my head.

So yesterday on my bus ride from the Grant County band competition to the Loveland competition (most tiring day of my life by the way lol) I chatted with a friend of mine about the story.

So, it'd be cool if I could say that I got an idea for the middle portion of the story and now everything's happy and I'm excited to write and that the book will be released in two weeks.

But I can't. :-)

In fact, I didn't get an idea for the middle portion at all. LOL

But I did get a drive to finish the story back. FINALLY.

I had an outline for one more chapter sitting in my notebook so I broke it out. Turned out I'd already written half that chapter and just needed to finish it. So I did, and I feel really good about myself.

So today before church starts again I'm going to plow through this story if it's the last thing I've got. I've got some peppermint tea, a notebook, and a pen sitting beside me. And awesome cold air outside to wake me up. I'd love to get 2,000 words today but with the plot issues I could settle for 1,000-1,500. Already knocked out 600 though!

So this is my writing formula for life: Friends + tea + winter = Bestselling novel.

:-)

To the end,
Nathan

Let the Writing Begin! - The Outside

2010-09-27T21:20:00.008-04:00

So I finally starting writing this short story for school.

Tentatively titled The Outside, the story is about a character named Adam who lives in a metallic prison of darkness. Literally, as in....no light. However, triangular shaped holes have begun to appear in the ceiling, allowing light to punch through into the tunnels. Adam is tasked by his captors with the job of patching the holes and preventing the light from returning. The light stabs at their eyes and becomes a growing problem. Eventually, Adam discovers that their might be more to their existence than the constant darkness of the tunnels. Their just might be an Outside world--filled with light, filled with pain, and filled with glory.

Today I got a measly 500 words but it's a start. And that's all I really needed.....a start.

So this is my new project. Thoughts?

The allegory is, obviously, very easy to figure out. But I think it's gonna be an awesome story!

I could use titles too if anyone's got any ideas.

And, if you're wondering why I've been updating so frequently lately, check out the earlier posts of this project!

The Fountain's Song - Poem

2010-09-26T20:35:00.004-04:00

Well I still haven't gotten around to fiction writing lately. Homecoming on Friday (awesome!), homecoming games on Saturday (awesome lol), and apple-picking on Sunday (uh...still awesome) kinda took my time. However after homecoming, Saturday morning, I wrote the following poem.

Pretty cryptic I suppose and the last two lines allude to three other poems I've written. So while it may not make complete sense and there's a line or two that's contrived I still think it's pretty good.

Enjoy!

The Fountain's Song
Nathan R. Petrie

There’s something rising in his heart
There’s something running to its start
It’s waited silent for so long
And as it’s come it won’t depart

The fountain waits behind his eye
The water yearns to fall and rise
The stationed guards hold fast the flow
The ocean’s wishes they deny

Yet fountain ancient, fountain new
Awaits a time that it once knew
Its water tastes of joy and peace
Of all the things that it’s flown through

Against the will of watchful guards
The water moves that once was barred
It rises, falls, within the bowl
But does not touch the vast courtyard

The music plays above the noise
A song, unbroken, by decoys
Though measures rest and tempos slow
The song plays on and he enjoys

The water rises, music soars
A cosmic battle man adores
A smile takes the face of him
For this is what he’s waited for

Now at long last the beings meet
Fountain and music, now complete
They surge as one and burn his heart
And cause his pain utter defeat

Behold the battered man today
Met by the music and by waves
Both he loves and would not trade
Because they came from what they say:

That good-byes never last for long
They’re just quick breaks within the song

Back into Swing....

2010-09-24T13:28:00.008-04:00

Well it's been a while since I've made a legit blog post and for that I apologize. Ever since the media fast I've been having trouble getting back into the cyber world (or am I improving in life?? hmmmm lol). And what with joining the marching band, academic team, and all sorts of other activities I've been fairly swamped. So much so that my writing time has again been forfeit.

What kind of writer am I?

Anyhow, in my Language Arts class we've recently been given an assignment to "improve our happiness". Not really sure how this fits with core content or language arts but that topic will be saved for another School Chat post.

So I wanted to do something deep and life changing. Something that would effect the world for ages to come. Something my class mates and teachers could remember me for years from now. And then the day to decide my happiness "goal" came and I had come up with..........

Absolutely nothing.

So out of my mouth jumped the first and easiest thing I could think of--get back into writing.

I have a short story and novel to write and obviously expanding The Guardian's Tree into The Chains of Hethra to work on and I've done very, very little on any of these projects. Seems I typically burn out after 10,000 words and then I'm hard pressed to get started again. My break from writing has been far too long. It was helpful, but now that helpfullness is worn out.

I'm still going to break in the TCOH writing because I'm stuck on some plot issues but I have an excellent short story idea I'd love to finish and submit to the Scholastic Art and Writing awards.

So hey, I can write a story in two weeks. This will be my project!

The way this works is that I'm going to blog every day about what I did on this project and, because I'll be using this blog, tid-bits about the craft of writing. I was supposed to start Monday but, being the Master of All-Things-Procrastinated, I put off getting started.

Here's what I've done so far:

Outlined the opening scenes
Thought long and hard about the story

And that's about it :-) But it's all I really need to get started.

How is your all's writing going? What's the weirdest assignment you've ever been given?

Oh! And don't forget to enter for the Dekker shirt if you're interested!

To the end,

Nathan

Immanuel's Veins - Ted Dekker

2010-09-13T17:37:00.002-04:00

Yes, this is another book review. But this is not just another book. Bear with me.

By now most readers of all walks of life have heard the name Ted Dekker. Author of more than twenty-five New York Times bestselling novels, Dekker has captivated the hearts and minds of readers for years now. He practically invented the genre of Christian Suspense/Spiritual Warfare and continues cooking up a tantalizing blend of adrenaline laced thriller, amazing fantasies, and profound allegories.

I am writing this post a week or so before today, a little over an hour after I finished the book. I must tell you, I will never again doubt Dekker's abilities to deliver. He is by far the greatest storyteller I have ever read.

I don't want to spoil plot by giving such an in depth review as typical. So I'll just give you the back cover along with a sentence or two giving you the actual plot.

From the Back Cover

This story is for
everyone--but not everyone is for this story.

It is a dangerous tale of times past. A love story full of deep seduction. A
story of terrible longing and bold sacrifice.
Then as now, evil begins its courtship cloaked in light. And the heart
embraces what it should flee. Forgetting it once had a truer lover.
With a kiss, evil will ravage body, soul, and mind. Yet there remains hope,
because the heart knows no bounds.
Love will prove greater than lust. Sacrifice will overcome seduction. And
blood will flow.
Because the battle for the heart is always violently opposed. For those
desperate to drink deep from this fountain of life, enter.
But remember, not everyone is
for this story.

Review
Immanuel's Veins, in its simplest form, is a love story. Dive deeper and you find a suspenseful conflict between good and evil. Dive even further and you find an allegory to God's immense love. Toma Nicolescu, warrior in the 1772 army of Russia, has fought many battles, but none so difficult and draining as the inward struggle he faces upon meeting his new charges. Tasked with protecting a small family from an unknown evil, Toma finds himself locked in a new kind of warfare--one over the heart. But there is another suitor, masquerading as a being of light and spewing words of darkness. Who will win the lady's heart? Who is good? Who is evil?

Once again, Dekker has crafted a beautiful fable of the love of God for his bride and the raging battle for its heart and soul. Opening with a haunting letter and prophecy, Immanuel's Veins latched onto me and didn't let go. There are slow points in this book, but expertly placed mysteries, foreshadowings, and clues dragged me through them, begging for more. I won't ever doubt Dekker's ability to deliver an excellent story again.

Books of History fans will find much deserved answers and more questions. New fans shouldn't be lost during the reading of IV and will likely be hooked onto Dekker lore. For most enjoyment I would suggest reading the Circle books before IV though.

The story contains several interesting topics of discussion from vampires to the modern day condition of the church.

All in all, with this final book in the Christian market Dekker has won my heart forever. I doubt I could read a thousand more books and find someone his equal. Crying, laughing, cringing with dread I read this book like lightining. And I can tell you now--Immanuel's Veins has changed my life.

Sacrificial Love
As part of the Booksneeze review program I was able to get this book for free (what a deal right?). Not only for free, but before publication! Their stipulations included my posting this review on this exact date and telling you I didn't buy it, etc. But one of the other things that they asked was that I answered a very simple yet profound question:

What is sacrificial love?

And I will tell you :-) In my next post!

MWHAHAHHAHA!

For now, how about I give you something? Say....a limited addition Immanuel's Veins T-shirt? Yeah that sounds good.

The shrit features a heart (like...an actual blood pumping heart) interwrapped with flowers/thorns of sorts and the words "Spread the Love" to the bottom left of it. All in all pretty cool. I"ll try to upload a picture shortly.

All you have to do is comment to enter. Who's in?

To the end,
Nathan

The Importance of Not Writing

2010-08-20T15:11:00.005-04:00

I spend way too much time coming up with creative titles. I also spend a ridiculous amount of time trying to find awesome pictures to go along with those titles.

But I digress.

Today I pulled out my single printed copy of the first ten chapters of The Chains of Hethra. Between and during classes I found myself engrossed in a story I hardly remembered being this good.

It was a real morale booster.

A lot of you probably know, or have noticed, that I've done very little writing on TCOH lately. I'd been very discouraged about the story already and after my marching band season started I was far too swamped to convince myself that I was writing something worth reading and that I should keep at it.

So I didn't write. Not a word.

For months.

On one hand this was really awful. I'd planned to finish my first draft before summer was over. The idea was to edit all throughout the school year. Pretty good plan right? Finish the bulk of the intensive stuff and edit, which doesn't take nearly as much time per session, while I was in the busiest part of the year.

But I didn't.

So I got very far behind.

However, as I've been reading through my own novel I've realized that this long break from writing has helped in ways I couldn't have known before. I have a fresh take on the story (even though I still have future plot problems) and it actually looks good.

Don't know how many of you have tried writing a book. But after a while, you've written so much into it that it all just looks like garbage to you.

This break helped me see it with better eyes. And so I'm excited to write the rest of it.

So I'm going to be a major proponent of taking breaks, if anything from the project you're working on. Some people say to write everyday. That's cool, I don't do it, but at least trade off what projects you're working on. I myself find it very hard to simply plow through a manuscript--maybe I'm the only one.

Pros of Taking Breaks

Encouragement/Motivation - When I read back through it, I was encouraged that this was a good story. And that gave me motivation to keep at it, which I don't get from many other places.
Fresh Take on Characters and Plot - If you're having issues with the storyline (like I was) taking a break seems to help a lot. It frees your mind of all the useless fog and opens it up to the actual story. You see it from new eyes and can often make better guesses as to what will fit the story. Same goes for characters.
Time to Live Life - Yeah, I needed some time away from the computer :-)
Batteries are Now Ready to Go - Breaks are a major energy re-filler. Knock out another chunk while it lasts!

So this is why I feel it's important to take breaks from writing in general. But for some, simply from their main project.

Thoughts?

To the end,
Nathan

PS: I just started using Gimp. It's AWESOME!

And So it Begins...

2010-08-18T21:13:00.016-04:00

Summer, I regret to inform you all, is officially over.

Cue wailing.

Sadly, it's true. Today was my first day of my sophomore year. Pretty crazy. Summer has ended and another year has begun. Where did the time go? ::dramatic sigh::

But! Don't let the summer party end! Let's celebrate our summers!

My summer was pretty jammed packed. My highlight was the camp I went to with my church called Crossings at Johnathan's Creek. If you've ever been to a Crossings camp, or any Church camp for that matter, you know how crazy and awesome it is.

This year, was pretty special.

My parents, as some of you know, are in the ministry (and by extension so am I). We've been at this church for several months and this was the first major event. We hopped into our sweet newly air-conditioned van and drove down to south western Kentucky.

The ride was pretty fun. Lots of music, chatting, interesting stops at restaurants. Took several hours but it was so worth it. Eventually we reached the camp.

We were met by a crazy staff waving around swimming noodles. They motioned us to halt and ripped our doors open. After some more craziness, they bowed their heads to pray with and for us. It was then I knew: it'd be a great week.

They staffers shot some hilarious video of us then shot us off to our cabins. All in all, I couldn't have thought of a better way to start the week.

The rest of the week consisted of awesome worship experiences led by a great up-and-coming artist named Bo Harris (aka Smooth Java). Seriously, check this guy out. He's going places.

The preaching was fiery and filled with God's power and passion. Rob Turner is quite possibly the best preacher I have ever heard. He doesn't hold back any punches and stands firmly on the truth of God's Word, and all of its grit. We had some extremely hilarious and silly mornings followed by intense and enjoyable POIs (Points of interest, basically....the fun activities). They ranged from ziplining to rock climbing, to biking to tubing.

The theme of the week was Adopted. Four days: We are Orphans, A Father adopts us, He takes us into a family, We become heirs, and we have a future (if filled with suffering). The central foundations of the Gospel presented in heart stopping and sword-raising ways.

At the end of every worship time our church got together into a time of close revelation and reflection. We talked about the sermon and how God was working in our lives. Tears, laughter, and Holy Spirit beyond comprehension. These were the highlights of the week.

Several in our group met Christ for the first time and we all felt a sense of refreshment and revival. The camp "high" is still running with most of us weeks after the event and just in time.

Bring on school.

Today was my first day. Time to change the world.

"Faith without works is dead."

"How can they hear without a preacher?"
Who's with me?

Oh right....and how was your summer?

And a random pic. Who can guess what it is?

To the end,
Nathan

School Chat - Required Reading

2010-08-02T12:43:00.005-04:00

So as you've all noticed I have slacked in updating my blog. Not to worry, I've been busy with all sorts of important things. Church stuff, family stuff, band camp, and of course....the ever enjoyable summer reading project.

I find myself asking all the time: how on earth do such horrible books end up becoming required reading?

I'm sure the majority of the reading population would disagree with me but writers such as Charles Dickens, Tim O'Brien, Alcott, Gail Giles, etc aren't very good . Dickens was good for his time, but let's face it...it's no longer the 18th century. O'Brien wrote the most ridiculous piece of garbage I've ever read, shamming all kinds of moral standards. And Gail Giles, while succeeding in writing a good story, is nowhere near the heights of what I would consider "good writing".

So here we go, I'm going to rant.

Why does the educational system require its students of the English language to read books that are counter productive to much of the modern world? Weird phrasing, I know, but let me simplify it.

What is the purpose of a Language Arts class? (Not a literature class)

Is it to teach students how to write? Is it to help them understand writing? Is it to help them understand the uses of language?

Classic works, such as Dickens and Alcott, are written in a way that would be puked up by nearly every publisher in today's world. The writing is boring, the description is unneeded, POVs are insanely out of whack, and the writing breaks nearly every rule a young writer needs to understand. If the purpose of Language Arts classes is to learn to write....why are we forced to read books with horrible writing?

Or maybe we don't want our students to learn to write, we just want them to understand how they wrote hundreds of years ago. Fine. But why do we read more classics than modern good writing?

Semi-Modern works, such as O'Brien, are written in better ways (though O'Brien is FAR from the best. His style is just as bad as Dickens in my view) but at times teach such drastically immoral things that I get sick. Not only that, but again we have the example of the horrid writing. Are we teaching our students to write or to read? And if it's to read...why are we reading books written as if from a thousand years ago? Are we inspiring our students? Because the message I get from O'Brien is that we might as well all die in a hole. Sure, he explores some good topics. But there are other books that do just the same and use better writing.

And the selection of modern works, Giles and Myers for example, couldn't be any worse. Why do we read books with: Horrible writing and awful messages?

It doesn't make sense to me.

If you want your students to write, first you need to teach them, then you need to show them good examples. In language arts classes, I see very little of any of this.

If you want your students to understand all forms of language use, introduce them to ALL forms. Instead of feeding them classic garbage nonstop, balance it out. And when you select modern works....find something good.

The projects that go along with these readings are always well thought out. They accomplish the goals of reading and writing. But I personally believe much more could be accomplished if better writing was chosen to analyze.

What are your thoughts? Have I missed the point? Am I totally wrong? Let's chat.

One day, I'm going to write a book that will be required reading. If terrible books end up on the list....why can't my books? :-) lol

EDIT Aug. 3rd 2010:
As this has come up in the comments, let it be known that I do very much enjoy many classics. I am arguing against their writing, not the stories.

Venom and Song - Wayne Batson and Christopher Hopper

2010-07-06T09:35:00.004-04:00

Well by now most of you have heard about the two books by authors Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper. They have scaled bestsellers lists, won awards, and have been acclaimed by readers everywhere. I read and reviewed Curse of the Spider-King (book one of The Berinfell Prophecies) and my review is still number one "Most Helpful" on Amazon.com

Anyhow, I was lucky to recieve a copy of the second book through Booksneeze.com, Thomas Nelson's blogger website. However, because I wanted to support the authors I also bought another copy.

The book was well worth the money.

From the Back Cover

Now in the strange realm of Allyra, the Seven young lords confront a traitor in their midst, a creature-infested forest, teenage fears and doubts, inexplicable mysteries . . . and the Spider King himself.
In a rigorous training program that makes boot camp look like Disneyland, the Seven must quickly learn to harness their own powers, work as one, and elude the Spider King's spies. But as the ancient Berinfell Prophecies are revealed, the Seven soon discover their training might not be enough. To stop the Spider King they must also unravel the secrets of the Rainsong, travel to a creepy, trap-infested fortress to find the legendary keystone, and lead the Berinfell Elves in an attack on the Spider King's own turf. An epic adventure with powerful messages about true strength, forgiveness, and working together as one body that will grab the attention of intermediate readers.

Plot
As I expected, the plot was very interesting. The authors balanced slow and fast scenes, emotional with battles, etc. The story was very much different from the first book however. Whereas the first book grabbed me in the beginning and dragged me through to the end, this book grabbed me in the beginning and through me to little sections. Basically, it didn't absorb me nearly as much as book one. Part of the problem here was that the story lacked the element of mystery that Curse of the Spider King was drenched in. Venom and Song became, very quickly, a questing novel. Not that I don't enjoy those kind of stories, because...hello who doesn't?, but I was expecting something more...original. However, the story was very fast paced.

Highlights of the plot include: the elves' training, very exciting, an interesting land of Gnomes, and the entire second half of the book. Once I crossed over into the second half, the authors had hooked me for the long haul. The book ended in one of the best ways I've seen done. A masterfully frustrating cliff hanger that literally had me holding my breath. Well done.

Characters
As with the first book, there are several main characters. Seven main protagonists and a ridiculous amount of side characters. This doesn't bother me like it does some readers. The authors developed each of the main seven well enough. Most of the character development, it seemed, was to be gleaned from the first book. The other thing I liked about this book was that a main protagonist seemed to rise above the rest. As was my hunch in reading Curse of the Spider King, Tommy Bowman becomes the real main character.

Aside from Tommy, my favorite character was likely the Spider King himself. I must commend the authors highly on the writing of this character. Excellent, excellent, excellent. The first time we are introduced to him took place in one of the best scenes these authors have ever written. And every time he showed up in the story, it made it 10 million times better.

As for emotional connections, there were a few scenes that I knew I should be feeling for the characters, but I really didn't. I understood the emotion, and recognized that it made sense, but overall...there were just too many characters for me to be brought to tears or something. However, during the second half my heart and soul was connected to the movement of the story.

Writing Quality
This is the biggest downfall for this book. Starting very early on and following throughout the course of this book you will find several cases of the following:

Description in Dialogue - this may or may not be an error, but it bugs me. What I mean by this is that the dialogue will follow as: "Look, what's that over there?" "It's a man!" "Yes! And look, he's wearing white!". Somehow, this doesn't sit right with me.

POV Infractions - The book is written in an omniscient, third person limited, point of view. That's the best I can explain it. The way it goes, is that you'll be reading one paragraph in a character's POV and then the next will be in another character's head and then the next is in another's mind and so on and so forth. This wasn't a cause for confusion except on a few points where I had to reread the paragraph to figure out who's head I was in. However, this is a flaw that I also noticed in the previous book.

"ly" adverbs - Quickly, hesitantly, happily, etc. These words abound in the manuscript. They are easy to get past and do not kill the reading experience but were they changed into description, made to show and not tell, the story would have been many times better.

Also, there was a major-ish contradiction in the story. There was a scene during the training part of the book where a character was only allowed to speak "Yes" and "No". If he said any word besides those two they whole group was to go without food for a long amount of time. However, throughout the course of this scene....he says several things besides yes and no. Had me pulling my hair out.

But I shouldn't be so hard on them. Apart from these points the writing was beautiful, detail was vivid, action clear, and very well done. The voices of the two authors merged quite well, though I could guess who wrote certain chapters. I don't think anyone that's not a writer would notice any problems. The dialogue wasn't contrived, save maybe one point, and everything flowed quite well. All in all, just some technical stuff.

Theme
This book has several themes: leadership, teamwork, deliverance, acceptance, sacrifice, etc. It also deals with issues of prejudice and more. Definitely a Christian book. Ellos, the God figure, is discussed far more than in Curse of the Spider King and plays a much greater roll. If you're looking for Christian Fantasy, this book is for you.

Conclusion
The story ended with a major cliff-hanger. Like I said, one of the best I've read. The final battle scene was loaded with twists and turns and thrills and chills. Tons of foreshadowing for book three flocked the pages.

Basic Positive Elements Include: sacrifice, camaraderie, honorable and loving adults, clearly defined good and evil, respect, honor, and more.

Basic Negative/Objectionable Element: young romance (though I thought it was handled well)

I enjoyed this book. If you read and liked Curse of the Spider King, definitely read Venom and Song. It is well done and you'll enjoy it. If you didn't enjoy Curse of the Spider King, depending on your reasons, you may or may not like Venom and Song. If your issue with COTSK involved the POV changes, I think VaS will effectively solve that. Because most of the main seven are together at most times, it reads smoothly. If you didn't like the writing, it's practically the same.

All in all, a good book. 4 outta 5 stars.

Be sure to check out:
The Curse of the Spider King Book Trailer
Wayne Thomas Batson's Blog
Christopher Hopper's Blog
The Book Series Website

To buy the book from Amazon.com click here

I'll be giving this book away, along with Curse of the Spider King, here shortly! Stay tuned!

To the end,
Nathan

The Long Overdue Post on Tags and Awards

2010-06-20T22:04:00.010-04:00

Well they've been piling up. So, here are all the tags I've received so far! This is my first post on tags EVER!

Hands Stained with Ink Award
Awarded by Chris

Thanks dude!

If you could write one word, what would it be?

Keeneye (because I CAN)

Use one word to describe yourself.

Keeneye, wait that's cheating. Instead: Weird.

What is something random about you/your writing that you'd like to say right now?

I feel really accomplished and professional when my desk is covered in outlines, maps, character dissections, rough drafts, and the like. Why? I have no clue. :|

Think up an absurd title for a book:

The Not So Adventurous Adventures of a Boy (Teenager) Who Thought He Was a Girl and His Undersized Dragon Without Wings That Looked Like a Dog and Barked Like a Tree

or perhaps

One Morning at Night when the Blind Man Didn't See

What is the strangest sentence you can think of?

"As you know, Christopher, you are an orphan," he frowned and, because he was angry, shot his eyes into Christopher's. [Brownie points to label all the errors!]

What do you write?

Weird fantasy. Usually with an allegorical theme. I take metaphors and make them literal. So "Christian Fantasy". But in a lot of my newer ideas that I've got rolling, you might never know it was Christian.

If you had a weird disease and could only make one sound over and over, what would it be?

"I have a disease". Might help keep some stares away LOL

And now I tag...

Storyteller

Seth

Brenna

You guys get the cool award up there, too. :)

Here's the rules:

1) Post about the award.

2) Award 3 other people

3) Answer the tag

Live in a Book Tag
I was tagged by Celebrilomiel, Squeaks, Pais Charos, Silver Angel, Madeline, and BleahBriann

I guess this was a popular one! lol

Rules: Name eight books you'd like to live in for a week, and then tag eight people.

In no specific order:

1. By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson - It's a pretty cool world! Normal-ish. I'd cheat and be like....a noble bloodvoicer or something :) How cool would it be to be able to communicate with my mind?

2. Rise of the Dibor by Christopher Hopper - This world is beautiful I think. I'd either want to live before this huge war breaks out or be Luik. CH, can I be Luik? lol

3. The Bible by God - This isn't cheating is it? :) Through me back with Jesus. I wanna talk to him :-)

4. The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien - I'll hide in the shire thank you. Except I'd be a cool hobbit. Half Took half Baggins just to stir things up. Oh wait <_<

Jake awarded me:
Not sure what you were thinking there Jake :-) But I'll accept it nonetheless lol.

I get to list five random things:

This blog is not stylish :)
I woke up early today and am currently eating breakfast
In a few weeks, I will have 3 copies of the same book (Venom and Song)
America runs on Dunkin'
Most people would do anything for a Klondike Bar; I've never had one.

And now to award some peeps.

Daughter of the King
Brenna (two awards in one post? Niiiiice)

Jessica awarded/tagged me FIVE TIMES. So here we go:

Also awarded to me by Katherine Sophia
Thank you so much you two! This means a lot!

Thank you, Jessica! I'm hoping to take the "Aspiring" off there in a bit :)

I love this award. It's so different from the others I've seen. Thanks for giving it to me!

I have too many faithful commenters. If you comment on this post. Take the award :)

This one actually means the most to me. I'm glad that you find this blog inspiring. There's really not much more than I can ask for. Thank you so much!

Friendship Tag
Choose any amount of friends real or blog and say at least two things or more that you admire or like about them. Tag and make sure you link to them.

This, again, really meant a lot to me. Jessica said, "[Nathan Petrie] Is a teen author who's blog I always find fascinating. His posts are filled with passion for writing and God. He always has interesting and helpful insight into writing and characters. I found Nathan's blog late one night though Yodeling Dwarf's and was attracted by the name Whispered Roars."

Thank you so much Jessica!

I tag:

Jacob Parker at Yodeling Dwarf: If you guys didn't know already, Jacob is the published author of what I'm expecting to be an amazing book Kestrel's Midnight Song. Jacob lives online almost as much as I do so when I need help with my writing BANG he's there. I think he worked just as much on TGT as I did :) Plus, he's just stinking hilarious.

Chris at My Ink Spot: WARNING: CHRISTIAN MILES IS THE CRAZIEST WRITER ALIVE. Seriously. Chris has got an awesome sense of humor. And at 16 (16 right? lol) he knows more about the craft of writing then most people will EVER know.

Brenna Dixon at The Road Less Traveled: Wow, I've awarded you a lot today haha. Brenna was one of my first readers. Met her on the DIOM forum but really didn't hit it off until after I left the forum. She bought my short stories book and mailed it to me to sign. That was pretty exciting :) And now she's just always filling me with encouragement. Thanks Brenna!

Creative Writing Tag
I was tagged by Kat Heckenbach

Here are the rules of the blog award:

1) Thank the person who tagged me. THANK YOU KAT!!!!! lol √

2) Copy and Paste the award on my blog. √

3) Link to the person who nominated me. √

4) Tell up to 6 lies and 1 truth about myself. √

Here are the lies (and one truth):

My name is Inga Montoya
You killed my father
I was born in Pittsburgh
I've published two books
I live in Cincinnati (trick questions haha)
I love the Bengals
I named a character after my initials
I named a character after me

Can you guess which is the truth?

Daughter of the King awarded me:

As we arise from out of the shade, into delight of growing into our faith...and striving to serve our King daily we will become Christians who have a strong meaningful TRUE FAITH.

Thanks a ton DOK! Let's go to battle together!

I award:

Daughter of the King right back ;)
Dakota from A Look at Life From a Deer Stand
Gwendolyn (Who also doesn't have a blog :( You should get one! lol)
Squeaks from Hidden Doorways

Thank you all for awarding me! Means a lot!

To the end,
Nathan

Writing a Novel - The Beginning

2010-06-14T14:54:00.012-04:00

See First Post of this Series

Originally, this series was designed to follow the journey of my standalone novel The Fire. But after reading Flaming Pen Press's response to The Guardian's Tree novella submission, I decided to set both Redemption's Journey and The Fire aside and take up my newest work of fiction.

The Chains of Hethra.

This novel is definitely better than RJ and will likely be equally as good as TF.

I outlined TCOH, read over the novella version, stewed over some ideas for a while, then hit the road.

The beginning of a book is, for many, the most important part of the entire work. If an author can't hook them in the first few pages the book isn't worth reading to them. So what if it's received critical acclaim? It has a horrid beginning and I'm putting it down.

Personally, I don't agree with this stance. I take a book 100+ pages in before quitting, but overall I think it is important to understand this. Readers will throw your book back on the shelf if you can't write a good beginning.

What things make up a good opening scene?

Mystery
I often find myself admiring good writing as I read books. My favorites open with such intrigue...that even if the following pages are completely boring, I'm glued to my seat to figure out the opening scene. Maintaining mystery is a highly important aspect of writing in general, I feel, but it is even more important to instill this mystery early on.

It's hard to put a finger on how to write mysterious things. But I'm going to try. Mystery comes through in writing when the characters act in a way you wouldn't expect, do uncommon things, and when the author withholds information from you in a natural manner. I think to sum up, mystery is when the characters know something the reader doesn't.

It is important, though, to not loose your readers in piling up mystery. Mysteriousness is withholding information, not piling it on. You can't throw a million questions into the reader's mind. I find that maintaining a singular question through a scene and dropping clues is a good way to go.

For example, here's part of the opening for the TGT novella:

Screeches ripped through the darkened cavern, followed by the screams of men, and then abrupt silence. Dirt fell from the ceiling hundreds of feet above and shining leaves fell from the Tree, illuminating the forms of the agonized men and women of Hethra. Alvar cradled the sack close to his chest and sprinted through the darkness. His heart pounded and sweat drenched his forehead. He had to get out of here. He had to.

The shrieking creatures flapped their bat-like wings, each brandishing bloodied whips and dripping blades. They flew through the cavern, snatching up men and women and hurling them into fires. The humans cried out for mercy, but the Damans ignored their pleas, lashing their whips, and leaving piles of bodies in their wake.

...

Alvar sped his pace. The Damans were not after the people.

This begs the question: What is the sack? What are the Damans after if not the people?

Some of the other minor questions are answered throughout the scene, but, if you've read the scene you know, that the whole time you find yourself asking: What is in the sack? Why is it so important? Why are the Damans doing this? etc.

Chaos
Another good tactic is throwing your reader into chaos. A battle scene, a dark chase, etc. The above quote is a good example of that as well. Chaos adds to the mystery. It also helps in hooking your reader. If you throw a bunch of action in place of a bunch of detail, odds are you'll have your reader in for the long haul.

Keep in mind, however, that you need more than just a bloody fight scene. There needs to be good character play as well. Feel the emotion!

Intriguing Characters
I don't read this type as often simply because I'm not a huge fan of the genre it's typically found in. But I think I know enough to talk about it lol

If you open your scene with dialogue or internal monologue you can present another interesting concept--character. If you're more character driven, dive deep into the head of a character to begin. But when you do, maintain this level of mystery. Think like the character.

For example, I'll open a scene with a young man standing at the grave of his father. All sorts of crazy thoughts are running through his head. Weird thoughts. Odd thoughts. He's not hurt, pained, broken, etc. He's just cold, num. Like the snow falling around him. You dive into this emotionless character and run with it.

But who would have thought that he had murdered his father?

Basically, maintain mystery by not using contrived dumping methods.

Intriguing Places
Fantasy works best with this I think. I read a story once that opened on the field of a previous battle. And as the protag walked through the carnage we examined the castle he was walking through. The building itself hooked me!

All in all, the way to write a good beginning is summed in one word--mystery. People don't want to read a book that just tells them everything. They want to figure things out for themselves! In the same way, people don't want to read books about normal life. "Oh and today I had a sandwich, walked the dog, and did my homework." No one wants to read that! Write differently, write mysteriously.

Thoughts?

To the end,
Nathan

I'm at the Beach! - The Drive

2010-06-13T09:26:00.002-04:00

Well....I'm at Myrtle Beach in South Carolina this week! Here is a video recapping the first day of the drive down.

The drive is about 10-12 hours from where we live so we split it up into two nights. The kiddos couldn't last the whole drive in one night. And neither could our old van :P.

We don't have air conditioning....so this was rather exciting :)

Brownie points to who can guess the word written on my hand!

Without further ado, day one:

Fast is Over! - A Random Post

2010-06-07T20:55:00.007-04:00

Well I've been back from my fast for a few days now and just realized that I had yet to update the blog letting you all know that I'm back! So uh, I'm back!

I'm finally starting to catch up on all that I missed for the 10+ days I was fasting, for some reason the blog ended up at the end of my to-do list. But here's my "catch up" for you.

Here's how the fast worked: No computer except school work. And no cell phone unless someone needed help (or I needed to call my mommy :) ).

The Bible mentions a law of "replacement" that basically explains that when you give something up, or resist a sin, you need to replace that with something else or else what you gave up, or the sin you were resisting, will return.

In place of the computer and cell phone I read the Bible and prayed (obviously). I started reading in three sections of the Bible: The Book of Mark, The Book of Isaiah, and The Book of Acts. All of these books God's been laying on my heart to read lately, so I dove right into them.

And I learned a lot.

I also put some really cool spiritual habits in place. In addition, I've been doing this thing that my old youth pastor did to help keep things in perspective. Every day after devotions, I've been writing a single word and reference on my left hand. For example, one of the days was "Hope" and beneath that on my hand I wrote "Rev. 21" which contains the detailing of the New Earth.

This habit is very cool because I ALWAYS see my hand. And whenever I look, BANG, the verse is in my mind. Plus it helps me live out my faith better. When I read "hope" and remembered that chapter, I reminded myself to live and view life through the eyes of eternity. To look forward and hope for a better life.

I also read both If God is Good by Randy Alcorn and The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel. Both books were excellent faith builders and intellectually exciting!

If God is Good is about the following statement: If God is all good He would want to end evil; If God is all knowing he would know that evil exists and how to stop it; If God is all powerful he would have the ability to stop evil; since evil exists, there cannot be a God.

The book searches the question of "If God is Good then Why do we suffer" from worldviews to determine which answers the question sufficiently. It's 500 pages of why we suffer, but it is an excellent read.

The Case for Faith is a sequel of sorts to The Case for Christ (which I only ever read a third of). In the first book, Strobel came at Christianity (as the atheist he was) skeptically and demanded answers out of scholars about the accuracy of the Gospels and the whole Bible, how that was passed down to us, historical and archeological evidence for the Resurrection, sources on Jesus outside of the Bible, and several other "head" questions about the faith. In the end he came to the conclusion that Jesus must be the unique Son of God and that Christianity must be true.

In TCFF, Strobel examines the heart issues to faith: Why suffering? Miracles contradict science! A loving God wouldn't kill innocent children! Evolution explains life, so we don't need God. It's offensive to claim Jesus as the only way. A loving God wouldn't torture people in Hell. Christian history is littered with oppression and violence. I still have doubts so I can't be a Christian. And several others woven into those themes. Some of his arguments were strong, others were weak, others I completely disagreed with. But overall, it was a good read.

My previous post was about the fast and I updated over my cell phone so I wasn't able to properly let you all know of this but....

I'VE SURPASSED 50 POSTS!

This is exciting, even if I for some reason though I was well over 50. lol I wanted to do something special but I can't really think of anything at the moment.

In other news, I now have a title for The Guardian's Tree Trilogy Book One. This is the book I am working on for JuNoWriMo as well as prepping for the ACFW conference and FPP. Are you ready?

The Chains of Hethra

What do you think of the title? Does it sound cool? Memorable? Any other thoughts? Let me know in the comments section!

And, because this is a random post, I thought I would let you all know that Flaming Pen Press, the publisher I often talk about, is officially open to query letter submissions! Check out their website for details!

More news coming soon! There's a bunch of contests and such going on now. But....I've got to get to writing on that novel ;)

To the end,
Nathan

2010-05-28T07:43:00.002-04:00

Hey guys! Just wanted to let you know that it's going to be a bit until my next post. I am presently embarking on a media fast and I'm not sure when I'll come back. Until then I ask that you ask God to open my ears to hear Him and open doors for me to share Him. To the end, Nathan

Kestrel's Midnight Song - Party/Trailer!

2010-05-17T19:17:00.006-04:00

Check it out guys, teen author JR Parke r is hosting a huge online party tomorrow night!

This thing is going to be insane!

Hundreds of free (yes...FREE) BRAND NEW FANTASY BOOKS!
Tons of other giveaways (gift-cards, etc)
Interaction with the author of Kestrel's Midnight Song (due out this fall!)
An awesome time!

If you go to his website and click over to the party page you can see a hilarious, and very cool, video that explains pretty much everything that is going on tomorrow night!

I hope you all are able to make it! It's going to be stinking awesome! I'm so excited! And it's all to promote JR Parker's upcoming release Kestrel's Midnight Song!

Check out the awesome book trailer Jacob and some friends made. Even the score was created by these four guys!

Hope to see you all at the party! It's gonna be awesome!

To the end,
Nathan

The Guardian's Tree Novella....or More?

2010-05-13T21:07:00.002-04:00

Followers of my blog will remember my excitement about my latest work The Guardian's Tree. Quite possibly the most original story I've ever conceived, I dove into it and was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. Soon after the idea hit me I was invited to submit the manuscript, when finished, to Flaming Pen Press.

Last night I heard back from the publisher and was totally blown away by the response:

"The Guardian's Tree" is the best work of fiction, to date, that has been submitted to Flaming Pen Press. I am a picky reader and rather slow. I started reading TGT last night and finished today! You hooked me from the beginning and pulled me along for a surprising, artful allegory.
...
The writing is excellent (reminded me of Bryan Davis's best) and I think we could launch a very sucessful seires out of the TGT storyline.

This, for me, is very high praise! Scott Appleton, owner of FPP and author of The Sword of the Dragon series (whom I met if you remember), is indeed a very picky reader. I was expecting a response along the lines of "Well...it's a good story" but this just blew me away. I am very excited about his reaction!

Plus, I am a huge fan of Bryan Davis, so to be compared to him means a lot.

Scott continued to say that though the story was phenomenal as is, he feels there is tons more story that can be told. He suggested that I expand the current TGT plot line into a novel and eventually a series of novels. After providing some suggestions on plot additions, he then invited me to re-submit if I decided to write a novel.

This poses me with a serious question.

Do I halt work on The Fire to start expanding TGT? Do I even make TGT into a novel? Do I continue my plans to go to the ACFW writer's conference this fall (where I planned to pitch The Fire)? And what do I do over the summer?

Here is my brilliant plan.

I will halt all work on The Fire, maybe outline here and there but pretty much stopped. I will focus all efforts on the new TGT series. At the moment I am jotting down ideas for plot expansions. I will still go to the conference where I will pitch TGT's first novel, assuming it's finished in time. I'll weigh my options after the conference and decide what to do with the manuscript then.

I was brainstorming this afternoon and I'm really excited to get working on this expansion! Trust me, this is going to be one must read :) [says the non-biased writer]

Anyhow, I'm posting to let you all know that TGT is so far having huge success! Please pray that I decide as God wills for the story.

Thanks for the support!

To the end,

Nathan

EDIT - If you would like to read two scenes from the novella version, you can! Go here if you're interested!

"Starlighter" Giveaway Winner!

2010-05-07T21:04:00.005-04:00

And the winner of the amazingly epic fantastical superior awesomest giveaway every conducted by a blogger in the land of Blovgabler (don't ask) issssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Ahem, drum roll? Anyone?

This is no fun without a drum roll. Just saying.

Oh right, the winner!

So the winner of the amazingly epic.....oh whatever.

Congratulations DAUGHTER OF THE KING!!!

Email me, Servantoftheone (at) gmail (dot) com, your snail mail address and I'll ship the book your way ASAP!

And for all of you horribly broken over this contest, trust me...I feel your pain. Starlighter can be yours for ten dollars from the following places!

Amazon, CBC (for 8 dollars), or Bryan Davis himself (with autograph!)

Also, enjoy the book trailer!

To the end,
Nathan

The Problem with the Church

2010-05-05T12:28:00.008-04:00

So I was sitting in church a few Sunday's ago and we had a visitor walk down to the pulpit. The visitor wanted to join our church. People clapped, the Preacher talked, and everyone seemed happy. But at the end of the service, we walked by, shook his hand, and went merrily on our way as if nothing had happened.

The Wednesday before I went with the youth group to see the Power Team. They smashed things, preached the Gospel, and shared love from their hearts. At the end of the service about a hundred people made decisions for Christ. What did we, the church, do? Clapped.

Somewhere in those two weeks we had a Sunday morning service dedicated to testimonies. I was very moved, to tears at a few points. But, at the end of the day, what did we do? We clapped.

While these three circumstances aren't proof in of themselves, they add to this nagging feeling I've had for quite some time.

The Church is dying.

While I don't want to live my life bemoaning what the Church could be, I do believe it is my calling to point these things out to people. We are not living like we believe in the power of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let's take my third example for uh...example. lol

People stood up, and proclaimed what Christ had done in their lives. Where they had been, and where they were now. We that are saved clapped.

But what if we really believed in the power Christ has and gives us? How would we have acted?

Man, I believe we would have been dancing through the aisles, shouting "Amens" with conviction, breaking into song for seemingly no reason, and storming the very gates of Hell. When those 100 people met Christ, we should have flocked them with love and excitement.

We should be excited.

What do we Christians say we believe?

That we were on a one-way path to Hell, that our lives were meaningless and unsatisfying, that we were lost. And now we are on a path to eternal Heaven, our lives have purpose and are fulfilling, that we have been found and saved from our self-inflicted suffering.

So why don't we act like it?

Do we understand what this creed means? We were dead, now we're alive. Why don't we care?

If we believed this we would run around like crazy people proclaiming what Jesus has done in our lives. We would tell everyone. Every friend we have, every family member, we wouldn't ever leave their company without telling them.

Do we want them to die? Why aren't we broken for them?

And with our friends who know Christ, we would constantly be praising our King for what he has done.

We would have true, real, showing, joy.

We wouldn't make the mistakes we have made. We would live sold out lives for Jesus our Lord. We would think. And above all, we would act.

I think it's about time for a revolution. We're overdo for one.

Revolutions start when a group of people develop a similar passion. Join me on this revolution of joy.

You see, I believe the problem is that we don't believe what we say we do. Because the majority of the Church does not do these things. We've been living a faith based on happiness and have forgotten what it means to worship a God through suffering. We've forgotten that God doesn't live to make us happy. We don't remember that this life isn't about us.

And so we base our faith on our feelings.

And so we do not understand joy.

Christians should be the following. From the song All Because of This by MercyMe

Why do we do the things we do?
How can we sing when there seems no reason to?
How do we smile when there's not much to smile about?
When the world is down who are we to stand and shout?
They wonder why we do the things we do

It's all because of this
It's all because of this
We've tasted love, tasted hope, tasted holiness

They wonder why we do the things we do

I wonder why we don't.

But we can though.

Come back to the relationship with God. Quit living with religion, quit going to church.

Live like you believe it. And BE the Church.

Welcome to the revolution.

To the end,
Nathan

Date Set For "Starlighter" Drawing

2010-05-04T07:38:00.003-04:00

A number of people have asked about this and so I thought I would make it very clear when I will be doing the drawing for Bryan Davis's latest book Starlighter.

If you have not seen the Starlighter giveaway I encourage you to stop on by and enter. All you need to do is comment for one entry! There are other ways to enter as well but you can read that ;)

Anyhow, I have chosen when I will do the drawing.

Friday, May 7th at 8PM

Tell your friends! This is one awesome book!

To the end,
Nathan

Never Tell A Story: I Saw the Light

2010-05-02T15:19:00.006-04:00

Quite a terrifying title don't you think? Yeah...me too...makes me shiver in absolute and complete terror.

Cue creepy music.

In all seriousness, I hope it's obvious that I don't really mean to tell you all never to tell another story ever in your entire life. I'm not telling you to quit writing or that imagination is morally wrong.

Quite the opposite.

Don't tell a story.

We've all heard the rule "Show, don't tell" haven't we? I think most of us have. The problem with repeating this catchy little phrase all the time is that the majority of writers have no idea what this means. Most don't have a clue.

I am editing my novella, The Guardian's Tree, as many of you know. And one of the bigger problems I am having is this idea of telling. So I got the brilliant idea: I should blog on this.

Now there are many points to "telling", too many to go into in a single post. So today we'll take the following sentences:

Sir Win turned and saw Sir Fail walking toward him, blade drawn. Sir Fail was angry.

Okay, so most of us would agree that this is an awful scene. But let's look at the why's behind it.

The specific issues with these two sentences are the words "saw" and "was angry". Why? These are both POV errors--point-of-view infractions.

Cool Nathan, you used a lot of big writer words.

Most stories are written from a perspective called Third Person Limited, meaning that the writers stays in one character's mind at a time and that this character doesn't know everything. Everything in the narration, dialogue, thought-bubbles comes from this one character's point of view.

This was something I never really grasped for a long while. I used to write from a third person omniscient point of view, meaning that the narrator knew everything. But the more I read and the more I studied the craft, I realized that this is not the most accepted style today.

So let's look again at the sentences. We are in Sir Win's point of view. He turns and what? "Sees" Sir Fail walking.

The problem with this scene is that I told you he "saw" Sir Fail. If you follow me, you don't need to tell the reader that Sir Win "saw" him. Why? Because we are in his point of view. If you write him turning, and then write that Sir Fail is walking, the reader will assume that Sir Win sees this.

Other examples of this kind of thing are the words "revealed" "examined" "noticed" and anything like that. This is an error sometimes called Author's Voice or Telling. You may read these phrases in classical works or even some modern stuff but most people agree that these words, in most circumstances, are wrong.

The basic gist of this is that you need to stay in the view of your character. Get in their heads. What would they think? Would they think "I am looking at a tree". No! They would think "There is a tree" and we would know they were looking at it.

Secondly, comes the line "Sir Fail was angry". This is a combination of telling and a POV slip.

Telling - angry
POV - angry

So it all goes back to that word. Generally, using any emotional word lends itself to both telling and point-of-view errors. The reason being really quite simple.

POV - We are in Sir Win's head. He cannot know that Sir Fail is angry, unless he's a mind reader o.O Now, he could assume that Sir Fail was angry. How? By body-language. So how can the reader know that Sir Fail is angry? Well, you would need to describe the anger.

Telling - All emotion words are telling. "Love in his heart", "hatred coursing through his veins", etc. When you use a word like this, your scene will come across weak. How can you make it stronger? Describe the emotion. Body-language and other things similar.

Which creates a better image and understanding?

"Sir Fail was angry"
"Sir Fail stormed into the room, fists tight, teeth clenched. "Sir Win!"

Obviously, the best line is the second one.

Notice that I never used the word "angry" and I never told you how Sir Fail was feeling. But, I assume, you knew that Sir Fail was angry. And this description will better imprint it upon your mind.

This is something that even the pros struggle with. And no one completely understands the complete concept of show don't tell. Many writer's intentionally break these rules.

That being said, it is important to know the rules first so that you may know when to break them ;)

This is the dirt and grit of writing. The real nit-picky stuff. But I think it is an important basic rule to remember.

Show don't tell. And actually knowing what that means.

This is just the beginning of telling of course :D

Thoughts?

To the end,
Nathan

My Story

2010-04-28T07:32:00.006-04:00

I apologize for the spaces between posts. I have several in the works that I'm excited for you to read :) I've been busy with school stuff and editing TGT, and the fact that my computer was down for a few days didn't exactly help with that.

Anyhow, I thought I'd upload this video I made yesterday about my testimony.

Enjoy!

To the end,
Nathan

The Little Brother is Blogging

2010-04-17T18:26:00.002-04:00

If you're looking for the Starlighter Giveaway click here! From now on you can enter via the picture in the sidebar.

My little brother, Stephen, decided to enter the land of Bloggers. The deciding factor of whether or not he keeps the blog up will be based on readership, I can assure you lol. I thought I'd give him a royal surprise.

Jump on over to his blog and slam the first post full of comments. Act crazy, get bizarre. But surprise the bejeevies out of him.

His blog is called Live Life Loud and will likely end up being about his thoughts on faith and witnessing and whatever randomness pops into his head.

So yeah, the first random post in quite a while. Enjoy it ;)

To the end,
Nathan

Book Giveaway! - Starlighter

2010-04-16T14:48:00.004-04:00

Bryan Davis is one of the greatest modern fantasy writers of this day. As far as teen fantasy goes at least. He's one of my favorite authors.

A few weeks ago I posted my review of Starlighter, the latest from Mr. Davis. This book begins a new series called Dragons of Starlight that I think I will thoroughly enjoy. Even if you don't like his previous works I'd be willing to bet you'll enjoy this series.

Don't want to take the risk?

Well that's fine. Because Zondervan has graciously given me a copy of this book to giveaway on this blog!

Need more of a reason to enter? Free good fantasy isn't good enough? Check out my shorter, condensed, review!

In Starlighter, by bestselling author Bryan Davis, dragons have kidnapped humans from their planet and taken them to theirs, enslaved them, tortured them, and worked them to their deaths. Years have passed since that date, and both worlds have forgotten. Darksphere, the human world, contains an organization that remembers the Lost Ones, those stolen from their world, and seeks the gateway to the dragon planet. But these people are mocked and scorned. On Starlight, the dragon world, those who remember and hold to the belief that they are not meant for slavery are similarly mocked.

But the lost will be found.

Bryan Davis again pens a beautiful, fast passed, epic tale of four teens' determination to do that which they know to be right. The plot was exhilarating, the characters were very clearly defined, and the writing was excellent as usual. Mr. Davis did what is every writer's goal--he created an adrenaline laced plot with believable characters. Given any line of dialogue I could recite the character that would have said it, each one was that real, and the story kept me thinking late into the night.

Also, this book is clearly a story filled with Christian themes. The basic plot line is a beautiful tale and challenge of reaching out to the lost. While the themes are clearly there I do believe the story can be enjoyed without noticing or understanding the allegory.

I'd recommend this book to any young adult, 10 and up. An excellent read for teens and adults.

And a cliffhanger to boot.

What's the catch? Here's what you have to do:

Comment on this post asking to be entered
For an extra entry, follow this blog, and then in your comment tell me you are following
For another entry, post about this giveaway on YOUR blog and in your comment give me the link

Giveaway entries are limited to those in the contiguous USA only. Sorry guys, don't have the cash to mail outta the country :-P

Tell your friends! Anyone would be lucky to read this book. It's quite the read.

To the end,
Nathan

Writing a Novel: Outlining

2010-04-12T20:17:00.007-04:00

I ... am writing a novel.

Of course you knew that if you are reading this post.

I have been writing a novel for probably five years now, going on six this fall. And while I've been writing this novel I've gotten ideas for others, jotted down notes, chapters, brief scenes, etc. But I've never once strayed from this original project.

This project is called Redemption's Journey and will eventually be made up of four novels. It is an epic fantasy series that I have quite a few dreams for.

But it will have to wait.

This spring I set the series aside to work on my novella, The Guardian's Tree. And now, as I await its acceptance for publication, I will begin in the summer a new novel.

The Fire

Tentative title of course.

Starting a new novel for the first time in five years is scary. I haven't planned out a story since I was ten years old. Ever since then I've been a Seat-of-pants writer running off a loose outline of previous drafts. I hardly remember starting.

But, based on short stories I've written, this novella, and previous novel-start attempts, I am going to become an outline-er. If you are a SOP writer God bless you. But I can write with an outline ten times better than I can without one. Granted, it will be a very loose outline, but guidelines nonetheless.

Thus begins the new blog series and my new novel. Expect infrequent updates on this particular series. It's going to be my go-to series ;)

First thing's first for any writer.

Inspiration.

Before any writer can start writing they need a basic, general, idea. This could come in the form of an image, a phrase, a symbol, a character, or something else. Typically this happens in combination. You get an image and a phrase, an image and a character, etc. But you need a basic image. For example, The Guardian's Tree spurred from a symbolic image of a man and a tree. However, getting inspiration is another post altogether.

Expansion.

Next, you look at your basic idea in detail. Here is where I will not tell you what you do...I'll tell you what I am doing for The Fire. Take the idea, and look at it. Look around it. Fast forward in time. Rewind time. Examine in detail your basic idea. For example, for TF I had the idea of people willingly burning themselves. So it was time to ask the questions: Why are they burning themselves? Who is burning? And what is the purpose of the story as a whole.

What I ended up doing was whipping out a piece of paper and writing down everything I knew. This ended up being the climax of the story. I wrote out the setting, the chaos happening in this world, two characters, and the symbolism.

Then I whipped out another sheet and wrote the back story, and the ultimate conclusion.

These two parts were easier for me, because of the symbolism of the story. It had to be a certain way, not much getting around it. But when the reader gets a hold of the story, I will have it planned out that they will not know what has to be until it hits them. So is the plan :P lol

Characters

So I have the back story, the climax, and the ending. What comes next? Well, I thought before I started writing the details of the story I better figure out who's perspective it would be from. So I chose two characters, and in doing so added a whole new dimension to the story. At this stage, it was important for me to look at the pasts of the characters and where I saw them going. I got to look at personalities, appearances, etc and all of this based on the original big picture.

Plot

At this point, I haven't started outlining the details of the plot. But I imagine I will do the same thing. Start with the big picture, and slowly move inward.

I think that, for this story at least, that is the key and point of outlining. I was inspired by a big image, the people willingly burning....warring wolves....four mountains...etc, and through outlining I am meeting characters and developing the details of the plot. But the whole purpose of the story, using this method, will all be based on that original image--the burning people.

And I think most stories are written like this. The author has one thing in mind and everything in the story leads up to it. Everything in the story happens so that this one scene can. Everything in the LOTR happened for The Return of the King. Everything in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe happened for Aslan to rise again. Whether these scenes were the original idea or a newer one, the story revolved around them.

And I enjoy those stories. And I think it will be easier to write a story like this via outlining. And I think the story will be better for it.

To sum up, here are quick tips on outlining from a newbie:

Start Big: You don't need details until you actually write.
Think All Angles: Plot, character, past, future, etc. But especially the past. I find back stories to drive the main plot easier. The story can write itself with a good back story ;)
Spill Your Guts: Don't hold back! Make like....10 outlines if you have to and choose one or combine them!

What do you think? Do you outline or write from the hip?

To the end,
Nathan

Interview on Write Big!

2010-04-09T10:35:00.003-04:00

I was just interviewed on a blog entitled Write Big!

To see the interview click here!

Also, consider email subscribing to this blog. Brayden, the writer, posts a lot of fun and interesting things about writing.

Another random note for a random post. I will be giving away a copy of Bryan Davis's Starlighter in a few days. Stay tuned!

CCC Part Four - Girl Power!

2010-04-07T20:30:00.008-04:00

This will be the final post in the Characteristics of Characters and Their Character series (Say that one five times fast). I have a few ideas for a new series, you'll just have to wait and find out what they are. Mwhahahaha

Today we will discuss heroines--a very special and important part to many stories.

In case you didn't know, heroines are the female heroes of a story. Whether the main character or supporting I am honestly moved by these characters. Sometimes in positive ways, sometimes in negative ways.

If you haven't noticed, most fantasy stories are written with male heroes, male supporting characters, and if there is a girl she's the lover of the hero. Most of the time.

But, there are many (increasingly so) stories that use the girl as the hero and have important female heroes throughout the story. These are the heroines. These characters excite me.

Dragons in Our Midst, The Door Within, Inkheart, The Sword of the Dragon, The Lord of the Rings...all of these had wonderful heroines.

All of these women/girls have the following in common:

They are strong in mind
They are strong in body
They are strong in soul
They, often times, stir the heroes to action
Many times strong willed
Tender and sweet at the heart

I think that for girls one of the biggest turn offs a story can have is for the writer to create a wimpy heroine. Where the girls are always the ones in need, they can never do anything for themselves, and where without the masculine heroes they would be dead or meaningless.

This is not only plain ridiculous, but it is also contrary to what I believe to true purpose of fantasy to be.

So if a good heroine isn't wimpy then what is she?

Naturally, she would be strong.

Strength in the mind is where I would first begin. This aspect is more commonly found than some of the others. Society likes to admit that women are smarter than guys (Admit it guys....they are). But as a newer writer, and a male, we might forget this.

The hero can get easily excited. I'd actually go as far to say...if your hero stays calm all the time...he might not be the best hero. If your hero is getting excited, impatient, angry, or something similar it is often the best salve to have the heroine step in and save the day.

The masculine nature of the hero would tell him to run straight into the faces of the enemy army. But, of course, this would not be the best idea if he was outnumbered 10 to 1. Often times the heroine steps in with reason.

To step out of fantasy, this is especially true of romance stories. Think Romeo and Juliet. Romeo is head over heels for her, but, at first lol, Juliet is thinking more rationally of things and forces Romeo to sleep on his thoughts of marriage.

And if your main protagonist is a girl this is also important. I like reading intelligent, not stupid, heroines. Don't you?

Next would be the physical aspect.

We guys like to brag at being bigger and stronger, *flexes*, but though this may be "technically" true, this has no bearing at all on whether or not girls can defend themselves. Honestly, I know girls that are offended when chivalry etc goes so far as to underestimate their physical prowess.

And you see this in good heroines as well.

A good heroine can and will defend herself. Actually, showing the controversy between the genders is fun to read/write as well. You have a hero trying to be honorable and a heroine that just wants to do what is right. Most of the time, the girl ends up winning ;)

Again, weak wimpy heroines are boring. My favorite characters are often times the fiery girls, sword in hand, charging the gates of hell itself. The tough gals. Plus, let's just think marketing here. If you write a story with wimpy girls....what kind of message does that send to your readers?

Like I said, fantasy is meant to be inspiring. Are you inspiring girls to be wimps?

The spiritual side of this is also very interesting.

In Dragons in Our Midst, by Bryan Davis, I was so emotionally connected to the heroine, Bonnie Silver, because of the strength of her soul. She was so pure, innocent, and yet had all the powerful aspects listed above.

I think what I am trying to get at with these last few points is confidence. Heroines need to be confident. Spiritually, physically, and mentally. Sure, they can doubt just like a guy. And that's when you would shape the male characters. But, especially as supporting characters, they need to be capable of strength.

This next point is perhaps my favorite. When you have a masculine hero and your heroines are supporting characters, it seems that the girls are the ones that give the heroes a reason to fight. They are the reason the knights go to battle--to guard the fair ladies. Whether they are capable of defending themselves or not, that is the reason a man fights.

And so, when you are writing heroines, this is very important.

I actually have a lot to say on the topic, but I'm not sure how to word it all.

What are your thoughts? We can discuss this in more depth in the comments section if you'd like.

Oh yes, and now for an epic quote:

I am not a man!

Let the battle of the sexes begin :D lol

To the end,
Nathan

The Guardian's Tree: Edits Complete!

2010-04-05T09:54:00.008-04:00

I'm sitting in my school's library and I just completed my very first novella. Not only is the story written, see post on its completion, but it has now officially passed through one round of editing. I like to call this round my personal edits. Meaning, no one but me edited it. I got some input from my father on the plot, but no one has critiqued the whole story yet.

Editing, to be quite honest, is a lot of fun for me. I may be the only writer on the face of the planet that feels this way, but I thoroughly enjoy editing. I love writing the first draft as much as anyone, but the rewriting and the editing is a lot easier in my opinion. I can think things through and look at connections and expand.

I'm a huge fan of expanding.

Most writers cut when they edit, my problem (and specialty) is expansion.

In this story, it worked out better that I was going to expand. The story's original draft was maybe 11,000 words and while 10,000 was the minimum that the publisher wanted, I was shooting for 15,000. To give you a rough estimate, 15K is about 60 pages.

So I expanded, and I think the story is much better than it was originally.

So now the story is off to my critique buddies. Good old Jacob Parker and Christian Miles (when he's done critiquing Jacob's book Kestrel's Midnight Song). And that's the other thing I love--feedback. Because I rarely get it. Good and bad, GIVE IT TO ME. lol

So what about you? What do/don't you like about editing? Have you found critique groups helpful? What is the biggest problem you see in people's writing?

To the end,
Nathan

A Resurection Day Poem

2010-04-04T15:37:00.019-04:00

Nothing long and spiffy today. Enjoy the celebration of our King! Here's a poem I wrote this morning.

One night the darkness covered all
And Death raised sickle, proud and tall
A King was struck to death by Hell
And evil relished in His fall

An old King entered kingdom lost
Prepared and ready for the cost
Armed to the teeth, he dueled with Death
And died upon that bloodied cross

The battle raged through time and space
Though Hell could not behold His face
The Light, it burned, and tore at Death
The Reaper fled my Lord in haste

My King made chase, blade raised to slay
One that with whom us harlots play
His sword devoured sin and death
And night gave way to light of day

Death tried but could not save its den
Death fought but could not keep Him in
It fell to power, righteous, strong
"Death, today I AM your end"

With Death was sin forced yet to fall
Breaking chains and freeing all
Imprisonment was shattered, lost
And vic'ry march began its call

Today there shines light in the dark
Today the hopeless sing with lark
Today the broken are made new
Today we sing, "How great Thou art"

Recall today His victory vast
How Death can no more hold us fast
Take up the cry of redeemed slaves
Shout, "Free at last! I'm free at last!"

The Romance of Good Friday

2010-04-02T14:00:00.008-04:00

Today is Good Friday. There, I reaffirm yet again my skill of stating the obvious :-)

Today is one of my favorite days of the year. Typically I'm off school, the weather is gorgeous, and I'm already dreaming of the Easter Bunny (Easter is close to Christmas in my house ;-) ). Plus, spring fever is in the air and all that jazzy goodness.

What could be better?

This year, however, is slightly different.

Now, I go to a public school. I didn't get off today. The people around me don't know, or could care less, about what this day means. "Good" is an oxymoron to them, and it's just another day of the year some cooks named after something random.

And I see this is a positive.

For one, the story doesn't get old--I don't hear it as often. For another, the day opens up conversations that might not otherwise have existed.

So when I was praying at the flag pole this morning one thought was on my mind:

Teach me to love as You love.

Good Friday is a love story. It's also an epic battle story, a tragedy, and a history story. But above all it's a love story.

The King of the world had a Son. And this Son desired more than anything to love and be loved. And so God sent His Son to this earth to court and win over His love.

Coincidentally, or by hand, I am reading White by Ted Dekker. And this theme of love is coursing through its veins. Not to mention the facts that God's been pounding the word "love" in my head for the past month. And so when I was at the pole today I was not surprised to be moved to love, and when I sat down to write this post I was not surprised to find the words "Romance of Good Friday" in the title.

God is speaking. He is showing Me (and, if you're reading this, you) His heart.

So what is the romance of this story?

A King, a Prince, a lost bride. I could see this on a romance novel.

But the difference is that this story is real. This one is happening as I type, as you read, as the bride slips away into darkness.

But, things had been set in motion by His father. And His father knew that the only way to free them of their broken minds and dead bodies was for someone that lived to die.

Christ was the only one truly alive. He was not dead in sin. He knew no sin. He loved and was love.

And so Christ bore the cross for the sake of his bride. To woo her to himself he laid down his very own life.

There is quite a bit to learn from this story. Not only did it provide you and me a chance of survival and a true understanding of love. It also illustrates the characteristics of a man. It also illustrates the role of the Christian today.

The man laid down his life for the woman he loved.

The Christ(ian) laid down his life for the lost.

Eventually I'd like to do a full post on this first point but I don't have the time, or space, at the moment. But men need to remember this illustration of love. Boys and men. Christ hung on the Cross shouting out at us "THIS is love! Until you will willingly die for her you are not deserving of my daughter!"

And secondly is the relationship of the lost and found.

People have this idea that because the lost are...lost, covered in sin, etc that we should either A) become like them in an attempt to win their attraction or B) completely disown them.

But looking at how Christ wooed his bride we cannot accept either of these options. Christ didn't look at his bride, us....those who would/could be saved, and say "She's dirty. She's a whore. I love her but I am too clean," and then dirty himself all up. NO! He remained true to who he was, remained pure of sin, and wooed her another way.

In the same manner he didn't look at this bride and say, "I'm too good for her. She doesn't deserve me. She's dirty. She's a whore. She is not worthey." And then walk away and never speak to her again.

What did he do instead?

He sacrificed himself for her.

So what does this mean for us?

Quite simple really. We are not to dirty ourselves. We are not called to become like the world in effort to make them come to the saving trust of Jesus Christ. Our faith, our peace, our freedom alone is enough to attract them. We don't need to go and spoil these very things to win their affections.

And we are also not supposed to live detached from the world. In the world but not of it. That's the key. We can't woo them if we don't assosiate with them. And we won't be a faithful bride ourselves if we go and sleep with sin to help attract the lost.

We are to sacrifice ourselves. Just as Christ sacrificed himself.

Give of your time, give of your heart...

Love the lost.

I wrote a poem once. It ended something like this:

...
Love them for their maker
And bring them to the fold

May we woo the bride of Christ.

To the end,

Nathan

The Importance of Backing up Files: Yes, I'm One of Those

2010-03-29T20:57:00.005-04:00

I'm busy editing away at The Guardian's Tree but here's a quick post to tell you one of the most important rules of writing that may seem different.

Back up your files.

Every....single....day.

You may be one of those kind of people that read stuff like this and then think, "Oh, what an irresponsible person. I would never lose my files, my computer is never going to crash" and so on and so forth.

Yeah, I was one of those too.

And then I lost TGT.

It all started...somewhere, I'm not sure where, but I lost my flash drive that contained the entire, single, completed draft of my novella. Not only was it the one completed draft, it was the only draft containing any editing. Oh, and did I mention that I only had 2,000 words left to edit on this draft?

Needless to say, I was crushed.

Thankfully I had emailed out half of the edited novella to a friend and so I was able to grab that. At least I wouldn't have to rewrite the whole thing. But I would still need to redo the ending--the most challenging part of this story.

So I searched and searched for my drive, still haven't found it.

I gave up for the time being and began searching my computer for old, scraped, files. And after a while I found an older completed draft.

Whew.

But essentially, I'm having to re-edit half the story.

Imagine though if I hadn't emailed my file, or if I hadn't accidentally saved a back up long ago. That would be a tragedy.

Moral of the blog post: Back up your files--every five minutes.

Starlighter - Bryan Davis - Book Review

2010-03-27T21:04:00.007-04:00

So if you follow Christian Fantasy, especially teen Christian Fantasy, the name Bryan Davis ought not be a new one to you. Author of fifteen or so books including bestselling series Dragons in Our Midst, Oracles of Fire, and Echoes from the Edge, Mr. Davis has made quite the name for himself.

Recently he has started a new series entitled Dragons of Starlight. In this story world there will be, I believe, four books for teens and two books for adults. The adult series is to be published with AMG Publishers beginning with Masters and Slayers. The teen series begins with Starlighter, to be released next month.

Those who pre-ordered/won copies of the book received the book early and, as I was one of those people, I have decided to write an in depth review of the book.

From the Back Cover

Dragons are enslaving humankind and a black egg signals the end of the world. Jason Masters must journey to another realm and join forces with a slave girl named Koren to rescue the captives and save two worlds from destruction. What if the Legends Are True? Jason Masters doubted the myths: people taken through a portal to another realm and enslaved by dragons. But when his brother is taken, he must uncover the truth and find the portal before it's too late. Once he's through the portal, he meets Koren, a slave in the dragons' realm, who struggles to destroy a black egg prophesied to doom all mankind. Jason and Koren must work together to save their two worlds before the dragons learn that their secrets have been discovered. In Starlighter, bestselling author Bryan Davis masterfully weaves fantasy and inspiration into a captivating novel for young adults.

Plot
Personally, I found the plot thoroughly enjoyable. Who doesn't enjoy stories of other worlds? Dragons? Fantasy period? The story was fast paced and exciting. But some basic story elements were a first for Bryan Davis. For one, the dragons in this tale were evil. The villains were the creatures we came to love in his previous series. Secondly, none of this tale takes place on earth, and in the story world earth is nonexistent. Finally, I thought a lot of creativity went into this plot. Nothing came across cheesy, as things did in some of his other works, and in fact I was surprised by many of the fantasy elements in Starlighter.

Characters
The story has five or so main characters (two girls, two boys, enemy dragons) and I found them to be quite real. Each one has a very distinct personality, to the point that if you presented me with a line or two of dialogue, I could tell you which character spoke it. In this I believe Mr. Davis succeeded. However, I did not feel a serious connection with any of the characters. I identified with them, but because there were 4 heroes, two main villain-ish characters, and a deep plot, I do not think Mr. Davis had the time to create the connection. Keep in mind, however, that this is the first of a longer series, so I expect to gain that intimacy later. My favorite character was one that kept me on the edge the whole time, I am still analyzing his actions.

Writing Quality
Mr. Davis is a very well rounded storyteller. Exempting one or two points the dialogue was excellent, the detail was spot on, and the flow was perfect. As I said, I found a line of seemingly contrived dialogue and I was hazy on details in one particular scene, but overall the writing was wonderful.

Theme
The theme of this story is perhaps my favorite part of the book. The allegorical aspects are flooring and worded in my favorite way. Of course, I may be biased because of its similarities to my novella. :-P The theme was this one: the world is lost and needs delivering; though some will refuse bring the Lost Ones home. Beautiful if you ask me.

Conclusion
The story ended on a cliff-hanger of sorts. Some serious questions were left unanswered and I am dying to know their conclusion. Some things worth noting: I was a bit lost at the beginning of the book, terms were being thrown around that I didn't know the meaning of (and still don't) but that may just be because of my limited vocabulary, once the story really began things became easier to follow. Basic positive elements include: sacrifice, brotherly love, love between friends, non-romantic companionship between boys and girls, honorable men and women, loving adults, clearly defined good and evil. And I was going to put negative elements...but I can't think of any :P I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Highly recommended.

Be sure to check out the book trailer as well as Bryan Davis's website, blog, and the national tour schedule. Also, Mr. Davis is hosting a huge contest! See his blog for details! Zondervan will be hosting a contest shortly as well.
To buy the book from the author click here!
From Amazon, click here!

CCC Part Three - Evil is Good Evily

2010-03-16T13:03:00.014-04:00

Most of you know that I am currently working on editing my novella, The Guardian's Tree. If you would like to read the basic plot of the story you can find it here. That, along with numerous other things, has kept me away from my blog. Until now of course.

Oh, and this isn't like the typical CCC Posts. Mainly because it's not entirely about characters. You can let me know what you think after reading though ;)

Presently, as I type the first half of this post, I am sitting at a school computer at uh....school. I have less than 2,000 words left to edit and one awesome ending to pound in there. Odds are that I will not complete the edits until tonight or tomorrow but I am so near the finish line either way.

A topic is repeatably brought up in the story, or at least near the end it is. It was also touched on in the last book I read by Ted Dekker, Red. And this topic is the idea of evil.

Evil, temptation, and the ability to overcome or fall to it.

This is just a quick post, I'm rather busy and have church coming up here soon. But let's take a look at evil for a moment. I consider it a very important part of any epic-like story.

Evil must be evil
Evil must be challenging, powerful
Evil must be motivated
Evil must be tempting
Evil must be evil (yes I repeated)

I consider this pretty important. A story needs to be real, and evil is a very real part of this world. Plus, any good story needs a purpose and without evil there is very little purpose that I find...attracting to read about.

Evil must be evil. Sounds strange right? But in popular fantasy and aspiring fantasy this is not true for one reason or another. Writers seem to forget the true world that they are to be representing, the human condition they are to retell, and create a very different atmosphere.

Evil needs to be portrayed as evil. Essentially, this means that if there is evil in your story, as there must be, then it must be shone for what it is--evil. This means, no blurry lines. A lot of popular writings out there have begun to blur good and evil. The characters no longer struggle against evil, but the readers do. I enjoy reading, and writing, stories with great contrast between the two. You can't write gray areas. Sure you can have a character here and there in a gray space, but the true evil and true good cannot be mixed.

"...what fellowship has light with darkness?"

Mixing the two.....is a no-no in my opinion.

Another thing common among aspiring writers, I've been guilty of this, is that the evil is too easy. Good too easily overcomes its enemy. We get so caught up in furthering the story, our eyes set on our hero's prize, that we often forget to...well keep our characters away from victory.

When I was younger I had this problem in battles. Good army against Bad army. Good army never lost, always kicked Bad army's tail. Huge victories. Good never fails! WOOHOO

Which, of course, is ridiculous.

Not only does this provide for a terrible story, it isn't true. First, who wants to read a story with no challenge? I don't. Plus, good doesn't always win up front in life. It requires a struggle. And readers enjoy that struggle.

I look at it this way: Good stories are those in which good people come up against impossible challenges and overcome them. Essentially, there should be no way for your hero to win. I mean....it should be impossible. I try and try and try to write situations like these where your protag is backed into a corner with zero options. If you can get your character there, congratulations. Of course...you'll need to find a way out, but you get the picture.

Don't let your hero away unscathed. Make him pay for it.

Now combining the two you could have a straightforward evil force. But...this force is just evil, and with no motivation. I think I discussed this in the original CCC post. I will reiterate: evil needs a motive. Your readers need to hate the evil, despise it, but the evil needs to make sense. Satan has a motive--pride. So that's a simple one to copy if you need a starting point ;)

Temptation is my next point.

This isn't so much a requirement as it is something I find interesting. This goes in hand with the "powerful" thing. Defeating evil can't be too easy. And evil is often alluring.

In The Guardian's Tree, my novella, evil and sin are represented by monstrous creatures called Damans as well as by chains and torture. The allure doesn't have to make total sense to your reader per say, so long as it makes sense that the hero would be tempted. In TGT the...more human-like protragonist sets out to rescue captives. His goal is to set those bound by chains free. He reaches his destination when a "superior" Daman lands and begins addressing his fellows. Here is a short excerpt of his temptation:

Its gruff voice rang out. “Today is the day of reckoning. The Tree Guardian and his precious flower will be uprooted.” It flapped its wings and brought them to its side. “And my praises will be sung throughout Hethra.”

Its beady eyes swept its followers’ then made contact with Abarron’s. His heart leapt into his throat. The cries of the dying, the rescued, and the Damans faded. He could hear only his heartbeat, his rapidly speeding heartbeat. The whispery voice shook him to the core.

“Abarron…”

His heart pounded and his mind filled with doubt. He couldn’t do this. He slid his foot forward and kicked something metal.

“Abarron…”

His face chilled. Goosebumps seized his flesh. Bloodied chains rested on his foot.

“Come back…Abarron.”

Of course, that scene hasn't been edited...and it will be longer (it's a newer scene that I'm working on), but I think the idea still remains.

Writing that section, in context...there's a lot more to it that adds to the terror here, I was horrified. Abarron is strangely attracted to these chains, as will be tacked on later. Here we see his terror, and fear leads to tempation and failure.

But isn't that strange? He is attracted to the very thing he flees, chains. And an eerie desire to strap himself down again arises.

This is the type of temptation evil brings.

And I ended with evil must be evil. Essentially, don't sugar coat things to please people. In the end, you're only hurting the story.

So that's all I've got for now. What are your thoughts?

To the end,
Nathan

The Vertical Self - by Mark Sayers

2010-03-06T17:12:00.004-05:00

Recently I had the opportunity to read an incredible book by a man named mark Sayers. I thought I'd post my review for it. Enjoy!

Our culture has driven us insane. So much so, we haven't even noticed it. We were created in God's very own image. And in Mark Sayer's book, The Vertical Self, he not only proclaims this drastic identity crisis, he provides an accessible solution through Christ Jesus. Find your identity in Christ, and you will never be in crisis.

The book begins defining where our culture is at, and what "the vertical self" means. The idea is simple really, those with a vertical sense of self find their identity vertically. At the top is God and eternal reward, the middle is yourself and earth, and the bottom is eternal punishment and Hell. Such people identify who they are as the image of God.

The second sense of self is horizontal. The horizontal self has no standard to hold itself to save other peers, who also have a horizontal sense of self.

Sayers challenges those saved and unsaved to come back to who we were meant to be. Find out who were truly are. To stop changing our identity to please others and become, once again, the image bearers of God. And that this doesn't require otherworldly saintness, giving up our desires, etc. All that is needed is subjecting our desires and person under the Lordship of Christ. Holiness. And to be holy is to be whole.

I loved this book. It's changed the way I think and look at things in a more godly manner I believe. The way Sayers spoke encouraged me and made things clear and simple. This is something every Christian needs to be reminded of. We are the IMAGE OF CHRIST. So we need to start living like it.

Read this book and prepare to be changed. God worked in big ways with this book, for me at least. I trust He can do the same for you.

Live life to the fullest. Become who you were made to be.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Guardian's Tree: Finished!

2010-02-16T18:49:00.010-05:00

Those of you who have been watching the sidebar of my blog may have noticed that under my list of projects is a novella entitled The Guardian's Tree. I was struck with the idea a few weeks ago and it was one of those ideas that when you get them...you just have to write them.

I grabbed the first writable surface and scribbled down the image that came to my mind: an old man guarding a tree. I'm no artist, and so the original sketch looked like the photo above.

Pretty detailed huh? lol But that was the image that hit me. I was thinking over something someone had said to me earlier, either my preacher or Creative Writing teacher...not sure which one. But they had mentioned the band U2's album Joshua Tree.

I've been in this thing recently where I think up ideas based off of song titles and lyrics and so when I was thinking of Joshua Tree I was buried by an idea.

What if I wrote a story literally about Joshua's Tree?

I took the title and made it an allegory.

And then it all struck me. I literally think the basic plot was inspired. It all came at once.

I envisioned a Tree guarded by one man and his double-edged sword. And then I pictured five shining stones circling about the Tree in the air. [see above for a similar image] And then came this image:

I think you can click to see the image larger. The camera wasn't taking the pics right anyhow.

What that is, is a large dead tree. People are chained to its roots, and bat-creatures with whips are tormenting them, and one man is trying to escape.

Those two images hit me like a freight train and I just had to write them. These stick figures were drawn on my church bulletin LOL. I literally ran out of the sanctuary while we were singing to get a pen. Then I jotted down the images and a brief explanation.

I had heard that Flaming Pen Press was going to be opening for novellas soon, or it was at least rumored, and I got really excited. This idea was definitely a novella/novelette idea. Too long to be a short story, too short to be a novel.

And then, of course, the company's owner Scott Appleton came and spoke at my school. And all that kind of awesomeness.

So not only did the idea seem inspired, it appeared destined to be published as well [Please note it's not yet been contracted. But FPP has asked me to submit].

So I threw my novel aside and got to work on the novella. And now, a week or so later, I have finished it. All 13,000-ish words.

So what is it about? I know, hope...beg....plead, some of you are asking that now :) Glad you asked (or at least read the question)! Here is my teaser written in about two seconds:

In the dark world of Hethra there are two trees. One tree is living, the other is dead. The living tree is tucked away in darkness, guarded by the only man who knows it. The dead tree is enormous and all of humanity is chained to its roots, tortured day in and day out by evil bat-like Damans. The living tree is the only light this world has and it is the only hope humanity has for deliverance. And so the Damans hunt it. And so the man, bearing a double-edged sword, protects it. When a captive escapes into his chamber the man is faced with task of freeing the captives. He must.

A chamber of darkness. A double-edged sword. Damans. And two opposing Trees.

This is the tale of the Guardian’s Tree.

If any of you are interested you can read the opening scene here.

Let me know what you think of the idea and the scene!

To the end,
Nathan

CCC Part Two - Spiritual Guide

2010-02-03T21:26:00.029-05:00

[This is the second post of a series. See introductory post and previous one]

So what do we have so far? We have our hero, our villain, and our hero's best bud. Who comes next? Our hero is setting out to quite the impossible task. He doesn't quite know where he's going, and all he has is a fat gardener to aide him. Who is going to save him from the Black Riders? From the White Witch? From Dragon Slayers and bullies and all forms of evil?

In times of dire need, often early on in the story, our heroes are rescued by spiritual-guides/mentors. They can't defend themselves on their own; they need someone to save them.

And thus our Guides, Mentors, and/or Wizards are introduced.

First we need to establish the basic qualities of these characters. Almost all stories have them, especially fantasy questing tales.

Previously known to the hero
Older
Mysterious
Wise
Powerful
Honorable

So these are the common traits. I'm going to dissect a few different characters in this post. Mainly Gandalf (Lord of the Rings), Aslan (Chronicles of Narnia), and Mr. Miyagi (Karate Kid). I think these three combined hit the nail on the head here.

Picture each of the heroes in these stories. Frodo and Sam, Peter and his family, and Daniel.

In The Lord of the Rings Frodo grows up thinking of Gandalf as the neighborhood fireworks master. He is filled with joy at the site of his cart full of bombs rolling along Hobbiton. Gandalf is here! He's going to blow some things up!

But that is the only reason he knows and likes Gandalf.

Early on it is made clear that Gandalf will be a central leader in the story. But to Frodo Baggins, he is just a common traveler. He trusts Gandalf on account of his uncle's stories and his own experiences with the wizard. It is very important that these Guides are known to the hero.

Generally these guides are portrayed as storytellers or the like. Examples are Brom from the Inheritance Cycle, Rafiki from Lion King, etc. I think the storyteller thing works simply because storytellers can be easily written deep and mysterious, and make it believable.

To guide someone you need to be trusted by that person. And generally you cannot be trusted if you are a stranger. It seems common, and logical, that a hero's spiritual guide is already a friend of the hero before the adventure begins.

In this way the two can strengthen each other, as friends and as mentor and student.

Now let's look at Mr. Miyagi. For those of you who do not know, Mr. Miyagi is an older Asian man that knows karate. Daniel LaRouso is being beat, nearly to death, by some martial-artist bullies. And just as he passes out Mr. Miyagi leaps over a fence and kicks the bullies' tails.

This man definitely is not in his twenties, but he sure has the power to shut anybody up. He demonstrates this time and time again throughout the course of the movie--ultimately training Daniel and then saving his chance at winning the Karate Tournament.

Daniel looks to him as a father, because he does not have one. And from Mr. Miyagi he learns quite a bit, not only about Karate.

This happens to a lot of characters. They are given a guide by the story and the guide's purpose is to help them on their quest. But in the end the guides have done much more; often times they have strengthened the hero's character and perspective on life.

So not only must the Guides help the hero through his quest, they must help him in his life.

As Mr. Miyagi said:

Better learn balance. Balance is key. Balance good, karate good. Everything good. Balance bad, better pack up, go home. Understand?

And then later:

Lesson not just karate only. Lesson for whole life. Whole life have a balance. Everything be better. Understand?

Miyagi uses his role as quest-guide to teach Daniel important things about life. Thus we have called them Spiritual Guides, or mentors.

This is probably the most important trait about them. If your guides don't have this, toss them. The Hero must learn throughout the quest, not only skills with a blade, but how to live life. And it's these mysterious wizards that teach them.

Mystery is the next important part to these Spiritual Leaders.

Every good story does this it seems.

Think of Aslan. Peter and company have just entered Narnia. And all of a sudden their brother runs off. He could freeze to death or worse.

And the beavers tell them what about their brother? He's a goner and:

Only Aslan can save your brother now.

This stirs up great mystery. And though the children don't know the lion as a lion, the fact that he will be able to save their brother gives them reason to trust him. As Peter follows:

Then take us to him.

And so every meeting with Aslan stirs mystery. Especially when they finally meet him, only to find that he is not a knight in shining armor, rather, he is a lion.

The thing I like about Aslan and Gandalf, is that they remain a mystery throughout the entire story. Never are their origins made clear. Gandalf's story can only be found in the preludes and Aslan's can be guessed.

That's the mystery I want to write.

Well this post is running long so I'll make it quick.

The guides need the power to protect the hero. For example, Miyagi's karate skills, Gandalf and his staff and ring, Aslan and his...well godliness.

If your guide is weak, your hero will be weak.

And in order to teach your hero they must be wise. Let's end on a great line of wisdom from Gandalf. Makes me jump out of my seat every time:

End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path... One that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass... And then you see it. ... White shores... and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise.

That's what a guide needs to be. Ferocious as a lion, gentle as a kitten, and wiser than the darkness.

Covers, Pre-Readers, and Chick Flicks - A Random Post

2010-01-23T12:42:00.016-05:00

So what do the following things have in common?

Book Covers
Pre-Readers
Chick-Flicks

Er...nothing. Which is why this is a random blog post! Woohoo!

If I had to say that there was something in common it'd be that these three things have all played a part in my past week. All three are pretty awesome lol.

First off, I'm sure most of you know who teen author Jacob Parker is. I talk about him quite a bit on my blog, creepy I know, and this past week his novel Kestrel's Midnight Song (due out December 2010 - Spring 2011) received its first bit of cover art!!

Head on over to The Yodeling Dwarf to see this awesome work of art.

I've read the first couple chapters of Kestrel's Midnight Song and Jacob writes exceptionally well. If that cover sketch doesn't grab you read the prologue and you'll be hooked.

But I'd like to focus on the cover today. Let me make one thing clear--that is only a sketch, and that alone would convince be to buy the book.

Cover art is extremely important in the writing world, especially for newbie authors. "Don't judge a book by its cover" sounds really nice and pretty, but everyone does it. Raise your hands if you have. I do it.

I typically judge first by title and then by cover/back summary. But here's what a cover has to do/be for it to interest me;

Nicely Drawn (duh)
Mysterious
Different
Set the book apart from others

I think Jacob's cover covers all of these things. And it's not even finished yet! The dragon/bird/griffin creature is called an Aegre Bird and is half bird/half dragon. When it is done it will likely be a reddish color. Pretty sweet right?

The sketch is drawn very well. So the finished product will likely be incredible. The Aegre bird is super mysterious, one of the coolest original creatures ever. And naturally, being an original creature, it is different and sets it apart.

So I really like it lol

How about you? What are your favorite covers? What makes a book have a good cover? What does "good cover" even mean? And are covers even important? Why or why not?

Some more big news. Do you all remember Scott Appleton? He visited my school not too long ago (see blog post) and there I bought his first book--Swords of the Six (also with an awesome cover).

Well the sequel, Offspring, will be coming out in the spring of 2011 and Scott asked me to pre-read it!

I am super excited! I've only ever pre-read one novel before and it was a blast. I expect a lot out of Offspring. Swords of the Six rocked my socks and, as my review says, I know it was only the beginning to a much larger and epic series.

Now with pre-reading comes reader reviews/endorsements. Whether or not Scott wants me to write one or not I'm not sure yet. But I'm curious, do you read endorsements? Do they mean anything to you?

And last night I went and saw that movie Leap Year with some friends of mine.

Yeah, it was a chick flick. But there was this really cool Irish guy.

How can you not like a movie where there are lots of people with Irish accents? I mean come on! It's awesome!

But yeah, the story was good too :)

So what do you guys think? Covers? Pre-readers? Chick flicks?

Bring it on.

CCC Part One - Loyal Sidekick

2010-01-12T12:42:00.024-05:00

Do you remember that old post called "Characteristics of Characters and Their Character?" I promised then that I'd do a series on the different types of characters and so now, drum roll please, we are ready to ......................... begin!

Aside from, of course. the main character, touched on in the original post, the loyal sidekick is perhaps the most important in my eyes. These characters are always my favorites--Samwise Gamgee, Walter Foley, R2D2 (kinda a stretch), etc--and being such I hope to write them well and enjoy when they are written well.

I know the Lord of the Rings story pretty well, and Tolkien wrote this character very good in my opinion, so let's go with Samwise Gamgee, gardener to the main character Frodo Baggins.

When he is first introduced into the story Sam is portrayed as a hilarious fat hobbit (as Gollum notices ;) ) without a care in the world. But it is made very clear that no matter what dangers lie ahead Sam will never leave Frodo and that he'd be there when all of Middle-Earth crashed around them.

"I made a promise Mr. Frodo. 'Don't you leave him Samwise Gamgee' and I don't mean to!"

Man, I love these kind of characters. This little gardener has no clue what is coming ahead. He can't even comprehend the little that Fordo knows, and yet he very clearly is committing to stay at his side--his servant and friend.

These characters are incredibly loyal.

This trait is shown pretty well in the movies when Fordo sends Sam away. Sam retreats for a bit but then chases after his master upon finding that he is in danger.

And that brings us to another important point.

Loyal Sidekicks are filled with courage when their friend comes into danger.

So you have a hobbit gardener. He's good for what? Trimming the bushes? But when a nazgul or an orc messes with his Master Frodo you'd better watch out--this fat hobbit is about to get feisty.

Good friend characters do that. They risk their lives blindly for the sake of their comrade.

Sam demonstrates this a number of times. Especially in ROTK when Frodo is taken by Shelob and then later the orcs of the Cirith Ungul. He's filled with courageous wrath and takes down the spider and the warriors. First for Frodo and then for his people.

The other good thing that they are for is comic relief.

Come on, who doesn't love a bit of humor? Regardless of how serious the story is, readers/viewers often need a good dosage of humor. The main characters do as well, and these best-friend-types are great for that kind of thing.

Say it with me--"PO-TA-TOES"

Now here comes the two most important things, in my opinion, that these characters can do.

Remind the hero of what they're fighting for
Carry the hero

Heroes often become distressed in their situations--who can blame them?--and, in many stories, are tempted to give up the quest all together. When all hope is lost there is only one person in all the story world that can give them hope, and that is their best friend--their Sam Gamgee.

This is VERY important to me. Hope is what drives people, even in the real world ;). And so when the hero looses faith, as they often do, they must recover their hope or else fail altogether.

Here's a good example, again from Sam;

Do you remember the Shire, Mr. Frodo? It'll be spring soon and the orchards will be in blossom, and the birds will be nesting in the hazel thicket. And the whistle in the summer barley in the Lower fields. And eating the first of the strawberries with cream. Do you remember the taste of strawberries?

They are standing on Mount Doom. The end of the world has come--all hope is lost. Their strength has run out and the Ring is bearing down on Frodo more than he can bear. There is only one thing now that can give him strength. Not the rescuing of Gondor, not the safety of Gandalf, Merry, Pippin, or anyone else. Not even the saving of his own life, for to him it is already lost. No...what he was willing to climb that mountain for only Sam knew.

The Shire.

And so that passion was ignited with his words.

But the ring bore down so hard. The pain of the quest, the sorrows the hero had faced, the misery, the lost, the darkness, and all things that are evil caused our hero to lose hope. He'd come to terms with reality--evil would win. Fear had taken over.

No, Sam. I can't recall the taste of food, nor the sound of water, nor the touch of grass. I'm naked in the dark. There's nothing--no veil between me and the wheel of fire. I can see him with my waking eyes.

And it is when the hero can no longer move himself, can no longer bear to stand, that the loyal friend must step in.

I can't carry It for you, Mr. Frodo, but I can carry you!

That is the purpose of these characters. And if you're like me, it makes you cry and draw swords when you read/hear those words.

These loyal "sidekicks" are the real heroes, without them the "heroes" wouldn't have made it as far as they did. These guys/girls are inspiring, to me. I want to be a Sam to my friends, and I long for friends like that.

I don't know about you...but I want to write characters like this. Loyal, courageous, encouraging, loving, characters.

So...what do you think? lol

New New Year Resolutions

2010-01-04T21:26:00.013-05:00

Once upon a time a crazy lady thought up the idea of doing new year resolutions. If you do not know what these incredibly painful things are, I will explain them to you.

New Year's Resolutions typically fall in one of the following categories;

Starving yourself to death
Shutting out the joyous wonders of an Oreo McFlurry's
Sweating large amounts of liquids so that you can loose much of your natural body
And running in circle

As you can see (especially by the first one) these are horrible, horrible, ideals. Why would anyone on earth want to try and make something similar to them? You don't understand? I know, me either. They are EVIL.

So I thought that I would try and be different and actually make a resolution possible to follow through with and one that will not cause me any pain and misery at all (as sweating, starving, and resisting ice-cream would do). It is very plain, simple, boring perhaps. But it is definitely the better choice from among the options.

Finish my novel.

For me, this is a simple goal to reach. In fact, I go so far as to say that if it is NOT finished by the end of January. I will give myself two additional weeks, in which ALL I will do is write. Should I somehow fail, I will do nothing but type over Spring break.

That's the plan of action, and hopefully it will not go so far as Spring Break. I do plan to finish this month. It will be done :)

It's the start of the new decade, and so I thought maybe I'd make some decade-ial resolutions. Again, plain and simple.

Publish, and promote, Redemption's Journey. Ten years is a long while. There's not a doubt in my mind that it will happen. Hopefully more will be completed and published as well.

Yeah it is a big dream. But I do think it could happen. You have got to aim at the moon right?

That being said, what are YOUR resolutions? The start of a new decade. New year. New Month. New day. What's the plan? Let's hear it.

And no Anti-McFlurry cultists :P

Endurance and Victory! - Part Two

2009-12-29T20:04:00.011-05:00

I have been so busy as of late that it seems I've begun neglecting my blog. As most of you can probably understand I've had Christmas family stuff to deal with, a short family crisis, as well as simple time to write and be with the family. Here is the promised Endurance and Victory Post (though not the one I expected) and coming soon might be a third part as well as the series on types of characters.

I talk to many aspiring writers, quite a few of which are my friends in real life. They stick with writing for months, sometimes even a full year, and then just quit. They grow tired, or loose interest. This is my greatest fear--that I may by some means loose interest in my current project or in writing in general.

I've gone through many obsessions in life. Being a kid, I often have "phases" of one thing or another. While I was REALLY small I was in love with Batman. All I ever wanted to do and to be was Batman. I never took off the costume, refused to answer to "Nathan" (only to "Batman"), and I even recall praying that I would miraculously be transformed into Batman. But what came with this obsession was the nagging fear that I would someday lose this feeling and become interested in something else.

More recently (as in a few years ago) my obsession was Star Wars. This went on from the time I was seven years old until two years ago. I really liked it. I bought all the toys, had all the video games, and had mastered the ways of the light-saber. I practiced dueling all day everyday until I could out fight kids nearly ten years my elder. I named myself Nathan Light-walker and, once again, refused to answer to anything save "Master Light-walker". I wrote a 100 page novel, at the age of 10, about Light-walker and how he and his jedi buddies saved Yoda from the clutches of the Dark Side. I fell in love with the Lego version of my favorite characters, and then the Lego Star Wars Video Game. And I remember clear as day thinking "I hope this love never dies out."

And then came my obsession with writing.

In all of my obsessions I've feared losing the obsession. These times came when I found a lack of productivity in them, or a lack of their use.

As of late, I've found myself very busy and very unable to write. This inactive state is adding to my fear that I may loose interest in writing. The funny thing is, I am writing WAYYY more than I used to and yet I still feel like I'm not doing enough. Why?

Because I'm only writing in short spurts.

Every other day or so I sit down with the plan to write for one, maybe two, hour(s). And recently I've only been able to keep at it for one hour and then knocking out half as many words as usual. On a normal day I can write 1,500-2,000 words an hour, but the trend for the past couple months has been only about 300-400 words. And its bothering me like crazy.

Have you ever felt like this? Gotten discouraged because you are not doing as well as you previously have done? It's not fun.

So I try to re-encourage myself (yes I made up that word) in any number of ways: I'll chat with other writers, take a break and read for a while, do push-ups, shut off the computer, or anything else that might help infuse me with energetic creativity.

Some would call this Writer's Block. I don't. To me, it's just that I can't seem to find the story-world. I don't write in a way that Writer's Block implies to me. It seems that the term "Writer's Block" would mean that a writer is trying to create such and such and simply can't. I don't feel like that. I know, very well, what happened to my characters. But in this time right now, I can't find my characters in order to represent the events accurately.

When I call a day of writing good, the words and actions of my characters flow easily. I don't even have to think. What the characters say, they say, and what they do, they do. It's easy when things come like that. But what I consider my own version of "writer's block", and what I'm at now, I find myself forcing the characters to my will. And when I do that, well, I don't produce as much or as good of a story as I do when it comes naturally.

So as writing buddy Christian Miles said on my previous "Endurance" post, I often tuck my head and run through a scene. I just don't like to do this though, and I am not a fan of skipping ahead in my stories. I either skip backwards or not at all. I just don't like skipping ::laughs::

What I'd like readers of this post to do, is to comment with some ideas on how to get out of a rut. When you are having a bad day of writing, what do you do? Because lately, I've just been quitting and waiting for better days. As you can imagine, this isn't a good idea.

I know this idea of being "stuck in a rut" has become rather repetitive on this blog for the past couple posts, but I'd like to think its something every writer struggles with. If not, I guess that just makes me even more special :)

Stuff for you guys to look forward to;

"Characters' Character" Series
"Party Till Midnight!"
"New New Year's Resolutions!"
"Endurance and Victory! - Part Three"
A link to the working prelude of The Sword of Fire

I hope you all had wonderful Christmases, I know I did. I am so upset that I didn't get to blog on Christmas Day. I had an awesome idea that I wanted to run with, if enough of you want me to blog it I will. The title would have been Silent Night *Cue Thunder, Lightning, and Battle*

And since that is over: Have a happy new year!

To the end,
Nathan

Part Two is Completed!

2009-12-23T17:25:00.009-05:00

The dwarf king walked next to Tarth and smiled up at him. He leaned forward and whispered. “Thank you.”

The Prince’s lips turned up at the corners and he nodded. “It is the King that redeems, not I.”

“But through the willingness of His servants the Most High does mighty things.” The Jreen of the dwarves let a smile fill his face, swelling with a joyous pride. He turned back to his people. “And by their hands the nations will praise Him.”

The above is a quote from the second of three parts in my novel. And it is found in the final chapter. I think it sums up the theme of the section nicely--that God uses His servants in mighty ways.

I am so excited! As many of you know I've been writing the novel for nearly five years. And in all this time I've only passed the middle section of the novel once, and that was the first draft. Part Two is a newer addition to the story and consists mainly of an epic battle and preparation for said battle. It was awesome to write and I trust will be awesome to read once edits have been done.

Part three begins the climax of the story, as well as the slowing down. The whole story leading up to this point has been the main characters trying to rescue the main main character's sister. Thus, Part Three is entitled "The Lost is Found" and I have not had a chance to visit this section in many the year. And I am SOOOO excited.

Part three means a lot to me. It's the end of the story, the completion of the quest (completion of this tale, maybe not contentment for the characters however. "Lost" doesn't have to mean the guy's sister ;) ). It's my favorite part of the novel. And it signifies one thing;

The end.

The day I will be able to type those words for the last time will be a grand day indeed.

I cannot imagine what it must feel like to have a completed manuscript and be satisfied with it. To be ready to send it out to publishers, agents, and editors. Man, that's gotta be an awesome feeling.

How many of you have finished a manuscript? How many look forward to it? I know I do.

The other thing that comes to mind with this is how to end the novel. I have a pretty sweet ending if I say so myself but I'm curious--what makes a good ending? There are two kinds of novels--series novels and standalones. So for series, how should they end? Standalones? I'm curious. I have my own ideas, of course, but as always I'd love to hear from you :)

The end. (or is it? o.O )

'Tis the Season to be Random! Falala-etc.

2009-12-19T12:16:00.008-05:00

Christmas time is here! Woohoo! Friday was my last day at school, for which I am more than grateful, and I'm finally on Christmas Break. Over the next few weeks I plan to write and finish my novel (we'll see how that comes out lol) as well as work on some things for Wayne Batson's Tribe Building Game. In the meantime however, there's some serious business to be taken care of.

Christmas lights.

Probably the most important part of the year--the lighting contest between my siblings. The idea is that each of my siblings (there's four of us) get the same amount and types of lights (except for my one brother Stephen...he gets the "special" lights) and we decorate our rooms. I personally prefer the technique of locking the door, setting the alarm, setting extra precautions (as in placing a close hanger on the lock and then setting it to my light switch, effectively keeping the door from unlocking), and then finally pushing the chair up to the door, and begin my work.

This year I crushed the competition, and I'll show you why. Or rather, you can look back up at the picture and SEE why.

I wrapped my lights in and out of my Tae-kwon-do trophies and then circled my headrest. The remaining lights from the trophies I strung across the room and to the furthest window. As you can probably see.

It's awesome.

So, here's the list of randomness for the week--it's been far too long since my last random post.

1. I hung the lights
2. I finished reading Christopher Hopper's AWESOME book The Lion Vrie. [See my review on Stories for the King shortly]
3. I completed Part Two of my novel!
4. I made plans for the ACFW Conference!

The Brave is Found, being the second part of The Sword of Fire, was completed just the other day. And it is one awesome section. The entire 30,000 words is mainly battle, which to me is pretty sweet. And I hope a lot of you get the chance to read it someday.

Also, in reference to writing the ACFW Writer's Conference will be held in Indianapolis this year. I read this and literally shouted for joy, "YESSSSSSS!" I've been dying to go to a conference for a ridiculously long time. And finally I will be able to attend one. But this isn't just ANY conference....the ACFW ones are the BEST conferences for my genre. And so I am so excited :)

That's all for now. Just a big batch of randomness.

I'm looking forward to my Christmas post :) As well as some updates on my magazine story.

Enjoy;

Author Scott Appleton Visits!

2009-12-15T20:45:00.017-05:00

Hey guys! So I had a unique opportunity today, a chance not many get very often. My school was visited by an author in my field of writing. Mr. Scott Appleton author of the novel Swords of the Six spoke today in first my creative writing class and then during my last two periods. And let me tell you, I had an awesome time.

Mr. Appleton is a well known author and owner of the publishing company Flaming Pen Press. He came to our school to promote Swords of the Six and also to talk to us about his writing life and what he's learned along his own writing journey.

I for one learned a lot from him, and was very impressed. Mr. Appleton knows his craft. I wish I had been able to tape his whole presentation but here is a brief statement he made in my Creative Writing Class. Yes I know the camera isn't steady, and it makes a loud noise when it zooms in and out, and I know that the clip I caught makes no sense, and yadayadayada. I'm a failure :P Enjoy the clip.

So yes, an awful clip. But there was a lot of cool things discussed in that class.

One of my friends asked this question, "If you are trying to publish something, at what point do you give up? And how do you know when you've reached that point?"

To which Scott replied, "You don't give up."

You see, there are a lot of writers out there that simply "like" writing. They don't love it, they don't have to write. To them writing is just something they think is fun. But they don't need to do it. To many writers, often the ones who get published, writing is like breathing. The writers that will continue writing even if they don't ever get published are the writers that will find what they seek. These are the authors that make the bestseller lists.

Because if you love something, you are going to want to learn everything about it. If you love God, you will learn about Him. If you love sports, you will practice. And if you love writing, you will study the craft and practice what needs be done to succeed. Writing is like music, it's like sports, and it's like everything else. Writing is a craft, an art. And so practice does in fact make perfect. The more you read, the more you write, the better you will get. Eventually, you will have created a piece worthy of publication.

That theme seemed to carry that class a bit. I was only present for one of the two classes Scott talked to, but I imagine something similar went on.

Other things discussed included writer's block (how to avoid it), what writing style seems best (third person limited, third person omniscient, first person, etc), paths to take toward publication, and simply that theme of endurance. Run the race. If you love it, the race will be of no difficulty.

So then I had to go back to class. Thankfully, Scott's visit was not yet over. Dixie had planned for him to speak to the whole school. And while this did not exactly happen, Scott did end up speaking to around 100 kids. It was a fair enough turn out, and I imagine sales of SOTS weren't all that bad.

At this larger presentation Scott dwelt more on his own book rather than writing at first. He explained how he ended up writing Swords of the Six and not its squeal Offspring first. And then he proceeded to explain how he first began his novel, which was later changed for a more action-y prelude. Either way, this is where the idea for Sword of the Dragon came from.

Once again, excuse the poor quality of the video and my own stupidity in cutting it short. But you get the gist of it I hope;

He goes on to explain how a sword was stuck up in a tree upside down, as if it had been thrust up out of the ground. The boy looks down and sees a gaping hole in the earth, and clouds inside. And so the story began.

Reading summaries and reviews it really does sound like an awesome epic of a book. Once I finish reading it, sometime during Christmas break, I'll post my own review but in the meantime check out Jacob Parker's re view and the Amazon purchasing page. Because I know how much you all want to buy it :)

Anyhow, from there he opened up the floor for people to purchase his book. And it seemed that most everyone went down. How many of them actually bought the book, I am not sure yet. But I certainly hope a good many did.

Scott also was giving away free posters and the like, which I will be hanging in my room shortly. The cover artwork for this book is amazing, and ever since the first time I saw it--maybe a year or so ago--I've wanted to read this book. Now I finally have the chance :)

After everyone had bought, or had the chance to buy, a book Scott opened up the floor for a question and answer session. The group was quiet at first, but slowly hands shot up and a good amount of questions were asked and answered.

The Q and A's were the best part for me, simply because Scott knows so much about the market of writing, how to market, and how to write. It was a very enjoyable session. We had to cut short because the next class was about to begin, or it likely would have gone on for a long time.

When I was on my way out Scott asked me to stick around for a few minutes. And by that I do believe he meant a few hours for I spent the rest of the school day, 2 hours at least, talking with he and his wife Kelley. I have to say, however, that I didn't even notice the passing of time. I was so excited, as I often am around writers lol, and interested that I simply didn't notice. It was very enjoyable. It's always nice to sit down with another writer like yourself, which are few and far between around me, and just talk. Not on a topic, but just talk. And so I thoroughly enjoyed Scott and Kelley's company.

Tomorrow the two of them will be returning to my school to set up a book stand. This is because the student body was not informed quite enough about his coming and so many were not able to buy a book. And SO many wanted to. So I'll have another chance to hang with them tomorrow.

So, is there anything you'd like me to elaborate on? How do you feel around writers who have done what you aspire to do? What kinds of questions would you ask a writer if given the chance? Anything random I haven't stated? lol

Characteristics of Characters, and their Character

2009-12-09T21:05:00.006-05:00

Hey'a readers/writers/random people! There was an overwhelming response to my last post, for which I am very thankful, and one of the topics that started being discussed was characters. What makes a good hero, villains, and where characters come from. Seeing as how this is a very good topic I thought I'd blog on it.

All stories, fiction or nonfiction, fantasy or otherwise, are about characters. Stories are about who characters are, what they want, and how they get or do not get what they want. Every story. And as characters are the most central part of any story, they are likewise the most important part of writing a story.

So what makes a good hero? There have been all types that have had success--underdogs, super-humans, average people, and probably more. What kind of traits make characters believable, and lovable?

My favorite characters and stories involve things that should never happen. Like Frodo Baggins, he's just a hobbit...there's no way he should have been able to waltz into Mount Doom and destroy the Ring. But he did.

I guess my favorite characters are the underdogs faced with impossible tasks.

And why does this resonate with us? Because we feel like them. We all feel like underdogs faced with impossible tasks at some point in our lives. And through faith in something stronger we overcome these impossibilities. These are the stories that stick with us, and the characters as well.

Here's my list of most common traits for a hero;

Loyal
Trusting
Naive
Underestimated
Innocent

It seems to me that those things make up all good heroes.

But what if you can't write like this? What if you aren't that creative (like most writers)?

Basically what I'm asking is where do you get your characters from?

Mine, in TSOF, typically come from combining characteristics of real life friends. My current project, as with most first projects, has a main character much like myself and supporting characters much like my friends. But the thing is, no one wants to read an allegory of your life--unless its really interesting. Your characters need to be new, and yet real.

This is a difficult thing to balance. Creating entirely new people. People with histories, goals, dreams, hopes, pains, weaknesses, etc.

I find it easiest to steal from real life. Write a character with a history similar to your own, or someone you know. Snag personalities from multiple persons and make this person its own. And after the personality and story is set, the goals and dreams easily fall in line.

You following me? Steal from real life. Throw people together and make a new person. Or perhaps make characters symbolic of a trait--love (make a person who's life is centered around love), loyalty (make a Sam Gamgee character), and more.

So once you have your hero, you need to pit him/her against someone. A villain.

So what makes a good villain? Villains, honestly, are many people's favorite characters. They can define a story. You can have a perfect main character, and write such a bad villain that your story will be awful.

This is a skill hard for many people. Your villains need to be just as real as your hero, perhaps even more so. They need believable motives, readers in fact do need to identify with the bad guys. Because it adds so much more depth to the story. Some of the best stories are the ones where the reader is caught between the two sides--good and evil. Loving the villain but knowing he is evil. That's the goal. Make the reader feel for the villain, or at least understand him. You don't need to write a lovable villain. But write one that makes sense.

For example, a bad story would have a villain that wants to kill the main character...simply to kill the main character. There is no purpose in killing him. He just wants to kill him.

That's a bad character. The villain needs motives, just as much as a hero.

Now, it is commonly misunderstood that villains need to be wholly evil, detestable, ugly, dressed in black, etc etc. You know the picture. Think up the most cliche villain. That's what I'm talking about.

Instead of following this trend, write a seemingly good villain, enchantingly evil, handsome, donning shinning robes. Give your reader the same feeling as the hero. Fearful, but enchanted.

Naturally this varies between stories. But there really aren't rules in writing characters--they just need to be real. Sometimes cliche's work, but not often.

Make a villain that's wretchedly evil. But make your readers like him.
Make a hero with motives your readers understand, and terrorize his life.

So, here's what I'd like to talk about. Do you agree, disagree with what I said? Do you want to hear more on any of this? How do you make up characters? What are the most important traits of a hero/villain?

If this goes well I'll do a series of posts on types of characters. Even if it doesn't I just might. I like studying that :)

So, what do you think?

A Novel Idea - Pun Intended

2009-11-30T17:02:00.005-05:00

So I was sitting in church on Sunday and was struck with a novel idea. Or rather, a series of novels. All of the novel-ly sort. The story would be somewhat of an allegory of the following books of the Bible--Ezra, Nehemiah, and a few parts of others.

Do you know the story? Maybe, maybe not...it is much lesser known. The books chronicle the events of Nehemiah, Ezra, and Zerubable (I likely spelled that wrong) as they strive to rebuild the wall, temple, and homes of Jerusalem after the Persians burned it. Anyhow, I had a neat idea for a series of books following this story line.

A few weeks before I had one of my best ideas come out of a lesson my youth pastor gave.

And Redemption's Journey came from an educational reading game in combination with my dad's explanation of LOTR.

On top of all this, in the same week, I heard about a neat idea my buddy Jacob Parker came up with from a dream.

And so I got to thinking, where do my ideas mostly come from? Where do most writers' ideas come from?

It seems to me that most of my ideas are coming out of sermons--or any other place I hear someone say something cool. Songs, teachers, anything. People spend forever coming up with just the right analogy for a presentation they are going to give and I like to steal them for story ideas. And as I look over my past as a writer, that seems to be where most of mine are coming from.

So let's get some discussion going. Where do your ideas come from? Do you have any ideas at all? If not, do you want some? Maybe you can try something somebody suggests for your next story.

Let's get chatting.

The Victor Giveaway Winner!

2009-11-29T14:42:00.003-05:00

So I just finished up the drawing for The Victor and after jotting down forty eight numbers the winner is................................

Wait for it....

Kat Heckenbach!!!

Congratulations! I'll be emailing your for your snail mail address shortly. Then you can give me personalization details for Mrs. Giron.

Let me know what you think of the book when you're finished. I think you'll really like it.

Thanks everybody who entered! And an extra thanks to those that are now following Whispered Roars. I really appreciate it. And I hope you stick around ;)

Remember guys, you can always get your hands on your own copy from Amazon.

Check out the trailer while you're at it ;)

A Royal Remnant

2009-11-26T17:41:00.010-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving Day to all of you American-type-people! I have to tell ya, I was feeling the patriotism today what with apple pie, turkey, and lots and lots of food, football, and family. I swear I could hear the National Anthem in the background. Is it just me?

Anyhow, I got to thinking (which is scary you know?) about the origins of this fattening holiday of ours. Most of you know it, and have likely heard the story time and time again. The story of the pilgrims and how they came to this new land with hopes of freedom and bla bla bla bla bla. But the writer in me took charge and started making connections.

What was this nation founded on? The United States of America. What sets it apart from any other nation? What makes the soaring eagle more special than the roaring lion? What is it that gives Americans such a pride?

Many answers, of course, come to mind. America was founded on freedom, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is true that this is what the Pilgrims and all Americans wanted...but what is it they really wanted? What drove them here? We're taught to ask this with characters in all writing classes, so why not with life?

And then the truth hit me--America was founded on the Hope and Power of My Lord Jesus Christ.

But people don't remember this! And those who do shrug it off with comments like, "Well we can't offend people." And, "Not everyone thinks that way anymore."

It's kind of like the quote from National Treasure where Ben Gates is reading the Declaration of Independence and sighs saying, "People don't talk that way anymore..." Later on he makes the point that people think that way.

Well it seems to me that there are many who remember and "give thanks" for the holy foundations of our country. But there are very few who remember and act on it. Those who do are a select, peculiar, and royal remnant.

Once again the writer in me took over. A royal remnant....doesn't that sound like the back of fantasy novel? A royal remnant, set in place by a righteous King. The world has forgotten them, but they cling to truth nonetheless. The darkness is consuming the light, but through the faith of the few the many will be rescued from the fire.

And then I get all excited. Simply because that does sound like the back of a novel. And what's so cool about it, is that I am part of that remnant, and if not...I strive to be.

This world is so full of darkness. So much so that even pinpoints of truth and light, like Thanksgiving and Christmas, are smothered and turned to dirt. What is the meaning of Thanksgiving? Greed. Christmas? Greed. And there are very few that remember the light.

But is this a cause for grief? Perhaps. But we of the Remnant are not called to dwell on our numbers. We are called to shine our lights into darkness, and lessen the numbers of the enemy and undecided. And the Christmas/Thanksgiving Season is the time for battle.

We should be thankful for those who have joined the cause. And remember those who have died for it. Thanksgiving is a time for remembering our beginnings and worshiping the One Who gave us new life. Specifically in our country. Our nation is special.

Today especially I got to thinking about this warfare. And how this Remnant should battle. Thanksgiving is the time to win back our people. To guide them to the One Who can redeem them of their sins and inspire that hope and joy.

Thanksgiving is the time to give thanks. And it is the time to battle.

This was my Facebook status this morning, "May we all remember the foundations of this nation of ours, and give thanks for the remnant that still thrives. May our fires burn bright for the darkness to see and fear. May the undecided be filled with a desire for truth and may the Maker and Sustainer of heaven and earth be revealed as the Mighty One He is."

May this be our battle cry.

Endurance and Victory. Never alone.

I Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light

Book Giveaway! - The Victor

2009-11-22T20:43:00.010-05:00

Hey guys! Well as you know I've had a lot of reading to catch up on and after my school books came Marlayne Giron's debut The Victor. Mrs. Giron has so graciously offered to allow me to give away one copy to a lucky commenter on this post! So buckle your seat belts and brace for a review by me.

Check it out;

“What care I for thy judgment, O King? I swear to thee this oath: Thou shalt rue this day in great bitterness and mourn that Thou didst not destroy me when it lay within Thy power!” Eloth regarded his former steward and once most trusted servant with an impassive face, but in his gray eyes was an unfathomable pain that only two in the entire court filled with people could behold: Lucius and Eloth’s son, Joshua. “I know,” was Eloth’s silent reply. (Page 36)

And so begins Marlayne Giron’s beautiful novel, The Victor.

I had the honor of receiving this book as a gift, but it is more than worth its retail price. The story is wonderful!

Ellioth is a perfect kingdom. Ruled by a perfect King in perfect love. All is how it should be, with loving stewards, knights, squires, and honest merchants. Things could never be better.

It is at this moment that the Baron Lucius of Northumberland, favorite of King Eloth, lashes out in arrogance, gathering an army to challenge the King’s seraphim. The rebels of the Baron do not stand a chance against the expertly trained elite of Eloth and so Lucius is driven back. But not before the largest amount of innocent blood in all of history is spilled.

Eloth is furious but, in following of His character, shows the Baron mercy in hopes that he may yet be redeemed. Lucius wants none of this mercy and finds such grace more painful than death. And it is then that he fires the words listed above.

“Thou shalt rue this day…”

And in sorrow Eloth whispers two prophetic words, “I know.”

The Victor is the story of how this came to be. It is the riveting and romantic tale of Eloth’s one and only son, Joshua, as he is trained as an ordinary knight and prepared to take the throne of Shiloh—an honor that is rightfully his.

The Victor is the story of the hate-filled Lucius and how he acts on his blood-lust and obsessive desire for vengeance.

The Victor is a tale of the love of Llyonesse for Joshua, and his great love for her and how that love was demonstrated and how Llyonesse was set free.

The Victor is the story of our world. It is the history of mankind penned in a poetic and fantastical way.

Giron writes with eloquence an allegorical tale from the betrayal of Satan to the end of time. With tension that is sure to keep you glued to your seat, characters that make you want to laugh and weep aloud, and powerful inspiration that made me wish to draw sword and charge the strongholds of Hell this is a book you do not want to skip.

Mrs. Giron had me hooked from the first page to the last, leaving me wishing there was more left to read. It truly is a work of art, funny, suspenseful, romantic, and action packed.

I recommend this book for teens thirteen years and older, and I do believe that all fantasy loving readers will thoroughly enjoy this. I certainly did. The book is set in medieval times and Marlayne Giron stays true to the times in the language of the people. The excerpt quoted above is a good example. The book uses “thee” and “thou” and “thy” a good bit, but it never caused a distraction to me. To be quite honest the wordage added to the story.

All of that to say that The Victor is a must-read for all. I loved it, and I believe that you will too.

That's my "formal" review. And not too elaborate too much, but I really really liked it.

There are lots of cool connections in there to the Bible and the Gospel message, which are always fun to read, though it could very very easily be read as a straight fantasy.

To me, the best thing about it was the characters. The Victor is most definitely a character driven story and Mrs. Giron did an excellent job in drawing these characters for me. I saw them, laughed with them, cried with them, it was very well written. And I thoroughly enjoyed it.

(As you can tell I'm new to book giveaways so this post will end rather abruptly)

How to Enter the Drawing;

Comment on this post with a valid email (I'll contact you if you win for snail mail addresses, only "inner" USA please)

To get more entries you can;
Sign up as a follower of this blog
And/or
Post about this giveaway on your blog (give me the link too ;) )

And well, that's it.

Whoever wins this is seriously in for a treat. The book very much exceeded my expectations. You'll love it; I promise.

Check out Marlayne Giron's website here!

Friday Night Writing Frenzy

2009-11-20T18:56:00.003-05:00

Welcome all to the second WR writing challenge! The challenge begins at 8:30 EST but I thought I'd post now just to explain what you need to do. If you are just stumbling upon this blog it will help to explain these as well.

Writing challenges have a purpose--to suck words and story out of any writer. Basically, the point of this is not to produce a perfect story, it's to start one. If you're in writer's block or something, or just can't seem to write--this challenge is for you. Perhaps the competition and such will spur you on. It certainly does so for me.

The way these work is that everyone signs on and posts what they are working on and the starting word count. Reading about people's projects is always fun :D

Post your goal. You can set your own personal goal or simply say "Better than anyone else", which will never happen by the way. ::laughs::

At then end of the challenge, that will start promptly at 8:30 and end at 9:30, all will post their final word count and any challenges they faced throughout the challenge.

I am pumped. Are you with me?

EDIT: Please post a good bit before the challenge (AKA now)

Writing Challenge Announcement

2009-11-19T21:41:00.004-05:00

We will be having another writing challenge on Whispered Roars tomorrow night at 8:30 EST. I hope you all can make it! Remember, all you have to do is sit down and write for an hour. And then tell us what you were writing about and how much you got done. Believe it or not, it's quite the box of encouragement...and it's just awesomely fun as well!

Hope to see you all there!

Endurance and Victory! - Part One

2009-11-17T19:44:00.014-05:00

Endurance, apparently I've failed at enduring in keeping this blog up ;) Once more I cry that "school work and such" has busied me. And it is true, but no excuse.

Aside from school I've been hurriedly reading away at The Victor, a book that I will very shortly be giving away on my blog. Next comes Curse of the Spider King and then a boatload of others. So as if school was not enough I have plenty to read.

BUT, have no fear, I am starting a series of blog posts about endurance and um...victory.

Many of you who have read or are familiar with COTSK will know that a common saying of its characters is "Endurance and Victory!" And as lately I have had to endure in school, reading, writing, and life I thought I'd blog on it.

The first in the series will be about writing, as this is a writing blog.

I'm well connected in the writing world, or at least I'd like to believe that I am, and specifically I chat with a lot of young aspiring authors (like myself). Many of these writers have amazing ideas, tales that I'd pay arm and leg to read. Many even know how to write them. But often a thing they lack is endurance. And that, in my mind, is one of the most important characteristics of any writer.

Not only does writing novels take a long time. But it requires patience to wait on characters, plot development, and ones own self--willing to let a project sit so that it can be done correctly. And once the story is done it requires enduring numerous amounts of critiquing and shaping on the part of others.

I know writers who don't get writer's block, Bryan Davis as an example, but most all do. It's a fact of life. And often I find myself just waiting on my characters asking them what they want to do next, and what is happening to them at the moment. Naturally, this requires a good deal of endurance. The strength to wait, which I don't have ;) I choke answers out of my characters.

This next part is where I've recently been having the most trouble, enduring through the times when I'm too tired, or my brain is too fried, or I can't get into the story, and then forcing myself to not writing. It's a sacrifice I've had to make. I've been in this spot for a while now, where I'm just too dead to write. I have to endure through this because I know that if I do try and write, the story will be unbelievable and, to be honest, garbage. As you can assume, I don't want my story to be garbage and this spurs my endurance.

Next comes the point that ends the journey of most writers--publication.

It seems to me that the path to publication is too strenuous or difficult for most to endure. From the stories I've heard, it's pretty hard. Even if you're not a writer, imagine this scenario. You pour your heart, mind, and life into something--a child perhaps--and then when your child is old enough, you are told that he is a worthless piece of garbage. How would that make you feel?

You see, many writers get this. They're told by publishers that their works are awful or are simply not told anything--only given cold rejection notices that leave open imagination. Questions arise, "What'd I do wrong?" "Was it that bad?" And many others. To many writers, this is a sting too sharp.

And so the process of publishing something is a task that requires endurance, and I've seen many give up and seen many achieve victory, and know many enduring that race now.

Though I've had one work published, my collection of short stories, I never truly tried to get published and so as of yet I cannot identify with this. I take writing criticism well and so I assume that rejections won't hurt quite as bad as others. On the other hand, it could kill me.

Here's how I look at such criticism or even blank rejections; if the story was written publisher worthy it'd likely have been accepted. Simple.

Now this rule does have many drawbacks, one could have sent the work into the wrong company or maybe the editor just didn't like it and others might. But generally I believe this is true. I try not to get my feelings hurt because I don't want the book to be printed until it is print worthy. If it's not a good story, I don't want people reading it.

I'd rather wait till I'm 99 years old to have TSOF published and it be perfect, than have it printed tomorrow and it be a piece of junk. Do you follow?

Writing Challenge #1

2009-11-14T19:40:00.002-05:00

Welcome to the world of writing-awesomeness. Since you have read this you must now participate. ;)

Tonight I will be hosting my first writing challenge on this blog. Inspired by author Wayne Thomas Batson the challenge will go like this;

Post your current word count on any project you happen to be working on before or during the hour and a goal of words you'd like to meet.

Then, when the bell rings at 8:30 EST write nonstop, full steam ahead, for one hour or whenever you decide to quit.

At the end post your final word count and if you made your goal or not.

That's the gist of it, so who's in?

Writing, Challenges, and Writing Challenges

2009-11-13T20:02:00.003-05:00

Well, it seems that it's been quite a while since I posted last and I thought I'd at least explain why I've not posted and my hopes to post more soon.

I've had more school than I thought I'd have.

Tis the pains of being a teenager. I'm quite busy.

On top of all of this I've been praying and writing quite a bit about my youth group and people involved in it. Seems that unity and love is becoming harder traits for the church to maintain. I'll likely post a um...post about this once I get my act together but it's been bothering me, and so I cannot seem to write. Write on here, or in my novel.

So my writing has been challenged as my heart's been tested in life. Perseverance and confidence in my story and faith in the power I believe it will have has been tested, and thus the writing part has slowed.

But have no fear, I've got a couple of writing challenges to host coming up.

How's this sound, meet on this blog tomorrow at 8:30 EST and write like crazy until 9:30 EST? The point of these challenges is to sit down and force oneself to write on a project, not censoring one's work and not allowing any distractions. Through this method I've penned tens of thousands of words. All thanks to author Wayne Thomas Batson. He started these challenges and is hosting one now. (Please join if you're online and have a Facebook. His is located here). The challenge goes until like 10:15ish but you can join in and hop out at your own convenience. If you do not have a FB please feel free to post your starting word count and results here.

So, tomorrow at 8:30. Will I see you there?

Smoky Mountains Vacation

2009-11-02T20:12:00.004-05:00

Well...as some of you may have noticed I have been out of town, and will be until next Monday. I do not have internet in our cabin, deep in the heart of the Smokies, and since I have internet now at the lodge I thought I'd let you all know where I'm at.

Being the creative guy that I am I decided to make a series of videos, one for each day, with my new iPod for the trip. Currently I've only completely finished editing the first day, including the drive down to North Carolina. Soooooooooooooooo I thought I'd post it here for you all. Expect MANY more to come.

After this vacation I'm headed to my Youth Group's fall retreat...and there may or may not be a video for that as well ::wink wink::

And then back to writing. I do believe it is NaNoWriMo in the civilized world. You know....where there's internet and phone service. I won't be able to do a writing challenge this Friday so maybe if someone could host it for me (The Underground or FB Word Wars group perhaps) that'd be awesome.

Happy writing! Enjoy the video!

Describing Description Descriptively

2009-10-26T07:40:00.022-04:00

Once more it has been quite a while since my last post, due again to my growing business (I've had LOTS of school work lately). But due to the amount of people bugging me about a new post, I've kicked homeowork out of site and am typing this out for all of you.

Hope it's worth it to you.

I've been told by some of the few who've read my real writing, as in stuff I took my time on and actually EDITED, that I'm pretty good with descriptions. Complimants are always nice to get but ones referring to detail are especially appreciated, mainly because I've worked so hard at honing descriptions.

I'm sure all of you know what a description is, but I think I'll define it for the sake of this post.

Descriptions in writing are the words, sentences, and paragraphs that let the reader feel and imagine the world in which the story being read takes place. Whether this world be real or fantastical writers must prove to their readers its reality by way of description.

Clever definition eh?

But it is so true!

Without descriptions a story is rendered powerless and pointless. Because if it is true that descriptive writing is a necessary tool in making the reader believe the story and if it is also true that without the suspense of disbelief (the term referring to when a reader/movie-watcher loses sense of reality and falls into a story) a story is no good, then it must be absolutely needed to have good description in writing.

A lot of words to say something so simple, I know. But I think it's best that way.

Descriptions are a must in writing, and once more it can be difficult to find the right amount of it needed and the right way to portray it.

Well, I've picked up a few tricks and advice from others in my short time in the writing world. Seems I now have a way to pass them on to others.

First off is the question of what to describe.

Some writers describe everything, often even unneeded information. Some people like having an over detailed description, more power to them....but I don't.

And I honestly don't know anyone personally that does.

The answer to this question is simple, describe only that which is direly important to a story. If your character is swimming from an enemy there's no need to say that a sparkling blue fish, with glowing round eyes, swam by. It's distracting--detailed yes, but unimportant and distracting from the scene.

You can still describe this in detail, but describe things based on their worth not in the whim of the moment (don't anaylise that statement :P ).

Next begs the problem of how much to describe

Detail, as noted, is important. But how much is too much? In my opinion, hopefully I don't get shot here, some older works including the Lord of the Rings go a little overboard in descriptions. It is my belief, and others it seems, that detail should be based on two things.

Number one, the pace of the scene.

If the scene you are writing is a fast paced action-packed scene don't bother with description at all! I say this to make the point. If a guy is sword fighting the enemy don't be like "The swords clashed above their heads. The tree to his right was a sparkling green on the left though the leaves on the opposing side had all died."

No one cares!

Once more this is distracting.

Now, that's not where I meant to go with that <_<

Oh yes, fast paced scenes require faced paced description. Simply said, don't use big, long, words and sentences to describe a racing cheetah. It will make the animal seem slower. Descriptions take the place of time. The longer the description the longer the time. Think of a movie.

The same goes for slow scenes. A snail crawling up a tree should not be penned simply as "The snail went up the tree."

NO! This is the scene where you get to use some vocabulary. Break out that thesaurus and look up words for slowly and describe the residue on the branches leaving a trail behind the creature. Get down into the grit of things and write.

I hope that made sense. I'm starting to get tired ;)

Number two is simply relevance to the story. Which has already been overly discussed (people will think I hate descriptions or something). Just write enough to set the scene, you can do this eloquently and with detail. But if it doesn't matter at ALL, don't tell it.

Do YOU have any advice for writers on description? I sorta botched this post but I believe we can get some good discussion going. What kinds of things do you try to do with descriptions? What fun tricks do you do?

I like posting dialogue and then posting description, or truly any combination of the two. Especially to start a scene. Another thing I, along with others, like to do is use descriptions to get ideas across into the story. To get into the character's head. This is a scene hastily written with some description, not the best in the world, that I used to dive into the character. The rest of the scene does some more inner searching but contains spoilers so....I'll not post it.

Nerp Keeneye walked out on the battlements of Kinth’s very own capital, Defender. He wasn’t dressed in the common armor of a Kinthian knight, or even that of an officer. Rather, he proudly displayed the colors of Sentor.

He looked over Kinth’s ancient fields, the very place—it was said—that the Most High crafted the first Lakïethian horses. Farmers were plowing the battle ravaged land, trying as best they could to bring back life to the place of death.

Nerp wrapped his hand around the pommel of his sword, expecting the warm heat that was usually emitted from such a touch. But the feeling did not come; he was no longer the wearer of the great Sword.

He tapped his blade once again and turned around to face Defender’s insides. Reconstruction was happening here as well. Sujes wanted everything back to the way it had been before the Rindorian captivity of the city. The only difference Nerp could make out were simple things—less detail applied here, a little less color here—nothing major, but it pained his heart to see the city become a place of war and not beauty.

He had voiced these thoughts to Sujes, saying, “Why must our brightest light be dimmed? Why should we allow the enemy to win by simply creating a shadow of what once was?”

The King had shown a weak smile at this. Obviously he didn’t like it either, but he had peace in something no man could have but himself. “Nerp, my son, things are not always meant to be the same as they were in the past. Some things are meant to be made better.”

“But the city isn’t becoming any better!” Nerp had exclaimed. He could remain silent. Even though Defender was not in fact his home, he felt a sense of reverence for the place. It was the home of the King.

“Is it not?” Sujes had showed off one of his smiles yet again. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What I see when I look upon the men and women that are rebuilding our city, is men and women trying their best to please their Master, men and women striving to imitate the works of their King.”

At this he had leaned in and rested a hand on Nerp’s shoulder. “Rejoice in our rebuilding, my son. It is an act of worship made by those who love their Maker.”

And so it had ended.

Nerp sighed. Sujes could always make the simplest of things sound so beautiful and eloquent that they would never again be overlooked.

He felt a firm hand on his shoulder. “How does it feel to be dressed again in the colors of Sentor? The kingdom named Defense again being represented in Defender by one who could claim greatness men can only dream of.”

Nerp turned. The now trimmed up face of John Oakwood smiled back at him. He laughed. “John, you flatter me with too many words.” He patted his friend’s arm. “You know that I no longer seek authority.”

John smiled and looked up at the rising sun. “Ah yes, humble as ever my friend.” He let out a contented sigh and looked down at his feet. “You know, I saw your boy through.”

Nerp straightened. “Did you now? Where was this?”

“Back in Division. Saw him right on through to Glexotamì.” He chuckled. “Wonderful lad, chip off the old block if I say so myself.”

Nerp smiled. “Wonderful he is. But I certainly hope he turns out nothing like me.”

“Ah.” John slapped Nerp’s armored shoulder. “You turned out alright. You just needed to get out from the castle is all.”

Nerp looked down. “I did get out. You came with me.” He looked up and gazed deep in thought at the sunrise. “She looked right at me…I saw the fear in her eyes. And I…I…”

“That was years ago.” John interrupted. “And like you stated, I was with you then too.” He squeezed Nerp close to his side. “And now look where we stand, atop the walls of Kinth preparing to war against the tyrant who caused all this.” He sighed and turned, joined by Nerp, to gaze off into the north. “Rindor’s end will come soon. Evil cannot stand.”

NaNoWriMo

2009-10-22T13:37:00.010-04:00

It's obviously been a while since my previous post, a fact for which I apologize. I've been quite busy with school work, Youth Group, family stuff, and all things of the like. Lif'e's busy! And sometimes that keeps blogs from being updated.

Aside from the usual business I have been avidly, aka a few times a week, preparing for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Am I participating? No, not officially. But I plan to use the month to dive back into the story.

I plan to finish the novel. So why am I not participating? Well, there aren't 50,000 words left to write, so I figured I'd write solo.

In preperation for this month I've begun to compile my notes, outlines, and previous versions of the chapters I will be writing. I am so stinking excited to do this! Four years in the making and the book will finally have a draft that I'll be mainly happy with. Of course I will then begin traditional editing, or my own version involving a TON of rewriting along with editing.

Here's a pic of what my desk looked like the other day.

Fairly messy I'd say, wouldn't you? And that's only the desk...I didn't post pics of the top of the dresser and the FLOOR. But that's my writing for ya. All digital copies of the first draft were lost in a computer crash so all I have from the originals is what you see.

Of course, that's not the originals proper, but it is the draft I am rewriting (I'll stop now to avoid confusing *laughs*)

I'm so pumped to finish this draft. Some of the cooliest scenes are coming up next.

Many of you are joining in on the writing fun I hear (with the NaNoWriMo propper) and I'd love to hear what your story is and what your goal will be. Perhaps I can host a few writing challenges on this blog to help with the competition. I'd love to do Word Wars with you all, just shoot me an email or Facebook me and I'll try and join you.

Every Friday in November I might post an update on TSOF as well as a word challenge. Would that be cool? I hope to see many of you hop on board. As long as one or two people comment or email me saying they'll do it I'll start ones.

Now for a bit of off-topic-ness

Very soon I will be hosting a book giveaway ::looks over his shoulder:: Very soon.

I've started a book reviews blog so you all need to check it out! (Books For the Kingdom) There's only one post now, but expect many more to come!

I'm entering the Scholastic Arts and Writing contest. I'll post my stories and such later, so I'll need your all's feedback!

As always, thanks for reading! Sorry about the late post, but I'll get back on schedule soon.

Vote in the poll at the top for the type of posts you like best! (it's a four way tie now)

To the end!

-Nathan R. Petrie

Novel Update and Contests

2009-10-16T19:56:00.017-04:00

Heyo! Seems it has been a while, far too long, since my last blog post. So I figured that since it had been such a long time that I should post the coolest topic so far right? I was then faced with the problem of deciding what the coolest topic was. The answer?

My novel, and free stuff.

That's right. I'm writing a novel.

Which of course, if you know me, you should already know.

This novel is part of a trilogy, with a prequel, that I've currently titled Redemption's Journey. While I personally find the story exciting, an obvious bias I know, I am not entirely sure what others will think. If the story is found not good enough...I've got a few other projects up my sleeve. :D

Considering that I now have a blog I thought I'd post where I'm currently at in the story. Keep you all on your toes if you will. Many of you have read bits and pieces of the first book, The Sword of Fire, and so I thought it'd be best if I let you know how the book is coming along.

I just recently finished a chapter I've called Worth Dying For. This is the book's 46th and is the highest point of the climactic battle (If one could consider this scene the "big" battle). The word count surpassed the 100K mark in this scene and I've been writing on it ever since August.

What's this mean?

The book is almost finished.

So I am super stoked to finish. The scenes will be easy to write as I draw nearer to the end. I've been rewriting for all these years and I'll finally be reaching scenes yet to be rewritten. The end of this novel might be one of the best endings EVER! (no...that's not biased at all). So I am really pumped to write it.

BUT

I also have a life. And lives involve frustrating homework, and awesome contests.

As most of you know I am a major competitor, or would like to believe that I am, in the Alternate Reality Game hosted by m'lords Batson and Hopper. And seeing as how this contest is now taking back off more of my writing time will be taken by this, as well as the usual stuff.

On top of that there is the Tribe Building contest which I seem to be utterly failing at. Hopefully things will shape up shortly.

Not sure what these strange terms I'm using are? Check out the links I gave. The ARG is hard to descirbe...but essentially it is a treasure hunt throughout the internet. One must begin here and fall down the rabbit hole to begin.

Tribe building is explained in the the link I gave and is REALLY awesome. Lots of great prizes and opportunities.

And all of these challenges revolve around Mr. Batson and Hopper's new book. The Curse of the Spider King. I for one plan on purchasing this book, supporte the two awesome writers, but there are MANY oppurtunities to snag this puppy for free.

Up-and-coming author Jacob Parker posted a giveaway on his blog (three chances to win).

There are a few others that expire shortly. So check 'em out!

So considering I'm a part of all of these completely awesome contests I'm having difficulty finding time to write. I've got these, school, and family to balance...and that's not always easy.

So here's my question for the day. When do you write? How do you write (type or by hand, music or without, pen or pencil, etc)? And are there certain rituals you do before hand (such as reading over something, listening to music, dancing, lighting a red candle, etc. lol)?

Oh...and to keep you all jumping...here's an excerpt (VERY unedited) from my novel.

Happy writing/reading/breathing all!

Live by Faith

2009-10-08T11:28:00.007-04:00

Habakkuk 2:4
"...the just will live by his faith"

Those words are timeless, and at least to me they are some of the most powerful words transcribed in the Bible. If the Word of God is a double-edged sword Habakkuk 2:4 is its tip.

Live by faith.

Timeless.

In this life we will have struggles, those are the words of Jesus Himself. And these struggles often threaten to uproot us, to tear us to pieces, lock us away, and throw away the key. They are seemingly overpowering, shaking us to our very core, and threatening all that we've called dear.

They are the meat of life.

You see, if we truly believe that we were made for another world, that we were created to live different lives in the midst of a different land, that leaves nothing to this life but struggles. Our time on Earth is a time of testing, it will sift out the weak from the strong. Those who will cling to their Master and those who will reject Him.

Once we decide to cling to our God, our lives become a storm. A never-ending storm. It is through these times of misery that our strength is tested.

Let's use that lovely lighthouse at the top of this post as an example. That raging sea is life.

And we're a ship wreaked human.

A light shines into the darkness.

A solid rock is revealed.

It is during the storms of life that we are forced to cling to the one solid foundation that has built us. Only when the wind blows is the cornerstone proven firm. And a lighthouse does no good until there is a darkness for it to shine through.

God allows the storms for the joy of revealing Himself to us, and to test our faith in Him.

And when the storm finally clears we will have learned to cling to that rock. We will have learned the meaning of faith.

Then we will continue to live with it.

The just will live by his faith.

This idea is important to me, as it should be for all who claim the mantle of Christianity. Recently I not only wrote a poem about it but also wrote an entire chapter of my book in dedication to this thought.

To complete this post I shall let you see them.

Josh stood tall on the mountain-top post of the archers. This was the archers’ post, and yet Tarth—taking lead over Ithcar—had decided to allow the army to wait in their midst, three sword or axmen for every archer. When the signal to charge was sent, two for every three solider would rush onto the field, leaving the remaining dwarves to protect the archers. The sun was slowly climbing higher as Mollidia’s army suddenly appeared on the field, a few miles away from them.

A large speck, silhouetted against the sun, flipped and turned through the sky—Yahsor, with Glorf atop his back.

He looked about the mountains surrounding him. He could see clearly the posts for the archers. He and the other three commanders—Okran, Brontoc, and Tarth—stood clumped together for now, but when the battle began they would split up. Okran and Tarth would charge at the signal, and across the valley, far to Josh’s left, a flag had been set up to designate the command post of Brontoc. That was where the dwarf would run. And nearby to his left was his own. On the field of battle these would be the only two command posts. Above and behind him was the post of the Jreen Ithcar. The signals would come from him. The king had a better view of the battle than they did.

Josh sighed and opened his leg quiver to check his arrows. He had plenty to spare. He shrugged his shoulder and let down the quiver on his back. Yup, there was more than enough. And a whole bucket full was at his side.

The boy stared out onto the battlefield. Their army was drawing closer to the Tiriks.

He began to hear a sound in his mind—a young girl weeping. Josh shook his head as the wind blew his hair. He knew that voice, it belonged to the one he loved—Zark Keeneye.

Josh pinched the bridge of his nose. He loved that girl, loved her. And if she hadn’t been kidnapped he would have been engaged to her. He would have done it. He knew he would have. And now…

The boy wiped a tear from his eye and sat down on a chair set for him and let the tears fall. For once in his life he had been so sure, everything was going his way. But Zark had been taken! And he had to rescue her!

In his mind he wept along side her. He could only hope that Zark was still alive.

“Are you alright?” Josh looked up to see the elf turn his way, a worried expression on his face.

“I…I’m fine.” But he wasn’t, and the tears streamed all the harder.

Tarth nodded his head and then walked over by him, crouching next to the boy. “Josh, there is always hope. I once said that I was not sure if the hope was for us, but it is.” The Prince stared out at the battlefield and pursed his lips. “We walk in a time that will forever be remembered. History is being made, son. Zark is held captive by darkness’s claws, but the light is dispelling the darkness. Soon all will know and bow with trembling at the feet of the Most High, and we shall stand beside Him.” The elf laid a hand on his companion’s shoulder. “And Zark will stand as well.”

The boy looked up, eyes still shinning from tears. He believed this all in his heart, but he couldn’t make it clear to his mind.

“The light is shinning amidst the darkness, Josh. Embrace it, and do not hide from it is sting. Live by faith, my lad. And cling to the hope which you have.”

Josh wiped a tear, nodded his head, and forced a smile.

Tarth stood and placed a hand on the pommel of his sword. “Stand firm. Let us make clear the way for the justice of our King!”

I love this scene! Story lines such as this always excite me. And what's the lesson here? It's the same as what I've said thus far. When all fades away cling to the cross! Cling to the King! And live by your faith!

Verse 1;
The storm is blowing, that I know
There is a power down below
He’s pushing me, and blowing snow
And I can’t see, where I’m to go

I hear a voice cry out to me
His tone is sure, rings out with glee
His words delight the whole of me
And once they’re spoke, I fin’ly see

Chorus;
On Christ the solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand
And death is raging in that land

The rock it will not ever leave
Oh, never since I first believed
I stand with pride, in my great king
Who’s words are true and rescuing

Verse 2;
Though the storm blows I’ll never fall
Because of hope and grace to all
There’s not a giant that’s too tall
For me to surrender the call

Chorus
Verse 3;
Take hope my friends and lend an ear
There’s one that I’d like to bring near
His name is Christ, slayer of fear
His sword is bright, God’s fin’ly here

(music)

Bridge;
There is a hope for you
There is nothing left to do
Join hands and sing out loud
Our God’s a rock, of this be proud

Chorus

While I do not find this poem particularly well written, I believe God understands.

Thoughts such as these, the truths about the power of faith, have been my passion as of late. I've been going through a whole lot of...testing, though nothing compared to many of our brothers and sisters in Christ, and it is only my confession of faith and Christ's solid rock that have gotten me through it.

I chose to grab onto the lighthouse.

The light is shining in the darkness.

Have you embraced it?

Do not hide from its sting.

Live by faith.

Group Writing - The Underground Edition

2009-10-07T22:11:00.007-04:00

How many of you love to write? Most of you do I believe, if not....give it a shot. I dare you.

For those of you who do love to write, and actually for those who do not, have you ever participated in a group writing project/game? Typically I refrain from such activities, as I find them distracting and generally discouraging, but I seem to have found one story that works for me.

The Official-Un-Official Story of the Underground

That's right, I'm an elf.

For those of you who do not know, there are a certain two amazing authors that have begun their own forum--for a book not yet released. Who are the authors? None other than Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper themselves! Not heard of them? You will. Their books are amazing!

So this forum is called the Underground and is for a new series the two guys have coauthored entitled The Berinfell Prophecies. The first book is The Curse of the Spider-King, currently ranked at about 600 on the top Amazon sales list. That's higher than Ted Dekker's latest novel Green.

Cool stuff.

So this forum, The Underground, is growling rapidly and one of the big things we members do on there is write. Most of us are writers, and most are descent enough if not all, and so we have begun a group writing project.

And I'm actually enjoying it.

The way we do it is different from the other ones I have tried before. In here, we each control our own characters...and that's it. We write for the story and not to show off our skills. Often our writing stinks but it doesn't matter. In this case it's all about the story...not the skill with which the tale was written.

It's very encouraging for me. The story is original enough, though it would likely fall under the category of fan-fiction, but the Christian writer fellowship is amazing. I love bouncing ideas off people.

Which makes me think I may have coauthoring in my horizon.

So that's that.

If you'd like to read our lovely story you can check it out here. The beginning, most of it, is on the first post...the rest is on page two.

For reference purposes...my character's name is Theodore.

Now, time for some reading suggestions.

Like I said, this forum is for authors Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper. And their book is coming out shortly.

This book looks to be one of the best I've ever read.

Which means it will likely be the best you might ever read.

So you should buy it...now!

Seriously though, from the things I've read and heard about this book (which received a silver Moonbeam Award for teen fiction) I have the feeling that I'm going to be blown away. So you should give it a try with me.

The link to the Amazon page is in the picture. Also, those who order today get signed book plates (it's a bit late for today...but they will probably give you them anyhow).

So what shall we talk about? Here's an idea. Tell me about any group writing you've done, what you thought of it, if it was encouraging, and if you'd do it again.

I absolutely am having a ton of fun with the story on the Underground. But I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Chat me up :D

Cat Pans, Magazines, and Poems - Randomness

2009-10-05T20:35:00.014-04:00

Welcome to the world of randomness.

Beware!!!

Alright...time to be serious.

I've had an interesting time lately. I haven't written much on my novel, The Sword of Fire (see word count at top right), but my poetry has finally picked up the pace.

The way I write...is really weird. To write on my novel I need to be excited and energetic, nothing else can be on my mind, and I need to really feel the story. I need to easily get into the minds of my crazy characters. But though while to write poetry I also need to feel what I'm writing, it seems I often need to be worn out, tired, and down trodden. "What a downer Nathan!"

Yeah...guess so.

It just has seemed that most of my poems come across that way. I've written happy ones, but not often. Today, you will see an example of a poem that borders both joy and sorrow. Mainly on the sorrow side of course, but that just seems to be my style. But shhhh you'll have to wait till the end.

I figured it was time for some randomness, and seeing as how I just completed one of the most disgusting tasks known to man...I simply couldn't resist.

How many of you have cats? How many of those cats...well...you know...poop?

It's disgusting I know.

In the Petrie house it is my job to clean the cat pan. If done every day on time there should never be a problem. Perfect kitty-dump-facility. BUT never fear. I am a creative one am I not?

I find it boring when things are always the way they should be you know? So every once in a while I just don't clean the cat pan.

Just to shake things up right?

My parents, what do they know, seem to think that I merely "forget" to clean it, or that I am a "procrastinator". On the contrary, I always plan ahead. A dirty cat pan makes life more fun does it not? Makes one notice and use that sense of smell.

Creativity.

So tonight I decided that the time of creativity was over. The cat pan was (those skiddish of grotesque cat pans please be advised, the following details the cleaning of such a pan) lined with gooey-ickiness and no matter how much I scraped it was not coming off. Seems it decided to play with me. It cried, "You monster! How dare you leave me stuck to this plastic box! I wish to be free! My odors were made to fill the air of junk yards!"

I was pleased to let it have its wish.

So I sprayed it down, and sprayed, and sprayed. Then I scraped...and scraped...and scraped.

Disgusting.

Alright scardy cats (no punn intended) you can come back now. Details are OVER.

Now, as this is a random post, I've got a couple comments to make.

First, have any of you heard of the magazine called G4T Ink? One of my friends got me a subscription to the magazine a little bit back and, after reading a good many stories and articles by teen writers, I decided to ask if I'd be able to write a story for them.

A few days later, I received word that they would look at my story. There was a word cap of 1,000 (probably half, at least, of my average story) and so I suggested a two part story.

And what do you know? The spring issue of the magazine will not only have the link to this blog in it, but the begining of a two part short story currently entitled The Test of Silence. When the magazine comes out I will be sure to post the story to hear what you all think. I am growing rather fond of the tale myself.

One last bit of randomness. How about I post a poem I wrote during one of those moments I talked about earlier? Would any of you disapprove of that? Good. I wrote this one early on in the school year. I was burdened for those that are lost without the One True King.

May this be our battle cry.

Their empty hearts are seeking
They cry for none to hear
They seek a light that's hidden
When earth is dressed in fear

The cruel master destroys them
They cry but do not run
Away from dark and towards You
Toward cross that bore Your Son

Remember hope within thee
Stand up and do not fall
"Recant!" they cry. But refuse!
Your Lord has made the call

They need us to be bold now
They need us to draw swords
They need us to defy Hell
And shout His sparkling words!

I pray do not be silent
For then a silent death
Will ever slowly seize them
And snatch away their breath

There's light! You've found it! Speak loud!
And warm your hearts gone cold
Love them for their Maker
And bring them to the fold