Chilly Chilly Weather

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books, career, changes, chapter 3, climate, college, literature, school, textbooks, update, work

That, of course, being an understatement. It is bloody cold and dry! However, here in the heart of winter, I have found solace in the confines of home and school. At home, I sit by a cheery fire burning in the fireplace or at my writing desk, wrapped in my sweatpants and sweatshirt, working with a mug of coffee by my side. It’s the kind of weather that has inspired poets and writers through the ages of whom all have written of their pleasure near a similar source of warmth in the harsh grip of a tantrum that nature calls winter. Melancholy is a great motivator for inspiration, a way of stimulating the mind and calling forth words that have proven useful for writers of all fields and degrees of age. This day is no different in everything but time; it is the same day that many writers have poured their heart’s blood on the page to express what lies within. That, however, is not what I am going to be speaking of today. This is going to be more of an arrangement of thoughts and new and old situations that have come upon me and demanded my life’s attention.

My studies are going well, though they demand most of my time, and so hopefully my absence here has not been noted too much. I still wish to share experiences and thoughts, as well as things that I write (a number of which I have not posted) as I grow further along in my future. So don’t fret in regard to that! More writing is to come, and this blog will become more than a simple diary.

My job at the bookstore remains ever a pleasure and I think that I have found a niche in the routine of the clockwork of the store. Being a book person, helping book people, talking of books with book lovers, is a constant joy and one that I wish to continue here in the future.

However, there are a few things that I am praying about to which I would greatly appreciate similar responses concerning my education and future career. Some things may be changing, though at the moment, they will remain unspoken of.

So, here in the warmth of my college hall, as I am typing this, waiting for another class to begin, another instruction to receive to further my knowledge, I am going to end this post. I will post the next part of Shattered here in the next few days. It will be the first part of chapter 3, though I have already started the fifth chapter. Perhaps it will be of some delight to you all! Have a wonderful day and don’t let Jack Frost take off with any bits of your ears or rosy nose.

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A Slight Change In Direction

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and, career courses, college, community, literature, oddities, other, school, such, work, Writing

As the semester is approaching its final weeks, I have been rethinking the way that I am approaching my future. Money is getting tight, and while I am thoroughly enjoying my classes, there are some things that I want to do, as far as my future career goes, that I have not been able to engage in recently.

So, what I am thinking of doing is this: I will continue going to school part time, and then work my job at the bookstore full time (or at least as close to that as I can).  That way, I can be saving money back, finishing school, as well as having more time for my writing. As it is, I have had little time to partake in what I enjoy doing, and that has been bothering me to no end, often making my stomach churn when I think of it at night. I am accustomed to being able to have some time to write, and while I do write for this blog, there can be a span of weeks before I can actually sit down and write something for the sake of practice. I want to be able to write for myself daily, but that hasn’t been happening.

By splitting my attention between the bookstore and my schoolwork, I think that I will get the best of both worlds. My parents think that it’s a wonderful idea, and funnily enough, it was my Father who brought it up to me, as if reading my mind. I have always known that it won’t be school that will teach me to write, instead, I have to be the one who sits down and does the deed in order to get good at it. So, again, I think that it will be the smarter course. At least for my situation.

I will be starting chapter 3 soon, friends. Have a wonderful day!

College And My Book

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book, college, lack, life, me, of, people, photo, photography, picture, studying, time, update

The path often seems daunting.

Aside from the overwhelming amount of homework that seems to be building up around me, I think that I am enjoying my first year in College. Yes, it’s a headache meeting tons of people that you don’t know, or having to deal with slightly more than annoying teachers, but I think that I am, over-all, enjoying my experience.

Most of my classes are what I expected. Math, of course, is the worst one that I’m currently having to suffer through. Algebra and Trig. Ugh.. They are the absolute worse! It’s my last math class that I will ever have to take, ever, though. And that thought alone is what is keeping me motivated through it all. In the meantime, however, I will be eyeing that bowl of chalk that I could rather be eating than learning math.

Speech, oddly enough, is a class that I am enjoying immensely. So far at least. Most of that fact is that I have been able to escape any speech giving so far, but I think that we will be ignoring that fact for now. For pride’s sake ;). We shall have to see how much I still enjoy it after we are assigned a real speech. Maybe I’ll become the next prophet! You never know.

My favorite class so far, and by no stretch of the imagination, is my Literature class. We just finished the Iliad and are now beginning the first stages of reading the Odyssey. I love Greek and Roman literature, and this class is simply reading, discussing, and then writing about what we just read and talked about. My three favorite things to do with something that I enjoy! My Professor is absolutely hysterical and knows what he is talking about. His love for the subject also carries over into our conversations and makes the class that much more interesting. I’m very excited about the discussions that we are going to have on the Odyssey! I know that I’ll be laughing to his sarcastic enactments of the gods and men.

While all of this is going on, though, I will still be working on my book. It’s so slow in coming, but it’s coming and I carry a notebook with me just in case I need to write down some fantastic idea! I’m feeling much better about it this time around, it’s only on its second draft, so it’s still rough, but hey, it’s already better than the first draft! That’s saying a lot, I think.

One thing about it though, is that I’m thinking of blogging parts of it. Chapters here and there, just to see how people react to it. I know that I will be writing what I want, and not what everyone else wants, but if people like it, I will gain more of a following. That way, if I ever publish (Which is my dream) I will already have a small fanbase who will only then spread word. It’s an idea that I’m still playing with in my head, seeing how I would be able to do school, work, and keep up with a consistent update of my book as well as knowing what I want to put out there. I know some people liked the first chapter that I posted a little while back, so I definitely want to post more. It’s time that is the problem. What do you guys say?

In Ten Days, My New Life Starts

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classes, college, fun!, life, now, starting, university

As of August 20th my college life goes into full effect. I will be majoring in English with a concentration on writing and as far as a minor goes, I’m not sure what I will be doing as of yet (Main decisions are Journalism and Marketing). I will have to see what the classes are like before I really decide.

This first semester, I am doing general studies and prerequisites. A couple of them, I absolutely abhor, but I feel that if I get them out of the way now, I will have a much more enjoyable experience during the rest of my college career. It means waiting, but that’s something that I’ll have to learn at some point, right?

The first class I’m taking is English 131, a basic mandatory English course that is the first stepping stone into the writing field. I’m going to enjoy this one I think, but probably not as much as I’m going to enjoy the Creative Writing that I’m going to be taking Junior year.

Next is Speech. Ugh. This is one class that I’m going to hate the most due to my incredible disinterest and fear of getting up in front of people. I hated it in High School and didn’t enjoy it any more by the end of the class than I did in the beginning. But, there is no way that I’m going to be waiting until my final Semester when I’m all burnt out to finish this thing. It’s going to be done now!

Third up is a Literature course in Western Masterpieces. I’m excited about this one, yet a little apprehensive due to the massive amount of reading that I’m going to do. I think some of my hesitant feelings are due to having a college prep class during High School where we were reading a book every other week. I know I can do it, but the amount of time and effort is going to be a challenge. I will be happy to do it, but I know that by the time that it’s finished, I’ll be ready for a break!

The fourth class that I’m taking is Math. More specifically, Algebra and Trigonometry.  Not sure what to think about this class. Never received a grade below a B in a math class, but I have never enjoyed it. We shall see.

And my last class is Astronomy. Don’t know what to think about this one either, but I’m kinda excited about this one, mainly because I love space. I’m curious about how everything works, so this, I think, is going to be a new adventure! Who knows, maybe I’ll find another passion!

All in all, I’m pretty excited for the school year to start! I’ll be busy, but I’m going to be trying to work on my writing as usual. I should be able to post the first chapter of my second draft here in the next few days when I’m happy with it! I would love it if I could get some feedback on it!

Cheers!

Ben.

Aww! Ain’t they right durn prettay!

College Update, YAY!

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and, college, like, on, stuff, that, update, yeah

(A picture that I took while walking through the local park.)

So! Within the last few weeks since my last post, a lot has happened! I can proudly say that I am well on my way to College and becoming an English major. 🙂 I have finished signing up for classes at SOAR (Student Orientation and Registration) and will just be taking general classes for the first couple of semesters as it turns out. But! I am taking the ones that I will enjoy the least first(Looking at you speech and math), that way when I am approaching my final semester during senior year , I won’t be hating myself for having procrastinated.

Right now, the classes that I am taking are Alg. and Trig., Speech(erg…), (Basic) Eng., Astronomy (One that I’m actually really excited about), and one that I am actually REALLY excited about is Masterpieces of Western History.

The people there are really great and I can not wait until I make new friends over there! 🙂

Anyway, that’s all I have to say on the subject! I’m just really really excited! My book is kind of at a standstill right now, but I’ve been enjoying taking pictures here and there!

Cheers!

Ben

There is something to be said about being a new writer

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book, college, moving on, new life, rant, school, Writing

To say the least, trying out the writing life, is frightening and also kind of exciting. I am in the process of writing my book which I have yet to decide on a title. I’m think of calling it Relance: Shattered, because it encompasses what happens in the story. It asks the questions of:
1- Who is Relance?
2-Is it even a person, or is it a place?
3-What is shattered? Someone’s soul, or is it some nation that is divided by war?

I can pull a lot of things from this title, it’s just that my only hang up is that I don’t think it quite it has that “ring” that a title should otherwise have. I may stick with it if I don’t think of something more clever, but we shall see.

As of late, I’ve been slowly devoting more and more of my time to writing, trying things, and trying to motivate myself to failure, just to see what happens. A lot of this is possible because I am in the finishing stages of highschool and entering college, so I have a bit more free time on my hands than I would have otherwise. I think that this is incredibly, because once I enter college, it’s all going to be papers that I don’t really feel like writing, no matter how helpful they are.

The genre of my interest is High Fantasy. Wizards, dragons, armies, medieval castles, to even elves and dwarfs, they all have an incredibly special place within my heart. I love the lore that is created surrounding these people and places and it has always been a complete joy to come along on their adventures. Whether those adventures be saving the world, or just the city they live in, I love seeing their trials and triumphs, sorrows, and joys!

I have said in a post on another blog of mine this little phrase:

Have any of you ever wanted to live in a fantasy world? Like something you would read in a book? I love our world, but there is a big Ho-hum about everything that I do. I know in a fantasy world, there would be some Ho-hum times, but then, everything would have a sense of mystery about it! Of things undiscovered, and yet to be found. Where new animals would prowl the wilds and ancient cities would rise out of the ground, throwing a thousand stars to the earth.

The kind of fantasy world I would love to live in would be made of vast jungles crawling with dangerous creatures. Long-lost castles would be uncovered and the ancient lore of different races would alight to new discoveries and magics. I would love, for every morning, to be able to strap my sword to my back, grab my satchel and move on to the next spot to discover.

I would walk through the shade of sentient trees and the sunlight would glitter in the foliage, casting shadows over my face. Waterfalls would break my path and I would come to impossibly big valleys riddled with trees. I would fight behemoths and fierce dragons, all the while, writing down what happened and what I discovered in a book that I carried with me at all times.

Yes, to be in that kind of world, with different people, and places, and customs, would be absolutely amazing to me. For the world to have yet been discovered. I want the unknown.

Let that sink in and realize that this line of thinking still holds sway with me to this day. I posted this about a year ago. Not too long ago, but it was a time where I was still just debating writing a book. I had been playing with the idea for several years, making lore, characters and the such, even attempting the first few chapters of a book. Now, I can say that I have started one, and it is exactly what I have been looking for. I’m still learning to love it, even during the dry periods where I have no idea what I want to say. I have been learning so much. Much more, I am sure, than I could ever learn in a classroom at school. Oh, of course they have their place, but to truly learn, is to do and not sit by so complacently. But when I get a creative flow going, I can write and the end result is me staring at a clock in disbelief saying that two hours had just passed through my fingers.

I’m still paranoid to share the ideas that revolve around my book, even if they might already be written. I have not read of any such ideas that I have come up with. Yes, I borrow, but then who doesn’t? It is the well from which I draw my knowledge and ideas.

I’m not really writing this for anything other than to solidify my thoughts.

Does anyone ever experience such realizations? I’m sure you do, so please, share! I would be curious to know what some other authors, artists, musicians and general bloggers think.

Just Here.

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college, just, random, school, some, things, updates, Writing

Welp! It’s another Monday! Time to do school and work my way toward graduation. It really is an exciting time, one where I’m still here in this tiny limbo, controlled by my parents and the school system, but then also where I’m preparing to transition into the life where I start to depend more on myself. I have a car, I pay for gas and insurance, I help pay bills when mom and dad need help, so I am already learning how to pay for things that I’m going to have to buy in the future.

Next semester, I start college as an English Major. I’m super, uber excited.

That, and my book is coming along. Slowly, but it’s coming!