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shudderingwords

~ Meanderings of a New Writer

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Tag Archives: update

In The Next Couple Days

08 Tuesday Oct 2013

Posted by shudderingwords in Uncategorized

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Tags

busy, post, school, the nail maker, update, Writing

It’s been a while my friends, but I still lurk around the corners of the site here. School has started and brought with it a torrent of things that need attended to. However, I do not wish to speak of school, for I already have two to many of those posts and am beginning to sound redundant.

Anyway, I have taken a break from writing for a while. Not something I really decided, but I had been needing to focus on some other aspects of my life while preparing for school and working a job, so not a lot of time had been left to me. However, even though I am tremendously busy, I am starting back up on my writing. In the upcoming week, probably by next Friday or Saturday, I will be posting a short story titled, “The Nail Maker”. It’s something like Tolkien’s folk-lore type stories. It was definitely inspired by them and I will be directly influenced by the style they are written in. Any constructive criticism will be welcome and I hope it will at least be slightly entertaining. Please have a wonderful week and keep doing what you love!

 

 

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The March Continues

29 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by shudderingwords in update

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blog, book, gaming, life, schedules, school, update, wrath, Writing

The march is endless and I am caught in the current of its continuous tide. The waters fill my mouth and lungs, causing me to spit and spew what words I can in order to keep my head above  the waves. Others that move through the waters do the same thing, and I can’t help but feel that it is in some way all pointless. I suppose that in the grand scheme of things, what we do matters, but it is hard to know that when you taste the salt and grime of a particularly harsh wave.

School, a word that makes people think of a multitude of things. Actual learning is not usually one of those things when thinking of the experience, though it is the reason that we go. At least, that’s what we like to tell ourselves. The point that I am trying to pass on right now is the excuse of why I haven’t been writing lately, and why I have apparently fallen off of the face of the earth.

If I were to simply state that it was school that was keeping me away from my writing, then that would be a bold faced lie. Work, television, and video games are huge culprits in this crime. I have finished my first year of college as of three weeks ago and I have been content to sit back and let my brain rot away for that small hiatus. Now, however, I’ve been itching to do productive things, and so writing has decided to take the seat in my mind once again.

Within the next couple of weeks, I’ll be settling back down into a schedule. These things of course take a bit of time, but when I do, you can expect to see Wrath and his miserable plight taking flight once more. Ideas dance with different masks, eager for me to discover who they really are. I look forward to the challenge in rigid anticipation, and Wrath will once more adorn the pages of this blog.

Farewell for now; much more frequent delights are coming soon.

Bilbo and Gandalf say hello!! :D

Bilbo and Gandalf say hello!! 😀

Shattered Chapter 3 Part 2

10 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by shudderingwords in Writing

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

book, chapter, chapter 3 part 2, entry, family, relance, shattered, story, update, wrath, Writing

I want to go ahead and apologize for the length of this post because I don’t have time to go back and edit it to a more manageable/bite-sized length. Also, because of school and work, as well as a new writing project that came up, the posts of my book will slow even further. This may be the last post for a long time until I finish school for the year and figure out a schedule for my other project. Anyway, I really hope that you enjoy this one and don’t worry, I will finish the book. 

Chapter 3: Part 1

The sudden voice from behind pulled Wrath out of his reverie, tearing the old feeling out of his chest.

“What if I told you they were no longer here?”

Wrath turned slowly, trying to keep from exploding at the man in front of his family.

“I beg your pardon?” A nasty smile spread slowly over his features.

The man repeated himself without a skip, “What if I told you they were no longer here?”

“I still don’t understand your meaning.” Wrath felt his anger flair back up, warming his stomach and quickening his breath.

“Just look.” The man gestured.

Wrath did not want to, but he felt the glow in his stomach turn cold and become a dull throb. Slowly he turned back, trying to keep the smile on his face.

His smile turned into a snarl when he turned. Nothing. He saw nothing! His family had disappeared!

Wrath whipped back around and lashed out at where the man stood. He curled his fingers ever so slightly to make an imitation of a claw, ready to gouge the man’s eyes out. But instead of feeling skin gather under his nails, his hand flew through thin air. That did not stop Wrath’s attack, however, and instead he carried on his momentum and swung his sword with the other hand in an attempt to severe the neck of the man. Still, Wrath felt no impact of any sort and was forced to stop in shock, not quite sure what was happening. The man stood calmly, smiling and holding his hands behind his back.

“Oh this is fun! I knew I had picked a good one!” Wrath was further surprised by a tone in the man’s voice that he thought sounded giddy with excitement. The man laughed.

“What did you do with my family?” Wrath demanded.

“What do you mean?” The man splayed his hands and shrugged his shoulders in an exaggerated manner, acting the perfect innocent.

“Where are they?” He bit off each word, making each a separate statement.

“I didn’t do anything to them, and I haven’t the slightest notion as to where they could possibly be.” The man shrugged again. “Honest!”

Wrath was not pleased and he gripped his sword even more tightly. “They were there. You and I both saw them. Heard them. Where are they?”

The man smiled and put on a face that screamed of a mock sympathy. It was infuriating.

“Where are they? Tell me or I’ll gut you right here on my floors!” Wrath’s voice was thick with hate.

“Aye? And how did that work for you just a moment ago? Honestly Wrath, what on earth do you think is going on here?” The face of mock sympathy became angry. “Don’t you see what has happened to the world out there? How can you talk of building walls for a society that no longer exists? How can you be standing here inside with your family while the society that you were suppose to help is outside tearing itself apart. Come to think of it, there is no more society, just creatures. Well, human, but more creature than not, all given into desire. What about helping them?”

Wrath stood, letting the man talk, still not trusting, but becoming confused once again. How did this man know about the argument that he and Randyl had? What did he mean by society being ruined? He obviously still had a home here, with his family. The man continued.

“This society has been long dead. You are the last. You and I, actually. Leave behind these fantasies and I can give you real death. Real peace. An end. No longer will memories like this haunt you. Don’t you want that? You told me earlier that you did. Would you give it up for something as feeble as memories like this?” The man stopped speaking, giving Wrath a chance to answer.

Wrath thought. And instead of the calm that the man was no doubt expecting of Wrath, he instead felt his anger coming back in waves.

“How can you say that? How can you say that my family is not important, that everyone I used to know is now dead? I’m trying my best to stay alive, to make a bad situation into a good one. I know that there are monsters out there, but I refuse to believe that everyone is dead. I talked with Randyl. We are still working on the wall. Just a part of the city was invaded by the creatures that walked the forest around the city and we were working on that!” Wrath fought tears. “How can you say any of this?”

“Memories, Wrath. That’s all these are. The wall was left unfinished hundreds of years ago. Your society is no longer there and those people that you talk to? You are imagining them.”

“How can you say that?” Wrath was shouting now, tears streamed down his face.

“Wrath.” The man tried to get his attention, but Wrath was not listening. All the pain, frustration, fear and helplessness that he had been feeling for years was suddenly becoming too much for him. His breath became short and his vision faded. There was nothing fair in this world left. Everything was being taken away from him, and there was nothing that he could do.

Then everything went dark. Time passed as he tried to reason with himself, with the way that things were. Wrath felt cold again. So cold that he felt that even had he been sitting in the middle of a blazing fire could his bones be warm again. Nothing in the world could dispel the cold and deep sorrow that permeated his soul in that moment. It was all becoming too much. He wanted to die. This man promised death…but at what cost?

Still, the voice was with him; faint but ever present. “Wrath. All is not lost. You can still join your family, but you must do something. Your family has been gone for a long time. What you have been seeing was your mind coping-”

“Then why did you not leave me to my fantasy?Let me cope, don’t tear it all away.” Wrath interrupted, his voice bitter.

“Because there is a plan.” The voice said.

“I never volunteered.”

“No. But you were chosen. And I beg you to comply with your calling. There is no one else who can do what I am asking.” The voice said, pleading.

Wrath was silent for a while, then, “Convince me since I see no reason.”

“The only reason you need is my word.” The voice said, “However, if you seek more than my word, know that you would die eventually if you kept up this fairy tale that you try to live. A single person in a world of creatures that once use to be family, friends, merchants, kings, princes, paupers, writers, singers, beggars, men, women and children cannot stand alone and live. For you are alone. If you do not act, the world will plunge into oblivion. The exception is that the souls that are in the animate and dead bodies, your soul, will remain. The god that created you would leave and you would be left conscious and aware and alone.” The voice seemed to run out of reasons, but instead finished, “ If anything, I know and you have said, you do not wish that upon yourself. That is why you have fought. That is why you have not thrown yourself on your sword. I am merely pushing you along on the journey that you were suppose to do yourself.”

“Why me?” Wrath asked.

“Why? Every being has a right to self-preservation and you are a part of that plan to it. Do not ask again, push the question out of your mind. It has been asked by every being in existence, all for different reasons. Don’t ask, just do you calling. The answers will come.”

“Fine. You have convinced me, even if it is for self-preservation. I do not understand, but I am beginning to realize that understanding will not come by sitting here.” Wrath said, “I think that I am ready. I do ask, though, to not ask me to give up any memories of my family. Those are the only things that keep me from giving in.”

“I understand.” The voice said.

“I am curious, though.” Wrath began, “Do you have a name?”

“You ask for something that is never freely given.” The voice paused, “But for you, for the sake of trust, I will give it to you. It is Relance. Not my true name, but close to it. I do not give you my real name for fear that it would kill you.”

Odd though it seemed to think that a name would kill a person, Wrath thought that he could understand why Relance would say such a thing. A feeling of immense ecstasy shook his limbs, making him shudder violently. In a flash, it disappeared. The feeling lasting only as long as it took for the name to pass over the tongue. Had a true name been spoken, Wrath would surely quit existence.

“Relance.” Wrath whispered, musing, again feeling the warm shudder, though his tongue seemed unable to say the name with sufficient grace and power, thus making the effect weaker.

The dark that shadowed Wrath’s eyes faded and Wrath saw the man’s face in front of his own. Instead of lashing out to hurt the man, Wrath only said, “Thank you.”

The man named Relance smiled.

Shattered Chapter 3: Part 1

04 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by shudderingwords in Writing

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blog, chapter 3, enjoy, entry, feedback, post, relance, shattered, update, Writing

Chapter 2: Part 2

That entry that I promised more than a month ago. Apologies, but schooling has been keeping me under its heel. That, and I purchased a new computer, so I’ve been playing with that for a bit. Enjoy and please let me know what your initial reaction is. Coming slowly but surely.

The first thought that came to Wrath’s mind, was his family’s safety. This strange man with strange powers was scary and could not be trusted. If he could duplicate objects and merge them back together and then sit on a dusty chair and leave the dust undisturbed, what else was he capable of?

Obviously the man couldn’t be trusted, that much was apparent. Those who dabbled in the dark arts should never be trusted. They were necromancers, and those who cavorted with that sort were always dead in the end. Wrath tried to think of any possible reason why this man – if man he be- would want to target his family. Money, obviously being the first reason. However, sometimes these kinds of men were after something darker. The blood of a child, a dear wife, or even the whole family. Always to worship the evil Dark. Yes, Wrath had to destroy this man. This…necromancer.

Wrath bolted out of his room with the force of a thousand stampeding horses 8, breaking a hinge on his way out. The halls were a blur, his hair flying about in his eyes. His feet stomped, not caring how much noise they produced. His family would be in the dining hall eating like they had said. Inside his chest, he felt a scream of frustration welling up and forcing its way out. Eventually it came, and it echoed off the walls and marble floor. He screamed and screamed and screamed. Madness, anger. Hundreds of years of fear was pouring out of his throat as if he were on the front lines of an army. A thousand souls outside screamed with him, sharing his frustration.

The necromancer could not kill his family, must not. They were his happiness, his joy. A scum of society, a demon, was not about to take that away. Else he would die. He would burn the city, kill his god and bring about a new kind of pain to the world if that happened.

Wrath pushed his legs harder, screaming all the louder, cursing them for not being able to go faster. The palace was too damn big!

There! The dining hall. He could hear his family laughing, oblivious to the danger that they were in. He stumbled into the dining hall and was greeted by a wonderful, if surprising, sight. Relief flooded and Wrath felt himself grow weak with it. No one was being butchered, everyone was safe. It was a sight of his family happily spending time together. Let the strange man steal his gold, his jewels. He could get those back if that was really what the man was after, it was his family that was irreplaceable. His wife was spooning pudding generously into each child’s bowl. All were smiling and laughing, and a fire burned merrily in the enormous hearth. Servants stood by the doors, straight faces all with laughter flowing in their eyes.

Yes. They were safe. All safe. No blood magic here. No one was lying on the floor with their throat slashed open like some goat.

Wrath watched them. A smile spread on his lips. Happiness, yes. This was why he continued to dwell. Did not turn to the madness that lurked in the streets of the city. Did not give himself up.

A while passed. Maybe even days, again, time here did not matter very much. Wrath thought of it as both blessing and curse. The children played, their mother bouncing their youngest on her knee and singing over and over to the giggling child:

Come sweet Mocking Jay.

Do not be shy.

We want to see thou play

And listen to thee sing to the sky.

Come sweet Laustic.

Do not be shy.

We wish to hear music from thine beak

Until dawn dost fly.

The child would sing the words back, often putting his hands to his face, making a beak and then laughing afterward at his own cleverness. Servants stood diligently, never blinking, but watching their masters play with enthusiasm. The hearth burned eternally, always bright, cheerful. If Wrath could ask for heaven, this would be it. Now he remembered happiness.

Chilly Chilly Weather

24 Thursday Jan 2013

Posted by shudderingwords in update

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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.

It Has Now Been A Full Year

07 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by shudderingwords in Musing

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2013, acquaintances, blogs, friends, musing, new year, people, update

I just received a little notification from WordPress telling me that I have had this blog for exactly a year. An exciting prospect, but it is also a little surprising considering that it has felt much longer. Going back and looking at some of my posts from the previous year, I have come to realize that I have changed a lot. When this blog started I was still writing the first draft of my book, finishing High School, quitting a job that I hated and getting hired at one that I absolutely love, graduating High School, making new friends, starting my second draft, starting college, and now that I am coming round for a new year, I am going into my second semester of College and all in the span of one year. It’s incredible how much has happened within that year, and I can’t wait for the next one.

Now, I am not wanting this to become one of those cliched posts where I try to say something insightful or meaningful -be that my intent or not- but I still can’t help but feel dumbfounded. I have been slowly making friends (or acquaintances if you wish to lower yourself to technicalities) here on WordPress through my blog and through the blogs of others and the whole process has been very gratifying. Seeing other people with the same kind of mentality that I myself hold is very exciting and encouraging. I love writing, as many of you know, and my dream of becoming an author has not died yet. So, to meet other writers and dreamers, albeit in a digital way, has been so very incredible in fueling my dream. I just want to thank all of you for the wonderful year that you have brought me.

To another one then!

Shattered: Chapter 2: Pt. 1

10 Saturday Nov 2012

Posted by shudderingwords in Writing

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

and adventure, book, chapter 2, darkness, happiness, NaNoWriMo, progress, story, update, Writing

Credit goes to Freies Geistesleben. His website is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/freiesgeistesleben/2249632265/in/photostream

Chapter 1

Well, I finally finished the second chapter in Shattered! I was able to squeeze  the last few words out between classes and the many papers that English classes require you to pump out. I am going to apologize for any grammatical errors, as I did minimal editing. This is only the second draft, and is actually written from scratch, so bear with me! I’m going to break it up into two parts so that it’s not too much to read all at once. I know how hard it is to stick through a long post on the internet, so I’ll keep them short and sweet. Enjoy! :)

Shattered

Day came, throwing new shadows on the city. The sky stayed a murky gray, covering the otherwise cheerful face of the sun with a stubborn curtain. That, though, was nothing new. Ever since the city had fallen into what Wrath could only call hell, there had been no real sunlight to speak of, only the dark dream-light of a deep winter.

From Wrath’s standpoint in the balcony of the central tower in the palace, he could view the expanse of the city. His eyes flicked from ruined square to ruined square, keeping an eye out for once-men. He had no need for sleep, so he kept watch during the day. The daylight was far more dangerous than the night. Why? Things were awake during the day, and they were things that a man did well to leave alone. The city lay still and the bodies of old victims from both the war and Wrath lay scattered in the street, rotting. The small homes and markets were in ruin. Remnants from old battles and assaults on the people that had once lived there. To the north, Wrath’s right, a monstrous mountain rose into the sky with everything above the mid-section hidden behind a layer of clouds. Wrath recalled that the truly wealthy men of the city had lived further up the mountain in palaces like kings during the Elder Days. There was no longer a path leading up there, but it had been a very prestigious place to live in, had you had the coin to live there of course.

A scream, if it could be called that, echoed through the streets, most likely from the throat of a once-man. What it was fighting, Wrath could not tell. There were no other sounds but that of the creature having its insides spilled. Wrath was beyond cringing at such sounds. For whatever reason, the things that hunted the once-men did not like entering buildings, so he had heard plenty of these slaughters in his time whilst living in this hellish city. Most once-men seemed to go into hiding like Wrath during the day, yet there were a few stupid ones that would chance the occasional trip out of doors, often finding that their decision would, in fact, be their last.

So far, Wrath’s little home here in the palace was safe. No unwelcome creatures had wandered in as of yet and he was happy to keep it that way. The reason for his watchfulness during the day. Some days he would stand until night time came, to pick his sword back up and head out into the streets to shorten the population count of these monsters. Others, he would sit in his room quietly, dreaming of older memories, hiding from the world. He was safe here, but this had not been his first sanctuary. In fact, he had been through dozens before coming to this one. He did not know how long he had been here, but he did know that it was far longer than he had been with past locations. There was something about it that made creatures and unwelcome spirits from passing through its doors.

“Aron.”

Wrath turned to face his wife. She was dressed in the same white gown that he had seen her in earlier. He momentarily forgot about the killings outside and smiled, his arms outstretched, ready to embrace her. Rachel did not return the gesture, but instead continued with her face blank, “Where are the children?”

Wrath looked at her as if in confusion, but then snapped out of it, smiling all the wider.

“They are right here, love.” He said, moving one arm to his left to indicate the children standing there. Four in all, two boys and two girls. Rachel, who was named after her mother, Bethany, Theo, and Tyron. They all stood next to him, oldest to youngest, their beautiful faces were glowing with smiles at the sight of their mother. They rushed to her and embraced her around the waist shouting in unison, “You’re back mother!”

“Did you enjoy the ball?” Tyron asked, his blue eyes gleaming.

“Were all the ladies as beautiful as you said?” Rachel said at the same time. She seemed to have trouble keeping her hair out of her eyes as usual, constantly brushing it aside.

“How pretty you look, mother!” Bethany laughed.

Theo merely laughed and tugged at the hem of his mother’s dress, jumping up and down excitedly.

Wrath watched them all embrace each other, none of them paying him the slightest attention. He did not mind, though. They were happy, he could see it in their faces and their eyes. He laughed along with them, heartily.

Rachel looked back up at Wrath, smiling. “I’m glad to see that they are safe, darling. Did you have any troubles watching them?”

Wrath shook his head, no.

She clapped once, hands over her head, “Good! How about we get you all ready for dinner? Though not a drip of the healthy stuff tonight! How does a full course of desserts sound?”

All the children cheered at this news, jumping up and down with the folds of their mother’s dress in their small hands. Their faces were pure excitement, smiles dominating their features.

Rachel turned and led the children out of the bedroom toward the dining room in the palace, leaving Wrath alone, smiling.

He was left alone, chuckling to himself, happy to see the children laughing. They did not often, not with him and Rachel being so busy all the time. It was a hard life, but it had established a living. A good one at that, too.

The laughter of the children echoed from the hall like birds in a tree. So young. Being their father, he decided that he should share the course of deserts that the children were looking forward to so eagerly. After all, this was such a rare evening where both mother and father were home.

However, he never left his place. He felt his body tense, he stood straighter and focused his attention on a person standing in front of him. Randyl, was his name, and a dear friend.

Gold hair fell in thick curls over a broad forehead and blue eyes blinked furiously, something that he did when irritated. A thick beard made his face seem more fierce than comely, even though the spirit behind the eyes was nothing short of compassionate. Now, however, compassion was not something that he was feeling. His broad shoulders were lifting and his thick arms were flailing around in front of Wrath, making it known that he was not happy.

“We can’t keep doing this, Wrath! The wall is taking far too long to complete and the council is getting restless. They need this finished. The population of the city is getting too large for the city to sustain! They need some place to move!” He complained, straining to keep his voice level and composed, “ We are suppose to finish in six months. At the rate that we are going, we won’t finish for another three years!”

“It will hold, and we will finish on time.” Wrath said, “ Have I failed this job yet? I may be hardheaded, but that does not mean that I won’t finish what I need to do. Trust me.”

“I already do trust you.” Randyl said, though without calming, “But tell me this: Where are you going to get the rest of the funds? You said that investing in a stronger stone would help, but our funds are running dry. What do you plan to do about the growing population?”

“Maybe the city would like to donate. If they are so desperate to get out of each other’s squares, then maybe they would like to help. The population will even out like it always does. Babies are born, the elderly die. Maybe we can expand on the volunteer military that we have. That will exterminate a few more mouths.”

“Everyone pays enough already. We just need to finish! Not to mention the soldiers are tired of fighting the monsters in the forest. We lose plenty of men already, we don’t need our volunteers to die as well. You sound cold!”

“They will hold.” Wrath sighed. “Please, let me have my evening. We shall get it figured out. What can be the harm of a few young, overly eager fellows getting snuffed? Maybe it will make people respect what we do more. As I said, we shall get this figured out.”

“For our sakes, I hope that you do. There is nothing I despise more than a man who can not handle his own work.” Randyl’s hands curled, almost as if he was going to say something further, but instead he turned and left, taking the tension in the room with him.

Wrath relaxed when the man left. The last thing that he wanted to deal with was another issue with that damn wall. If there was something that he resented about his father, it was the position of authority that he had left behind. There was always something needing to be done yesterday. It was enough to make him turn gray at thirty.

But right now, he wanted sleep. He was sure that he had been about to do something before Randyl had interrupted. Wrath shook his head, and pressed a palm to his forehead gingerly. He was so tired. So, very tired. He wished that he could sleep forever, never to waken. That was impossible, however. Something told him that it was so, though he wasn’t sure what it was. For now, he would have to make do with the temporary sleep that came so much easier these days. After all, it was an escape.

November! What Happens?

11 Thursday Oct 2012

Posted by shudderingwords in update

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#new, book, characters, going, NaNoWriMo, national novel writing month, on, story, things, update, Writing

Yeah, I know that I promised a “real” post, ooooh, a little more than a week ago. But you know college. It’s always demanding more of my time the more I spend precious hours there. I had a speech and a Rhetorical Analysis to write, so I have an excuse!

Anyway, I want to talk about next month, November. I am sure that most of you have been seeing some posts about a certain event, challenge, torture, or what-have-you that happens during that month. Namely: NaNoWriMo. A month where writers go to lose sleep, create stress, and generally become more antisocial than they are. Or rather, traveling to a world of their own imagining, living the adventures there through the phantoms of their characters. It is glorious! Or horrible if you don’t particularly like writing. Which I would not know why you would be doing this if you didn’t…some people like stress I guess…

50,000 words, about 178 pages, in one month is the requirement to “win” the challenge. You don’t win anything beyond a nice little sticker on your blog or sometimes, if you’re lucky, a coupon to some writing resources. Scrivener, an amazing word processor made specifically for writers was something that I was able to buy last year, because I made the 50k word count and was given a half off coupon for the program. It was way worth it.

Anyway, I’m rambling.

What I want to say, is that I am going to try and do NaNoWriMo this year to finish re-writing my book. However, I already know that I am not going to be able to make the 50k word count, so what I’m doing this time around is just using the month as a source of motivation. I will update people on what I’m doing, and post how many new words I have come up with. This will be the story that I won with last year, so nothing new other than a re-write. I think that I’ll even post a bit of what I wrote, just so that people can see how I am doing.

The challenge, however, is not going to be in the word count. It’s going to be in the amount of time that I have to work with. Working 20 hours a week and going to school full-time is not going to leave a whole lot of time for me to be able to work on my story. The only redeeming thing that I have going for me, is that I have been outlining my story for the past year, and have also been building a past for my characters. Something that I didn’t do last year.

For the rest of this month, however, I am going to start preparing for the upcoming word-flood. Anyone else out there doing NaNoWriMo? If so, follow me on the website under the name soolkiki. Yeah, it’s weird, but whatever! I’ll follow you all right back!

😦 I’m missing a good picture. Just use your imagination.

College And My Book

10 Monday Sep 2012

Posted by shudderingwords in update

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

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?

College Update, YAY!

15 Sunday Jul 2012

Posted by shudderingwords in update

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

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

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