The fire rises!

Not exactly sure what happened over the last week, but a fire has been lit and I have been writing like a mad man. I love it. Any chance I have had to open up my work at home or at school I have taken full advantage of, and the story marches ever onward. Should I be grading.... yes... possibly... who asked that anyways? Silence!

Last time I shared my progress I had a little over 40,000 words written. Today, I finished another first draft of a chapter and added up my totals, I'm about 3k words away from 60,000. Woo hoo! My original goal was to finish the story in about 100,000 words but I have a feeling it will surpass that. I am super excited, I just don't want it to get too long. The newest chapter puts the count to fourteen plus a prologue. I was hoping to have about thirty chapters total.

I also found my notebook and I have been using that a good deal more. Notes are easy to write with a baby sleeping on my chest. She just likes to sleep for a long, long time. On your chest though, not in a crib. God forbid.

I have introduced three new characters to the story and I enjoy them very much. The story has found a new locale as well and I have enjoyed doing the research on this exotic location. Not exactly a place I'd like to visit first hand, but you never know. Contagious life threatening diseases are just not my cup of tea at the moment. Back in middle school, when I read Hot Zone, yeah I was intrigued but it has worn off.

The climax of the story has been elusive and what little I had notes for has shifted about into ideas that I did not like, but I am fairly certain that I now know where I am ultimately going. I'm not a huge fan of books that require a series but this story will. Three books should do the trick though. I am very excited to see what readers will think.

Lastly, I still have one Robbie chapter to go back and re-write. Its been hard though, I have had a lot of ideas flowing and I like moving forward with the story, going back seems a little like a chore. I'd like to update Robbie's chapter soon though so I can share the entire manuscript with a friend who has offered their services to the cause.

I just finished reading one of my favorite Sci-Fi series of late. The Reckoners, by Brandon Sanderson was wrapped up not long ago in the third book titled Calamity. I loved it. The humor, the action, and the ending all lived up to his usual standards. This series qualifies as Young Adult, so it is not as intense as Elantris or The Way of Kings but it told a wonderful story nonetheless. I have been disappointed with so many young adult series over the last few years. The first novel usually starts out strong but then the remainder fall flat. However, most are now movies, so what do I know?

I have pretty much devoured all of Sanderson's books in the last year or so after I found Mistborn. I highly recommend him if you are a sci-fi/fantasy fan. You will not be disappointed. His books are big and can be intimidating to the uninitiated but they are worth every page. I only hope I can be as talented as this man someday.

That's about it for today. As always thanks for reading!

Peace!

Lessons Learned

I have a very vivid memory from when I was younger. I'm not entirely sure how old I was, but I distinctly remember an event that shaped the way I see the world and the people inside of it. My father taught me something that I still hold onto today. Something that I feel all people need to hear from time to time. I know for a fact that my father did not intend to teach me a particular lesson, he did not give me a speech regarding the topic, nor did he make a spectacle of it. It was something he did, it was small, it was quick, but it had an enormous impact on my worldview.

Like most suburban families at the time, we were spending the afternoon at the mall. Back then this shopping center was quite popular and very busy. It had a great food court and a large carousel that lit up the entire section of the mall where it could be found. There was a fountain near the single elevator and tons of shops. One of my favorites there was the game store, big surprise for those who know me. I loved that shop, it was small, but it had tons of stuff that would spur my imagination to all kinds of heights. It is where I first learned about Magic the Gathering and Warhammer fantasy. I also picked up my first Warmachine starter box there. Going to the mall typically meant that I'd get to come home with a copy of my favorite magazine or a booster pack of magic cards. I loved it. My initiation into nerd culture is not the topic of this post though, so I will spare you any more geek centered references. 

I can't remember the time of year, I'm not sure if it was the holidays or not, but I remember the mall being busy. My dad and my siblings were seated on a bench, eating and drinking crappy mall food, which was the best at that time in my life. Might still be now...hmmm....Cinnabun.... But the event that stands out clearest in my mind is what happened while we sat there.

We watched the mass of humanity flow by, people of all different shapes, sizes, and colors. It was chaotic, but organized all at the same time. One face in particular stood out in the crowd and my dad noticed him. My father stood and approached this man, he was short and older. He had a wizened look and he seemed a little puzzled at who my father was, I never knew half the people my father stopped to talk to those days so this didn't seem out of place to me.

The man my dad spoke to was black, he was one of the first black people I saw my dad interact with as far as I could remember. Living in white suburbia at the time was one of the least diverse environments known to man, at least as far as a child could tell. The two men spoke for a few brief moments, shook hands, and then parted ways. My dad returned to us and sat. I asked him who that man was. He replied with, "That is a good man."

Like I said, I don't remember much  more than that from the event, I have fuzzy memories of my dad saying that the man he spoke with dealt with a lot in his time and my father respected him for that. My dad didn't go into how I should treat people of different races equally, he didn't explain the significance of what he did, he was just him. A good person.

I hope to be a good man for my children. I hope that I can show them that we are all human. That we share so many things in common, things that are far more important than the differences we see with our eyes. I want them to know that we all have the potential to be good, regardless of what others may tell them. I want to show them that a moments kindness can outweigh just about any hate or negativity. I want them to see hate and know without a doubt that they should want no part of it.

There are dangers in our world, we hear about them constantly. There is a group of people that want us to be afraid of each other. They want that fear to grow rampant and toxic. They want us to stay indoors, away from each other. They tell us that there are others, our own neighbors who are making our lives difficult. Because if we are afraid and angry with each other, we will never question those who make the rules.

The poison that courses through the veins of our country today needs to be expunged. We are better than this, we have come farther together but we still have much more to do. It saddens me to see the way we talk to one another and to hear the frustration in people's voices. I wish we could all take time to breathe, smile, and find the good that is within each and every one of us.

I hope to show my children, just like my father showed me, that there is nothing to fear from a good person. They are out there, everywhere, we just need to look past the obvious differences and take the time to celebrate how alike we all are. I want them to know that the connections we form with each other improve us, they make us better than we were before. I thank you dad, for being a good man. For teaching me through your actions that others deserve patience, kindness, and respect.

Life with Hailey and Writing Updates

Baby Hailey is here and life has reverted to the chaotic energy of living with a newborn. She is a gorgeous little girl and has been quite cuddly so far. So cuddly in fact, that she is keeping poor mommy awake most hours of the night. That is the extent of our worries though. Carrie and I couldn't be happier. Hailey is healthy, eating, sleeping, and most notably pooping with consistency. : )

Mommy has been a total champ, she handled labor beautifully, and I have been so proud of how strong and focused she was throughout the process. She even managed to chuckle at my corny jokes in the delivery room (of course these were not made during labor...).  That alone is proof that she is a much tougher person than I ever will be. I love you Carrie, very much.

I was fortunate enough to stay home from work for about a week  It was excellent, I am still super bummed I did not request more time off. I didn't have to the first time around since Henry came over my summer break, so I wasn't sure how long I would need to take off work. I figured a week would be sufficient in helping Carrie transition and taking care of Henry during the day. Man was I wrong. I should have taken much more time off. As I type this during my lunch break I realize that  I miss them terribly. The feeling of little Hailey sleeping on my chest while the sound of Henry's voice fills the house is by far one of the best memories I have recently created. I know that I will take it with me forever.

So, as one could imagine writing has slowed to a trickle. I was able to write a few hundred words here or there, but nothing significant. I have been revising and rereading a Minka chapter recently, it is getting close to being what I would like, but it still has a lot to be completed. All in all, the total word count has crept over 40K, which is around 100 pages, depending on font size and spacing. I'm pretty pleased with this, I just hope I can finish a complete first draft before the beginning of the next school year.

I am finding that continuity is my biggest struggle, so I find myself rereading older chapters more than I would like. Looking for various details that have been mentioned in regards to all sorts of things. I'm not sure what would be best to combat this, I feel like I am not using my time as efficiently.

I have been able to do a decent amount of note taking and scribbling thoughts down here and there. I was able to map out several large events that have yet to come as well as create a few new characters to join my current cast. I do most of my brainstorming as I clean horse stalls, one of the small benefits I can associate with that task.

Well that seems to be it for now. Thanks for reading.

Spring Break Accomplishments

Another Spring Break has come and gone, each year this break from work seems to get shorter and shorter, this year being no exception. I had a relaxing break though, my family and I stayed local since Carrie still had to work and we are pretty close to baby girl's due date. Henry and I had some nice days together. I love spending the day with him, he's been such a riot lately. Everything is just a blast for him. I couldn't be happier watching his face light up with excitement, his little dance moves, and his signature "WHAS ZAAAT?!" (What's that?) when we do something new and fun.

Plus, I got to hit up Adepticon with my friend Craig. Which was awesome. Adepticon is a convention for miniature wargames that has been growing in size for the last decade give or take a couple years. Thousands of gamers from all over the world, descend upon the innocent and unknowing patrons of fancy hotels in the Chicagoland region. This year's was held in Schaumburg, not far from O'hare. You can find just about any game under the sun there, and for those of you who know me well you understand how I would feel about a place like this. To put it mildly, it makes me very happy. I was not participating in any competitive events, but Craig and I still had a good time. We checked out the vendor hall, played a few demos, had beer and wings, saw some old and new friends, and sat down for a lengthy game of Cthulu Wars (Risk with the elder gods from the H.P. Lovecraft stories). I actually won...well sort of...I brought about the end of the world by driving everyone mad, but hey, I think Lovecraft would have seen that as the true victory. Here's a pic.



Super nerdy I know. Like really super nerdy.

But break is over. Sad face. So, for those who are keeping tabs on my writing process, here's what I accomplished.

I managed to write a completely new Robbie chapter matching the narration of the chapters for the other characters. As I stated in my last entry, I am much happier with the way it turned out. It still needs to be looked over a few times before it is final, but I am pleased with how it is shaping up. That chapter turned out to be about 4,000 words which is around 13-15 pages depending on font size and spacing. I try to wrap up chapters around the 4k mark, I don't think teens like reading 20-30 page chapters. I could be wrong though.

I began writing a new chapter focusing on one of the coven members; this chapter will follow the girl known as The Voice (still debating on the name though...The Voice...Blake Shelton comes to mind...). So far, I have completed one other chapter for the coven focusing on The Reaver. Every coven chapter will give us a glimpse into what has happened to drive each member to become the way they are as well as move the plot line forward. I hope to create three unique characters with these chapters. One that you utterly despise, one that you find yourself feeling bad for, and the other whom you're just not sure about. I was only able to write about 1,000 words or so for The Voice, I would have written more but I was distracted and driven to address the Robbie problem.

After discussing a few details of the story with my friend Chris, we agreed that Robbie has become a little flat and boring. So, Chris let me bounce some ideas off him and I came to a better plan for the poor boy. I am going to attempt to discuss a relevant topic through Robbie, one that has affected me personally (So it should be easier to write about, at least that is what I am telling myself). Sadly I think this is something many kids today will be able to identify with, anxiety and depression. I think that is a relevant flaw for a protagonist without going to the extreme. I am a little nervous though, because I don't want it to become a total downer.

So, I began re-writing the first chapter of the book. It is not complete yet, but it is turning out to be much better. As I was looking back at my original I kept finding myself thinking I thought that was good? Ugh, it was kind of depressing, I mean, what if all my other chapters are like that? Well, I did a quick skim and  for the most part they are not, it is primarily the Robbie chapters that I have a problem with. I'm sure this is a problem for many writers though, so I'm just going to power through.

All in all I wrote about 10,000 words over break (I'm fairly proud of that), but unfortunately. only half of that was "new" material. The second version of my Robbie chapters set things up for new events in the story, but I don't necessarily count that as new material since I am using about 75% of the material I had previously written.

That's about it, I'm sure I could say more, but I will wrap it up here. I hope to do a post today or tomorrow about what I've been reading, so keep your eyes out for that.

Thanks for stopping by,

Brian

The Problem with Robbie

Happy Easter to those who celebrate. I hope you enjoyed some time with your family, I know I did. I almost passed out cold at my mother in-law's due to food coma, but I rallied with a cup of coffee and made it through a second family gathering at my father's place. It was an excellent day, seeing my son play with his cousins and catching up with my siblings was much needed.

Enough about holiday gatherings (sorry to my family that follows this...), let us get to the topic at hand.

Two years ago I decided to start writing for my students. I was a little tired of the short stories that were found in our grade level text book, and  I wanted to create something that my students would enjoy but would also be able to apply the terms we were learning in class. Conflict, climax, rising action, exposition, the list goes on. The first story I wrote with this purpose in mind was a piece called Lucky Kids. It was about two boys from opposite sides of the tracks. One boy is well off and loved, the other poor and neglected. Out of this story Robbie and Chuck were born.

The kids loved the story, they argued over the ending and they marveled at the fact that I, their own nerdy school teacher, wrote it. I distinctly remembering one of my more vocal students shouting out with a very puzzled tone, "But its so good!" like it was some accident that I managed to write something enjoyable. Talk about a backhanded compliment, middle school students excel at this skill by the way. Afterwards, my students were filled with a renewed interest in storytelling and shot off into the world of writing with vigor and ferocity...awards were won and praises were sung of my imagination and teaching style... or maybe that's just how I envisioned it happening. Oh well, that is besides the point. They wrote and I wrote. I shared and they shared. We had fun. End of story.

Little did I know that the events and characters that were present within Lucky Kids would become pivotal in my creation of The Vessel. Perhaps pivotal is not necessarily the right word, essential maybe? Robbie Watson took center stage along with his father, Robert Sr. and his mother, Joy. Eight years after the events in Lucky Kids we find that Chuck is now a foster child who has found his way to the Watson household. The characters that have joined the story are Minka, Jaxon, and Margaret. Along with several antagonists and minor characters at school. Each of these characters are dear to me now, and I do my best to adhere to continuity while providing each with opportunities to present themselves in a way that readers can connect to. There's only one problem, and its a big one, I've dropped the ball with Robbie.

I'll be honest, I feel like his chapters suck, like really suck. It is totally my fault too. I tinkered around with different points of view in the early stages, back when I thought this was merely a distraction. I eventually decided to write Robbie's chapters in first person and the rest in third. Looking back I have no idea why I decided to do this. That was mistake number one. I convinced myself that I would stick with it and see where it could take me and my readers. However, my students saw it immediately. "Why are Robbie's chapters first person?" "Is Robbie narrating the other chapters?" "Why do you switch?" They were confused (rightly so) and they didn't like it. I should have listened earlier on. To add insult to injury my kids asked for more Chuck chapters rather than Robbie chapters. Don't get me wrong, I love Chuck but having him as the primary protagonist was not my original intention. That does show me one thing. I'm doing something right in my chapters about Chuck. I will have to look back at them.

Next, I find myself providing too much exposition and flashbacks in Robbie's chapters. Basically he is there to provide information on my other characters to make the story more engaging. That sucks. Sorry Robbie, I feel terrible. You are supposed to be one of the heroes of this tale and I am turning you into a glorified narrator with little to no development. Ugh.

So who is Robbie Watson? Robbie comes from a wholesome modern family, dad works from home and displays a more caring side, something I have not found much of in my journeys through YA fiction most of the time. Mom is a professional modern woman, she is the breadwinner but still makes time for her family. They live in a typical suburban home, nothing massive but not small by any means. The Watsons are living the good life. So what's wrong with that, right? Why do I have to fight the urge to turn poor Robbie's life upside down in the story? Can't a main character lead a happy life, do they always have to have some sort of huge inner conflict or shadowed past?

Lets go a little deeper, Robbie is wheelchair bound, and he struggles with the thoughts that people speak to him solely because they pity him. He falls for just about any girl that makes eye contact with him (I have some great source material for this, I'm looking at you high school Brian). Robbie is good at school but lacks the drive to really go anywhere or do anything. If he had a choice he would watch movies all day and find a way to get paid for it. He cares about Chuck, Robbie hates seeing Chuck get in trouble and at times Robbie is frustrated by the choices Chuck makes. The two characters bicker like a married couple occasionally but they always find a way to resolve things. Even after writing these details here, I still feel underwhelmed. Maybe I'm being too critical. There are large things that Robbie will take on over the course of the novel and potentially the series, so maybe I should just leave it at that and let the story shape the character.

The last Robbie chapter I wrote I decided to ditch the first person narrative and switch to a third person p.o.v. to match the rest of the novel. Needless to say, I was much happier with the finished product. It became exactly what I wanted with Robbie, I was able to share his thoughts easier and I didn't feel as though my writing was too simplistic. But, I also knew as I was writing that I was screwed. I think I have about five Robbie chapters done that I will need to go back and adjust, which will take time. Blerg. Writin' iz hurd.

Better to take care of it now I guess.

So here's what I am shooting for, I'll keep moving forward with the novel over spring break. My students are hoping to have some new material to read when they get back. I can't let them down. Getting grief from four separate classrooms full of seventh graders is something I wouldn't wish on anyone. I'm going to do my best to finish two brand new chapters, then go back and fix one Robbie chapter. Hopefully that won't cause too many continuity problems but it may also solve some problems that need to be caught. That's the plan. Now I'm in trouble...you remember how I feel about goals? 

Thanks for reading.

Brian

Let's do this!

Well, here I am. Blogging. Something I never, ever, saw myself doing, why? Because who really cares what is going on in my small corner of the world? The answer: outside of my mother and my little family, no one really.

Unless you count my hyper obsessive Australian shepherd, Calvin. I mean, he is pretty much always there, he has earned the title Velcro dog in our house, but I'm fairly certain that he cannot access the internet or read. Even then, I'm not sure he really cares, he only seems interested in me when I head towards the back door.

Whenever I think of blogs, I think of Mike Birbiglia's stand up. He comments on how mundane most blogs can sound, and I can't help but agree with him. One of my favorite lines is this.

Average blogger: "Today I went to J. C. Penny."
Average comment "J. C. Penny, eh?"

Mike B. "That's not a blog, that's a text message."

Sure, I tinkered with blogs during college, but that was mostly for pointless assignments given as busy work to allow a professor to claim that they are "integrating technology" into their classroom. I even had a blog once to display my work for one of my many hobbies, but it wasn't consistent, and it wasn't needed. Now it is I guess.

Truth be told, I'm doing this because I've read that if I want to have a chance in the world of becoming an author, I need some kind of an online presence. A platform. Or whatever. So yes, this is me, vainly seeking your assistance to... Follow. My. Blog..ugh that was hard to type...and help me become a real author.

Am I being too whiny? Pessimistic? Damn it...

Before you decide to click away and find somewhere else to waste your precious time on the internet, give me a shot. What will you find here?

Goal number one is to share the details, the process, and the journey towards becoming a writer.

Goal number two, I will share updates as I progress through my first novel, The Vessel, you will find excerpts and musings as I work towards completing this most excellent tale.

Goal number three, I will entertain you with tales from my fantastically fun classroom and my wonderfully loving home life.

Goal number four, find out what I'm reading, watching, listening to, or playing. You may not care for it or you may love it. If anything I hope to bring something new, creative, or fun into your life.

That is already way too many goals for me, now I'm starting to stress out. I gotta go.

Thanks for reading.

Brian