New Writing Tutorial! Creating New Characters

New Writing Tutorial Video - Comic Relief

Walking and Crawling

As my son Orion turns seven months old in a few days, and has just started crawling, I was thinking about the distance he has moved during his lifetime. He has probably crawled about thirty yards total on his own, a terrific accomplishment for a seven month old.

And yet, with us, he has visited four states and travelled thousands of miles, carried by us.

I hate to seem pretentious, but it reminds me of God.

We, as adults, do amazing and incredible things, impressive for mortal humans. With science, art, music, and plain determination, we have done things as impressive as stepping on the moon and sculpting the David.

But in the grand scheme of things, we are much greater than our numerous accomplishments, and that is because God has carried us on his hip.

Or in his hands, or on his shoulders.

And as impressed as I am with Orion for crawling, or man for creating complex symphonies, my admiration goes out to the God who has traversed time and space, and is as much our senior as I am my boy's.

Weightier Things Part 2

Well, if you've been following, I promised I would share about my diet.  I lost another three pounds last week going off of salt and sugar, and for week two, I simply juiced vegetables and fruit for my meals.

And I feel great!  That is the biggest benefit, although I should warn you that juice diets are not for everyone, and you should consult your doctor before going on one, as specific health risks can be accentuated by juice-only diets.

We only have so many years on the Earth, and I want to spend mine with Kels as comfortable in my skin as possible.  Have a great week!

New Video Tutorial on Adverbs

Check this link for a great video on adverbs and how to use them effectively in fiction!

The Power of Half an Hour

Because of a great video on productivity, I tried a new method of writing today, and I was very impressed with the results.

There were two premises to my success:

1. I gave myself a deadline.  Half an hour to write 1,000 words.
2. I made myself start, and I planned a break for when I finished.

Thirty minutes later, I had 1,000 words, some of my favorite so far in the second book in A Cause to Cringe, and I felt great.

Forty-five minutes later, I forced myself to stop.  My word count was 1,500, and I leaped for joy.

So, for anyone out there in a writing jam, try this.  Forcing yourself to start and giving yourself a small deadline really kick-start your brain function.

Weightier Things

As much as I love writing, my amazing wife is so wonderful that I would be mistaken not to say that she is infinitely more important.

And I don't want to leave her a widow for ten years because, for example I never wanted to eat right. I see that as a common issue in our country, and probably even more so in my family.

A month ago, Kels and I became vegetarians, and I am pleased to announce that contrary to popular belief, it is very possible to be manly without meat.

As a second initiative, I took up kick-boxing. Boy I'm dangerous now.

But I'm still ten pounds over where I'd like to be, and fifteen over where I'd love to be. Which I thought kick boxing would take care of. (Four years ago I lost twenty pounds in a month bike riding, so this seemed realistic.)

So, after some Himalayan-monk style meditation, I have decided upon two things which I will cut out of my life:
1. Sugar
2. Salt

I am excited about this. You'll hear all about my success, and I feel confident this will get me over, or under, the weight bump.