I love eBooks but Book Stores are the Bomb!

I had a really enjoyable time this morning.  On the spur of the moment I stopped at a brick and mortar bookstore on the way back from Indianapolis.   It had been several years since I’ve been in a good one and I found it stimulating and ridiculously fun.  It was like going to a candy store.  Since I’ve started writing with a purpose and learning the craft, my appreciation for good stories and great crafters of phrase has increased dramatically.

The Graduation Speech

My daughter graduated this past weekend and she had a speaking role.  We didn't get a preview of her speech and were blown away by not only the content of her speech but the professional delivery.  I've had a couple of WOW moments with her and this was one of them.  I just wanted to share the speech here:

Why Growing up is Bad for Your Health

So, upon being told that I was to be Salutatorian, I decided it would be a good idea to look up what a Salutatorian does. It’s not always a good sign when you can barely say your own title without messing it up. I mean, that has a coolness factor to it and everything, but not very telling of what I’m supposed to do besides make a fool of myself up here. 

Blog Award

The Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award

I was presented with this award by the wonderful Kristie McMartin http://lifebykiki.weebly.com/everyday-epiphanies.html

And she was presented the award by her friend Pippa Jay  http://keirbeyondredemption.blogspot.com/

Thanks to both of you!

The rules of this award are as follows: 
1. Thank and add a Link To the Person who Nominated You.
2. Share Seven Random Facts About Yourself.
3. Pass the Award on to 15 deserving blog buddies.
4. Contact those buddies to let them know.

I created a new page to hold my artwork

The link is on the top navigation bar.  I just finished a picture a my daughter for a graduation gift.

There are a few other pieces and some Photoshop things I played around with.

Finding Your Voice

Point of view is a basic building block of writing a story.  It’s the vantage point from which a story is told.  When done well, it can really make your story pop.  First person is obvious; you are in the head of the main character and stay there.  2^nd person is a little strange, and rarely used in story form, but puts the reader into the story, referring to “you” instead of the “I” of 1^st person.   3^rd person is the most commonly used form for narratives and has many forms, from Omniscient, where you see into everyone’s head, to Objective, where you see into nobody’s head, to Subjective, where you have the point of view of a particular character.  Subjective seems to be coming into vogue, and to me, it gives you, the writer, a lot more options to do interesting things.   Limited 3^rd person POV falls in this category and I’m using it for my current WIP.  I started with the story in 1^st person, but I decided to bring in a second main character, so I needed to change up how I was writing it. 

Do Genres Hurt or Help?

      Genre derives from the French around 1770 referring to independent style.  It is useful when looking for similar types of literary work, but it can be very limiting.  In Science Fiction alone there are 10 sub-genres listed in Wikipedia plus one for other, which covers a lot of ground left untouched.  Then there’s mixing genres, like fantasy and science fiction or romance and horror, referred to as paranormal romance.  Romance is very popular in most genres it seems and there is even a new sub-genre for science fiction called Science Fiction Romance.

Tearjerker or just Jerky?

      I hate crappy endings. It’s a real drag when you've invested time and emotional energy into a story and then get slapped in the face at the end when one of the main characters dies. I read books and watch movies for entertainment and to escape the worries that plague us in the real world. I don’t mind a little emotional turmoil, as long as it's accompanied with some heroic action, or overcoming the odds. That’s the stuff that really gets me. Most of us want to feel something while we are experiencing the story and it’s the authors job to bring that to the table, but sometimes they go for the big hit by killing someone that wasn't really necessary to kill, but creates a big emotional impact.

A few distractions

I've been taking an art class on Monday evenings and trying to improve my penciling.  This was my first try after many years:
It's far from perfect, but its a starting point.  I need to work on my shading a lot more.  One of the guys in my class is unbelievably good at it.


Next I decided to try some pastel chalk drawing.  I've never used it before so I decided to start with something I thought would be easier than a face:

I'm working on a new pastel chalk that is secret.  it's going to be a gift for someone.  I'll post it when I finish and give it to the recipient.  I would post my work in progress, but the person reads this blog occasionally.