Long time no blog

It has been a long time since I have blogged here and much has gone on in my writing life.  I have now completed draft 2 of seven chapters of my book, Sword of Earth and have completed the first draft of the prologue of Fire Bow.  I am still thinking of whether or not I should go independent or not with publishing; I need to know the pros and cons of both.  If you have any ideas, please post them here.

I have also done more thinking about serializing another project I have.  I have put most of the project on Writer’s cafe, but I’d like to do it as a blog I think, but I’m not sure of that either because I don’t want to spread myself too thin as I have in the future.

I have decided to shut down The Food Tunnel, but don’t worry, there is a better blog going on even as we speak.  I have an account at Audioboo.fm, which is called Boosounds.  Boosounds is a boo about my travels, no matter where they are.  They also include audio cooking recipes.  When I get Boosounds set up here on WordPress, I will feature some of my favorite boos and write about the event, more of my impressions, or even bring in some information that I never knew before.

I hope you’re all doing well.  May all your journeys be safe ones.  Take care and God bless.

 

Vacation Post

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I titled this post Vacation Post because I started it while I was on vacation in the beginning of June.  We went to William Watson Lodge.  While looking for a good explanation and pictures, I found another wordpress blog.  It can be found here.   We spent a week there this summer, and that’s where this post came from.  Enjoy.

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Hi everyone,

I have been doing a lot these days, and I’ve learned a lot too.  One of the things I have learned is to never use a usb as a continual drive.  What I mean is that I have used a usb drive to work from in real time.  It worked for a while, but when I accidentally bumped it, I destroyed a link in it.  I was so upset!  Well, since then, I have decided to work only to use flash drives.  Well, throughout this week, I’ve realized that going extreme isn’t the way to go either.  So, I’ve decided that the 32 gig drive that I bought is going to be my backup drive.  It shouldn’t get bumped if I use it sparatically.

I am right in the heart of Aylanna and L’Eaua’s country, and I am so thankful to be here.  They are a part of me, so I feel contented on more than one front.  I am feeling relaxed, and my characters are taking in everything they can; they miss the mountains.

So, I’ve decided to start videoing all the falls that I come to, not to mention any trickles – basically anything that has a sound.  I’ve also taken some videos of walking down a couple of woodland paths.  It’s been an adventure, and I”m thankful to have been on it.  I have decided to show one of the pictures here, as well as one of the videos, so I hope you enjoy them.  Look out for some more pictures in the future too.

I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Michelle

Beating to a different drum

Well, today is a lot better than last time.  I quit my belly-aching, and prayed about what was going on, and now I have moved forward.  I have worked on all my blogs, on my book, and more.  The first news I told you that I would mention is if I published any fantasy.  I did.  It’s part of Kent Chronicles, and you can see it at Fantasy’s Fancy.  Even though Fantasy, my use is small, she will grow full sized soon.

Now, I have also worked some on Chapter 5 for my book, Sword of Earth.  I’m hoping to be done that chapter soon so that I can get it out to all my beta readers.  I have been working on it for over a year now, so I want to be on draft 3 soon.  Hopefully by this tie next year.

I am working on both Christian and non-Christian poetry.  The Christian poetry can be viewed at The King’s Poetry.  The others will be published elsewhere, and when that happens, I will let you know.  I have nothing new for the King’s Poetry, but I did edit a poem that I first published there.  It is a biblical poem from Eve’s point of view.

I pray you’re doing well with all your writing or whatever your interests lay.  God bless you all.

Michelle

Thankfulness and Characters – Item found!

A few posts back, I lost my thumb drive, or rather, I thought I did. Well, guess what? I found it! It was in a totally unexpected place; my craft bag! I am so thankful to God for that! I tried to move forward in my editing, but I felt like something was holding me back. I was even second guessing myself. Well, now it’s back.

It gets me thinking about my main character, Aylanna. How does she express thankfulness? How does any character express it? Is a sacrifice made? I think to the times when I’m thankful. I feel joyful. I cheer. Sometimes if it’s big enough, I’ll even jump up and down a little, but we all express it differently.

Also, another thing to think about is how your character acts when something is lost. I get frantic, depending on whether or not I have an inkling of whether or not it’s in the house or somewhere safe. I kinda did with the thumb drive, but there were times when I doubted it.

So, what about your characters?

Until next time, God bless.

Prologue, 1, 2, now 3!

I know the title seems weird, but what it’s talking about is the book, Sword of Earth. I have just finished chapter 2, and now, in chapter three, the third member of the party, Scarlet Fira is introduced. Scarlet is the elemental guardian of Fire. They are imprisoned and find a way out. I am looking forward to working on the rest of the book.

I am also working on my blogs, as you can tell, as well as reshaping my ministry, Heart’s Alive! It’s purpose? To encourage a relationship with Jesus Christ through prayer, art, and music. When I have redesigned the website, I’ll let you know.

I have been thinking about ways to explore settings lately and exploring that with Fantasy lately. I’m thinking of doing it with Sword of Earth too because we need to convey the setting to the reader. Any ideas?

FIRE!!!

Well, ok., not really. There was a fire in my neighborhood, but it didn’t affect my home. It did get me thinking about how they might have fought (or didn’t fight) the fire in Sword of Earth, my book. I wrote in the book Horsemaster’s house had burned to the ground; would they not have put it out? So I have been thinking about it and doing some searching. I think I was right because it wasn’t until the 1800’s when they figured out a way to fight fires using machines.

While I was doing the research for that, I came upon some information on the history of food. Did you know that the main meal was eaten during the day in medieval times? It was. We couldn’t imagine doing that.

I also am thankful that I wasn’t born in medieval times…I sometimes wonder why I have a fascination with them. (Probably because of the type of books I have read.) In the middle ages, there were arranged marriages of children as young as 12-14!!

So, the fire’s now in a different place…I’m shocked; I will have to make the world a little more humane in my book. Until next week, may God bless you.

“Busy, busy, busy!”

As Professor Hinkle said in Frosty the Snowman when he was apologizing to Santa, Frosty, and Karen about what he had done, “Busy busy busy!” That’s what I have been in the past little while since I past wrote. There has been some good progress on the book. I am now on Chapter two of Sword of Earth entitled “The Road Ahead”

Chapter two is a transition phase that leads between two towns. It is important because we find out a little more about Storm and Aylanna’s powers. I have found that description isn’t easy for me, especially when I’m creating the world my characters live in; it seems to happen as needed, and that’s what I’m exploring in chapter 2 In draft 3 of chapter 1, I may have to deepen that as well, but we’ll see what happens.

As for the rest of my life, I am spending time housecleaning and writing either in a blog like this or on my book in the mornings, and in the afternoons and evenings going to several different activities. Tomorrow is going to be very busy, because we are having a youth and kids’ prayer event at our church. Normally from 12-3, I, as Heart’s Alive, host a ministry called Prayerful Art. This ministry explores how prayer and art go together through various themes.

But even though there are so many activities, I am looking forward to tonight. Thursday and Friday nights are our “Weekends.” May God bless your day.

Do you have anything that you’d like to see on this blog? Feel free to comment. I don’t mind posting my views as long as it’s on writing and the writing life.