Prior Incantato: In Harry Potter, a spell that can reveal the last spell performed by a particular wand. In other words — magic revisited.
Welcome to Part 2 of my re-read of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. We last left Harry at the worst vacation ever, warming himself near a fire fueled by a bag of potato chips as he awaits his birthday. When the clock strikes midnight, someone knocks on the door. Continue reading →
Prior Incantato: In Harry Potter, a spell that can reveal the last spell performed by a particular wand. In other words — magic revisited.
I don’t want to introduce this thing too heavily, but if you’d like to know more about why I’m doing this blog series, see these two Harry Potter related posts. The story of the Boy Who Lived is, I feel, one of the greatest modern pieces of writing about death, redemption and sacrificial love – and I don’t know if anything will challenge that title for a long time to come.
I wanted to take some time to dig through the halls of Hogwarts again, to see Harry Potter grow up, to analyze the way J.K. Rowling develops characters and sows the seeds of mystery. Hopefully, I can become a better writer as a result, and we can grow to appreciate Harry’s tale a bit more together. After all, even though the Boy Who Lived is gone, the ones we love never truly leave us. Continue reading →
As many of you know (unless you have been in cryosleep since the 90’s, in which case, you really ought to avoid the Speed movies), all things Harry Potter have come to a crushing halt now that the eighth and final movie has released. For many of us aspiring Gryffindors and Aurors, Potterdom will never be the same.
This sad realization launched me on a consumicas totalus campaign for all things related to the Boy Who Lived, which included a re-watch of all the films and has now lead me to a re-read of the novels themselves. Continue reading →
As a dude that used to weigh 300 plus pounds, I think I can safely say that sometimes I bite off more than what is necessary or smart. I do this both literally and in my creative life. Although in the last couple of years, less in both.
Part of what kept me from writing for the longest time was that I was always overambitious in what I wanted to accomplish with a story. Continue reading →
I believe I’ve said it here before, but starting things is always the most difficult part of any project for me. I tend to freeze up when it’s time for anything new in my life, mainly because I’m worried about getting the ball rolling improperly. I don’t know why, but somehow I feel as if a project that gets enough bad mojo behind it is going to crush me like that huge boulder in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Which, coincidentally, is one brilliant way to start a movie. Continue reading →
I’ve been anticipating 2011 as the year of the revision, much like 2010 was the year of the first draft. As such, this means that I’m now tackling the lengthy process of printing, reading and revising, and so far it’s been a mixed bag.
Oddly enough, I actually decided to revise the most recent book first, the fully fleshed out version of In the Blood (although that will not be the final title). I came to this conclusion for a number of reasons. Continue reading →
Seeing as how we’re already 12 days into the year 2011, I figured my time was running short on doing a self-congratulating post about last year. I could write a whole bunch of nonsense about how 2010 was a year of ups and downs, but it really wasn’t. In all honesty, it was one of the best years I can remember, and I have no reason to believe that 2011 will be any different.
Here’s some stuff I did in 2010, mostly in chronological order: Continue reading →
There is nothing quite like that moment when you realize the end of something is in sight. When running the Houston half marathon earlier this year, there comes a point when you round Allen Parkway and you’ve got only about 2 miles left until you cross the finish line and promptly die. I remember hitting that point and getting so singularly focused that it was surreal, especially as I entered beneath the canopy of skyscrapers of Houston’s downtown that rose on each side of me. And when I rounded the last bend, I got a bit emotional, simply because it was a goal that took so long to achieve.
Now, with writing my book, I doubt I’m going to get emotional, but I’m coming around that bend now where the end doesn’t seem like some mythical idea but a tangible goal. Last night I came over the 87,000 word mark, and I’m looking to hit somewhere around 120,000 when all is said and done. That means I probably am only about 6 weeks away from finishing. After the rough draft is done, I will take 4 weeks away to start something new and get in a different mindset.
In that time, I need to do some key reading and movie watching. And I need some help. Continue reading →
There are typically two types of books that I lean towards when populating my reading list: Sci-fi/Fantasy books or books on theology and Christian living. It’s a strange combination, I suppose, but says a lot about the things I ponder, when I’m not thinking about Batman or cheeseburgers. As an aspiring author, these are actually the two types of writing that I’d like to delve into some day, and there is usually a stark separation between the two (although I’ve shared before how I think this should not always be so).
Over the weekend, there were some interesting discussions going on in a few Christian blogs about the absence of speculative fiction (sci-fi/fantasy/horror, etc.) from the world of Christian publishing. This all seemed to start over at ReveLife with a post about how Science Fiction Goes with the Christian Life, which discusses the myriad of thematic elements that are relevant for Christians in the realm of sci-fi. Personally, I think it raises some good points, especially considering that science fiction’s most powerful ability is to turn the magnifying glass on present culture by way of the future or the seemingly impossible. For reference material, see: Battlestar Galactica, the series. Continue reading →
If you couldn’t tell, I am a fan of all things writing, which obviously includes reading. However, lately I haven’t really had all that much time to take part in this or any of my favorite activities for that matter. But with a break just around the corner and more free time in my foreseeable future, I’m finally going to get to tackle the stack of books that’s been waiting for me in the corner, lonesome and dusty.
The funny thing is, I used to read books like crazy when I was younger. All through out my childhood and through middle schooler, I was an avid reader, constantly getting my hands on any kind of book I could, wanting to devour its words like some text monster, ravenous and hungry for all the knowledge and stories I could gleam from their pages. Continue reading →