Birthday update

Hi everyone. I thought I should take the time to change course from my traditional book reviewing and blog about how my birthday went. I'm sure all of you deserve a change on this blog.
This year I turned twenty-four. I had a hope as to what I would find that day, and I was not disappointed. My brothers got me a double-feature of How to Train Your Dragon 2 with the bonus short Dawn of the Dragon Racers. I was really happy to see that. I also got a new watch since my old one broke. I did buy myself some DVDs from the bookstore too: Quest for Camelot and Brave. I thought it would be best to find stories revolving around my English-Scottish heritage. Of course that doesn't mean I can't enjoy other stories based on other nationalities as well.
Anyway, back to my birthday for fun we went to the Museum of Ancient Life. I wanted to show my brothers how it was designed. We had fun while we were there. There was a place where we could put together our own dinosaur. We ended up making a six-legged, four-headed (three at the front, one where the tail should've been) dinosaur. Josh dubbed the creature a Chimerasaurus. We all enjoyed the interactive exhibits.
For dinner we ate at a restaurant called Golden Corral. We hadn't been there for a while, and we always enjoyed the buffet. I have to admit I was embarrassed when people came and sung Happy Birthday to me. I don't know how kids can handle it. If anyone finds out please let me know. I would love to know.
Well that's it for now. Sorry for the lack of pictures. I'll try to make sure I have a way to transfer pictures from my phone onto my blog in the future. Maybe I can try to figure that out this week and post some of the videos and photos on here.

On publishing and Finals

Hi. The time's really been busy because finals are coming up next week and this weekend I plan to study hard to make sure I do good. It would be nice to get a really good grade. However even if I just pass the finals that'll be enough for me. It means I tried.
So what else to blog about? Oh yeah. Tonight in my Creative Writing class I learned about publishing what you write. I was told that getting a book agent is a good way to get your manuscript published. However there is something you should remember: agents don't get paid until after the book is published. If an agent asks for money beforehand, that's a good signal that you should probably try someone else. In trying to find an agent there are plenty of websites you can use. However specific agents are sometimes mentioned in the acknowledgments of a book. Conferences are also a good way to find an agent.
If you want to try to get published without an agent you can try self-publishing, but it means you'll have to work harder to get your book out there. One of the things you should do with writing is make sure your manuscript is ready. Especially if you have a series planned. Fans generally don't like to be kept waiting. I'm sorry that I wasn't patient enough in that department. Well now I know writing can be harder than we often think. However I really enjoy writing because I love the feeling I get with creating a new world and new adventures within, and being able to share that gift with others is truly a gratifying experience.
If you want to know how to get your manuscript really good what I was told was to find a critique group. A critique group is a group of people who read and give feedback on what they've written. It can be very helpful because weak areas can be spotted by others and you can get ideas for revision. One important thing to remember you don't need to use everything they say. You can consider their ideas and if you like them you could try to use them. If not, just remember they were giving their ideas. It's important to keep in mind it's your story and you are the one who is ultimately in charge.
One last thing, last night I learned of a group of students who are working on a company called The Dream Press. Basically people can submit their work and then people can read and vote on what they'd like to see published. If you have a novel you'd like to get published you can submit the first chapter as a hooker. You can even post your own covers or you can select the option of allowing someone else to create one for you, either in black and white or in color. Best part is it's not that expensive. Only around $20. Well I need to get back to writing so see you later. Oh, before I go here's a link to the website:
http://www.thedreampress.com/storyjam/

Happy 23rd!

Well everyone, this is the conclusion of my twenty-third birthday. I didn't do much beyond the normal lifestyle. Went to classes, did schoolwork, watched stuff online, finished reading books, etc. I did get some pretty cool stuff that I'll share with you.
First, I got a cool new dinosaur t-shirt:

I'm pretty sure it's easy to tell what the t-shirt says. I was surprised later today with a surprise delivery from Thur Goodies. Here's what they delivered to me:

I hope I'm not making anyone hungry. This next picture will probably do the trick then:

Some friends brought these cakes over. However I had gone to the local club on writing and I wasn't back until after they had gone. Uh-oh. Just looking at them is making me hungry. And that's pretty much how this day went.

Last day of 22

I figured since today was my last day as a 22 year old I'd blog about what's been going on. I'm happy to say I've been getting better at managing my time. I've got a place where I do my study and schoolwork and so far I've been getting a lot more done. Now I just need to keep this up.
As for book two I was able to write a bit of another chapter today. I didn't get far though. However I have several possibilities as to where it goes. The trick is deciding which one will work.
I was also working on another short story. All I'll say is that it involves a vampire struggling to gain a soul. I know that may sound like an odd topic, especially with Halloween come and gone. However I was just thinking about how vampires are to be without souls and to me that would be just terrible to live life with no soul. I don't like the idea that every single member of a race is entirely good or bad, because that kind of takes the fun out of living and that isn't how it works in real life. We generally know dogs as man's best friend, but how many of them really live up to that? Also do all horses act like noble steeds? In my mindset I think any race created should have both good and bad people in them.
Well I think that's good for now. I hope all of you have a good week and I'll try to write again tomorrow.

Book updates

Wow. Again I wasn't able to do blog posts for a week. I'll try to do better next time. I did just want to give you a heads up with how book two is coming along. I'm working on a chapter that I hope will be well received. All I'll say is that it'll help show what Saurina is going to do while Josun is on the quest.
I've also been receiving tips and ideas as to how to move the story along. This week I got some good help with coming up with climaxes for the stories. Some of the ideas that were presented I really like and look forward to developing them.
Apart from that, the new website is almost up and ready. I'll share the link when it's finished. I really like the design.

Heads up! Great stuff today

Alright everyone, I wanted to let you know that today I got done with the outline for the short story. Which means that in the near future this blog will be featuring the first short story from the world of Dymos! Who here is excited? I'm looking forward to it.
Schooling's been going okay. I did drop one class and added another to complete a core requirement. I did want to take the class I wanted. However I felt like I was going to be struggling a lot. I was taking a class on the Ancient Near East to try to do some research in trying to develop a culture for a part of Dymos. Last week while I was looking through the scriptures a thought was pressing down on me that I needed to take something else. I met with counselors to look at other majors in case I wouldn't be able to go with plan A, and I also looked at core requirement classes I could take instead.
The class I went with was Introduction to Film. I enjoyed what I experienced today. We got to see some of the old original black and white silent films, from shorts lasting only fifteen seconds to what is generally regarded as the first Western The Great Train Robbery. Seeing how films were done like that was amusing. However I'm glad that people kept working at developing this discovery and now we can create astonishing worlds in movies and make it so that what you see on screen is coming out towards you. Probably not the best if it's some ravenous rabid monster. Kidding. I've never experience that thankfully. One interesting thing that I learned was that what is considered by all technicality the first film was something used to win an argument about horses leaping.
Well that seems to be enough for tonight. I'll try to make sure I get a post in tomorrow. Be sure to keep an eye out for when the first short story comes about, and please let anyone and everyone you know who likes fantasy, prehistory, or Dymos be aware as well.

Not much here

I'm sorry to say that I don't have much here. I need to be getting to bed soon. However I didn't want to leave you without an update. I just have to say if there's something that you need to do and get done as soon as possible go somewhere public and do it. You'll be less likely to get distracted by other things especially if you're on the computer. Trying it out today really made a difference for me.

Still no short story

I know I said I was going to get a short story posted this week. I'm afraid it's going to have to be postponed. I started up school this week. However the problem was my poor use of time. I think I'll try to blog about my first week of school if you're interested.

Thoughts on Dymos

Time to do another blog post. I think what I can do now is give you some ideas as to what I hope to do with book two of the Myths of Dymos. I won't give set-in-stone ideas yet. Whether or not I do will have to wait. What I plan to share here is some things I would like to try and accomplish with the sequel. 

While I did a good job story wise for the first book of the Myths of Dymos I didn't really show the world. There's so much to a world that we are often not told except in those guidebooks to the world. I didn't really share what Bylouthian culture is like. What forms of art do they celebrate? What are some of the festivities and holidays they have? What of their history? The people have lived in that land for over a thousand years and I'd like to show what has come as a result. 

I did show that Dymos has a great ecological diversity. Perhaps I did a little more telling than showing. I focused a little more on the amount of wildlife instead of the quality. I didn't show what the animals were like and how the people have learned to live with them other than they try to avoid the predators when they're hungry. Have they used some of the prehistoric animals as beasts of burden? What's the lifestyle of some of the mythological races like minotaurs and satyrs? Do some of the prehistoric animals make good meals?  Are there any magical plants at all? So much that could be done in a series that I hope to be able to do in the next book. 

One of the biggest things I hope to be able to improve on with the next book is to have the characters learn important lessons on how to better themselves. We all have areas that we need to improve on. Everyone has a challenge that they need to overcome. Writing a good story is good and all. However I think it should be a way to help us learn to be better. I'm not saying that the only way we can ever overcome our problems is to go on some mythical quest. Those are relatively scarce these days. However we can try to show people examples of overcoming challenges so they can have hope and try to overcome their problems. Some may say "But I'm not them. I'm me!" That's what makes you special. You can overcome anything you face if you try. You can write your own stories. If you fall, don't worry. Just pick yourself up and try again. Never give up. 

I did learn of a good story element that I would like to use more in book two: Plot twists. A story can sometimes do what life does and throw at you a sudden, unexpected twist and turn. I don't think I used that a lot in book one. Of course I was still relatively new to writing by then. Now it's something I can improve on with this sequel.

You are probably wondering when my next book will be available. Truth is that I don't know. I'll keep writing and let you know when it is done. Of course I may go back and work on the draft because it probably won't be ready first go. Some authors spend years perfecting their work. I'll do my best to not take that long. There will  be other events going on in my life that will also call for my time, like education. I'll just do my best to write when I can. 

Book Release

It's exciting to know that a book that has been written by me is now available for people to buy. Years of writing and rewriting have paid off, and the world can enjoy a new story that before only existed in the depths of my mind. It took a great deal of thinking and imagining before I could get it to sound just right. Now I hope that anyone who opens my book (which is available at www.tatepublishing.com, www.amazon.com, and www.barnesandnoble.com) will enjoy the new world of Dymos.