LOTS GOING ON!

OK, it has been a crazy ten days.  Lots going on.  Lots to report.

First, NaNoWriMo.  I have been doing really good.  I am totally off track to finish the month with 50,000 words, but I have written over 12,000 words in the past 11 days.  To me that is something to be very proud of.  It is SO FREAKING EXCITING to see my novel growing by chapters ever few days.  It is truly an indescribable feeling.  Such a shame too.  My book is alive in a sense.  My people — or characters if you prefer—are breathing life into the story.  They are so interesting.  They do things that I really wouldn't expect so often.  yeah, I know i am the author.  But, I am telling you that they just do their own things.  It is increadible.

For example: I was working on a scene with my main character.  I was certain how it was going to end up.  I was working toward it and he made some really different choices.  They were characteristic of him, I realized as I was watching the scene unfold, but they surprised me.  By the end of the scene it had come to a resolution similar to the one that I had anticipated but SO MUCH BETTER.  There was so much more depth to the scene because of the choices that my my protagonist had made.  It was ten times more heart-wrenching.

Now, moving on.  Yes I hear the groaning demands from you.  You want to read the heart-wrenching scene.  Well, it is over 9,000 words.  Far too long to post on this little blog.  Besides, you don't want to mess everything up for yourselves.  :)

Last week I had the honor of meeting one of my writing heroes.  Brandon Sanderson few into Dayton to do a book signing.  My wife and I drove down and had a wonderful time.  Brandon, whose podcast I have listened too, has been one of the big inspirations to me in this novel writing venture that I have embraced.  It told him so.  Then my wife told him what a fan I was and how I listened to all his podcasts.  And I was trying so hard NOT to look like the leader of his fan club.  You got to stay professional at these types of things you know.  Brandon actually made a podcast devoted to how one should act around authors that they love (this is in the context of the fan being an aspiring author who is trying to break into the business).  Authors do appreciate fans, but when everyone is saying that they are "your biggest fan" it kind of gets lost in the mix.  However, Brandon seemed to really appreciate what my wife said and we chatted for a few minutes after he signed my book.  I told him that I was well into my novel and that he was one of my main inspirations.  He looked really pleased and encouraged me.  Even said he hoped that someday he would be standing in line to get me to sign his  copy of my book.  He was really a neat guy to meet and visit with.

I think he knew that I was being a responsible fan (if such a thing exists) and appreciated it.  Anyway, here is a pic of me and one of my heroes.  Enjoy!












Lastly, here is a check in.  My current word count is 33,464 words.  WOW!  I passed 30,000 words last weekend and I have been pretty extatic about it inside.  I try not to let it show too much, but it is a real accomplisment in my own estimation.  I doubt that anyone who has not sat down to write a long piece of fiction can understand what 30,000 words feels like, or means.  It has been a LOT of work.  But it is totally worth the effort.

So, go write your own story.  Nobody but you can write your story, whatever it is.  It is a personal journey where you learn so much about life and discover a lot about yourself in the process.  If I never publish this work, it will still be so worth the time and sacrifice and struggle that I have put into it.

Thanks for visiting.
Ammon

Davey got a brand new puppy.

Hello vast audience. I just finished putting my son Parker to sleep tonight. He is the three year old. Anyway, he requested his mandatory "Davey Story" before he would willingly drift off to sleep. What could I do? I love it when he asks me to give him a new story. Lately he has decided that he can tell a better tale and interrupts almost immediately to "tell it right."

So, tonight I told him that I had a new story with a surprise. His eyes nearly bulged out of his head. Then he pulled up the blankets around his little neck, snuggled deep into his pillow and turned his head toward me. With his little hands grasping the comforter under his chin he said, "OK, I'm ready dad." with a big grin. I would give almost anything to be able to have a picture of that perfect moment. The result was a rapt audience.

I began like I always do but painted a picture of a bored little boy with his robot. Then his mother hinted that dad might be bringing home a surprise.

"What is it?" Parker asked.

"I don't know I answered." with a smile. Then I told him about Davey's dad pulling into the driveway and getting out of the car with a box that had holes in it. As Davey ran out to his dad the box yipped.

"I think that it's a dog in the box" Parker whispered to me; anticipation wildly apparent on his face. He really couldn't wait to find out if there was a dog in the box.

OK, now before I finish, I realize that a dog in a box with holes in it is totally cliché. I get that. But, what is cliché to the rest of the world is always going to be new to a three year old. That is a very important lesson that I have learned this year. Cliché's only exist when your target audience is poorly chosen for your story. Now back to the story.

Davey's dad set the shaky box on the living room floor. Parker pulled in his chin as he prepared to experience Davey opening the box. Davey's dad then explained to Davey and Pickles that his surprise would need to be taken care of responsibly. Davey of course agreed (didn't we all tell our parents we would scoop the poop and walk the dog? Yeah, to their everlasting disappointment.) Then Davey opened the box. A perfect little dog jumped up into his arms and licked Davey's face.

Parker laughed, and squirmed, twisted himself up in his comforter as he giggled the words "The doggy licked his face... ha ha ha. He was completely overjoyed by that little tiny detail of the story. I saw first hand how writing can teach someone something. More importantly I saw that one can truly experience an enormous range of emotion throughout the course of the story line and that those are real emotions that the reader, who has emerged him/herself into the story, feels. When Parker experienced the payoff, or fulfilled promise, of the story he was thrilled.

I think that if I had finished with him just getting a puppy and playing outside with it he would have loved the story. But, giving that little extra fulfilled promise/detail about the licking of Davey's face the story was twice as good.

I didn't stop there. The puppy jumped over to pickles and licked his face too. Parker wriggled and giggled all over again. I asked Parker what Davey should name the puppy. He said "name him Fred Jellybeans dad." I, for convenience in story telling shortened the name to just Jellybeans.

Regardless, it was a really great Davey and Pickles (and now Jellybeans) story-night in our house tonight.

Anyway, on other fronts. I wrote 1,340 words last night. It was a pretty good night. but not near enough to be on par for NaNoWriMo. I am not sure that I will finish NaNoWriMo. I just have so many demands on my time right now. This is truly disappointing to me since this is something that I really want to do. Something that I really want to accomplish. I even have next years "novel" all planned out. I think that NaNoWriMo 2010 will be a collection of short stories that all take place in the same world; chronologically.

WOW, look at me. I haven't finished NaNoWriMo 2009 and I am already planning for 2010. I just have so many stories that I need to write. I guess that is the proof that there is truly a writer inside me somewhere.

Anyway, thanks for visiting.
Ammon

Happy Birthday Bekah!

I am taking another day off from NaNoWriMo to celebrate my wife's birthday. We have been married for eight short years :). She is a very talented woman. Everything that she decides to do she seems to do well. She is an accomplished photographer, "jewelry lady" and an amazing mother to our two little boys. Due to the love and wisdom that she imparts to both of them daily, I would not be too surprised to someday find myself the father of two great men who change the world. Perhaps they will cure cancer, or the common cold.

I hope that it is a great day for you.

Happy Birthday "Love."

Ammon

GOOD MORNING NaNoWriMo!

I haven't written a word yet. But, that is OK. You see I have several rules about my writing. One of which is not writing on Sunday. So I see it like this; Beginning on the second of November is better than beginning on the first. Here I go.

My official NaNoWriMo page is http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/547205
Please encourage me :)

Ammon

Quick Check-in

Yesterday I wrote 660 words. It wasn't much but It was good for me to write anything at all.

I have been listening to "The Secrets" podcast by Michael Stackpole and he talks about this. He encourages people to write down anything every day even if it only ends up being a sentence because eventually you will have a finished work.

I am running with that concept. Perhaps I will make it my personal motto. I may not have reached my 1,000 word a day goal, but I did get the end of one scene written and an entire scene following it finished as well. They didn't turn out quite like I had anticipated them to; they turned out better.

How exciting to watch my characters coming to life as my fingers punch the keys. One day at a time.

Later,
Ammon

Didn't write, but Bekah took pics of the kids!

Here are a few really amazing pics of our kids. Bekah took these last week and they are AWESOME! Anyone who needs pictures taken would be smart to let her do the work. Heck, I trust her taking pics of my family :)

Enjoy!

Ammon

I wrote & officially join NaNoWriMo!

Yesterday I put down 900 words. I know that it's not a lot. For me its like starting physical therapy. Slow at first, but slow progress is still progress.

I am pretty excited about it since I finished a crucial scene; one that I had started just before my car wreck. It was really cool to see how it finished. I really hadn't known where it was going but I am really happy with the payoff. It also leaves enough unwritten that anyone who reads that scene is going to be chocked full of desire to read more. (At least I am)

So, Check-in time. I have written exactly 21,950 words as of yesterday.

I have also been preparing for NaNoWriMo. I have loads of new ideas and great information from several podcasts that I have been steeping in. I'm SUPER excited about that. Though I have discovered that I am going to have to do all my NaNoWriMo work after the fam is in bed which is going to be super tough. But, many a person has written a novel in the late evenings. I believe that Stephen King is one of them (Writing Carrie). If they can do it, I can get it done that way to. Also, noteworthy is my particpant badge for joining NaNoWriMo. Enjoy!

Other than that I don't have a lot going on other than being a full time father, and working at work. Talk to you all soon!

Ammon

"I wrote yesterday."
"It's about time!" says someone in the vast audience.
"Yeah, I know." I reply.

:) Anyway, I just have a few things that I wanted to communicate to the vast audience. *chirp, chirp*

First, I have found a few more writing podcasts that are FANTASTIC! They are as follows:

• The Odyssey SF/F Writing Workshop Podcast. This is a podcast of about thirty lectures given to aspiring writers who attend Odyssey. Odyssey is a very small and prestigious annual workshop. Only sixteen people are selected to attend and the workshop runs for six weeks. I WOULD LOVE TO SOMEDAY ATTEND. Perhaps this is a new long term goal :)

• The Secrets Podcast for Writers. This is produced by Michael A. Stackpole. I haven't listened to much but I did hear some stuff that was fantastic. Unfortunately in the background of his "lecture" is this terribly annoying and repetitive plucky guitar rhythm that repeats about every ten seconds or so. Regardless, I have very high hopes that this will be good. Also, it is a highly recommended podcast from several authors and pod-casters that I respect.

Other than that I have been preparing my 1000 word short short in my mind. I will be writing a rough draft sometime this weekend or early next week. I am very excited about the ideas that I have been dreaming up as I have ruminated on the plot and arcs of my storyline.

One of the biggest decisions that I have made in regard to my short is to write it in first person perspective. I have not done this before but as I have pondered this mini project it became clear that this was right. I have toyed around with the opening sentence and found that I with my limit of 1000 words I need to establish a LOT of character, situation and setting information SUPER quick! The best way that I can do that is to approach this short from first person. As I have played out segments of the story in my mind I have felt a thrill from the prospect of writing this particular story this way.

Well, I better get going. I am attaching a few pics of my little man Parker below. We enjoyed the web-cam on my computer and took some neat pics with a program called Photo Booth (on Mac). Enjoy!
Ammon

Some new goals!

Hi! I know, I know... I have been a bit spaced out lately. But I have some good news. I am finally feeling some much needed relief from the pain in my neck and arms (from the accident). It is really nice to be able to turn my head without lightning bolts running down my arms! I am still having lots of issues with my middle back and the doctor said injuries like this usually take 7-9 months of work to get better. Yikes! :)

Regardless, I am keeping an open mind and a positive attitude. Accompanying that attempted attitude I find that I have changed a lot. My thought process is changing and my ability to think has been enhanced. Some of my interests have changed. And, within the limited space between my ears ideas have been percolating. Now they have morphed into something new and suddenly I find myself on the verge of some crazy place. All of this kinda makes me happy:)

So, here are a few of my thoughts, dreams and goals. Not in that order.

1. I am considering entering the 10th annual Writers Digest Short Story Competition. I have my own personal feelings about competitions but regardless, I feel strongly about entering this one. I have the perfect story in mind to write and it is only 1000 words. The deadline is December 1, 2009 so that gives me about seven weeks to write and polish the story. Sounds like fun to me!
2. I want to participate in NaNoWriMo (just sound it out). Unbeknown to most Americans, November is National Novel Writing Month. You can visit their website at http://www.nanowrimo.org/. The goal is to write a novel (at least 50,000 words) in 30 days. It is quite a challenge and everyone that I have heard talk about this, both, suggests it and truly enjoy it. Well, this year I want in! I am planning on using my current manuscript (I am approximately 21,000 words) and adding 50,000 more in November. That would take way past 50% of the first draft. You might recall that my end goal is 120,000 words. So, I am going to see if I can make this work, then I will join the NaNoWriMo community for this incredible experience.
   
3. I am seriously considering starting a writing podcast. I LOVE Mur Lafferty's "I should be writing" podcast. Just this past week she had her 4th anniversary (or birthday?) and talked about the huge change that it has made in life and her career. I have been searching for additional podcasts that are good on writing, but alas there are few. So, why not produce one? Perhaps this idea will turn into something great.
4. I had another one, but it has dissipated. Perhaps it will return...

I have had lots of new story ideas growing in my head recently. More ideas than I have time to write. I gotta do something to move these onto paper faster. But that is the challenge isn't it. The craft takes time. LOTS of time. My wife rightly recommended that I cut more media from my life. She is right, she usually is (don't rub this in my face later, Love). This will be hard. Wish me luck.
Ammon

Parker & Grant

As promised, here are pics of my two boys. The picture of Parker is from his 3rd birthday party. The picture of grant is of his first two teeth. I took that one this morning before work. Enjoy!
Ammon

Back to work

Many people have pointed out that I have been neglecting my blog. However, I am now getting back to work.

Most of you know that I was in a pretty wild car wreck and that I have been popping pills like a hypochondriac for the past 9 weeks. I tried to write during that time but the pain med's really messed with my head and made it impossible to write anything. Well, I have been off the pain med's for about two weeks and I think I am ready to get back to writing.

I have missed it! During the past two months I have had lots of time to think. The result is a head full of ideas that are lining up to get out and fill up a blank page. Also, I have been listening to some of my favorite podcasts. The result? MORE IDEAS!

On a side note, if you have not fallen in love with podcasts then you really must give them a try. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Writing Excuses (Sci-fi and Fantasy writing podcast that discusses everything possible that is useful to an aspiring author)
• I Should be Writing (A podcast that takes a different perspective about writing by interviewing current authors and getting their perspectives)
• A Way with Words (Just a great podcast that discusses words, phrases, structure and etymology of words)

Due to the length of time I had to ponder and many tidbits of advice I received from the above podcasts I'm not going to just go back to writing my novel. I have also begun a personal study of the art of poetry and the short story form. Universally, those who I have talked with, and listened to, recommend the study of these two forms as a way to improve your overall writing skills; even for a novelist. So, I'm jumping in with both feet.

I will most likely be posting my attempts at poetry and short story here on the blog so keep a lookout for those. Also, a friend of mine, Chris Younkin, is going to begin posting a weekly chapter to a short story on his blog pretty soon. I will most likely be linking to that. He is crazy-creative so I'm anticipating that it will be terribly enjoyable.

Lastly, a quick family update. I celebrated my eighth anniversary with my wonderful wife, Rebekah, this past week. Eight years! I am still a little shocked at how fast time passes. I got her something that she has wanted for several years now. We just got it in the mail yesterday. A full-fledged lighting setup for an indoor photography studio. I think she is pretty excited about it. She got me one of my new favorite shows on DVD. Burn Notice season 2. If you haven't yet been introduced to that show you have got to check it out. The writing on it is wonderfully entertaining. Definitely something to watch and hopefully use to improve your writing style.

The kids are doing great. Parker is three and a totally hyper little man who is WAY too smart. Grant has been working on getting lots of teeth, so he has not been terribly happy. But despite it all the child is all smiles and giggles. God has certainly blessed Rebekah and I will fantastic children. I will pop a few pics of them up here soon.

Anyway, have a great week!
Ammon

Moving forward

I have not posted in a few weeks mostly due to family in town, heading out for a week-long vacation and now Bekahs family reunion this week. So I am kinda OK with the lack of writing that has "not" been getting done.

Not a lot of goal reaching has happened in the past three weeks. BUT, I have still gotten several thousand words written. I will do a "real check-in" soon. But, for today I wanted to tell a story about my kids; more specifically Parker.

I have two kids: Parker and Grant. They are such great kids. Parker is turning three next week, and loves stories. Every night he begs for mommy or me to read him a story. In the past few months however he has been a bit obsessed and intrigued with robots. Thus when I lay Parker in his bed I often hear "Daddy, I want a story about a robot."

We didnt have any stories about robots, so I began making up great little short stories about a little boy named Davey and his robot, that Parker has lovingly named Pickles.

During the past two months Davey and his robot, Pickles, have gotten a gift, brushed thier teeth, played baseball, bounced on a trampoline, built a tree fort, gone to the pool among other small adventures. Each story has had a small hurdle that Davey or his robot have to overcome. They are small to me but Parker is always surprised by them. His eyes get so big as he says "Wow!" as I lay out the obstacle in the story. then Davey and Pickles, often with the help of his mommy or daddy learns how to accomplish his goal. I am thrilled to see the surprising abundance of joy that Parker has when Davey "wins." I am also surprised at how excited Parker gets when I mention sharing a new adventure of Davey and Pickles. I am going to have to write all of these down and submit to publishers as a children's series of story books.

I began making notes a few weeks ago and I am excited to officially add this new project to my "project list." A whopping two projects on my list now. :)

I am hoping to write the first Davey and Pickles adventure soon, and post it here on my blog, so keep your eyes peeled for a new little kid's story.

Quick Check-in

Yesterday I wrote almost 700 words. Hey, don't scowl at me like that, its better than nothing! Have a great day.

Ammon

Didn't write a thing last week!

Instead I went on vacation to Utah. My entire family came together for the first time in over seven years. It was quite the gathering and since the trip was such a big one, I decided that I needed to spend all my time with my five younger sisters, several of which I haven't seen in well over 3 years. It was a good way to spend a week.
My son loved to meet all of his new "friends." He didn't really comprehend that they were all part of his family. Oh well. Two year olds don't really care about therelationship; just that they are friends.
Here are a few pics of my family. One with my Mom, one with my Dad, and another with just me and my sisters!

Turning things around!

Last night I wrote over a thousand words. Boy that feels good. Not only did it feel good to get a scene out of my head, but it turned out really good. I think that after editing it will be really good.

On top of exceeding my daily goal I learned something about myself and they way that I write. That lesson, as far as I am concerned, is worth it's weight in gold. What was his lesson you might be asking yourself. I learned about implying aspects of my character through the story instead of doing a brain-dump.

I also learned something about the Narrator of my story. He is definitely NOT me. :) Suddenly as I was sitting and watching the screen, my fingers took over and the voice of my narrator became audibly clear in my head. My fingers danced over the keyboard and I was entranced by the story that was being written. I enjoyed the story. I enjoyed the voice of the narrator. It was a really cool experience. I think that I am beginning to realize why authors LOVE to write.

It is so exciting to see the ideas that well up inside my head find relief as they are typed, word by individual word across the screen of my computer. Unfortunately, if you have not attempted to write, I doubt that you will understand this unique experience. This fact is sort of a downer. I unsuccessfully try to share with others my excitement. I try because the excitement lingers on the next day, but when I share it, it falls on ears that just do not understand what I am trying to express.

Oh, well. Perhaps I have learned three big lessons.

Anyway, here is my check-in: 18,085 words.

Later!

Bad week for writing... On second thought, it was just a bad week!

Ok, so reporting it time.

This past week has been terrible. Altogether I wrote almost 1,000 words. Not that great! However, I did deal with a lot of things that got in my way... (I know, I shouldn't be making excuses already!)

• I had a the largest load of deadlines at work that I have had in almost a 2 years.
• I had several large projects that needed to be done at home including building a wall in my basement (images to come later) and finishing the trimwork around the floors in my kitchen.
• My neighbor died in a motorcycle crash and the neighborhood has been rallying together for thier family.
• And lastly, I got a terrible sinus-infection. Augh!

So, all things considered, I feel pretty good about getting almost 1,000 words written for my book. And I plan to make it up over the next few weeks.

On a positive note, I worked out some very important character details in my mind. I also finished another fantastic book by Raymond E. Feist called Krondor - Tear of the Gods. I also will begin to use the "Marshal Plan for Novel Writing" to reinforce what I have already written in my novel and hopefully improve various facets of my story.

So, here is my check-in: 17,080 words. I had better get crackin!
Later.

Fantastic writing software for Mac

I can introduce my new favorite tool with one word; Scrivener. Lets just put it this way. I have known that I needed to write this story for a couple of years. Now, using this tool, I am confident that I can!

If you haven't heard of it, I'm not surprised. I heard about it on Mur Lafferty's "I should be writing" podcast. Afterward, I searched for writing software for mac and found several options. However, the one I liked best also happened to be one of the most affordable. Scrivener.

I realize that this kinda sounds like an infomercial. Don't worry, it's not. And, I am in no way connected to the author of Scrivener, other than the fact that I am using his software.

I believe that in my first post I mentioned the gigantic task of tracking all of my plot components throughout my 500+ page book. I didn't know what to do. I actually shot-out emails to several authors asking for advice on this topic, and not surprisingly, received absolutely zero replies with advice on how one might organize his/her vast novel writing project. So, I downloaded the thirty day trial for Scrivener. After working in the program for ONE HOUR I was up and running and more organized than I ever thought that I could be. Within that single hour the intense feelings that I had been plagued with, of being lost withing my boiling project, dissipated. As the fog vanished I found that I had COMPLETE control of every aspect of my story. It was all laid out and broken down by part, chapter, and scene.

This is a screenshot of my project before Scrivener rescued me. I would pull parts of my story out and drop them in the back of my working doc. Notes were written everywhere of things to redo, and I spend WAY too much time trying to find scenes that I had written so that I could grab little details to keep the story consistent. To sum it all up; I had a huge mess.







Here is what my project looks like now! As you can see my entire book is plotted out by ouline in the left column. The writing area is next for the scene that I am working on. Next to that is a visual "index card" breakdown of the entire chapter; scene by scene.






After pulling my material into the software and adding notes to scenes that I have not yet written, I have the overarching structure of my novel built and distributed by section and plot arch. needless to say, I LOVE SCRIVENER! I have actually really enhanced my story since working in this software. Being able to see the structure of my story has shown me plot-holes, and areas where I needed to add or remove pieces of my story to make it work better. I believe that this single tool will dramatically affect how much time I spend in the editing process in November. The other neat thing is that I can keep all my files together in one easily backed up file. I can also take "snapshots" to keep track of changes and go back to earlier versions of a scene if I rewrite and decide I dont like it as much as what I had before.

I just cant say it enough. I LOVE IT! I'm not sure how I stayed motivated to write before, as I sat at my computer swirling in frustration and feeling like I couldnt keep track of basic details; details that began to evade me as they mixed in with the whole of the rest of the story.

If you are a writer and work only on Mac's then you gotta check-out Scrivener.

Thanks for reading!

My Goals

I have always believed in having goals. My wife LOVES goals and, therefore, she is always trying to get me to list them. Unfortunately I have a bit of a love for being a bit challenging. So, we never really do list them.

Much to my surprise, I found myself wanting to write out my personal writing goals. I think that this might help me to stay on track with my story and have the first draft of the first book finished by my 2010 birthday. Perhaps this might also appease my wife to see me jotting goals down; that or she feel the "goal" conversation should be reactivated :). I might regret this...

Anyway! Here they are:

1. Finish my first draft by March 26, 2010; midnight (My birthday present to myself)
   
2. Write an average of 5,000 words per week (or approx. 850 words a day; six days a week)
   
3. Finish my novel with a minimum of 130,000 words
4. Finalize my world map
5. Finish all supporting documents that will accompany the books (i.e. the magic system)
6. Blog consistently throughout my writing process and post chunks of my story that I think are interesting or entertaining
7. have fun throughout the entire journey of writing my story

So, I have a lot of goals. And most of them are big ones.

These are going to be especially difficult since this is my first novel. I have been reading a lot about novel writing and the kinks that accompany the art. Once such is that, on average, most first time writers take approximately five to seven years to write, edit and sell their first book to a publisher. Following books from published "freelance" writers take an average of three. I want to have the book written and edited (twice), optimistically, by my birthday. However, I am not including that in my goals as I am not sure it is possible with my personal constraints. But, we will see.

If I can in fact live up to my second goal of 5,000 words per week, I am only looking at twenty-two weeks of writing to finish my first draft. That would mean that I would potentially be finished with my first draft by the first week of November. That would leave me with almost five months to edit my novel before my birthday. Who knows, maybe my birthday present next year will be my first refusal letter! Of course this is all based on the assumption that my book truly does end up being my estimated 130,000 words.

Here is my first check-in: As of today I have 16,225 words in my novel.
I haven't really written anything in about three weeks. So, Beginning next week (I need to finish my last bit of research. I will hit the keyboard hard. WISH ME LUCK.
Ammon

Getting this started

So, I signed up months ago, but haven't done anything since. I assumed that my wife Rebekah would love doing this since she often checks out her friends blogs. But, I guess that she is just super busy with our two little-men; Parker (almost three) and Grant (four months).

I guess I am just going to have to step up and share our family with the world... Of course if you know me, then you know that I wouldn't just do that without an ulterior motive. And yes I do have one. I am an aspiring author (yes, like tens of thousands of others) and I need to begin to get my name out into the wide world. As I have researched novel writing I have learned a lot about the art. So, I think that often I will share pieces of my story on my blog and hopefully catch the interest of people like my who love a great story.

I have worked the plot out in my mind for years, and just about six months ago realized that if I don't get this story out of my head and onto paper, it will never go away. So I began. and thirty pages into my story, halfway through chapter two, I realized that I was not prepared to organize the overwhelming quantity of character details, world building, story plots and arcs, as well as individual character arcs, and much more! I was drowning in the vastness of information that was swimming around in my head and pouring out onto the page. I was constantly jumping around and trying to cordon off and organize the surge of story that followed.

So, I had to stop. I stopped writing with a promise to myself that I would find "tools" to help me better handle my personal conflict with my story. I have been weary about stopping. But, the past 6 months have been VERY well spent. I have learned so much about the writing process for long stories, or if you prefer novels, and now have a very confident feel in again approaching the "job" of writing my story. So, this is the beginning of my journey. I have BIG goals and hopefully the stamina to finish the job. I will probably do several individual posts on several tools that have helped me the most.

I am satisfied that this is a good start. Beginning is always the hardest part of anything. I hope you enjoy my personal take on myself writing my story. Post ya later.

Ammon

PS. Ignore the pic. Its for my background!