Sunday, June 30, 2013

THE FOCUSED STUDENT

                                                 




                                                       THE FOCUSED STUDENT

Writing isn't a dream. It's my life. I started writing in elementary school at the age of 8, when I fell in love with Goosebumps, A series of unfortunate events, and many other novels by YA authors. I had always tried creating my own material, but it came out as nothing but a ripoff of what I read. Of course, that's how it usually goes for little children. They end up writing almost nothing but glorified fanfiction. Soon enough, I had the great determination and drive to create my own characters, and stories. None of that would come about until ten years later though, after reading a little book called, “A Game of Thrones.” Soon enough, I became inspired to read more, write more. I was hungry to learn the craft, and hungry to become better at it. I felt as if it were the only way I would ever have fun while making money. For, the world is a terrible place out there. It's all about survival, and if you can't survive, you either fall under the cracks ,or die. I'm going to be a survivor.

So I started reading more and more. It's something I hadn't done in years. I read small books, I read big books, and loved them all. I read good books to know what works, and bad to know what doesn't. And, when I read the bad books, I often wondered how they got published in the first place. Later, I went on an online internet forum to get some critique. The people there can be quite harsh, but they kicked my ass well enough to make me the better writer I am today. Though, I still needed that little extra boost.

At the dawn of Summer, June 2013, I enrolled in a creative writing class at my college. I remember smiling the brightest smile I could when I enrolled. I would be talking, swapping stories, and sharing connections with others that had the same passion as I. Goosebumps ran down my arms as I made my way through the halls and came to the door of the classroom. I was five minutes early, so there was no one there. All these thoughts were running through my head. I couldn't believe I was so close to meeting others just like me. This is what college is for isn't it? I had probably wasted almost two years not talking to anyone because of my anxiety. There were times I would walk away, even run when someone entered the hall, and stood or sat in front of me before class. Not anymore.


Soon enough, I did make connections in the class, but I'm not sure if I'll even really speak to them, and the class itself didn't really help either. There were only a few of us with the creative spark, with the desire to read, to write. Everyone else was just there for the credit, and the rest of us became buried beneath them. There were times I thought I was in pop culture English rather than Creative Writing. Sure, we got feedback from the professor, but no real critique. He was too nice. That, he was afraid to make some deep critical analysis of our work. I know they say that the writer is their own biggest critic, but I knew there was something wrong with my paper, despite being grammatically correct. I really wanted someone to tell me what I was doing wrong, tell me what I was doing right, but no. The class was too “mainstream,” for that to happen. When the professor wanted everyone to read a book, most said they'd rather he assign them one, and he did. His own material. They were supposed to read a book, or his, and discuss in an essay what they liked about it from beginning to end. That also ended up getting buried beneath the cracks. That assignment, was a missed opportunity for the teacher to get people to read more. I don't care if they read Twilight, 50 Shades, or any of those terrible novels. Because, reading terrible novels can and will eventually get someone to read something better.
I understand one can't get people to read. People will read if they like to or not, but just, “saving them a trip to the library.” No, that is not acceptable. That is making the class not just easy for the students, but easy for the professor so they don't receive any criticism. Making them go to the library or Barnes and Noble, would have been the best way to get them interested in reading. Even if they only did so during class. All they'd need to do is find something they're interested in. From romance, to fantasy, to cars, to detectives, anything would have been helpful. After I become an author, I'm gonna become a teacher as well, and I'll teach creative writing myself. I have something I need to share, and contribute to a class. Especially a class that may not be interested in reading much.

All in all, in that class, I was a focused student. All day I wrote, and all day I read, just to get better at the craft, but the class itself almost felt like a waste of time. I still learned some decent material, but it's nothing different I would have learned from a message board. Connections were made, but how long they'll last, I'm not sure. Overall, this has been an interesting experience in my journey as a writer. I just wanted to be challenged more. I just wanted to be in a class filled with students that shared my passion, but most of them didn't care. Thankfully enough, that didn't sap my energy, and I had and always will have the desire and drive to continue on the long, tough road to success. My journey. My battle. My future.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

A Feast for Crows and Dance with Dragons review


A Feast for Crows, and a Dance with Dragons, are some quite interesting volumes in the "Song of Ice and Fire," series. Or, "Game of Thrones," as others call it now. Both books take place at the same time, and contain a lot of world-building and character interaction. Little plot progression though. Feast, features characters from the Southside of Westeros, and Dorne, while Dance with Dragons mostly features characters from the Northside, and other cities not mentioned. Feast went under negative criticism for not having Jon, Daenerys, and Tyrion Lannister. Three of the big POV characters most popular with readers. Feast also came under criticism due to its lack of plot progression, as well as Dance.

While others may hate that these two books have little plot, I loved the character development that went on with these two books. I believe if one looks at these books as solely focusing on the characters, they'll enjoy it more. Certainly, those reading it for the first time may find themselves disappointed after the chaos of Storm of Swords. Though, both of these books have their epic moments. Not much in the same vein as "The Red Wedding," but certainly enough to keep you reading their perspective chapters. I feel as if these two volumes in the Song of Ice and Fire series get put down way too much. The Winds of Winter is coming. The sixth volume in the series, and no doubt the build up from these two books will be well worth it. There's so much to look forward to, Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones fans. Let me remind you of just a couple:

SPOILERS!

1. The fallout from Jon's attack by the Night's Watch, and could Jon be Azor Azhai reborn?
2. The Dothraki finding Daenerys and  Drogon.
3. Dorne's response to Quentyn Martell's death.
4. Kevin Lannister being found dead with Grandmaester Pycelle. We also learned that Varys  has been a Targaryen supporter all this time, after revealing to Kevin that Aegon Targaryen is indeed alive(something we knew before hand in earlier chapters. We even met Aegon.)
5. Tyrion and Ser Jorah Mormont on the losing side.
6. Theon finally meeting up with Asha.
7. Jon Connington, and Aegon tearing Westeroes up(they took over Storm's End, and Griffon's Roost)
8. Stannis' army, and Roose Bolton's army coming head to head for battle. Should be a great full scale war.

There's much more, but that's all I can list on the top of my head. Please let me know if I got anything wrong.
Thanks.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

The Hunger Games trilogy*Spoilers*

The Hunger Games is a 50/50 thing to me. I love it, and I hate it. I love it because it is entertaining, and has some decent twists. I hate it because the writing is just bad, and Suzanne Collins should learn to show more rather than tell. Unfortunately, I don't have the book on hand with me. I brought it back to the library. But there's a lot of examples in here that should have been shown, and not seen. Not to mention, the dialogue wasn't very good either, and Katniss almost never had to make a tough choice. Sure, you can argue that entering the games itself was a tough choice, but I feel as if it would have been more riveting had Katniss faced the difficult task of killing Rue or Peeta.

The ending was just a complete cop-out to me. I'd rather Katniss had killed Peeta, and lived with that decision. Then tried to rebel in Catching Fire. But of course, you can't kill off one of the main characters. I may be wrong, but Kattniss constantly making tough decisions throughout the games, would have been a great emotional rollercoaster.

With Catching Fire, while it was entertaining, I also felt as if that was just a re-tread of the first book. Except with more and more telling instead of showing. I did this, we did that. Why can't we see it? Would have been great character development for Katniss and Peeta. And don't get me started on Mockingjay. I couldn't even finish it.

Overall, I do believe Suzanne Collins put together an entertaining story. I just wish she used more vigorous writing instead of going half way. It doesn't matter if I like it though. What matters is that the fans like it,  and that her books sell well. And for that, I congratulate Suzanne Collins, and wish her the best in her future novels. I'm not one of those pretentious literary snobs that are going to berate her and say that this is trash. Because to be honest, don't we all read to just be entertained? I love better writing, characters, and whatnot. But fun entertainment is harmless. And sometimes we need that. Thanks for reading.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Memories of Harry Potter, and working on first book.






He was just a boy of 11 years old, though this story isn't about Harry Potter, but a boy that  wished to live in Harry's world. He remembers the days when he heard the chatter and clatter of students around him gossiping about the latest new book series: Harry Potter. Learning about this, the boy researched all he could on the series. He asked friends how it was, he looked at the covers at the book sales in school, and desperately wished to read them. Though, his parents were devout Christian, and back then, Harry Potter was the devil. There were Christians that accepted it, and embraced it. Knowing full well that the book is just fantasy and not fact. Even knowing that it's a heroic story about a good wizard that saves lives, and has friends he cares about. But alas, the boy's church forbid it, and thus his parents forbade him from reading it.

And the boy never traveled with Harry, Hermione, and Ron on their perilous adventures in Hogwarts. From the Sorcerer's Stone all the way to the Order of The Phoenix, his parents wouldn't allow magic to be read in their home. And the flames of the boy's candle burned out.

But a small spark ignited in middle school. His English teacher thankfully had a copy of the first book, and with curiosity(and hiding from his Mom and Dad) he glued his eyes to the Sorcerer's stone, and couldn't pull away. The vivid imagery of Hogwarts, the mere descriptions of the magic and the characters, were all it took for the boy to become a fan, and have that candle burn proudly once more. By then, his parents weren't too strict on Fantasy. They started embracing it too, and realized that stories of magic aren't always Evil and malicious.

----

Yeah, that was kind of cheesy, but all of this was my journey to reading Harry Potter. All it took was reading one copy in middle school. After all the brainwashing, and machinations of the church, I decided to think for myself, and read the first book. And I fell in love. As I opened that first page, I couldn't turn away. I almost skipped a day of school just to read the book all day, but of course, my Mother caught me. Soon enough, I became a fan in time for the final book, and still have the first edition Deathly Hallows in great condition here.

I, one day hope to be a successful author. I don't need to make the next Harry Potter, and I'm certain I won't. I'm just a guy who wants to write entertaining stories not just for young adults, but everyone. There was a time when I just dreamed of being a success, but now I'm not just dreaming. I'm doing my best to make sure that I live it. And that takes hard work, dedication,practice, and all the cliches you can throw out there. For anyone reading this, if you're an aspiring author too, I wish for you to succeed. Practice, practice, and practice. Nevertheless, also make sure you get critiqued. Because you can practice all you want, but if you're not getting any feedback, you don't know whether what you written is good or bad.

Right now, I'm working on my first YA Vampire/Paranormal novel. Hey, I love that type of stuff. As well as Fantasy. I will never turn my back on Fantasy. And one day, hope to write my own epic. Until then, I just have to keep on climbing until I get to the top. Whoever is reading, I thank you. Hopefully this wasn't too cheesy. Good day, good afternoon, good night...wherever you are, have a great life.

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Game of Thrones review



Disclaimer: The following is my opinion, and I'm not stating it as fact. I feel as if I'm insulting the reader's intelligence by stating this, but there are readers out there(whoever is out there reading this) that will think my opinion is fact. Thank you.

In, "A Game of Thrones," George R.R. Martin delivers the greatest fantasy epic of all time. Yes, better than Lord of The Rings, better than Wheel of Time, better than anything else. I know I'm probably sounding like a fan-boy here, but I love this series, but as all writers will say: show don't tell. And of course, I shall.

 First off, it's the tone. Unlike most fantasy, Game of Thrones(or "A Song of Ice and Fire) is set in a gritty atmosphere, in a world that may just be like our own. Except, without all the technology of course. Instead of cheesy goblins, and species running around, instead of throwing magic in our faces, the novel uses the fantasy aspect sparsely. There's magic alright, but it's done in a way that makes one believe it can be real. That, maybe, just maybe that can happen in real life. The magic is usually more menacing and deadly than grandiose and flashy. And that's what I love about it most. That even the biggest over the top moments are grounded in reality, and grit.

Second, it's the characters. Characters can save a bad story and turn it into a great one. But characters can ruin and great story, and transform it to a horrible one. For Game of Thrones(and the rest of the series)it's the former. GRRM crafts intriguing characters with their own strengths, weaknesses, and depths. Their reactions feel true to life, and their passions as well.

Dialogue. You can't have characters without great dialogue, and the dialogue not only feels natural, it perfectly matches what they may have said back in those times. And it doesn't feel forced as if GRRM is constantly digging through a thesaurus for huge words no one today uses in normal speech.

And that's it. Besides obvious things like story, this is what makes Game of Thrones(or, A Song of Ice and Fire) the best fantasy epic of all time. At least to me. As it shows on the picture above, this is also an HBO television series. A damn good one at that. For whoever is out there, what did you love about Game of Thrones?