Getting Things Done

While I have been torn about what to write in this week's blog post, I've finally had a moment of clarity to help me decide.

There have been a number of different political occurrences that have caused me to decide on a political rant. This story in particular really upset me. In order for this to make sense, I suppose I'll have to enumerate why.

As a formerly militant child, I definitely don't believe in stupidity to share my political opinions. It is much the same reason that I don't post political rants on Facebook or Twitter. The medium devalues the spirit of the message. In the case of the linked article, the means of sharing his political opinion causes the message to look like the rantings of a moron. Instead of making himself a stronger political contender through community service and activism, he allowed himself to give in to his frustrations.

I know that I try to write to my politicians to ensure that they understand my position and expectations of their job. While it may not mean much to the politician in question, it ensures that I stay knowledgeable of what they have accomplished while they were in office.

I certainly welcome any of you all to do the same. When there is a large issue at stake, contact your politician. If you have an opinion on "gun control" that differs from the official that represents you, contact them and let them know. Nothing will change if you don't do something to change it. There are even politicians that will respond, though some will only give you canned responses. Even better, go out and do something for your community. Make yourself the change that you want to see. Instead of posting witty photos full of half-truth on your social media websites, get out and rally your community.

That kind of thing is how you turn the rantings of a crazed person, into positive social and political change.

Until next time, dear reader.

Creative Problems

Hello! Welcome to another view into the strangeness that is my mind.

Today has had my mind on fire with different ideas and concepts. This is normally not a bad thing, because it gives me cool concepts for future stories. However, I am surrounded by amazingly talented people. These people fuel that creative fire and push me to express the crazy ideas I come up with. In allowing me to indulge the creative centers of my mind, they drive me to find myself creating places, characters, and events that can sometimes distract from more practical matters. This is especially true because my friends and I are consummate critics with a fondness for nuances characters.

As a result, the characters that I create must be layered and flawed. They have to have a history that explains their motivations and reasoning. Without these elements, they're just straw men in my mind. Of course, I'm a sci-fi junkie, so my stories tend to lean more in that direction. Yet I find it's the grounding in realism that makes me enjoy the creative process so much. Studying history and then twisting the outcomes of battles and wars in order to create my own flow of events is interesting to me. It is probably the reason that I get so lost within books (Which my family could tell you some tales about). The world and the characters are the catalyst for my own creative engine.

With the advanced reader's copies that I have received, it makes the desire to devour those books even greater. Getting to enjoy a book in its "raw" form is a treat for my inner editor. Especially as the themes have been ones that I've really enjoyed. I might do some reviews for those at a later time. They've certainly asked me to learn about some authors and book series that I am now looking forward to reading.

Anyway, I'm off to try and put some of these ideas to paper. It makes the fleshing out process so much more enjoyable. So this bookworm is hoping you have a great day!

Until next time, dear reader.

A Foray Into The Mind

Well I'm back for another exciting update to this blog. I've also decided that my updates are too sporadic, so I thought it best to place my updates on a schedule. So look for more regular updates from me. Now onto the "meat" of this post!

I mentioned getting an advanced readers copy of a novel, which I intend to give a brief review on. The book is called The Ability. This is the first novel by author M. M. Vaughn. Here is the book listing over at Amazon. This book is a young reader book, so don't expect much violence or more mature themes within this book.

The book begins with a prologue the seems slightly disjointed from the next few chapters. This is the result of a time skip in the books continuity. However, don't let that dissuade you from reading this book! The prologue eventually leads to a fairly well telegraphed plot twist that drives the antagonists in the story. The main character is well fleshed out and really creates an engaging young boy that you can cheer for. Even when he is doing wrong, he is altruistic in his goals. Some of the other characters could stand to be a bit more fleshed out, however that is something that can be rectified in the sequels this book leaves open. The premise that children have the ability to access the full power off the mind and so they must be called upon to aid their country is an interesting one. With powers like telepathy, telekinesis, and remote viewing, these children have the ability to do tremendous, or horrific things. Seeing both sides of this duality, from the perspective of the antagonists, twin boys Ernest and Mortimer Genver, and the protagonist, Christopher Lane, makes for an exciting chase to see who will win.

Overall, I'd say this book is a really fun leading story for a larger two or three part series. The universe that it is set in comes with a rule that children only have access to their special ability when they are twelve years old. As a result, the story that follows can only go so far. However, I look forward to where the story will lead. Be sure to look for this book come April 23rd!

Please Stay Tuned

The title always reminds me of the television show, The Outer Limits.

Anyway, I'm feeling under the weather, so I've not gotten around to blogging (yes, so sick that writing words is hard...). However, I do intend to do a literacy review of a book that I got a pre-publication copy of from my job. So like the title says, please stay tuned.

Until next time, dear reader.