Raising digital awareness

To attract and maintain a steady flow of honest traffic it isn't enough to simply throw around a few key words that a search engine will read try to place your self higher in the rankings.A blog (or any website for that manner) that wants to maintain a large flow of traffic must provide something that everyone really wants to see. It's not a couple of invisible buzz words or cheap tricks, rather the creation of something much more valuable. the creation of a new idea, something intriguing that stimulates thought and shows the thumbprint of the creator.

Masterpiece test

I believe that the only test that a writer could use to prove teh value of his work is to show a small excerpt that can gain the interest of the reader. Provided below is a small excerpt that demonstrates both my voice and tone in my novel.

Glen pulled the iron out of the flame when it was white hot and placed it upon his anvil and began to fold the iron. “Have I told you boys the riddle of steel and the man’s heart yet?”  Both of his boys shook their heads.  As he continued to fold the iron into a sword he began to tell his sons what his own father had told him when he was a young boy. “Once iron is pulled from the earth it has no shape, no purpose and no master. It is corrupted and must be placed in the forge to remove the impurities, much like a man must first become pure of heart. Then the hammer folds the metal, each fold becomes a lesson that the blade learns. It teaches the iron how to be a sword and to have purpose. Each sword must be soft on the inside so that it will not shatter in battle when its master needs it the most. It must also be strong on the outside so that will keep its shape.”  Glen placed the iron back into the fire as it cooled so that he could keep folding the iron into the blade he wanted and then placed it back on his anvil once it was hot enough again.  “The hammer is like a trail that a man faces in his life as a boy.  It gives him shape, teaches him to be good and kind to those around him. And much like the blade must be strong on the outside so must a man keep his body.”

Resource: Robert E. Howard's Conan

Robert E. Howard is renown for his creation of Conan, A great and powerful Barbarian who is known for his great feats in battle. Robert began his writing with pulp fiction and was first published in Weird Tales.  I had the pleasure of reading one of his man Conan stories that my father has in his personal library. I found the story that I read "The Phoenix on the Sword" to be full of energy. The battle that is depicted is described in such a way that I felt as if I was actually spectating the bloodshed. It has shown me a way to further improve my novel with a more vivid and exciting battles. I Shall read more stories that were Created by Robert in an effort to mimic the energy that he portrays within his stories.

My Vocbulary #3

voracious- Eating with greediness or in very large quantities.
waif -A homeless, neglected wanderer
 wantonness -Recklessness
 wizen v. To become or cause to become withered or dry
 hiatus n. A break or vacancy where something necessary to supply the connection is wanting.
keepsake n. Anything kept or given to be kept for the sake of the giver
burgeoning-
coalesce
Furtive- done by stealth
Somber- Sad and serious
baleful- threatening harm or evil
reave- plunder or rob.
tenuous- not certain, definite, or strong.
abhorrent- causing or deserving strong dislike or hatred
sepulchral- very sad and serious, dismal and gloomy
hearken- to give respectful attention.
Adder- a common venomous viper.
Neophyte- a new convert. 2 a person who has just started learning or doing something.
votary- A devoted follower
Acolyte- someone who follows and admires a leader.
Don- to put on or to wrap oneself in.
Furtive- Expressive of stealth.

Reflection: Being an Entrepenuer

An entrepreneur is someone who tries to create value in the world through their efforts. To look at my self as an entrepreneur doesn't seem to change the way I look at my work though. I was already attempting to create value with my stories. But yes, I do think that I will hold the title proudly, and perhaps it will provide me with a little encouragement when I feel down or discouraged.

Entrepreneur

1. I would consider many authors to be entrepreneurs because they create value in their stories. Its not easy to create a story so writers have to spend a lot of time developing their characters and their plot. The effort they place in their work creates value that can be seen in the content of their work which their readers enjoy.
2.I am an entrepreneur because I am attempting to create the same value that other writers have created within their work. Though I have yet to fully develop my abilities in storytelling, but that just means that i need to push myself.

10 Questions

The folowing are ten qustions that I would as a professional in the field of writing a novel.

1 How is it that you began to write your book? Did you start with your main character(s) or did you begin with a part of the plot?
2 How many times did you revise our story? How much did the plot change?
3 How long did it take you to create this story? Was it a multitude of years or just a few months?
4 Did you plan for there to be a sequel or did you just leave an opening in case the story did well?
5 When writing a story should I think about the possibility of a sequel or should I think about that as i finish my current book?
6 Did you allow your peers to read any of your drafts or did you keep your aspirations to yourself?
7 When did you begin to tell stories?
8 What challenges have you faced while writing your books? How did you overcome them?  What did you learn that I might want to know?
9 What agencies have you worked with? which one do you think I might want to work with? What should I expect if I was to begin working for them?
10 Do you think that I might be able to get a job doing this with what you have seen from my stories so far?

Benchmark

As I have explained before I am currently working towards becoming an author by working on my novel. The progress of my novel can be monitored on my fiction blog which is both accessible here and on the 'My fiction' page link at the top of this blog. 

I began story telling when I was very little beginning with a few comics here and there and my first attempt at a book when I was about ten. I can remember writing my first comic book at about age six, the crudely drawn stick figures and the simplistic storytelling were not much to be remembered, but I do remember the creation of the story. It was rather enjoyable, and it slowly began my journey as a story teller. Then I began telling stories of epic proportions (For a young child at least) to my brother. Twice I was even asked to write short stories as a school assignment, once in second grade and then in fourth grade. Then I began to write what was my first attempt at a book, I didn't go very far I just wrote a few pages and told most of the story orally to a few close friends. After that there were a few more attempts at comics that never went very far, but i never stopped telling stories. It wasn't until my Sophomore year in High school that I actually picked up my pencil and worked the next two years at constructing the first draft at my current novel and proceeded to write about 100 pages by hand, which I still keep in a binder.Then an opportunity struck me to take my writing seriously in the form of the National Novel Writing Month last October. Dr.Preston introduced me to a few classmates who showed me how to access and use the website and I ferociously began writing my book as fast as I could. I was able to write over 20,000 words in just 30 days which showed me that I can write this book. Since then I have reconstructed the first chapter of my book and have begun on the second. I hope to complete a majority of this book by the time I graduate this semester from my senior year of high school.  I will continue to post excerpts and side projects on my fiction blog as I proceed through this semester.