RTR: Raising a Moral Child

How is it that children are brought up to be moral and caring citizens? In the article published by New York Times a number of studies were examined and brought to a few conclusions. The first was that children learn a large portion of their morality from both of their parents when they are young. It is believed that positive reinforcement of good character qualities teaches kids to develop those qualities. It is also believed that when a child does something wrong that it is best to express disappointment and explaining the reason for the punishment.

Update on Novel

As of right now I am molding the continents in which the events will occur. I went through several drafts this weekend and finally settled on my eight draft. I have placed three countries on the map, but I don't fully know how to use the two main countries and the elvish tribes in the development of my plot. I have thought about starting a few wars and basing the rest of the story on how my characters survive and help the dispute both develop and be resolved. So far the history that I have established is how both countries on the island were created. I am also in the middle of my second chapter in which the second main character Dakisuma has remained in his captivity for three years.

The Crossroads Between Should and Must

In life there are two paths, the one others thin you SHOULD take because it will give you a long and prosperous life (At least they think it will), and the life you MUST take to find real joy in life. The problem is that it is hard to choose must over should because it is surrounded in  the darkness of uncertainty. We think that it is better to get a high paying job that drains away our life because we need to pay bills and rent, butin reality that's just a way to survive not a way to live. 

No one ever said that life was going to be easy, but choosing the 'easy' way out only leads to a dead end. In my field of choice it's nearly impossible to write a story so good that you can make your entire living through writing, but I don't have to. I'm not choosing to be a story teller to become rich and prestigious, I'm doing it because that's been my dream  since childhood. I love adventure stories and I don't want to let anything stand in my way. I have a long road ahead of me, as well as a giant mess of trials and tribulation, but to let that squash my dreams is to admit defeat. There is no way in hell I am going to admit defeat.

Look at My Brain

At school I learn basic skills like reading and writing, but that's not really where I do the majority of my learning. Most of my learning has come from first hand experience, practice, failure, and better yet success. As you may already know I am writing a novel as my master piece for Dr. Preston's course, but that's still only one side of who I am. A large portion of my education came from my experiences as a Boy Scout of America.I can set and reach my goals, for instance in 2012 I biked over 50 miles in just 8 hours( talk about tiring tasks!) and three days before the start of my senior year I hiked 20 miles. It took me years to earn it, but I was able to earn my Eagle Scout Rank earlier this year.

In my writing I have already gone through four drafts of my novel. The first was horrid. There was little to no dialog between the characters and the dialog that did exist felt forced or mechanical. Nothing seemed to fit right, like forcing s few pieces of a jigsaw puzzle to fit and realizing that it looks nothing like the image that is supposed to exist in the completed puzzle. The second was similar to the first, but slightly smoother. I still didn't really 'know' my characters, but it was a good skeleton for the third and fourth drafts. I kept trying with my third draft and I am still trying with my fourth (which is much better than any previous version FYI). Constant revision and improvement is making my story more interesting and enjoyable, and though it is a large thorn in my side at times I'm slowly becoming pleased with my results.

S, Wonderful

Last night I made a break through in my story development. For some time now I have been stuck on the second chapter of my novel. I went through three drafts before I was able to get inside the mind of my character. though I have not yet completed this chapter I have found a way to further progress in my story. 

Resource: MBTI

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ( Myers-Briggs foundation) is a theory that divides people into 16 different psychological categories. This tool was created to further the understanding and appreciation of other personality types not to pit people against each other in a war of what type of person is better. After all people are more or less all equal to each other. The theory was introduced in the 1920's by Carl G Jung and the tool was developed by Isabel Myers and her mother Katherine Briggs (hence the name)between the thirties and fifties. The tool is used by dividing thoughts into four dichotomies; Mind, information, structure, and Decisions. Each of these is then broken down into two sub-divisions. ( mind becomes introversion and extroversion and so on.)

At this point you're probably wondering why I am talking about this tool that has next to nothing to do with writing. The fact is that this has more to do with writing than you might think. By using these personalities as a rough archetype I can more accurately understand how a person would think in the scenarios in which they are placed in. That and I find it intriguing.

Is there an Expert in the house?

My expert needs to have previously written a fiction or fantasy novel (preferably a fantasy novel). This novel must be able to maintain the attention of the audience and be enjoyable. I want to be able to learn from their practice of writing. to be able to develop the vast world that only exists within the realm of my mind and make others see it as well. The author must be alive as well so they can provide feedback (what is a mentor worth if they're dead right? Sorry Tolkien can't use you as a mentor.)

A preview of comming attractions

Today in class we were asked to come up with a few standards that we would be required to meet by the end of the year. We were allowed to create any standard, a writing standard or anything else we could think of. My neighbor Dylan and i were able to come up with a few standards that all of the masterpieces should be able to meet. The first standard was that the project would have to prove some sort of relative value, either it displays something that can be enjoyed or benefit others. The second we developed was a knowledge of the field. A student should be able to provide some information about their field of study, maybe providing names of 'experts' or some developments in the field. I think it will be interesting to see what the other students bring to class, but in the meantime I need to work on my novel.