tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82553292297514209252024-02-02T03:16:44.464-07:00Jayrod P. Garretton Creativity, Culture, and CompassionJayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8255329229751420925.post-87829251606640603212014-10-27T08:00:00.000-06:002014-10-27T08:00:06.172-06:00Who does your art matter to?<div style="text-align: center;">
<u>The Man in the Arena</u></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">excerpt from <a href="http://www.theodore-roosevelt.com/images/research/speeches/maninthearena.pdf" target="_blank">Citizenship in a Republic</a></span></div>
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It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.<br />
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly...<br />
-Theodore Roosevelt, from Brenẽ Brown's <i><a href="http://smile.amazon.com/Daring-Greatly-Courage-Vulnerable-Transforms/dp/1470814757/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412548623&sr=1-6&keywords=the+power+of+vulnerability" target="_blank">Daring Greatly</a></i><br />
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Today is a day of new beginnings. New beginnings for this blog, and new beginnings for my own art. Its not because the video below inspired me. Its not because I had some sort of grand epiphany. Its not because I haven't been working hard. It is because I am done listening to my mother's voice in my head.<br />
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Years and years ago I used to draw. I knew tons of people who thought my art was pretty good, and I wanted to pursue my art and make it into something better than what it was. So I shared my art with people close to me, particularly my mother. And the funny thing is, at first she loved it. A piece of my art still sits on a shelf at her home. However years later, I drew what at the time was my greatest "masterpiece" and I gave that to her. Many of the characters I write about today were etched into that art, and it meant everything to me.<br />
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But she was a different person at this time, bad things had happened to her that had changed her from my strongest supporter to my worst critic. One day in a rage about something I did as a teenager she tore it off the wall and tore it –piece by piece– in front of me. It is one of the few times I can remember crying in my life. It was that day that I stopped drawing. And that was the day that a voice was born in my head that cuts down all that I create.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY3oPZDkrsvt5DLq4BHeaEPA66kSThP5u09r6Gg8v7nJpUGZO-QHLUAQXPjGZ6fo65QV0fbEgiQY3_hOlh6i-jwiXjG8Pmk_nmmlG6_vpvZG1wOrT96jDS-6G8BFlNwtDTmh4oUCI8dE0/s1600/Brene-Brown-008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY3oPZDkrsvt5DLq4BHeaEPA66kSThP5u09r6Gg8v7nJpUGZO-QHLUAQXPjGZ6fo65QV0fbEgiQY3_hOlh6i-jwiXjG8Pmk_nmmlG6_vpvZG1wOrT96jDS-6G8BFlNwtDTmh4oUCI8dE0/s1600/Brene-Brown-008.jpg" height="260" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brenẽ Brown, speaker in <i><a href="http://smile.amazon.com/Brene-Brown-Vulnerability-Authenticity-Connection/dp/1604078588/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412548623&sr=1-1&keywords=the+power+of+vulnerability" target="_blank">The Power of Vulnerability</a></i></td></tr>
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Now I've put up a good fight against that voice for several years now. I've tried to make it small, to only listen to the pertinent bits of what it says. I've invited it to my arena and given it a seat to watch as it deals more horrific blows to my art than my own critique process. And though over the years I've gotten better in many respects as how to deal with it, I never understood the problem was the fact that I invited someone to my arena who should never have been there. If I am not entirely clear in the video below (that I recommend you watch) Brenẽ Brown speaks specifically about those you should invite to be in your arena.<br />
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As I watched this video I realized I need to make some changes in my life. I have been studying various things of late in order to come to a better place of peace within myself, but I feel turmoil each time I sit down to write. And I hadn't realized the source of that turmoil until today. Thus I share with you some of my resolutions for myself in hopes it may help you to become a better artist.<br />
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Resolution One: I am only taking critique and criticism from those who are in the arena with me. If you are going to get your ass kicked, its best to know those doing the ass kicking and what their motives are. Why pay attention to the folks who aren't engaged in the work and therefore have no idea how difficult it is or where you could be giving more. If you create YouTube videos you could read all the comments from people insulting you or you could pay attention to those who are focused on your success and how they would love to help you there. One of those is an ass kicking without meaning, the other makes you stronger.<br />
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Resolution Two: The muse only visits the consistent. To this end I plan on stepping into the arena on a regular basis. You don't become a better fighter (or artist) in the arena by watching others fight, or by just talking about the techniques of others. You become a better artist by creating work. A body of work will be both the best of what you can create and the worst, but when you display that before others it will only be the best you are capable at the time. Only those willing to fail are able to build the skills that will offer them a chance at success.<br />
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Resolution Three: I am done spending time in the arena hurling insults. It's time to be accountable for what I say and do. We can't expect to not get our own asses kicked in the arena if we are spending our time hurting others in the arena. I will help others I see to make their art better, to find the positive about what they have created and encourage them. Despite even the worst work, there is always something they are doing right. Celebrating that while showing them how to create better work, is only a step on the road to doing it well yourself.<br />
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Though these things are easier said than done, I have faith that I can enact positive change in my life and in the lives of those around me. To answer the question that opens this blog, my art matters to me. And I need to act like it instead of acting like it matters to all the people who would see me remain small and unworthy of their notice. I hope you do the same with your own art.Jayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.com0Ogden, UT, USA41.223 -111.973830441.031909 -112.29655389999999 41.414091 -111.6511069tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8255329229751420925.post-3671373395534155982014-08-20T15:00:00.000-06:002014-08-20T16:14:12.956-06:00Focused Practice for Writers #1<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS0jF5ySr9Zg3dszXLeDlS7e4tLri2tsbflwYcP2-OYm4jy7WFuAaesxYDCY33JAsbvkaM59yw03yYe2ma4qnyH2fwC-zKj5Us5VFWZvoq6uFNmbht2SW2h5qa2yk97zl-q6kFe1k8iSs/s1600/Practice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS0jF5ySr9Zg3dszXLeDlS7e4tLri2tsbflwYcP2-OYm4jy7WFuAaesxYDCY33JAsbvkaM59yw03yYe2ma4qnyH2fwC-zKj5Us5VFWZvoq6uFNmbht2SW2h5qa2yk97zl-q6kFe1k8iSs/s1600/Practice.jpg" height="320" width="251" /></a><br />
Practice is the primary tool to developing our art into something better. Some say it takes ten thousand hours, others say a million words, but all of it means the same thing: In order for us to get better we have to invest time. In the interest of investing our time as writers better I share a technique I learned from Howard Tayler, author of <a href="http://www.schlockmercenary.com/" target="_blank">Schlock Mercenary</a> and member of the <a href="http://www.writingexcuses.com/" target="_blank">Writing Excuses Podcast</a>, at <a href="http://ldstorymakers.com/conference.html" target="_blank">LDS Storymakers</a> 2013. It is called Focused Practice.<br />
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Focused Practice is when you work on a skillset in any domain and you identify the things that you are not good at, and instead of building shortcuts around them you focus your practice efforts there. For our purposes the domain is writing and storytelling. And I know what you are saying, "I'm no good at complex plots," or "I don't want to tell that kind of story." And all that may be true, but the idea is to seize control over these skills.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTRXjz1C2ungBau1WwAHbU-s_SSMDexJko8Kv5Kyv8rUUMk224gTq0dCngvFGVe0VQtrpg4lAgeJPWmbINqakHt_btLv7hY3nT5_eKYhvHNbamDIV6RnfD6smTcG1ftsi6YeqsMEL5Kgo/s1600/howard-tayler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTRXjz1C2ungBau1WwAHbU-s_SSMDexJko8Kv5Kyv8rUUMk224gTq0dCngvFGVe0VQtrpg4lAgeJPWmbINqakHt_btLv7hY3nT5_eKYhvHNbamDIV6RnfD6smTcG1ftsi6YeqsMEL5Kgo/s1600/howard-tayler.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">Listen to Howard talk about<br />
Focused Practice <a href="http://www.foreverwriters.com/2013/12/16/episode-42-focused-practice-with-howard-taylor/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Tayler boils down a concept <a href="https://web.stanford.edu/dept/psychology/cgi-bin/drupalm/cdweck" target="_blank">Carol Dweck</a>, a Stafford professor, teaches: "If you believe a thing is within your control you're more likely to exercise control over it."<br />
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When I do focused practice, I spend fifteen minutes typing as quickly as I can with the focus of developing one skill. This works better than trying to develop all my writing skills at the same time. As a writer who is looking to serve other writers, I wanted to share three writing prompts that have helped me in my own focused practice:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-otuuhLlNTsWF-T4FfmI6ngVM1S6TJwvHg1Aju9Kx2a_xksUSFK6nGkGmjrR_Nl0BD1bHmH7Juhr3dt4XZ0bZcXXVvmMTWf3FqqKehZt4uorBWf7Em0MGdC8NJfQFgiwfCNZjCzPChyE/s1600/Cover+WoR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-otuuhLlNTsWF-T4FfmI6ngVM1S6TJwvHg1Aju9Kx2a_xksUSFK6nGkGmjrR_Nl0BD1bHmH7Juhr3dt4XZ0bZcXXVvmMTWf3FqqKehZt4uorBWf7Em0MGdC8NJfQFgiwfCNZjCzPChyE/s1600/Cover+WoR.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I rewrote a chapter from<br />
this "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Words-Radiance-Stormlight-Archive-Book/dp/0765326361/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408571757&sr=8-1&keywords=Words+of+Radiance" target="_blank">Words of Radiance</a>."</td></tr>
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<b>1. Rewrite the work of an author you want to imitate word for word.</b><br />
Tayler comments that in order to utilize focused practice best we need to have a mentor. Unfortunately sometimes we don't have a critique group or mentor that fills that role for us. In my experience we don't always have mentors or critique groups to help us. This exercise can help us that problem. Taking a writer you admire and writing out their prose word for word can be very helpful. You'll have to ask yourself why they made the choices they for verbs, nouns, and perhaps most importantly when they use adjectives and adverbs. Upon finishing this exercise compare some of your writing to theirs. Without the luxury of a real life mentor you now will be able to recognize some of the places that you want to develop your skills.<br />
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<b>2. "Write the other."</b><br />
<a href="http://www.nikki-giovanni.com/" target="_blank">Nikki Giovanni</a>, a famous poet who teaches at Virginia Tech, states, "Writers don't write from experience, although many are hesitant to admit they don't. I want to be clear on this. If you wrote from experience, you'd get maybe one book, maybe three poems. Writer's write from empathy." Take a real life situation that you can empathize (or even better one you can't) with and write from the perspective on one of the people involved. This will help you to get outside yourself and see world differently. There is not one morality in a good story, there should be at least two, and in more complex stories you'll need even more.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhENv8f2MUJt9z5j_UzsDlwlFX98KRMgLmlEffbY1PRIPMdfz3HJRtk6gTAdoKqxU4tK8p4CRUbIILz27B9DwkTpMSx5oOHIMW6u1CUrLt4f-FdF1gtkxRYoOR6_y_BylwCvZkiuuiRiqc/s1600/Imagination.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhENv8f2MUJt9z5j_UzsDlwlFX98KRMgLmlEffbY1PRIPMdfz3HJRtk6gTAdoKqxU4tK8p4CRUbIILz27B9DwkTpMSx5oOHIMW6u1CUrLt4f-FdF1gtkxRYoOR6_y_BylwCvZkiuuiRiqc/s1600/Imagination.jpg" height="320" width="210" /></a><br />
<b>3. Use a picture for inspiration</b><br />
If anyone looks at my <a href="http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php?show=new" target="_blank">Scrivener</a> set up, they will find thousands of inspirational pictures like the one to the left. The novel I am currently working on has been inspired by several pictures like this. So the focused practice to engage in here is to create a story based off of this picture. It doesn't have to be the best story in the world, you are just looking to allow your imagination to move in different directions. Have fun with this prompt.<br />
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For the next month these will be the types of practice I will be focusing on. Next month I'll post another three.<br />
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Addendum for those writing with <a href="http://aroundofwordsin80days.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">A Round of Words in Eighty Days</a>: As for my goals, though I've been writing a lot I am still less than halfway done with the short story I am working on. But the most important thing I have to remember is that every word I write brings me closer to the end of the story. I might have to practice meeting deadlines, but more importantly I have to practice finishing stories first. If I can't finish a story, I can't meet a deadline.<br />
<br />Jayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.com1Ogden, UT, USA41.223 -111.973830441.031909 -112.29655389999999 41.414091 -111.6511069tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8255329229751420925.post-25262928389229837452014-08-17T07:00:00.000-06:002014-08-17T07:00:01.659-06:00"Writing is the hardest thing you will ever choose to do."<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQh0_nCbRr6YSd89l3qBDLM3N6nSzqxPSXEgCGo3WfqKXAEJzVUz27mpJZmWh4hI9fJpk6DS5uEGrRA-sUUyB3damXe7QNG25sRblHIqHaCJcuP90a3ymQyzgK-6DbZRhhk1T-3o_rdc/s1600/10314723_10151971889786783_2523743924372874902_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQh0_nCbRr6YSd89l3qBDLM3N6nSzqxPSXEgCGo3WfqKXAEJzVUz27mpJZmWh4hI9fJpk6DS5uEGrRA-sUUyB3damXe7QNG25sRblHIqHaCJcuP90a3ymQyzgK-6DbZRhhk1T-3o_rdc/s1600/10314723_10151971889786783_2523743924372874902_n.jpg" height="243" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jayrod and Jenny on Graduation Day</td></tr>
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It's time. Time to wipe the dust off this blog and start making it good for something again. Its been a while and I'm grateful that it has. Not because I don't like sharing my thoughts, but because I needed to do some things for me that were more important than being here. Some of those things included joining a twelve step group, saving my marriage, earning bling for my college graduation, and culminating in that graduation. Words fail to express how much it means to be a college graduate. I know this work will change the lives of my wife and children in time.<br />
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Of course you didn't come here to listen to me brag about myself. Because let's face it that's pretty damn boring. However seeing as I graduated nearly three months ago that story might be worth sharing. But it isn't. I was depressed for much of the past three months and it crippled me. I sat at work waiting for someone to come in and talk to. And as soon as that picked up I found what I thought would be a great new job. Unfortunately they closed three weeks after I started with them. I soon found myself taking care of my wife after a major surgery, and when I wasn't taking care of her I played Skyrim. I played until I got tired of being depressed. (Note: A sign that your depression isn't clinical is that you can do something to change it.) So I put the game system away, started reading again, and most importantly I began writing again.<br />
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Few things have been as difficult as the choice to begin writing again. I stopped around the time I graduated and by that time I hadn't worked on any fiction in nearly a year. I had written plenty of poetry, and too many essays (one essay is too much) but no fiction. That's not a bad thing, except my favorite thing about writing is telling stories. And for some reason I had run out of stories to tell.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKKFIN4pOpvNiFnv21FA5fuaR-JM3sj2vo1nOccuKZQLkCFFnI5DtVmYuxrmYJclwpSnaBc4jXS2m6bFa3lA6Yzm4Mode9lkPAt9qg8EjbSrZXztadDStfGEScoNQXHu51Nrk6zBPTfjA/s1600/BAJ-Quote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKKFIN4pOpvNiFnv21FA5fuaR-JM3sj2vo1nOccuKZQLkCFFnI5DtVmYuxrmYJclwpSnaBc4jXS2m6bFa3lA6Yzm4Mode9lkPAt9qg8EjbSrZXztadDStfGEScoNQXHu51Nrk6zBPTfjA/s1600/BAJ-Quote.jpg" height="320" width="316" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bret Anthony Johnston wrote a book called<br />"<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Remember-Me-Like-This-Novel/dp/1400062128/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408179030&sr=1-1&keywords=remember+me+like+this" target="_blank">Remember Me Like This</a>". Go buy that book.</td></tr>
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And I had to figure out where to start if I didn't think I had anymore stories to tell. I realized I had stories I hadn't finished so of course I hid and played Skyrim and tried to forget I wanted to be a writer. I realized I was afraid after a while, and I couldn't really place why I was afraid. It wasn't until I stopped playing games that I understood. I was afraid because I know "Writing is the hardest thing you will ever choose to do" (Quote by Bret Anthony Johnston). And I wasn't sure I had it in me to do it again.<br />
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This past Monday, I was released as the president of a writers group I was a part of. And I found myself so overjoyed that I came home and I wanted to write. The desire to create became stronger than my fear of the words. As I write this today I have written nearly for a week straight. My sentences haven't been perfect, and my ideas still struggle to flow, but I am putting in the effort. I am giving my creativity a chance to flow.<br />
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Writing is the most difficult thing we can choose to do. Because as Nikki Giovanni says, "If you wrote from experience you'd get maybe one book, maybe three poems. Writers write from empathy." And following empathy to write takes us away from the comfortable. It leaves us to choose to look at tragedies such as what Robin Williams chose to do and get in the same space as he lived and come to understand how depression and Parkinson's Disease drove him to that choice. That's no place any of us wants to go. But thats where the story with meaning will be found.<br />
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Oddly enough, I chose to join a twelve step group because I have spent my life avoiding my own feelings. I'd shared empathy with others, but not with myself. I reached for the stars, but misunderstood my own heart. Those who hear the poetry I write that is about me tend to say that it has power that my poetry about other people lacks. I think thats because its hardest for me to find compassion for myself. And that's the choice that I have to make to write.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2D1tSV6JQUkPhPQoGEBHZzearCuRxHSeoy5SYhGV49qb99P9OnqFg0X17bsTGX1cdh7Pkq_z7frMOo1o5eWb7L0tuPdggN6gFUIPwP6yFPej_mif15uRQN-UrPKqyjffweAlpcgQcKg/s1600/ROW80Logocopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2D1tSV6JQUkPhPQoGEBHZzearCuRxHSeoy5SYhGV49qb99P9OnqFg0X17bsTGX1cdh7Pkq_z7frMOo1o5eWb7L0tuPdggN6gFUIPwP6yFPej_mif15uRQN-UrPKqyjffweAlpcgQcKg/s1600/ROW80Logocopy.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a>Today is August 17th and I am jumping back into where I was a couple of years ago as a participant of A Round of Words in Eighty Days (#ROW80). I realize they are 49 days into the challenge, but I need a network of folks to write with. So here I am.<br />
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My goal for the next week is to complete a short story I have been working on since NaNoWriMo 2012. That is the only writing project I am concerned with at this time. I'll share a short update on Wednesday with some more musings. Thanks for visiting.<br />
<br />Jayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.com4Ogden, UT, USA41.223 -111.973830441.031909 -112.29655389999999 41.414091 -111.6511069tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8255329229751420925.post-81141792007291253512013-07-11T20:00:00.000-06:002013-07-11T20:00:01.167-06:00Teaching Materials for Writers Ink: Unblocking Creativity<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOEWoA44simViKXbH1CzOV7gcwbHqv4s0Z7JlPOXBpD1gnhopEli5BxoqTH2M6qXZbozwf16me-bDwSc5IC0tQd1Bzyqc1lsTKhe5XknTEx24O4eiVybP2SvfxsBt2WaStm0bXOslSF3k/s1600/weber+state+logo.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOEWoA44simViKXbH1CzOV7gcwbHqv4s0Z7JlPOXBpD1gnhopEli5BxoqTH2M6qXZbozwf16me-bDwSc5IC0tQd1Bzyqc1lsTKhe5XknTEx24O4eiVybP2SvfxsBt2WaStm0bXOslSF3k/s200/weber+state+logo.bmp" width="185" /></a>Sometimes in our lives we embark on journeys that are incredible. Sometimes they completely terrify us. I recently began a journey that does both to me. I began a writing organization on my campus at Weber State University. You might ask why would I do that? It mostly has to do with the fact that I recognize that our teachers shouldn't be solely responsible for helping us to develop our skills as writers. The following is the contents of a small booklet I made for a class I taught on Creativity today. It is my hope that the ideas expressed here will help other writers to learn craft or discover resources that can help them become better writers. Enjoy!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Unblocking Creativity</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>What is Creativity?</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7JV1uif8rk3OYAxioNXNW5_AeWJJzu5H0-vRW6y25ldmxK2zeJuLUq3kLhZR0j9CZm_ZH5sT2Dppk1koggOncZIXUbB6xHbijGn44cyz-sueM_QYzRRmZDct8XOnQwBqUSiyR4cTw8mg/s1600/Imagination.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7JV1uif8rk3OYAxioNXNW5_AeWJJzu5H0-vRW6y25ldmxK2zeJuLUq3kLhZR0j9CZm_ZH5sT2Dppk1koggOncZIXUbB6xHbijGn44cyz-sueM_QYzRRmZDct8XOnQwBqUSiyR4cTw8mg/s320/Imagination.png" width="224" /></a>According to the Oxford Dictionary creativity means: relating to or involving the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work. Hopefully you asked after reading that: So what? I know I did. Creativity means something different to each one of us. This personal meaning is what drives us to create and what one of the goals of Writers Ink will be to teach you to protect. But that is a different lesson.<br />
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I define creativity as the playground of the mind. We take materials and we create music in words, build worlds in imagination, learn what it means to touch a star, and some few of us will use creativity to cure cancer. Hopefully our creativity will allow us to change our world with as much impact as that team of scientists will.
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>What gets in the way of our creativity?
</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi48mdjhXNRye-3qYSV083pLJ5t_8vnxAAnKchHpvL6GhsUKlIRPnxp_uSsehJpMp0cirvNPhcrk-9CNKN4eNUxPk0U6WWySevpVJw28b2wVhGtHEB4t1dO1pFIzgXkQkEyGuYnmMLCh0w/s1600/Red+Eye.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi48mdjhXNRye-3qYSV083pLJ5t_8vnxAAnKchHpvL6GhsUKlIRPnxp_uSsehJpMp0cirvNPhcrk-9CNKN4eNUxPk0U6WWySevpVJw28b2wVhGtHEB4t1dO1pFIzgXkQkEyGuYnmMLCh0w/s200/Red+Eye.png" width="200" /></a>Make a list. Really make a list. Some of the things you will see on mine is: Fear of rejection keeps me from creating; I believe that being creative is a luxury I can’t afford right now; and I’m so tired of this project I’m working on that I’m done with it. I don’t know if these sound familiar to you, but I know that there tends to be a pattern with most of our reasons for not creating. That pattern is our self. We are the force that gets in the way of our creativity. So in order to embrace our creativity & develop creative confidence we have to stop getting in our own way. I’m not saying that our reasons for not creating aren’t valid, but it is our responsibility to learn how to work around them.
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Tools of our Trade
</b></div>
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As writers we must recognize that we are developing skills to enable us to build cohesive arguments, create resonating phrases, and open minds. Among the first skill we must develop is how to create ideas.
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Again, make a list. Find out what you already use. Following are some of my tools:<br />
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1. A Commonplace book: A place to hold all my good and bad ideas<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimtKsMdTjlrb3YO8y2vthtWejsekXD0f9DxWHNqwLYKhM4Ti7Q0R_wIIzTFxKYhTCYRx1P4sdJ1uUhwDjtrGegcpx9HOxi4ai8wlPRV4Mj_zBVI5kcknqEodpRxDdnKcWJS6d69NDAm9Q/s1600/Create+Change.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimtKsMdTjlrb3YO8y2vthtWejsekXD0f9DxWHNqwLYKhM4Ti7Q0R_wIIzTFxKYhTCYRx1P4sdJ1uUhwDjtrGegcpx9HOxi4ai8wlPRV4Mj_zBVI5kcknqEodpRxDdnKcWJS6d69NDAm9Q/s200/Create+Change.png" width="200" /></a>2. Research on my subject matter<br />
3. My memories, your memories, fictional memories, & dreams<br />
4. Brainstorming (Alone and with trusted friends)<br />
5. Quotations, Art, Driving, and Showers (Places of inspiration)<br />
6. Writing Prompts or Focused Practice<br />
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Your list of tools may be longer or look entirely different than this. And that’s okay. Now go share your list with another writer and increase their tool box.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Expressing Creativity</b></div>
<br />
Of course you came to this to learn how to keep your creative flow. I like to think of creativity as a well. A well must be nurtured and taken care of if it is going to give us water throughout our lives. One of the dangers of allowing ourselves to get in the way of our creativity is that we can dry up our well. Thankfully if we tend to ourselves again we can refill our creative wells. Following are four ways we can help keep our wells full of creativity.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJzftKaVbTGXdIu_DJ_BASOk-Ubbw7CzUP1aHldngnRdhB9vQQuWA2oG0oJ36YAJ1xbpaxQX01Zdz72_1CXpRNB8C5mjRgWibonZ0V6849OhrVKg-kmXMQ3m7Vc84T0kAlSq0aZl9ohA/s1600/Building+a+Child+and+a+Future.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJzftKaVbTGXdIu_DJ_BASOk-Ubbw7CzUP1aHldngnRdhB9vQQuWA2oG0oJ36YAJ1xbpaxQX01Zdz72_1CXpRNB8C5mjRgWibonZ0V6849OhrVKg-kmXMQ3m7Vc84T0kAlSq0aZl9ohA/s200/Building+a+Child+and+a+Future.png" width="200" /></a>1. Pay attention to and explore the world around you.
Have you ever seen a picture or quote on Facebook that you thought was awesome? You see things like that when you are paying attention. Take the time to collect quotes and pictures or anything else that inspires you. These put water into the creativity well.
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2. Open up, be vulnerable, recognize emotion as a source of energy.
This is hard. Sometimes we experience feelings that we don’t want to. We can even create experiences of emotion using music, smells, and watching memorable films. When we as artists are authentic about what we feel it can fill our well.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtXhu9H7FeIlMfVLkmcpgyZ607wdOXvgDqne_Up1Sx_h5LFwHrU7ST_aUd0rMWwW7_FsM9khzAFfSkC393YG-bQSEzGYEyInpRJDuPdN34DKW00ukekKVD6Qt8nPCicf_uUjGxnpGykAc/s1600/Painting+the+Future.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtXhu9H7FeIlMfVLkmcpgyZ607wdOXvgDqne_Up1Sx_h5LFwHrU7ST_aUd0rMWwW7_FsM9khzAFfSkC393YG-bQSEzGYEyInpRJDuPdN34DKW00ukekKVD6Qt8nPCicf_uUjGxnpGykAc/s200/Painting+the+Future.png" width="200" /></a>3. Creativity isn’t an event it is a lifestyle.
I have found that the muse only regularly visits the consistent. Remember to keep writing. This is most difficult when you feel blocked. That’s okay keep writing. Having more than one creative project at a time helps with this process. The waters of creativity flow best when we live in such a way that we consistently are working on creating new projects.
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4. We must embrace loss and develop creative confidence.
Of all the steps this is the most difficult. Artists must endure rejection and loss throughout their lives. Does it hurt? Yes. In my opinion it always should, because we have become numb to inspiration when it ceases to hurt. Embrace the pain. Develop your skills so well that you can have confidence even in rejection. This will help you be resilient enough to keep putting your work out there to make the world a better place.
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Creativity as a Journey
</b></div>
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Now that we are finished with this class you know everything there is to know about creativity and you are ready to create worlds without end, right? Perhaps. Hopefully this has simply whetted your appetite with some tools to develop your creativity and habits to help you develop the lifestyle. Below you can find resources to help you as you continue on the journey to discover greater creativity. Including the resources I used to create this booklet. May the muse visit you often.
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Resources for Creativity
</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Artists-Way-Julia-Cameron/dp/1585421472/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373359239&sr=1-3&keywords=The+Artists+Way" target="_blank"><i>The Artists Way</i> written by Julia Cameron </a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Habit-Learn-Use-Life/dp/0743235274/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373359205&sr=1-1&keywords=the+creative+habit+by+twyla+tharp" target="_blank"><i>The Creative Habit</i> by Twyla Tharp </a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kick-Ass-Creativity-Makeover-Explorers-Professionals/dp/1571746218/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373359095&sr=1-1&keywords=Kick-Ass+Creativity" target="_blank"><i>Kick-Ass Creativity</i> by Mary Beth Maziarz </a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/M-Epiphany-Uncommon-Exercises-Transform/dp/1582973512/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373359061&sr=1-1&keywords=the+3+am+epiphany" target="_blank"><i>The 3 A.M. Epiphany</i> by Brian Kiteley </a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gift-Creativity-Artist-Modern-World/dp/0307279502/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373359015&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Gift" target="_blank"><i>The Gift </i>by Lewis Hyde </a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Out-Dragons-Meditation-Meditations/dp/1609073681/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373358936&sr=8-1&keywords=drawing+out+the+dragons" target="_blank"><i>Drawing out the Dragons</i> by James A. Owen</a><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16p9YRF0l-g" target="_blank">David Kelley’s TED talk: How to build your creative confidence </a><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY0Pf_pfqCI" target="_blank">Julie Burstein’s TED talk: Four lessons in creativity</a><br />
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<br />Jayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.com0Ogden, UT, USA41.223 -111.973830441.031909 -112.29655389999999 41.414091 -111.6511069tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8255329229751420925.post-643566550075755892013-06-27T15:45:00.000-06:002013-06-27T15:45:00.490-06:00The Celebration of the Death of DOMA<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisgnAoyktiDLXbmZ19bIQkbOfzzqFk36FsQixxJnW8x0PQL_DRBGnIDN67HAkQsEhNjVJ5V1V4c1pgrKiwMCtECbHUaDHmtmXoVFJkfcYrU_tqxnan_iW9tbfAZeNNU2hEzTYkte5M5HU/s1600/1045183_691327214230068_129200077_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisgnAoyktiDLXbmZ19bIQkbOfzzqFk36FsQixxJnW8x0PQL_DRBGnIDN67HAkQsEhNjVJ5V1V4c1pgrKiwMCtECbHUaDHmtmXoVFJkfcYrU_tqxnan_iW9tbfAZeNNU2hEzTYkte5M5HU/s320/1045183_691327214230068_129200077_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken from George Takei's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=691327214230068&set=a.223098324386295.105971.205344452828349&type=1&theater" target="_blank">Facebook Page</a></td></tr>
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The caption to the left is similar to how I
looked when I turned on my computer yesterday morning to see some of the best
news I have seen in years. The Defense of Marriage Act or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOMA"><span style="color: blue;">DOMA</span></a>
had been put down by the Supreme Court of the United States as
unconstitutional. For those of you who are unfamiliar with DOMA, as I once was,
it is a law that was signed by President Clinton. Simply it mandated that if a
same sex couple got a civil marriage or a civil union that other states did not
need to recognize that. Such as a same sex couple that got married in
Massachusetts moved to New York the state of New York would not have to
recognize that relationship as legal. Not only did DOMA make it difficult for
same sex couples to be able to move where they pleased, it made it difficult
for them to travel and retain their rights. Such as if a same sex couple would
be on vacation in Florida and they were in a car accident the family of the
injured party would have rights to visitation of the injured, but the spouse
may not have rights of visitation and could even be asked by the family and the
hospital to leave. These are the kinds of situations that make the end of DOMA
worth celebrating.<br />
<br />
However not everyone in the Union will see this
as a matter worth celebration. Many people in California donated thousands of
dollars to make certain that Proposition Eight passed. And when it did
lawmakers were faced with a group of people who proposed that it may be
unconstitutional. This is what made DOMA and Proposition Eight so controversial: the fact that people said they wanted X and the Bill of Rights said
people should get Y. This is what the Supreme Court among others has been
trying to sort out for years since all this began back in 2008. Now that it has
been declared unconstitutional there are groups of people who are upset because
the Supreme Court did not vote in favor of the people. Instead they elected to
give the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community their rights. This
is why I celebrate.<br />
<br />
However I need to make a confession to you. I am
a Mormon. Mormons did much of the funding for Proposition Eight in California.
I do not agree with their choice despite some of my beliefs being the same as
theirs. I believe that religious marriage is meant to be between a man and a
woman. The purpose of that marriage is to have a relationship that lasts longer
than our lifetime here on earth and into the eternities before God. None of the
doctrine I have read has ever led me to believe that God offers that same
opportunity for those of the LGBT community. That is the primary reason why I
am against religious marriage for the LGBT community. However civil marriage
which is the legal form of the union which is recognized by the state and
federal government I believe is crucial to the livelihood of this nation if we
want to continue to brand our nation as the land of the free.
<br />
<br />
The United States of America was established to
offer religious freedom to the puritans over two hundred years ago. During that
time we have had to redefine freedom multiple times. First we had to figure out
what it meant to give the natives freedom. We hurt them as individual nations
by taking their lands, corrupting their culture, and expecting them to peacefully
respond to our demands. I do not need to describe to you that this went poorly.
Next we had to deal with the issue of slavery. This issue lasted much longer
because of the belief that blacks were less than human at one point. With the
Emancipation Proclamation we purchased a peaceless surrender of the slaves.
Over the freedom of slaves we started a civil war, we instituted the Jim Crow
Laws, and we oppressed blacks for another hundred years after they were granted
their “freedom.” Today we face the issue of Gay Rights and we are responding to
it in much the same way we did with same grace and sensitivity that we have
with these other issues. We as a people are undereducated about it, fearful of
it, and unwilling to recognize in what ways we may be wrong about how we are
treating our fellow human beings. Same Sex Marriage is only one of a multitude
of rights that the LGBT community is fighting for.
<br />
<br />
In my celebration of the Death of DOMA I am
committing to becoming more educated on how to help support the rights of the
LGBT community because I do not want to repeat the mistakes of our past. As a
young black man, I still see discrimination towards me and I’ve seen it towards
the LGBT community as well. And personally I hurt, because I know they hurt. Civil
Rights isn’t about protecting the definition of a word that doesn’t need
protection. The definition of marriage changed in the Oxford Dictionary
already. And marriage in the context of what the LGBT community is working
towards has everything to do with legal rights and nothing to do with trying to
take the domestic comfort of the families of heterosexual couples. This is
about making us as a people living according to the values that we state in our
Constitution to stand by. If we are seeking the Life, Liberty, and Happiness of
all the people in our nation then we by definition need to give to our people
the same rights that they can be with those they love, take care of their
families, and build our nation into the beacon of freedom that it claims to be.
<br />
<br />
I end this blog with one of my favorite songs. It is by
Mackelmore and Lewis and it is called Same Love. I believe if we raise the
rising generation to hate themselves, fear the judgment of others, and polarize
themselves and others on the issues we face in our world we will fail them. We
owe it to ourselves, and our children to educate ourselves that we may be full
of love one for another and live in real freedom.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/YcNOapwgw6I" width="480"></iframe></div>
Jayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.com1Ogden, UT, USA41.223 -111.973830441.031909 -112.29655389999999 41.414091 -111.6511069tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8255329229751420925.post-17640410563721876622013-05-20T08:00:00.000-06:002013-05-20T16:03:37.987-06:00Mistakes, Vulnerability, and Critiques<br />
<div class="p1">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg977qe7HmMRGwouvKZD1NI8Su86DTjlhQt3sRu4HqVW74AIrQbmWgMvQCVeQkn9lu4JeUOt9VO07bM0pgkPoMu6nWNYuiZ482pOY3sjqX2wTV-_1olDZ7MY_Rf4CHts9eASzv7woN0f_0/s1600/181px-OOPS%255E_NEGLIGENCE_IS_THE_CAUSE_OF_MOST_ACCIDENTS._BE_THOUGHTFUL._-_NARA_-_515130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg977qe7HmMRGwouvKZD1NI8Su86DTjlhQt3sRu4HqVW74AIrQbmWgMvQCVeQkn9lu4JeUOt9VO07bM0pgkPoMu6nWNYuiZ482pOY3sjqX2wTV-_1olDZ7MY_Rf4CHts9eASzv7woN0f_0/s1600/181px-OOPS%255E_NEGLIGENCE_IS_THE_CAUSE_OF_MOST_ACCIDENTS._BE_THOUGHTFUL._-_NARA_-_515130.jpg" /></a>It has been almost five months since I last posted to this blog. I feel guilty about that. I started out about a year and a half ago with high hopes of being able to create content for this to share with you, my audience, and I was doing a good job – up until I returned to school last year. It sucked my time and my energy to blog away from me and I found that regardless of my desires, I had to re-prioritize my life to put family, school, and personal writing first before I could return to blogging. It was a hard decision and counting the cost was more challenging than I expected it to be. However I recently published an article with <a href="http://www.evolllution.com/" target="_blank">the Evolllution</a>, an online newspaper on adult education (you can find that article <a href="http://www.evolllution.com/distance_online_learning/solutions-significant-challenges-faced-non-traditional-students/" target="_blank">here</a>), and I discovered in my bio that they linked back to my blog. A blog that hadn’t been given any new content in a long time. So I return to blogging at a pace I believe I can handle. One post per week. We’ll see how that goes.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK8W-rf9qkiR5NqytGaXwgS17NKzn7Nb6zDMM8G4blnjWyhKQChKVsSPOYyZdfDyfyrT0gWGEHdgKe_HI8gfPT1dxmezsxZMTU82Hed5q7EbMT7orjfjnqEdh8lliKyQrXzVEuJrokaEM/s1600/DSC01706.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK8W-rf9qkiR5NqytGaXwgS17NKzn7Nb6zDMM8G4blnjWyhKQChKVsSPOYyZdfDyfyrT0gWGEHdgKe_HI8gfPT1dxmezsxZMTU82Hed5q7EbMT7orjfjnqEdh8lliKyQrXzVEuJrokaEM/s320/DSC01706.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My mother and I on Graduation Day.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This mistake of judgment is one of many I’ve made in my life. I’ve often over burdened myself because I’ve thought that I need to be perfect and that a perfect person could juggle 20 different hats in their life successfully. Some of my role models can do this, but that doesn’t mean that is a standard for me to attempt to live up to. Every time I have tried I have found myself dropping priorities and attempting to clean up the mess later. I’ve been doing that for the past eight years as I have been working towards graduating from Weber State University. I recently received my Associates of Science and it began a period of reflection for me on all that I have gone through to get there. Mistakes that were necessary for me to come to know the person that I am.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
I have a tendency to overburden myself in seeking my own standard of perfection. I am very expressive in person, but I tend to blunt my feelings when I speak with others about them. I have a need to remain busy all of the time. I take all the bad things that happen in my life and use them to make lemonade which I tell people I like because I enjoy lemonade, only they can’t see I didn’t make the juice with lemons but rather with my heart. You see I’m afraid to be vulnerable. It terrifies me. So instead of allowing myself to be human and feel and express emotion, I numb myself.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb95chnhkfv-AHkraredAQLI60A6XAx0zi_CVinertG_RCjhnjFposoD6FlvGm24IVI9LvJWWLQ8aNDNqxrCRYq1wGj__B-pq_RxgGUXlhADHiVm9cWhhqMppnD3pY60s8-roAIdjRX0k/s1600/numb_by_meru_keepalive-d4p9ups.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb95chnhkfv-AHkraredAQLI60A6XAx0zi_CVinertG_RCjhnjFposoD6FlvGm24IVI9LvJWWLQ8aNDNqxrCRYq1wGj__B-pq_RxgGUXlhADHiVm9cWhhqMppnD3pY60s8-roAIdjRX0k/s1600/numb_by_meru_keepalive-d4p9ups.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Growing up this was an unintentional theme in my home.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p2">
I numb myself to get rid of the messages that run inside my head like the ones to the left. Doubts plague me about being smart enough, good enough, strong enough, stable enough. Though there is one place in my life I don't suffer thoughts like these that I suspect other writers do. And that is in the world of critiques. Anyone who wants to have their work read by others and valued has to learn how to have their work critiqued by others. At first this may not sound terribly difficult, but for myself and I believe a great many other writers the act of writing is expressing one's own identity in words. You expose yourself more fully than you can in any other medium, because you don't express just what you believe, or what you like, but the very nature of the thoughts you have. And someone else is going to tell you what they think of your thoughts. Kinda scary, yes? But it doesn't have to be. Here are three tips about how to receive a critique with grace.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9XUeZqWznDvpc_vWIzj9rnimO_AqFRgZvWnZImDCfPL6c3w__GV30ixdw3VB0iDrOLRDflGz1owJFnAazbAhYrb5-hYz_3ByVURLotvNsAzG9QgEYMJFCfr-9h5xFcv5n83zSBCFOCw/s1600/Pain.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9XUeZqWznDvpc_vWIzj9rnimO_AqFRgZvWnZImDCfPL6c3w__GV30ixdw3VB0iDrOLRDflGz1owJFnAazbAhYrb5-hYz_3ByVURLotvNsAzG9QgEYMJFCfr-9h5xFcv5n83zSBCFOCw/s1600/Pain.jpeg" /></a>One: Critique often hurts.</div>
<div class="p2">
I know a writer who it doesn't seem to matter what is said to them, they just won't change anything about their story. It didn't make much sense until one day I heard through the grapevine in our class they only got one good piece of advice for their story. This was after having spent hours on their work trying to find things to help them. And it was a workshop class of roughly twenty students and our professor. I've puzzled for months over why they couldn't accept what was said. And it boils down to the fact that they were not willing to be vulnerable about their writing. And if a writer cannot be vulnerable they cannot grow nor can anyone help them to grow.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
Anyone who spends weeks or months on a writing project, dreaming up things to make their fiction or poetry thought provoking, laugh worthy, or emotional has every right to be vulnerable about what they wrote. Personally I look at it like this, the more red that a critiquer can put on my story and still be invested in the world and learning more about it, the better of a job I've done. All the markings can be symbolic of the work I've put into my story. And by allowing another to invest in your world they can point out the things that you can't see while you are inside it. It may hurt like exercise does, but once you allow yourself to get used to it your writing will get stronger just like your body would.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
Two: The critiquer doesn't know all you know.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPX6FeaUIezfyltkuo-LNicznJvgz61fYh66hFu2RO4zPhRawfMmkU7QukgGV7YUOW0Dg8yPcfW7KA2PHImmpa91maPJwCqrF_z8JeKSuxNJYbuyL93ABRkudmkoTymppnPLRrKIra4rU/s1600/Mona+Lisa+with+egg+face.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPX6FeaUIezfyltkuo-LNicznJvgz61fYh66hFu2RO4zPhRawfMmkU7QukgGV7YUOW0Dg8yPcfW7KA2PHImmpa91maPJwCqrF_z8JeKSuxNJYbuyL93ABRkudmkoTymppnPLRrKIra4rU/s1600/Mona+Lisa+with+egg+face.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is how I felt that day, but less elegant.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p2">
Story time. So I had my critique group over one day and we were going over one of our members stories. I opened with the critique on this specific story. And I just tore into it, I saw so many things on the story level that just didn't make sense to me. Like why would a fortune teller allow someone close enough to have somebody watch what they were telling someone. Or why would a girl allow a guy to take her to an abandoned building to have sex. And it was strange because this was a person who I typically enjoy their writing. I just went at them honestly about how I felt about the work. At the end of my rant my group decided to inform me that the story wasn't fiction. It was nonfiction about the author. I wanted to crawl under the table and then out of the room. At that point all of my critique held no water. My points may have had validity for a different story, but not for that one.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
Remember the critiquer doesn't know all you know about your story. If what they say resonates with you and points you towards crafting a better story note it. If it doesn't resonate with what you are trying to write or causes you to feel less excited about your story, it probably isn't right. And if what they say makes you angry note it especially, because often these are the things you need to sleep on to find out if they resonate or not.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwuJE3ryZasWBH6fSlWMGnWR2aFwv8ICgiwiVILD_XgMABarNn_-gD29oQCJ-x0w33gR9PlNzAYrvE-BKVrfq_s2IYfjdZ8844r9hm8Gqp2e6ccGLpgdqQQeFtYTZWvSczSMlaIGSqWD8/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwuJE3ryZasWBH6fSlWMGnWR2aFwv8ICgiwiVILD_XgMABarNn_-gD29oQCJ-x0w33gR9PlNzAYrvE-BKVrfq_s2IYfjdZ8844r9hm8Gqp2e6ccGLpgdqQQeFtYTZWvSczSMlaIGSqWD8/s1600/images.jpeg" /></a></div>
<div class="p2">
Three: Listen and ask questions.</div>
<div class="p2">
Critique is a unique time in the telling of a story. It is based on it that you are going to develop your next story. Listen for everything that you can. For this purpose some people only critique in person and they actually read the entire piece aloud. You get to hear peoples first hand reactions to reading your work then. That information is crucial to you crafting the story you want to tell.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
Don't be afraid to ask your critiquer to get specific about what things they are having trouble understanding. If they say they can see a problem somewhere ask them why they feel that way. Require them to express their emotions about what they are feeling when you are writing. This allows you to know what you are guiding people towards emotionally. Writing fiction is all about what the reader feels as they read and if you don't know what they are feeling you can't create the emotional experience. Your vulnerability in writing is what creates their experience.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
I'm at a place in my life where I have tried to stop numbing, but it is hard. It frightens me often and I try to open up to my wife and my friends what I am feeling. Often they help me to identify what is really going on inside of me and that is what I attempt to put into my writing. Having people you can trust with your vulnerability is a precious thing and shouldn't be taken lightly. This journey we call writing can take us through the storms of our own vulnerability and teach us that strength is not found in the numbing, but rather in opening up and allowing others in. But only if we let it.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
Jayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.com5Ogden, UT41.223 -111.973830441.031909 -112.29655389999999 41.414091 -111.6511069tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8255329229751420925.post-51992451675639035342013-01-04T08:00:00.000-07:002013-01-04T08:22:40.608-07:00Goals for the New Year<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDoJYZMNjeAELYknH9kib0ahiZgXMXAB_76GBlCCjiH2t99VDTJsu1SLEUWAzssB-WlM3acIDcP5a4YZqsqzPPb8q0j1x6-gwOUfbb9bpMXeaVmq-PtDkF4cu76zc9Lv_SSOWgg1thuE/s1600/If-you-want-to-live-a-happy-life-tie-it-to-a-goal.-Not-to-people-or-things-Albert-Einstein.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDoJYZMNjeAELYknH9kib0ahiZgXMXAB_76GBlCCjiH2t99VDTJsu1SLEUWAzssB-WlM3acIDcP5a4YZqsqzPPb8q0j1x6-gwOUfbb9bpMXeaVmq-PtDkF4cu76zc9Lv_SSOWgg1thuE/s1600/If-you-want-to-live-a-happy-life-tie-it-to-a-goal.-Not-to-people-or-things-Albert-Einstein.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I think Mr. Einstein was on to something when he said that. I can recall that many of the greatest experiences of my life have been those related to having a goal. I've won NaNoWriMo twice now. I'm a year off from graduating from college. I've gotten married. I've gotten help for my addiction. And on and on goes the list of goals that I've set and been able to achieve. And I think I want to actually reach for things that are terrifying now. Because when our goals scare us, the joy we get from their achievement is multiplied.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMIENSl-9EnlDUgSxKsty4gcWs0i7UAXo7zk1Z1IRDQNLT13e3pVg1whSX61GGblspz13UmryN2f0xTwdmlcX1c6oIseQa3vZLa-qSMc_X4qTVRhJ209AxjgghJ1pEUNh9IJ5ArzIPJ7I/s1600/Winner-180x180.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMIENSl-9EnlDUgSxKsty4gcWs0i7UAXo7zk1Z1IRDQNLT13e3pVg1whSX61GGblspz13UmryN2f0xTwdmlcX1c6oIseQa3vZLa-qSMc_X4qTVRhJ209AxjgghJ1pEUNh9IJ5ArzIPJ7I/s1600/Winner-180x180.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can do anything, when you set<br />
your mind to it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This year I plan on going to Clarion West Writers Workshop. It is a workshop that is based entirely upon the submission of a work of fiction. The story that I wrote during this last NaNoWriMo "The Blood Malediction" is the story that I'll be sending to the judges. It is based in the same world of "Crimes of the Umbramancer." And writing it already has developed that world far more than I would have thought it would. I've finished the first draft of the story at 10,672 words. I'm now in the process of rewriting it. My rewrite and edits have to be done by the end of January for me to send it in to the judges of the workshop (not because the deadline is then, but because I don't want to send it to the judges once they are burning out).<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl9hbyuHJheE33q5n1cqyqGA2BN5ndUtUMmMYIZ19NdiCSKzYfOCrp_AxdW0tR4iuahbxwW2cXmFuXPTUWT87RPxQy3Fwv4_4Kb6v35n5r0KKlXN43xBwx50I602utTVkCjjGtQPvJiC8/s1600/DemonEye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl9hbyuHJheE33q5n1cqyqGA2BN5ndUtUMmMYIZ19NdiCSKzYfOCrp_AxdW0tR4iuahbxwW2cXmFuXPTUWT87RPxQy3Fwv4_4Kb6v35n5r0KKlXN43xBwx50I602utTVkCjjGtQPvJiC8/s1600/DemonEye.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The food my demon prefers: Eyeballs.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I can't tell you how much this scares me. I'm competing on a national level with my writing and hoping that others like it enough to get me to a place that I can take it to the next level. I find myself wondering if I'm good enough. Wondering if I will belong if I make it. Wondering if I haven't wasted all this time working towards this dream that can't come true. I know that it is the inner demon critic within trying to tear me down. That knowledge is the only reason I refuse to allow myself to wonder in those avenues.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir-iBU0FY8vCd9Iek02hsTFsAy8yL9GX8JKR0JSBQqzHj9qptl_9ou3lDSqvTQuDsSgq6MvvWNnVv1v1DJYHes9d277VBNXWsbrR_bWbSrbTAEE7gmZY8r-unieazWWOVLWeF5dYRJzLs/s1600/2320_128081420724_1348_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir-iBU0FY8vCd9Iek02hsTFsAy8yL9GX8JKR0JSBQqzHj9qptl_9ou3lDSqvTQuDsSgq6MvvWNnVv1v1DJYHes9d277VBNXWsbrR_bWbSrbTAEE7gmZY8r-unieazWWOVLWeF5dYRJzLs/s1600/2320_128081420724_1348_n.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My internal editor is much<br />
like my wife. Supportive<br />
& willing to push me.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Instead I go to the productive places. Like tonight I was writing a scene that I had watched multiple classmates attempt and get wrong, and I found myself making the same mistakes. I fought with myself to figure out why this scene had relevance and found what made the scene meaningful. That struggle made me really think about what I want to say with my writing, and it got me to the place where I understood my characters and their motivations much better than if I had simply allowed myself to make the same mistakes they did. This is the work of my friend, my internal editor. I am grateful for him, because he encourages me to work.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipesA6m2kw8CPfr_FbzxGmhyRgs6_aSrM0c93-KRVRkwjoONHYWmqH4uwmVOYb5cSAV-JDVl925qqWXX858ycWR2ugDHoNG7eNZzB2t0lJWhWMHPA2zYRYF0XuksUSywNhyeDDha8atj8/s1600/W1S1+2013+Monthly.220by139.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipesA6m2kw8CPfr_FbzxGmhyRgs6_aSrM0c93-KRVRkwjoONHYWmqH4uwmVOYb5cSAV-JDVl925qqWXX858ycWR2ugDHoNG7eNZzB2t0lJWhWMHPA2zYRYF0XuksUSywNhyeDDha8atj8/s1600/W1S1+2013+Monthly.220by139.jpg" /></a></div>
I am determined to actually move somewhere with my writing this year. So I joined up with Write 1 Sub 1 this year. I will be finishing "Crimes of the Umbramancer" before I leave for Clarion this summer, but in the meantime I will be writing at the very least one poem per month. This month for the project I'll finish this short story, but while I'm working on the novel I'll do poetry. It is a good way to learn how to compress meaning into small works.<br />
<br />
So listing them out in order goals for this year:<br />
<br />
1. Get accepted to and attend Clarion West Writers Workshop.<br />
A. Finish "The Blood Malediction" by the 31st of January.<br />
B. Send story and application for scholarship to Clarion February 1st.<br />
C. Await letter of acceptance in the mail (This isn't so much a goal, as a projection of what I want to have happen.)<br />
D. Attend Clarion West starting June 23rd, 2013.<br />
<br />
2. Write one short story or poem each month for 2013.<br />
A. Finish "The Blood Malediction" by the 31st of January.<br />
B. Write one poem per month while finishing the drafts of "Crimes of the Umbramancer."<br />
<br />
3. Finish complete second draft of "Crimes of the Umbramancer" by June 22nd.<br />
<br />
Concerning my writing those are the only goals I have at this time. I thought about attaching a wordcount goal to them, but it doesn't feel right. I need to base this year on finishing projects, not on wordcount. Perhaps when I get to work on NaNoWriMo next November, I'll focus on that again, but right now I need to be elsewhere. Particularly on the commitment I've made to you. Yeah, by writing these goals down like this and committing to them publicly I need to achieve them. Kinda like when I was doing NaNo and I had to finish because I had announced on live television that I would finish.<br />
<br />
So wish me joy this year friends, because I'm going to places that I never thought I would have the opportunity or skills to go. Share in the comments what goals that you have for this year. Maybe we can support each other. ;) Peace, y'all.Jayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.com4Ogden, UT, USA41.223 -111.973830441.031907 -112.2979269 41.414093 -111.6497339tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8255329229751420925.post-12323985203004144762012-11-05T23:58:00.000-07:002012-11-05T23:58:16.421-07:00Moving up by a NaNo-meter #1Howdy folks! <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5fIE-jPNgDVGDgeazxDtsEImqejL9QW-7aGLVfwi_1dgojjxBQ_k-xobuTCKz7sSbZs9U-n9E0mwb_msq_qC9yri4wCjblfIEfrXhQNms4fJbWu-FcXIRYs9WDfiy6xaAXUA5N7fMl3w/s1600/Participant-180x180-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5fIE-jPNgDVGDgeazxDtsEImqejL9QW-7aGLVfwi_1dgojjxBQ_k-xobuTCKz7sSbZs9U-n9E0mwb_msq_qC9yri4wCjblfIEfrXhQNms4fJbWu-FcXIRYs9WDfiy6xaAXUA5N7fMl3w/s1600/Participant-180x180-2.jpeg" /></a>I am currently at a 9530 words as I write this. I'm pretty excited to be at this point keeping a steady pace of writing. This year has been so much more difficult than last year was, but rewarding in new ways also. Perhaps because last year all I had to worry about was writing during my time off for the most part. But now I'm home and all the responsibilities of being home are cutting into writing time. This killed me during both Camp NaNoWriMo events earlier this year, but something about the main event is different. It is simply that I've chosen to find a way to make this a lifestyle here, not just a flash in the pan event this time.<br />
<br />
Writing as a lifestyle has been the dream I've been chasing for some time now. And during events like NaNo you have the support and community to help you develop it. I'm hoping that I'll be able to develop a habit of writing these first twenty seven days. So far I have been able to anticipate when I might miss a day, and I've written four out of these first five days. No small task, let me tell you.<br />
<br />
Because this month is really all about learning how to write more frequently and reach deeper for the stories within us, I figured that I would share some of the things that help me to reach my wordcount goals for NaNo and what I've learned over these past five days.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaSRAabaWipfuWTpYLQJvWf2Q0k3IFL5QWFvXD17iUGpB9z-mFLECks9yZShRiTFNunN_lDrhIvC5CzLGmWKdu1HKs0Zh90jM2JFsU0TH-n7grDPXDO6thk8ll-ijMp0hsG5bdtAIQTUw/s1600/1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaSRAabaWipfuWTpYLQJvWf2Q0k3IFL5QWFvXD17iUGpB9z-mFLECks9yZShRiTFNunN_lDrhIvC5CzLGmWKdu1HKs0Zh90jM2JFsU0TH-n7grDPXDO6thk8ll-ijMp0hsG5bdtAIQTUw/s200/1.jpeg" width="200" /></a>1) Don't be afraid to rewrite a scene if it doesn't feel right.<br />
<br />
Sometimes when we are drafting we write a scene and just try hard to get it to fit what we want to have happen in the story. During NaNo they often tell us to not bother doing any revisions to our work. And I have to say, that's silly. Keep the words, they are important, but rewrite the scene. Don't let yourself get into a place with what you are writing that you no longer like it because you are writing so fast that you aren't invested in your story. Remember that you are writing to become the best writer you can be. Rewriting is a part of that process. You might say that there are other writers who haven't needed to do that. Guess what, likely your not going to be one of them. And in reality they could have given us better writing if they did revisions. That's just the nature of the beast.<br />
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For me this has resulted in some great things already. The first scene I tried writing just didn't feel right at the end. So I decided to rewrite it. Funny thing is I discovered during the rewrite the voice of the story. With the voice I began to understand the main character better and found myself wondering new questions about him. Particularly what made him give up his faith. I'm hoping to discover that this month as I write him.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuKRmP0fPKh_Aq_qxcHLmuVX30ngNwUiB-ZbfnR4-TOsPqLcrqcz4wvkG8jd_Kad9Aiazyt_3vcIZXo3xDvPLiKVIke0kN0ZkctadrgoqozWKm1MJE4SQr_wrf764qcUCAtI3ORICQmFo/s1600/2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuKRmP0fPKh_Aq_qxcHLmuVX30ngNwUiB-ZbfnR4-TOsPqLcrqcz4wvkG8jd_Kad9Aiazyt_3vcIZXo3xDvPLiKVIke0kN0ZkctadrgoqozWKm1MJE4SQr_wrf764qcUCAtI3ORICQmFo/s200/2.jpeg" width="200" /></a>2) Don't be afraid to write things that don't have anything to do with the story you are working on. <br />
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This sounds like advice that is weird doesn't it? But we all need a break from some kinds of writing. I use blogging as a break from writing fiction. Oddly enough this break gives my mind a rest from the challenges that fiction forces me to face, and I am able to remember for a little bit, why I began this journey. It isn't because writing fiction is easy. It is because I enjoy it, in every moment of its difficulty.<br />
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This NaNo I am attempting to write several short stories. But the longer I'm working on it, I realize that I'm not going to get to more than the one short story I'm working on. Much of this has to do with the fact that I'm going to write about this character's childhood to inform myself about it. I'm going to take the time to really get comfortable with this character, not just on the superficial level, but I want to know him as well as I know myself. Because a character that well developed has power to drive a story on their own. And because he is a major character in my novel it will just work to inform that also as I write.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrcGQg98sZNuTXEP5lUC4zVuIBMg1Gy5ie49vC5pFBDUvwzM5RCf040BN-JgwPPkD07o8dygZsLJZe0Nx7JvBm-zrCsDx30F4LZWjmw0xabzvK_275oz-nTk3_5AmHPkF4zGEaGJ8PGl8/s1600/3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrcGQg98sZNuTXEP5lUC4zVuIBMg1Gy5ie49vC5pFBDUvwzM5RCf040BN-JgwPPkD07o8dygZsLJZe0Nx7JvBm-zrCsDx30F4LZWjmw0xabzvK_275oz-nTk3_5AmHPkF4zGEaGJ8PGl8/s200/3.jpeg" width="146" /></a>3) Butt in Chair Hands on Keyboard everyday. <br />
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Last year during NaNo I didn't write everyday. I would slack off because I thought my brain needed time off. And during those times I underwent a period of just feeling disoriented, not because I didn't need time off, but because I wasn't approaching it in a balanced way. We usually make time to talk to friends everyday, our spouse, pray, or read. What makes writing different? The fact that it uses up so much brain space? Or perhaps because it is hard. The other things we do everyday aren't hard. But the reason they aren't hard is because we do them everyday. By doing them everyday we reduce their difficulty and increase our skill in doing them. Thus the only way to make writing a lifetime habit is to BiC-HaK everyday.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS502MU_XKCyEtFuQ7cij1M_s4mZuNhAXqrICy9VurAj1MCbvy-xVkU4WLLZzHuej30V4Z8QxwUAWR6tcitNd-lnK4xEhjFkmaQ7IBjRDvDYBbx80bgQIFEqHD9oMTjuunI6g1qjSZmWA/s1600/4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS502MU_XKCyEtFuQ7cij1M_s4mZuNhAXqrICy9VurAj1MCbvy-xVkU4WLLZzHuej30V4Z8QxwUAWR6tcitNd-lnK4xEhjFkmaQ7IBjRDvDYBbx80bgQIFEqHD9oMTjuunI6g1qjSZmWA/s200/4.jpeg" width="139" /></a>4) Believe in yourself. <br />
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Nobody else can really believe in you until you do. NaNoWriMo has such great energy because literally people from all over the world come together to belief that they can write a draft of a novel in a month. Each person comes with a different idea of success, willing to work hard to achieve that. Do you understand what kind of power is found in that? And that power isn't bound to just NaNoWriMo season. It lives within your fingertips each and everyday. It takes hard work, time, and consistency to develop that power into a future. It doesn't matter whether you are a neurosurgeon, a musician, a homemaker, or a businessman it takes those ingredients to find success. I want to apply these ingredients to make myself a writer. You can too.<br />
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You probably got to the end of this post saying, "OG, we knew all that already. We heard that in our writing class, or on Writing Excuses, or at the last Writing Conference we went to." That's cool. I'm just another voice telling you the same kinds of things you already knew and needed to hear again. Honestly I'm just trying to egg you on for the adventure ahead. I find myself to be the very happiest in my life when I am writing. It just makes the rest of it all make sense. I just hope I'm not the only one who feels that way (and even if I am, I'm not going to stop).<br />
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Thanks for reading if you're just trying to support me this month, and if you are a fellow NaNoer, take some of this advice to heart and move in the directions of your dreams. It might take us a year, two, or even ten, but writing is less about the words and entirely about the ideas we can grapple with and trying to make our writing as perfect as our ideas.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="300" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/24715531" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="400"></iframe><br />
A video on how to make our words as awesome as our ideas.</div>
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This is the OG, finishing the day at a grand total of 10652 words. Peace!<br />
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P.S. Due to Blogger being a pain, there will be a revision of picture and video sizes later.Jayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.com1Ogden, UT, USA41.223 -111.973830440.837232 -112.6055444 41.608768 -111.3421164tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8255329229751420925.post-32695085991364747912012-11-01T15:44:00.000-06:002012-11-01T15:44:13.262-06:00NaNoWriMo #2 Getting my Groove Back<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh08pImaIvX7gTnL3WTVvRikI5GhhQF_tuD64wKR_l6XbDAxUXnMvVmpfejFFxJm2cDv9dIuMHH4OsxH_sJqnIidPdbp9jEr-CReTWjWgNkVlYWQK73NBIjFkYXkYBC2UuiIuzFwtPRGkM/s1600/Facebook_cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh08pImaIvX7gTnL3WTVvRikI5GhhQF_tuD64wKR_l6XbDAxUXnMvVmpfejFFxJm2cDv9dIuMHH4OsxH_sJqnIidPdbp9jEr-CReTWjWgNkVlYWQK73NBIjFkYXkYBC2UuiIuzFwtPRGkM/s640/Facebook_cover.png" width="512" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO3hzKH_hpVSfcsjCv41tGWtcX_H1gwW0mwQWoK_9MFGu32IlEwPF63FrrlJj9q19Fusdp1tSb4o3pGfqaNMNpmIt5GSUQStFqBtF4UesHmrGye9c8hry4Tlj9HZtG8Zfxxo2VgKvpgh0/s1600/Shirt+Front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO3hzKH_hpVSfcsjCv41tGWtcX_H1gwW0mwQWoK_9MFGu32IlEwPF63FrrlJj9q19Fusdp1tSb4o3pGfqaNMNpmIt5GSUQStFqBtF4UesHmrGye9c8hry4Tlj9HZtG8Zfxxo2VgKvpgh0/s200/Shirt+Front.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Weber State's Nontraditional Student<br />
Literary Journal T-shirt design for the year.</td></tr>
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Life has been crazy the past few months. I was on the right track. Working with a writing group weekly, a president for chapter of a professional writing organization, and a managing editor for a student literary journal are all things that should have meant I was doing something right. Right? I have what (I think) most writers would dream of if they were trying to build their resume. Yet over the past few months I’ve lacked something: Perseverance.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1o0_7m96EmCNjns9n6m3JxO5Cm9MVz8N9ci5u8ScMvLufkqqS-f3xPfEVxFj0lR2MoDYo1toO8-ps1Y3sM5tCKpo6g4XP9Jy3TGKjOSH9sosSwWl3W-stzSKOQ1vAtfNkWKBhDfSYij0/s1600/LUW.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1o0_7m96EmCNjns9n6m3JxO5Cm9MVz8N9ci5u8ScMvLufkqqS-f3xPfEVxFj0lR2MoDYo1toO8-ps1Y3sM5tCKpo6g4XP9Jy3TGKjOSH9sosSwWl3W-stzSKOQ1vAtfNkWKBhDfSYij0/s1600/LUW.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm the President of the Wasatch Writer's Chapter now.</td></tr>
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I stopped writing with my writing group and blogging weekly a few months back. Why? I could give you all sorts of reasons. I got busy with school. I worked on my addiction recovery. Our house flooded. But none of them strike at the real heart of what is going on with me: “I’m not making writing a priority.” I haven’t blogged, I haven’t worked on anything new, nor I haven’t been to my writing group, because I haven’t made them priorities anymore. And if I want to be a professional one day, I need to incorporate writing into my daily life in a healthy way.</div>
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So after two attempts at Camp NaNoWriMo this year with spectacular failures, I’m signed up for the Official NaNoWriMo event this year again. I did it because I need a community to help me make my writing a priority again.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqxQbziImKkLPPQvHjjmI-PyFL1eyb71QMDWZbbCdK2fUX7I9AfDgkDj3Zz01lN65i0sKYrFoKgHAdgsnToxh9_gR7P4DuD-lt209_ABpbBOe_xQDBIXxyUsY2SMzKvDccC-P7J6ovL4/s1600/wordmongeringlogo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqxQbziImKkLPPQvHjjmI-PyFL1eyb71QMDWZbbCdK2fUX7I9AfDgkDj3Zz01lN65i0sKYrFoKgHAdgsnToxh9_gR7P4DuD-lt209_ABpbBOe_xQDBIXxyUsY2SMzKvDccC-P7J6ovL4/s200/wordmongeringlogo2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A twitter writing community.</td></tr>
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You might wonder why a person who is super busy with school, married life, work, a literary journal and an organization to manage would want more on their plate. Quite simply, if I’m not writing the other writing activities in my life have no meaning. How can I inspire anyone to keep writing if I’m not doing it? How does my urging people to submit to my literary journal have integrity if I’m not writing? How can anyone in a writing group with me feel my criticism is valid if I’m not in the trenches with them? And most of all how can I look myself in the mirror and say I’m a writer? Bottom line, I can’t. So I’m going back to where I began last year and finding the strength I learned there to continue this journey.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another Online writing community.</td></tr>
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A few nights ago I had plans of using the novel I wrote last year and finishing it off for my NaNo piece. It is even on the website still. But last night something clicked, if I want to really be in the fray with everyone I need to be doing something new. My words need to suck. My head has to be in the clouds. And it is hard to get to that place when what you are really doing is editing an older story. So I decided to do a NaNo of short fiction. I figure I’ll get through roughly six to seven short stories by the time all is said and done.</div>
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This also supports me for the most important goal of my young writing career at this point. Preparing to go to Clarion West. At the end of the month I’ll be taking one of the pieces that I have done and polishing it up to send in to Clarion West to see if they will accept me as one of the writers in their 2013 workshop. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Read this <a href="http://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Science-Fiction-Fantasy/dp/158297103X" target="_blank">book!</a></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.clarionwest.org/" target="_blank">Clarion West</a> is a science fiction and fantasy writers workshop that is focused on helping writers belonging to minorities (women and ethnic) learn better what it takes to be a writer. I learned about them a few years ago in Orson Scott Card’s “How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy.”</div>
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I will graduate in a year, and at that point I'll need to be working full time and doing writing on the side until I publish. If I wait longer to attempt to go to Clarion, I'll be professional and Clarion wants us as writers before they we are seasoned professionals. So I am going to take the plunge and learn from the masters this summer.</div>
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Of course this is all based upon whether or not my stories are good enough. This is where you the few who are still paying attention to this blog come in. I need people to help me hone my work. If you would be willing to help me with it I would appreciate it if you would leave me a comment below letting me know you would like to help me critic some of the stories I come up with. Usually I wouldn’t ask for help, but there are eighteen slots for Clarion each year. And I need all the help I can get to figure out what I can do to make my stories the best I can.</div>
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As always thanks for reading. And I’ll be back on Monday to tell you how I’m doing for NaNoWriMo and fill you in on where I am with the goals I have established thus far. This is the OG, Peace Peoples!</div>
Jayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.com4Ogden, UT, USA41.223 -111.973830440.4473025 -113.2372579 41.9986975 -110.71040289999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8255329229751420925.post-74740153923059496612012-07-18T10:00:00.000-06:002012-07-19T17:35:43.961-06:00The Writer's Lifestyle & the Laws of the Harvest<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj46HuGSqpfbmOFPI2HZNJFIj9LYADDBL3LPBjzSNUsO1P-I-Cx4pD8aevvMkdYbraqJVfILn9Vb-jZ0ap9G8coLMJyZ4zGzDEFx1rc0NeR5GgFlN_-FHqdOMbtnj4w79vU9OqtUmOQ8T8/s1600/On+Writing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj46HuGSqpfbmOFPI2HZNJFIj9LYADDBL3LPBjzSNUsO1P-I-Cx4pD8aevvMkdYbraqJVfILn9Vb-jZ0ap9G8coLMJyZ4zGzDEFx1rc0NeR5GgFlN_-FHqdOMbtnj4w79vU9OqtUmOQ8T8/s200/On+Writing.jpg" width="122" /></a>I remember years ago when I read Stephen King's <i>On Writing</i> the sentence I hated most in that book: "You must not come to the blank page lightly." I realize now that he wasn't accusing me of that, but telling me what I shouldn't do, but for some reason when I read it I know I felt, "You haven't brought your best work to the blank page yet. You're still just doing it lightly. Stop and start over." And it was that which made me so angry that I devoured every last word of the rest of his book. It was a very good book, but I still didn't understand what coming to the blank page lightly meant until recently.<br />
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As I've been working on "Crimes of the Umbramancer," I realize there are times that I have come to it very lightly. I've come to the blank page writing out of obligation. I've come to the blank page writing out of need. I've come to the blank page writing out of fear. And you may sit there and say that that's not coming to the blank page lightly, but I would have to disagree, because I know that when obligation, need, or fear are the primary motivators of my writing that it sowing seeds for later writing. And when the seeds sown are seeds that eventually drive people from writing, the writing is light. It didn't lay seeds that could reach into the soil of life and build a lifestyle. It didn't lay seeds that could reach the depths of the concrete jungle of publishing and build me a career. It didn't lay seeds that could touch the hearts of an audience that would care about what I wrote. I approached the blank page lightly.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSZi_-EGoNx1KuKWiuvj3ihTHR1MLAwYk1Aa7NQgXG1r8FTt6VSOoHoKxA6IGe5DeWb66f8LML1cGnkg_PA0SFVZU37CWq676reN38WwmT7VWuaqjHALH-9EwrdWb6aqTLZPy2If8WZrM/s1600/Harvest+Book.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSZi_-EGoNx1KuKWiuvj3ihTHR1MLAwYk1Aa7NQgXG1r8FTt6VSOoHoKxA6IGe5DeWb66f8LML1cGnkg_PA0SFVZU37CWq676reN38WwmT7VWuaqjHALH-9EwrdWb6aqTLZPy2If8WZrM/s1600/Harvest+Book.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By John W. Lawrence</td></tr>
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During NaNoWriMo when I originally wrote the first draft, I never sat down one day and came to it lightly. Instead I came with hope, love, and enjoyment of what I was doing. I started out blogging that same way. But it has been hard and I'm still learning lessons about what it means to come to things "lightly." Recently I came across a quote that really got me thinking though, from a book called <i>The Seven Laws of the Harvest</i>. I would like to share those laws with you in hopes that they help you as much as they have helped me since I ran across them.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wild Rose Seeds</td></tr>
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Let's start with the first law: <b>We reap only what has been sown.</b> What does this mean for us as writers? It has a lot to do with the emotional sets we choose when we go out to do any writing project. If you write out of obligation, what you are sowing is that you want to write out of obligation. That can create positive pressure to write, but what if it doesn't? What if you find yourself unable to write because you are obligated to do it? I think this often happens to us young writers, because we want certain things to happen on a specific timeline. We obligate ourselves to write instead of enjoy our writing. We stop enjoying the process, the adventure, and the story and get caught up in all the details such as "I have to take that adverb out", "That isn't going to be realistic", or my personal favorite "This isn't good. I should start over." Stop sowing obligation and start sowing joy again. We write because we love it. Some of us will be able to make a living off of it. Others of us will entertain our children with our stories. All of us should be invested in making a life out of it. And life is meant to be enjoyed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/pictures/30000/nahled/wild-white-garden-rose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/pictures/30000/nahled/wild-white-garden-rose.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White Wild Roses</td></tr>
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The Second Law: We reap in same kind as we sow. If you want wild roses you plant a wild rose seed, not a rose seed. If you want a thoughtful research paper for a paper on genetics you do good thoughtful research on genetics, not research on how many hours it took you to get to the end of Halo Reach. If you want to have a book loved and read by many, you spend the hours writing that book. What you sow will be the same kind when you go to reap. And you cannot reap the full benefits of something you did not sow. When you cook the microwave dinner you don't reap the benefit of the feeling of having cooked a meal for your family, you reap the feeling of convenience. It has been my experience that we sow what is easy and complain during the reaping season about not getting the rewards of sowing something hard. If you really want something beautiful, you're going to have give hard work to make certain that it comes to pass.<br />
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The Third Law: <b>We reap in a different season than we sow.</b> So many things in life come so easily. The internet equals instant knowledge. Our microwaves equal instant food. Our televisions equal instant entertainment. But we so frequently forget that in those endeavors we are reaping the reward of what someone else sowed. And when we buy into that thinking, we forget that to really get the best things in life we have to give them time, nurturing, love, and work to bring them to life. Writing a good novel is like raising a child. We sow the seeds and a child is born. Then it takes eighteen to twenty years of work to make certain that child becomes a good person. The season of sowing is eighteen years away from when you reap the full benefits. A good novel requires the same kind of dedication and love. (Just hopefully not eighteen or twenty years worth.)<br />
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The Fourth Law: We reap more than we sow. Think of a single seed of corn seed. If you plant this you will get one ear of corn that has at least 600 kernels. So the yield you get for each seed of corn is at least six hundred fold. An acre at 84 rows of corn will plant at least 22,000 stalks of corn. And if you consider each stalk to only give you one ear of corn that becomes 13,200,000 kernels of corn. So the return on what is sowed is huge. It gives you good reason to practice. And make sure you do all you can to take care of what you have sown. Because when the time for harvest comes, you are going to be pulling in a lot more than what you put into it. And that is a beautiful thing.<br />
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The Fifth Law: <b>We reap in proportion to what we sow. </b>Back to the corn analogy, if you only sow a half acre of corn at 11,000 stalks and only get 6,600,000 kernels you got what you deserved. You can only reap what you actually sow. A master pianist didn't get that way because they played piano once when they were a child. No, they had to practice and work at that talent until they nurtured it into a gift that could touch lives and enable them to find an audience to listen to their music. Writing is the same way. We reap in proportion to what we sow. Our seeds are different so some of us may reap the benefits of writing poetry for our families. Others of us may make careers out of our writing. What makes all the difference in the world is the fact that we sow enough seeds to get the return we are looking for.<br />
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The Sixth Law: ><b>We reap the full harvest of the good only if we persevere; the evil comes to harvest on its own.</b> Often times when we sow our seeds, we will discover that weeds come in and try to grow along with our harvest. Even though this can seem bad, we can't stop this process. The good and bad seeds both desire the same ground to use for their growth. What we can control is where we nourish and strengthen. If we spend our time nourishing and strengthening our good seeds until the time comes to harvest we will be able to take the good part and destroy the chaff. As writers this means we have to invest in our story until we finish it. If we spend all our time revising, editing, and in other words not getting to the end of our story we will lose it. However if we strengthen it along the way and learn what we can from the process when we get to the end we will be able to remove all the ugliness we are able at the end. <br />
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The Seventh Law: <b>We cannot do anything about last years harvest, but we can about this years. </b>So you failed last year to get your harvest to come to pass? Or you didn't get the book written? Well guess what? That's okay. There is this year. Don't make the same mistakes this year that you made last year. That is one of the best parts about this entire process. You learn from it the entire time. If you learn you reap the benefits of greater understanding of yourself and how you function. You know what you need to do to motivate yourself to write. (Like I motivate myself with saying I can have an orange soda each time I write.) The past is there to learn from, the future is before us to prepare for, and today is for us to act. Make this year the best you can make it. Plant hope to become a better writer. Plant love for storytelling. Plant an enjoyment of sharing your heart with others. And as you plant those things this years harvest will be different than last years.<br />
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To date this has been the best year I've ever had writing. And I've loved the majority of it. I just had to learn a lesson about what it means to come to the blank page with intent to make a story that I love, instead of writing out of obligation to anyone or anything. Writing is my lifestyle. I am getting better at living this lifestyle all the time. And I know that one day, that investment is going to get me what I really want. An ability to touch the hearts of people with the words I write.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is two bits.</td></tr>
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That's my two bits for this week. I'd love to hear about your two bits. Tell me about the kinds of harvests you have had writing. Good ones, bad, or somewhere in the middle? Hope everyone has a wonderful week! I'll catch ya later! Peace.<br />
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<br />Jayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.com2Ogden, UT USA41.223 -111.973830441.1752275 -112.0527944 41.2707725 -111.8948664tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8255329229751420925.post-1632540059377502132012-07-11T05:00:00.000-06:002012-07-11T05:00:12.759-06:00The Rain: A source of ebb and flow.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7BVwDXZFPv6a4t17gHU0mLe33FLr3wkPJ3ASJUf_wv8xVqj_9ho9BJCSiCcglZSwgh12rO346azJ9VUzpvZSPqntU3nYaNC3aTi64LhdbF-j25N7tFi81l7PrJc8s0_zkv_85-ZO3Te0/s1600/rain.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7BVwDXZFPv6a4t17gHU0mLe33FLr3wkPJ3ASJUf_wv8xVqj_9ho9BJCSiCcglZSwgh12rO346azJ9VUzpvZSPqntU3nYaNC3aTi64LhdbF-j25N7tFi81l7PrJc8s0_zkv_85-ZO3Te0/s320/rain.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
Ever felt like the heavens just opened up and poured out all the pain, worry, and negativity of years upon you? I think that's where I've found myself for the past month. And it has really bothered me. I had wonderful plans for doing Camp NaNoWriMo and JuNoWriMo, work with my writing group, and getting through some particularly hard scenes in my fiction and everything concerning my writing came to a screeching halt as this hurricane began in my life.<br />
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I usually write to be able to get through the storms anymore and when the hurricane came I found myself completely blocked. I couldn't blog, when I tried to work on my story it all felt wrong, and piece after piece of my life just fell out of place. And you know what, today a piece just fell that I didn't think I could take. And after a difficult conversation with someone yesterday, the storm should have washed me away. But it was that piece that is washing away in the grand scheme of things that brought me here today to write. Because this is the first time since the hurricane began that I've seen a better tomorrow. Perhaps that means I'm in the eye of the storm. If so that means I need to get myself prepared for the other side, because I'm not about to let myself fall apart for a hurricane that I'm going to survive.<br />
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That's why I'm writing today, and I hope that my blocked period of writing is over. But as I think about all this it got me to thinking about why people have writers block and what keeps them from putting words down on the page. In my opinion writers block is a real thing, but it has a lot less to do with our actual ability to write words and a lot more to do with the emotional state that we reside in.<br />
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For example I remember hearing on a Writing Excuses Episode (Season 1, episode 16) once that Howard Taylor once had a block when he was writing Schlock Mercenary strip. He was trying to make it work, but he found himself needing to know the mathematics to how fast the space station was spinning. He did that and suddenly he was able to write again. As I think about that it wasn't an inability to write, it was the fact that emotionally he couldn't connect with flow any longer and that kept him from writing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEqiZS2tmQFKeEA1bAAwubmUNSrTfN0A3QhecXOgTN_RJVmgn9ahA-QwsFqIkJR-860kaQfmSCZoFL-UQiM3VvEUGfCKWprOuMyHgsebMi0ggj60NJDVuPbV17L6oAkpkoc-uPsCNOEiQ/s1600/Carrowniskey-Ebb-and-Flow.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEqiZS2tmQFKeEA1bAAwubmUNSrTfN0A3QhecXOgTN_RJVmgn9ahA-QwsFqIkJR-860kaQfmSCZoFL-UQiM3VvEUGfCKWprOuMyHgsebMi0ggj60NJDVuPbV17L6oAkpkoc-uPsCNOEiQ/s320/Carrowniskey-Ebb-and-Flow.jpeg" width="320" /></a>
Ebb and flow are terms that we typically use when we talk about water, but creativity works in a very similar way. Sometimes the creativity is in high gear and beauty seems to come effortlessly, this state is known as flow. We can create because we have done the work, both mentally and emotionally to be able to flow. However there is also the state of ebb. Ebb is when we are preparing for our work, doing our prewriting, researching, and even when we are exercising. These are times when we are preparing for flow once again. If we stayed in a constant state of flow our work would actually over time get worse because we wouldn't have anything left after a while to give. Our energy would be exhausted, our knowledge would fail, and we wouldn't have any experiences left to draw upon. Howard's experience was one of knowledge, and because he is a professional he realized what was going on, allowed himself the time to be in ebb and once he had the knowledge that he needed he shifted back into flow.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/On-Writing-Stephen-King/dp/0743455967" target="_blank">Buy this book.</a></td></tr>
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Steven King describes a similar experience in his book "On Writing." He talks about "The Stand" and how when he was writing it he had a point where he didn't know what was going to happen next. It was the first time he had ever experienced writers block and he had no idea how to deal with it. After a month or so the answer came to him as to what he needed to do and it drove him through the rest of the novel. It was something that he needed to learn about the process of writing that enabled him to make that book so much better. It was simply that everything had grown quiet in his story and he needed to change up things. He changed them with a bomb. Changing the direction of the story was exactly what he needed to do to produce flow.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6tm3OZOMzUhr8SLMojKUBq2uKL-ijUMZrbfstye9_RcW7LQ4sYVLeP15YAyCFtI4mNAFZECHaPfEFXhddctU2SFZtwRXjYTyqty3XaNS9ao26KZsxDZikt8hCVNe0axXf4EwGjVHF_Zw/s1600/the-reader.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6tm3OZOMzUhr8SLMojKUBq2uKL-ijUMZrbfstye9_RcW7LQ4sYVLeP15YAyCFtI4mNAFZECHaPfEFXhddctU2SFZtwRXjYTyqty3XaNS9ao26KZsxDZikt8hCVNe0axXf4EwGjVHF_Zw/s320/the-reader.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An effective means of using ebb.</td></tr>
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But when you start to think of writers block as ebb it changes things for you. The first thing it changes is that you cannot think of writers block as a negative any longer. You must think of it as what it really is. It is your soul crying at you that you need something else at the moment. Usually it is one of two things. One: You don't want to be writing right now. And if you don't want to write right now, that's okay. Go do something else. Exercise, read, or do some research. Do something that helps you get in the mood to write. Or it could be number two: You need to pay attention to what you need right now to be able to write. Sometimes you need to do some research. &Sometimes you need to put your life in order. Sometimes you just need time away from your story. When you are experienced you know exactly what you need, but I am still building my library of experiences in writing and that means sometimes I don't know what I need. But it does mean I need to be patient with myself and allow myself the time to be away.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXH9Z1CYq-Mrm41hJNaGelTyYs0MlAKfaa9XuSaP7wJXDam1OcfFzBUR3gH7xRaxeuzUZoVxj4jN-eRPgE4wzfLDzLvMg3pPSNK2xSW085pqp7m-J6IfaBu0Qfn0gQ65_EKLqKBy9U-Y8/s1600/Writers+Block+Comic.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXH9Z1CYq-Mrm41hJNaGelTyYs0MlAKfaa9XuSaP7wJXDam1OcfFzBUR3gH7xRaxeuzUZoVxj4jN-eRPgE4wzfLDzLvMg3pPSNK2xSW085pqp7m-J6IfaBu0Qfn0gQ65_EKLqKBy9U-Y8/s320/Writers+Block+Comic.jpeg" width="320" /></a>Some professionals tell you that you need to write through block. And I agree with that. Just because I haven't been able to make much progress this past month, I've still been writing. Just nothing that I feel I can share with anyone, because I have zero confidence in it. You must be willing to shut the door on your writing sometimes to be able to find out what you need to find your flow again.<br />
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For me I have had the hurricane interrupt my life with pain, fear, and worry. It got me to think to ask people about the things I didn't know. It got me to consider whether or not I'm a professional or not. It got me to look in the mirror and make a choice. I choose to write. Not because I can't do anything else. I could become a social worker, or a teacher, or even a politician, but none of those even come close to the joy I get out of writing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgum1yVHWfazf16tdo35oKsxKR1B-txJiGKpXMOEzN6UE91nb6QXqB1z6V_eCLKnwansRnJzY4URZJhO1YYb4nB9gfM8ueDAXSfcpoinJKncZ5aDkjC2a8atpII4QEsr36n37HBSwOBYQ/s1600/music+note.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgum1yVHWfazf16tdo35oKsxKR1B-txJiGKpXMOEzN6UE91nb6QXqB1z6V_eCLKnwansRnJzY4URZJhO1YYb4nB9gfM8ueDAXSfcpoinJKncZ5aDkjC2a8atpII4QEsr36n37HBSwOBYQ/s200/music+note.jpeg" width="160" /></a>So in your journey to becoming a professional, remember that you are going to have ebb and flow. Anticipate it. And find your rhythm, because Writers Block ends the day you understand your writing rhythms. And you can experience regular flow.<br />
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Sorry I left for so long. It won't happen again. I'll be back with you on next Monday with another post. I'm giving myself time to get in rhythm again. Because I'm going to be patient with myself and give you my best. Thanks for sticking around during my drought. Catch ya'll soon. <br />
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This is the OG signing out. Peace.</div>Jayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.com3Ogden, UT, USA41.223 -111.973830441.1752275 -112.0527944 41.2707725 -111.8948664tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8255329229751420925.post-39303214390606024522012-06-02T00:00:00.000-06:002012-06-03T01:44:33.333-06:00War Post: 2nd June Late Mashup & Goals<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Good Morning folks! So this Saturday Morning I am finally getting to my Mashup for the week. As I was getting ready for it earlier this week I had a lot of things that took place that kept me from getting to it any earlier. Today is the second day of Camp NaNoWriMo & JuNoWriMo and thus far I'm keeping up with my goals for each day. Todays Mashup is focused on things that might help folks to get through the next month of writing. The community of writers is our greatest strength and we must help one another if we expect to make it. Here's my contribution today.<br />
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David Powers King has a guest blogger by the name of Shallee McArthur this week and she's wonderful. Read on at: "<a href="http://davidpowersking.blogspot.com/2012/05/shallee-mcarthur-key-to-writing-deeper.html" target="_blank">Shallee McArthur: The Key to Writing a Deeper Book - Get Outside Yourself!</a>"<br />
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Rebecca Hoffman also has a guest blogger who shares about her own writing experiences in: "<a href="http://rebeccamhoffman.blogspot.com/2012/05/guest-post-by-cynthia-ravinski.html" target="_blank">Guest Post by Cynthia Ravinski</a>."<br />
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Ellen Oh, an up and coming YA diversity author, interviews another author about why they write diverse fiction in: "<a href="http://elloecho.blogspot.com/2012/04/what-diversity-means-to-me-featuring.html" target="_blank">What Diversity Means to Me - Featuring Zoe Marriott</a>."<br />
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Angela Ackerman has a guest blogger giving away a copy of their book <i>Keep Calm and Query On.</i> Read on and register for a chance to win at: "<a href="http://thebookshelfmuse.blogspot.com/2012/05/keep-calm-and-query-on-giveaway.html" target="_blank">Keep Calm And Query On + Giveaway!</a>"<br />
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Anthony Dutson gives some solid advice about how to set up realistic goals in: "<a href="http://avdutson.blogspot.com/2012/05/reevaluating-your-goals.html" target="_blank">Reevaluating Your Goals</a>."<br />
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Adam Gaylord talks about something that is worth thinking about, if you write sex scenes, in: "<a href="http://adamsapple2day.blogspot.com/2012/05/whos-up-for-some-bad-sex.html" target="_blank">Who's Up For Some Bad Sex?</a>"<br />
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Mary Ann, of the Prosers, shares a compelling blog on why flaws are necessary in characters in: "<a href="http://theprosers.blogspot.com/2012/05/even-noblest-characters-need-flaws.html" target="_blank">Even the Noblest Characters Need Flaws</a>."<br />
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Jeff Hargett weighs in on the ages long battle of opinion between authors about: "<a href="http://strandsofpattern.blogspot.com/2012/05/prologues.html" target="_blank">Prologues</a>."<br />
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Callie Leuck brings in the big guns with Jamie Gibbs to bring a bit more culture to her blog in: "<a href="http://callieleuck.blogspot.com/2012/05/guest-post-adding-culture-to-your.html" target="_blank">Guest Post: Adding Culture To Your Fantasy World</a>."<br />
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Morgan Shamy, The Redhead, helps us to see the difference between reality and fantasy in: "<a href="http://morganshamy.blogspot.com/2012/01/writer-community-real-or-fake.html" target="_blank">The Writer Community: Real or Fake?</a>."<br />
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Donna K. Weaver has a lightbulb moment concerning how to do Show versus Tell in: "<a href="http://weavingataleortwo.blogspot.com/2012/05/my-epiphany.html" target="_blank">My Epiphany</a>."<br />
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K.M. Weiland shares some great time saving resources in: "<a href="http://authorculture.blogspot.com/2012/05/resource-roundup-5-time-savers-for.html" target="_blank">Resource Roundup: 5 Time Savers for Writers</a>."<br />
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Nathan Bradford tells us all about the the war between Traditional and Self Publishing in: "<a href="http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2012/05/traditional-vs-self-publishing-is-false.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NathanBransford+%28Nathan+Bransford%2C+Author%29" target="_blank">Traditional vs. Self-publishing is a False Dichotomy</a>."<br />
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And I'm sorry, I had to post this. This is from Heidy Murphy sharing stories from soldiers for Memorial Day (And in my opinion, the most important blog of all of these to read). Please read: "<a href="http://murph4slaw.blogspot.com/2012/05/i-remember-you.html" target="_blank">I Remember You</a>."<br />
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And now for some amazing music. If you have heard "Sexy and you Know It" and hated it, give this version a try. It is amazing!<br />
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<center style="text-align: left;">The thought that occurred to me is that I should make myself accountable for reaching my goals. But I also realized that I need to do my goal keeping here in a method by which simplify what I need to do for goals. In my group therapy we have the meat and potatoes of the program which are called daily's. And I wanted a way to make certain I keep better track of my dailies. I do well with writing, and sometimes exercise, but I struggle on day to day goal keeping. So here are my daily's for the upcoming week.</center><center style="text-align: left;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM-UoJA3Uk_AZssUWlVUG5_n777uoRekOCfDGhzFvEEGQcxAAIKH7FBs_BHqpioh07noSRXTvHb6p2E5DsQi_5H7JB75tsdZp5mpYc38xBXlONJBq-wHgU5LsiFGdkWuO3FYoAUwk7dcM/s1600/cn_participant120x240.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM-UoJA3Uk_AZssUWlVUG5_n777uoRekOCfDGhzFvEEGQcxAAIKH7FBs_BHqpioh07noSRXTvHb6p2E5DsQi_5H7JB75tsdZp5mpYc38xBXlONJBq-wHgU5LsiFGdkWuO3FYoAUwk7dcM/s1600/cn_participant120x240.png" /></a>Daily #1: Eat Three Times Daily. </center><center style="text-align: left;">This looks like an easy goal, but I actually struggle with this, because when I get caught up in activities, I tend to forget to eat. And myriads of problems actually begin when I forget to eat, so I'm just focusing on eating at a regular frequency through the day.</center><center style="text-align: left;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: left;">Daily #2: Sleep Eight Hours each night.</center><center style="text-align: left;">I am trying to keep this goal more and more often (except this week has just been terrible for this). I know that when I get less than eight, everything is impacted negatively for the next day. I feel sluggish, achy, and dull and I am less likely to get proper rest the following night.</center><center style="text-align: left;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: left;">Daily #3: Write Frequently.</center><center style="text-align: left;">This one I'm not aiming for daily on. I need time to recharge my writing batteries so I plan on doing this one off and on (Even during Camp NaNoWriMo and JuNoWriMo). I am a social writer so stuff like write ins and writing sprints help me a great deal. Writing is one of the activities that grounds me and helps me to cope especially when I'm feeling angry or down.</center><center style="text-align: left;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: left;">Daily #4: Spiritual Time Daily.</center><center style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA0xOksTh2V5tmKjbCG0YB1QAMzrSlm8t_LWP9-mhXOcXN7L6MClHuqVmLoqpmUHMpwkVJL3QOAQVykOaUKP8owdXfMFHxh-vZhLfydq7qWSN4C7IXF7IWwFAMCPaqKOXomHzm6kMHRLE/s1600/junowrimo-participant-button.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA0xOksTh2V5tmKjbCG0YB1QAMzrSlm8t_LWP9-mhXOcXN7L6MClHuqVmLoqpmUHMpwkVJL3QOAQVykOaUKP8owdXfMFHxh-vZhLfydq7qWSN4C7IXF7IWwFAMCPaqKOXomHzm6kMHRLE/s1600/junowrimo-participant-button.jpg" /></a>Once upon a time I was capable of reading from the scriptures daily and drinking from that fountain was enough to satisfy me. I've grown a little since then and I guess I need more sources of spiritual food to help sustain me. I decided to not make this goal about reading, and more about spending time daily thinking about things of a spiritual nature. A few days this week I listened to gospel music, and today I plan on reading. I don't know all of what I'll include in this, but I got to change this one up.</center><center style="text-align: left;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: left;">Daily #5: Helping out around the House.</center><center style="text-align: left;">This is another mundane thing that keeps me sane. I've started doing the dishes regularly and cleaning up around the house. Funny thing is that as I do this my wife has become more supportive of my writing, and has started to enjoy more of the housework she does. It makes all the difference to my healthy state of mind, and it's effects on my wife make this one that I need to keep around to help me.</center><center style="text-align: left;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: left;">Daily #6: Frequent Exercise.</center><center style="text-align: left;">I've been getting out around three to five times a week for a while now. I thought the best way to kick this up a notch would be to attempt to find a set time each weekday for exercise. And I hope to drag my son with me. He needs the help just as much as I do.</center><center style="text-align: left;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: left;">Daily #7: Reading Daily.</center><center style="text-align: left;">This one has been struggling for months. I just haven't been reading much of late. I have several books that I've started, but none that I've finished for a while now. So I'm going to set a half hour for reading each day. I figure if nothing else it will put me in a state of mind where I have more ideas.</center><center style="text-align: left;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: left;">The list right now is incomplete. I'm still trying to find out what things balance me and enable me to get through the more difficult times. But I'm certain that if I keep at it I'll find my way. This month, I'm focused a lot on the writing. Because I am out to win Camp NaNoWriMo and JuNoWriMo. I three to four hours set aside most days to get some quality writing done and my family knows during that time I'll be unavailable. (And I won't waste it just to sit online and do nothing.)</center><center style="text-align: left;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2D1tSV6JQUkPhPQoGEBHZzearCuRxHSeoy5SYhGV49qb99P9OnqFg0X17bsTGX1cdh7Pkq_z7frMOo1o5eWb7L0tuPdggN6gFUIPwP6yFPej_mif15uRQN-UrPKqyjffweAlpcgQcKg/s1600/ROW80Logocopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2D1tSV6JQUkPhPQoGEBHZzearCuRxHSeoy5SYhGV49qb99P9OnqFg0X17bsTGX1cdh7Pkq_z7frMOo1o5eWb7L0tuPdggN6gFUIPwP6yFPej_mif15uRQN-UrPKqyjffweAlpcgQcKg/s200/ROW80Logocopy.jpg" width="200" /></a>That's all for this week folks. I'll catch you again on Monday with another blog about writing. Thanks for reading our ramblngs here. It's really appreciated. This is the First OG, Jayrod Garrett, saying that hope you have a a beautiful week and go out and enjoy the sunshine. And if you have any ideas for new hobbies I can take up, or things I can do to help me establish my new daily order. Feel free to leave them in the comments. Have a great day! Peace!</center><center style="text-align: left;"><br /></center>Jayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.com5Ogden, UT, USA41.223 -111.973830441.1752275 -112.0527944 41.2707725 -111.8948664tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8255329229751420925.post-19750488217119073722012-06-01T08:30:00.000-06:002012-06-01T10:35:05.255-06:00Three Points of No Return<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqZBuhlDIHWw7rMB0G47Y2jNim7N76BfVGQry5gRWez8zofDiCe1Yez8xQEeDhNtPX7J_2p2Q-tkuhoedFz97ZzyZOQGrwK4AZEFgjfwmSQyeOtJwzRtIOQ9lV-UhMVxNWmPJo3ht0HGw/s1600/Phantom+Point+of+Return.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqZBuhlDIHWw7rMB0G47Y2jNim7N76BfVGQry5gRWez8zofDiCe1Yez8xQEeDhNtPX7J_2p2Q-tkuhoedFz97ZzyZOQGrwK4AZEFgjfwmSQyeOtJwzRtIOQ9lV-UhMVxNWmPJo3ht0HGw/s320/Phantom+Point+of+Return.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style= font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;">"Past the point </span><span style= font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;">of no return</span></div>
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<span style= font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">and watch it burn."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So now that the background music in your head has become "The Point of No Return" from <i>Phantom of the Opera</i>, our conversation today might resonate with you. The point of no return is something that is common in our society, though we hardly speak of it as such. Many of the choices we make in our lives can find meaning in the burning Opera House as we hatch our best plans to achieve worthy ends. Perhaps the problem in such places is that we don't really think of changing our lives forever with certain choices, or that the effects of our choices change other peoples lives forever. Today I'll only address three, but keep in mind there are far more than these.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The first point of no return we deal with in life is that of birth. Nobody gets to go back in the womb after they have come out (unless they take <a href="http://www.kutv.com/news/features/local/stories/vid_427.shtml" target="_blank">the entire womb</a>). As my wife and I have been married five years this question is thrown at me every so often, "When is Jayrod Junior coming?" I could answer with the fact that in all my wife's dreams we only have daughters, or talk about our psychological issues we are facing now so we don't screw up our kids later, but the main reason is simply this: We are not prepared to have kids yet. It is because we know this is a point of no return. When you have a child they have passed their first point of no return, but as a parent you should be used to this, and you owe it to them to give them the best life you are capable of giving them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I know a lot of people who are really unhappy in their marriages because they made the choice to have children too soon. Either they listened to a religious leader who said "It is selfish to not have children immediately after marriage," just weren't responsible with their birth control, or they were so baby hungry that they just couldn't wait. My wife made a boundary early in our marriage that I have honored stating that until I took care of my issues we would not have any. Funny thing is that boundary eventually became about our issues. You can tell us how wrong that is or that we are "sinning," but the bottom line is: We don't care what you think. We care what our children will think, and we know they will thank us for putting their welfare first. The poor choices of our parents affected us, likewise as did their wise choices. We want more wise choices to affect our children.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Another point of no return in life is marriage itself. Obviously we have stopped regarding it as such, or else there wouldn't be such a high rate of divorce in the world today. Some folks think of marriage like purchasing a house. You get a starter spouse this year, to divorce them and later have your second who you hope to keep a lot longer. But by marrying them you tie yourself to them both socially and emotionally. It isn't as easy to disengage as just saying "I'm leaving." You might see this on the outside, but there is emotional trauma underneath the surface, because it was a point of NO return. Women leave those relationships believing men are all scum, or that something was wrong with them. Men leave those relationships believing women are conniving whores and think they can treat them as less than human. Mind you I'm not saying that is what everyone thinks, but trauma of that nature does occur.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I know because when I came home from Iraq the first time, my wife told me she wanted a divorce. The wounds those words left were deep. I scrambled to save my new marriage, and found myself failing for nearly three years and each time I heard those words "I want a divorce" I was even more traumatized. If we had divorced, I would not have walked out of that marriage the same man who went into it. Because just like marriage, divorce is also a point of no return. Or perhaps we should refer to these points a little differently. They are changing points in life. They are like earthquakes, so life changing that the past looks entirely different to us afterwards. And we wonder how we survived before that experience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The last point of no return and perhaps the final is death. After one dies, there really is no returning. Not to life as you knew it. Whether you believe in life after death, or just getting put in the ground, Death changes everything. It is the final quake that reshapes the worlds of the people around you. Most of us don't think about death, we just figure that we'll go on living until we die. We don't prepare for it. And saddest of all, we often don't live like we are going to die. I'll repeat that. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>We don't live like we are going to die.</i> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDG-j-F6zaeHQjcSLAK7QzCEYOQP1uKdFrSc021X3EFGFCFOuC3w7qZGt50q9BchohEwP5y8u3NxDuxdwd-fgpAQYHrqgLb6-MlvI5lFrms-9ssMi783GZDXob-zPLhzoSKi-7MW8Q5W8/s1600/Trueblood+Quote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDG-j-F6zaeHQjcSLAK7QzCEYOQP1uKdFrSc021X3EFGFCFOuC3w7qZGt50q9BchohEwP5y8u3NxDuxdwd-fgpAQYHrqgLb6-MlvI5lFrms-9ssMi783GZDXob-zPLhzoSKi-7MW8Q5W8/s320/Trueblood+Quote.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You might ask me what I mean by that. The answer is fairly simple. Over the course of this blog we have spoken about birth and marriage. These are subjects that have to do with the idea of legacy. Legacy is what we leave behind after we have passed on. Legacy doesn't have to do with our will and giving all our possessions away. It has to do with making the world a better place. Through our influence, through our children, and through our actions. To never look at the choices we make in life lightly, and thoughtfully consider what it could mean years from now. Perhaps that calls for us to live like chess players being able to anticipate what may happen in life five years from today, but how much better would the world be if people took having children more seriously, or getting married more seriously, or took their lives more seriously? Perhaps I'm just old fashioned in the fact that I want my life to mean something one hundred years from now, and I the choices I make today will shape that reality. Or maybe, just maybe that is one of the ideals we should strive to achieve.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thanks for reading my rant. Hopefully you got something out of it. Whether to make your life better or to make your fiction more realistic. I'm Jayrod Garrett, the First OG, and I hope that you navigate the points of no return successfully. Peace, peoples!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>Jayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.com4Ogden, UT, USA41.223 -111.973830441.1752275 -112.0527944 41.2707725 -111.8948664tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8255329229751420925.post-67175697129640476732012-05-28T00:00:00.000-06:002012-05-28T00:00:04.069-06:00The Hollywood Formula<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ1-S7Eu0n9r7WH4_-X9S5EOLHPVIF_cFdqgFKx_unDGuIo-Utquso7nbIcdSiMyZ5Egmm31I3b63WWNUWiCiTJuPlaRJelFkwk0H8zU9lPv7jMU_0T49aXRALs3T1eUqLLVJPX8rtoK4/s1600/Hollywood.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ1-S7Eu0n9r7WH4_-X9S5EOLHPVIF_cFdqgFKx_unDGuIo-Utquso7nbIcdSiMyZ5Egmm31I3b63WWNUWiCiTJuPlaRJelFkwk0H8zU9lPv7jMU_0T49aXRALs3T1eUqLLVJPX8rtoK4/s320/Hollywood.png" width="320" /></a></div>
One of the most practical things I've learned as a creative writer is that you must be willing to learn from all sources. One of the sources that I learn from is movies. My wife and I are probably at the movies about once every two months (and during summers like these twice to three times every month). She enjoys the experience for getting to see a visual story (she's not one much for novels), and I enjoy it because I get to deconstruct a story. And I had no problem doing that with most movies until recently. I watched the Avengers.<br />
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In most movies I would be able to tell you the blow by blow of what happens at the end, because of what I've seen at the beginning. But I couldn't have told you exactly how I did that. I just thought it was because I had mad story deconstruction skills. And then I listened to a podcast starring Lou Anders on <a href="http://www.writingexcuses.com/2011/10/02/writing-excuses-6-18-hollywood-formula/">Writing Excuses featuring The Hollywood Formula</a> and suddenly two things became clear: I am not as awesome as I was thinking that I am, and how they plotted the movie of the Avengers.<br />
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This blog will share spoilers for multiple movies. If you don't want to know the spoilers for <i>The Hunger Games, How to Train your Dragon</i>, <i>Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith</i>, or <i>Marvel's The Avengers</i>. This would be a good place to stop reading, go watch the movies and then come back here and read. If you don't care, then lets break down Lou Ander's version of the formula (Lou Anders credits his mentor Dan Decker for the formula).<br />
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The Hollywood Formula starts with three characters: The Protagonist, the Antagonist, and the Dynamic or Relationship Character. (I'm going to use the term Dynamic Character to avoid the implications that the Relationship Character is the one the Protagonist is in a relationship with.)<br />
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The Protagonist (Katniss) is the main character of your story. They must want something concrete and achievable. To be happy or save the world is not concrete. But to get the girl so you can be happy or to save the world by destroying the one ring are both concrete and achievable. Katniss wants to win the games so she can return to be with her sister.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidTrVLZmFCEwK8c1kSIvvaBNORndimcCUWes5hBzz4t55eC8-hfJ8vSmD83mB9sAJ_ylppGqMyCcoPVHZ0BvJ3bTjGDWp4z4JAQX3FenUl9-8VZdk6IUPk3NQqKk0aSNpjedWYVLXE6fE/s1600/Hunger+Games+-+Peeta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidTrVLZmFCEwK8c1kSIvvaBNORndimcCUWes5hBzz4t55eC8-hfJ8vSmD83mB9sAJ_ylppGqMyCcoPVHZ0BvJ3bTjGDWp4z4JAQX3FenUl9-8VZdk6IUPk3NQqKk0aSNpjedWYVLXE6fE/s200/Hunger+Games+-+Peeta.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
The Antagonist (Peeta) is a person who puts obstacles in the way of the protagonist. They block the protagonist from what they really want in the story. And your Antagonist must be a character, not a thing or an entity in the concept of the Hollywood Formula. Peeta is an unusual antagonist because he looks like he's on Katniss's side, but throughout the book and the movie it is Peeta who keeps Katniss from her goal of winning the games.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwz2hXB70fElOG_snn1RXT8zLXePb7O7Sgi0l-FIdws1TCbejB_m8WwOAjmOmpFGn4TSAQ_OKmranwI-sWAwY5dcSgVQBh7appWtuvWRuVpvAym69VAD1MLrGzKt_r-Js09VNzuXVoMQ/s1600/Hunger+Games+-+Haymitch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwz2hXB70fElOG_snn1RXT8zLXePb7O7Sgi0l-FIdws1TCbejB_m8WwOAjmOmpFGn4TSAQ_OKmranwI-sWAwY5dcSgVQBh7appWtuvWRuVpvAym69VAD1MLrGzKt_r-Js09VNzuXVoMQ/s200/Hunger+Games+-+Haymitch.jpg" width="198" /></a><br />
The Dynamic Character (Haymitch) is a person who accompanies the protagonist on their journey. They are someone who has accomplished the journey they believe the protagonist is on before, and are trying to share their wisdom. You can tell who the Dynamic character is because they are the person to whom or from the theme of the movie is articulated. Early in the movie there will be a conversation upon that film's theme which will be revisited at the end of the film where they have a conversation called "the reconciliation of the Protagonist and the Antagonist." Haymith knows that in order to win Katniss needs people to like her, he shares this early in the film. And they build the idea of people liking her for the kind of person she is throughout the games. And in the end it is because the people like her that both her and Peeta are enabled to survive. Which articulates the theme of the importance of being liked.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5jf19EfMdETBkTpSnkT4tDYlVcFQCGIF-XwKZ4Y5D_-pySX0nP4Lrdq5qJaWk-G0OhIYmEjoHpKV6i6rdEMvOnyxIFs6rXO6DPzxENq0L6arbOFBk6U1sQdC9L8Vl-SsFcsXP0gNHTyE/s1600/Katniss_volunteers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5jf19EfMdETBkTpSnkT4tDYlVcFQCGIF-XwKZ4Y5D_-pySX0nP4Lrdq5qJaWk-G0OhIYmEjoHpKV6i6rdEMvOnyxIFs6rXO6DPzxENq0L6arbOFBk6U1sQdC9L8Vl-SsFcsXP0gNHTyE/s320/Katniss_volunteers.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katniss volunteers for Prim. This scene still shocks me.</td></tr>
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The next part of the formula is about the structure of the story. You need three acts that are broken down by percent of the story they should encompass: First Act 25%, Second Act 50%, Third Act 25%. In the First Act you have to establish the characters and what they want. During this act you'll also need to have a fateful decision. This is the choice which determines whether or not you have a story.<br />
This decision happens pretty early in the story. In a screen play of a 120 pages it is estimated to start at around page 11 to 13 (which translates to 11 to 13 minutes into the film). In the Hunger Games it is when Katniss volunteers for Prim to be the pledge for Sector 12.<br />
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Act Two is all about the transition from asking questions to resolving questions. The first act and a half is all about asking questions, and halfway during act two you need to start resolving them. I say resolve instead of answer because some questions will be resolved with other questions. (That's a bit of me applying what I see some of my favorite authors do to this formula.) The Hunger Games is about half over when Katniss goes looking for Peeta. Questions are resolved to bring about bigger questions throughout that period.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhahBNOkFSH0EgC0ZTjynIKH5pC7Xa7K9TylfRZFEUuLIS5msaFGoUK_DgrdKKXuNDLXeUY1p-XoZnyrQc-Oj3PltiHZ7MLy5ME8rGbuaGxVeJ43dzhKhDDf3yAtYZ4oXA2seP9L_OAdT8/s1600/KatnissPeetaBerries.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhahBNOkFSH0EgC0ZTjynIKH5pC7Xa7K9TylfRZFEUuLIS5msaFGoUK_DgrdKKXuNDLXeUY1p-XoZnyrQc-Oj3PltiHZ7MLy5ME8rGbuaGxVeJ43dzhKhDDf3yAtYZ4oXA2seP9L_OAdT8/s320/KatnissPeetaBerries.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sharing of the nightlock, isn't double suicide romantic?</td></tr>
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The transition from Act Two to Act Three is the low point of the story. This is the point where things are so bad that they could not possibly get any worse. In the Hunger Games it is when Katniss has to go out and get the potion to save Peeta. She's up against several tributes and Peeta is begging her not to go. The rest of Act Three is called the Final Battle. It is the fight from the low point to the end of the movie. It begins with Katniss's struggle for the potion, and culminates with the attempted suicide with the nightlock berries. Shortly thereafter the story ends and the hook to the second story is introduced beginning the arc for book and movie two.<br />
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So that is the entirety of the formula. A few movies that I've been able to use the formula with are below. Feel fee to debate with me on any of my analyzations I've made. Including the one above. I always appreciate a good discussion.<br />
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<u><i>How to Train your Dragon</i></u></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who wouldn't want a boyfriend who rides dragons?</td></tr>
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Hiccup is the Protagonist. He wants to protect Toothless and the other dragons from his people. Stoick is the Antagonist. He wants to protect his people from the dragons by killing them all. Astrid is the Dynamic Character. She is a girl Viking, the toughest of the kid Vikings also. This means she has gone through a lot be accepted in her role in the village, and she has to teaches Hiccup by the end of the story that it is okay for him to be who he is. A smart kid who wants harmony between the dragons and the Vikings. (An example of a Dynamic Character who is also the love interest.)<br />
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<u><i>Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith</i></u><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi8s9ddZ-XlNlQ5Gmj8wW9nQhAfh1r-kFleojwf7zGJNN-yXopfvEhW59BiHdtbCiP0Zv4wDsn679xBcIMxzSaaXIoHSiiTQJ19rQrdOEPe3kWupSyQRh_vddzxjiCS_ycFA6ruWjXabo/s1600/Revenge+of+the+Sith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi8s9ddZ-XlNlQ5Gmj8wW9nQhAfh1r-kFleojwf7zGJNN-yXopfvEhW59BiHdtbCiP0Zv4wDsn679xBcIMxzSaaXIoHSiiTQJ19rQrdOEPe3kWupSyQRh_vddzxjiCS_ycFA6ruWjXabo/s320/Revenge+of+the+Sith.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Fall of a Jedi and the Rise of a Sith</td></tr>
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Anakin is the Protagonist. He wants revenge on all the people who have stood in the way of his relationship with Padme. Obi-Wan is the Antagonist. He wants to save the Republic and return order to the Galaxy. Senator Palpatine is the dynamic character. He is the one who teaches Anakin to embrace his rage and that through his anger he can save Padme. He orchestrates the events which reveal the development of Anakin going from being a Jedi to a Sith, and even makes him his apprentice. The reconciliation at the end of the story is the final lie told to Anakin that turns him into Darth Vader.<br />
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<i><u>Marvel's The Avengers</u></i></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVe93jH6kInY59g6ZYgPmLWMmdMwNYRMe0FQYgoCQRvoAOp2kBNme1XobycMNM2_2q4jJzUQJ4UNO_7aFdfLjo-WLY9jtL7xPEucKZkdrdyYKHYWj1L2_B8bhIzhQSnc1TermAagaAmQg/s1600/The_avengers_poster-banner.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVe93jH6kInY59g6ZYgPmLWMmdMwNYRMe0FQYgoCQRvoAOp2kBNme1XobycMNM2_2q4jJzUQJ4UNO_7aFdfLjo-WLY9jtL7xPEucKZkdrdyYKHYWj1L2_B8bhIzhQSnc1TermAagaAmQg/s320/The_avengers_poster-banner.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The focus is on Ironman, the protagonist.</td></tr>
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The Avengers was such a complicated movie. I would daresay there was more than one story being told in the Avengers, but for our purposes I chose what I felt was the main storyline to the show. In that storyline Tony Stark, Ironman, is the protagonist. He wants to protect the world from all enemies foreign and domestic (remember he's against S.H.I.E.L.D. and Loki.) Loki is the Antagonist. He wants to enslave the earth and become its ultimate ruler. Steve Rogers, Captain America, is the Dynamic Character. He is the one who teaches Tony that in order to save the world he's going to need to be willing to sacrifice even himself for the cause. Tony rejects that throughout most of the movie and at the end he is the one who carries the nuclear weapon into Loki's gate to destroy his army.<br />
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Those are just a few movies that I felt followed this. If you check out the <a href="http://www.writingexcuses.com/2011/10/02/writing-excuses-6-18-hollywood-formula/">Writing Excuses</a> with Lou Anders and <a href="http://nathanrussell.net/writing/the-hollywood-formula/" target="_blank">Nathan Russell's blog</a> you can get a few more examples you can agree or disagree with. What is really important is understanding this formula. Nobody says that you have to follow it, but if you understand the principles behind it you can develop stronger stories and make believable character arcs. And that should help you immensely as you write your stories for Camp NaNoWriMo or anything else.<br />
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Thanks for reading today. I'll be sharing a Mashup on Wednesday and I can't wait to get to it. I hope that you all have a wonderful week. I'm Jayrod Garrett, the First OG, and I want you to throw your opinions down about the Hollywood Formula and these movies in the comments. It would would make me smile. Peace, people.Jayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.com4Ogden, UT, USA41.223 -111.973830441.1752275 -112.0527944 41.2707725 -111.8948664tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8255329229751420925.post-10712029947999291842012-05-25T14:00:00.000-06:002012-05-25T14:00:02.090-06:00This Writers Journey<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Find me at <a href="http://www.campnanowrimo.org/campers/jayrodpg" target="_blank">JayrodPG</a></td></tr>
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Howdy folks! It has been a long week for me. I've missed posts for Last Friday, Monday, and my Wednesday Mashup. And to be honest I would have felt bad a while ago. But I don't this week. I think it is because blogging went from being work, to being fun for me. I really enjoy blogging and if I miss a few posts it isn't the end of my world, or the end of my ability to connect with people here. It means I missed a post (or a week of them). And that's okay. I've been away with various responsibilities that came before writing and I've taken care of them now, so I can come back here and have some fun with you. Aren't you lucky?<br />
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This month I've spent some time preparing for Camp NaNoWriMo. I'm actually really excited about it, because I think that I'll have adequate free time to work on my novel in this upcoming month. Time that I very well may not have during this upcoming school year, so I figured I would attempt to knock out my NaNoWriMo experience early this year. But I get ahead of myself, I figure some of you don't know what NaNoWriMo actually is. NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month and if offically takes place in the month of November. It has been running this will be its 14th year and it is starting up a little early with two Camps during the summer for those of us who aren't sure if they can do November.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh7b2Vj9WK6Y_KbOENH1uoMwe-l612m_yxr19dG0Eofatg-AkA1T84yyz6THDL6AkMliLsG-GQ-5KfDqRQISl_-qJ22cknSDuh8YiJ0V5q4ag26RZlRARkmKPEEHAtPzPEMw-6x-zflyY/s1600/writers-jouney.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh7b2Vj9WK6Y_KbOENH1uoMwe-l612m_yxr19dG0Eofatg-AkA1T84yyz6THDL6AkMliLsG-GQ-5KfDqRQISl_-qJ22cknSDuh8YiJ0V5q4ag26RZlRARkmKPEEHAtPzPEMw-6x-zflyY/s320/writers-jouney.jpg" width="304" /></a>As I was signing up for it though, I noticed a little thing about fundraising for Camp NaNoWriMo, and it got me thinking. I remember how much progress I made last November when I was doing it for me. What if I went and tried to fundraise for the program this time? Could I do it? Would anyone even donate towards it in my name. To be honest, I have no idea. But I really love the way the NaNoWriMo program builds a community and gets them all writing. It was "crossing their threshold" that took me beyond the realm of a person who wanted to write to being a writer.<br />
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I speak of the threshold in Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey. I like to think of that as the pattern which I am following towards my own dreams of becoming a writer. I've been on this journey for 14 years and I think I spent most of that time "denying the call to adventure" and just wishing that I could magically be at the end of the journey. It was my participation in NaNoWriMo that taught me that the journey is important, not just for what I'll learn, but for who I'll meet. I've had the opportunity to meet up now with my Mentors for this journey and I'm grateful for the opportunity to get to know them better as continue on the path together.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqxQbziImKkLPPQvHjjmI-PyFL1eyb71QMDWZbbCdK2fUX7I9AfDgkDj3Zz01lN65i0sKYrFoKgHAdgsnToxh9_gR7P4DuD-lt209_ABpbBOe_xQDBIXxyUsY2SMzKvDccC-P7J6ovL4/s1600/wordmongeringlogo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqxQbziImKkLPPQvHjjmI-PyFL1eyb71QMDWZbbCdK2fUX7I9AfDgkDj3Zz01lN65i0sKYrFoKgHAdgsnToxh9_gR7P4DuD-lt209_ABpbBOe_xQDBIXxyUsY2SMzKvDccC-P7J6ovL4/s200/wordmongeringlogo2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Writing Group on Twitter</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOsguz367sFml56PFAb-lSdPxYuZ7Z4ghI5gv8mMltEaf3ayfd7YJujmTAezQuYbDrm3MFzl2N5qwBDzjBUijVCZ8e1S_0g_vinDdYmo9Ln4qn2l4yJnaJkta6ujtxR_Ba9uWS8LK3hbA/s1600/iWriteNetwork.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOsguz367sFml56PFAb-lSdPxYuZ7Z4ghI5gv8mMltEaf3ayfd7YJujmTAezQuYbDrm3MFzl2N5qwBDzjBUijVCZ8e1S_0g_vinDdYmo9Ln4qn2l4yJnaJkta6ujtxR_Ba9uWS8LK3hbA/s1600/iWriteNetwork.png" /></a><br />I think one of the most valuable things I've learned as I've trudged along the path towards becoming an author is the value of my fellow writers and readers. I never realized just how important knowing other writers to help you learn along the journey was, and I had no idea that the people who love reading would end up being some of your strongest allies in the journey either. I had it in my head (even though I knew I needed others to make it as a writer) that I would end up on this journey alone without any help. I figured that because so many other things in my life have been or felt that way. But writing, thankfully, has been entirely different.<br />
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So for the upcoming month much of my content will be focused around the goals I am making and keeping in line with Camp NaNoWriMo. I know that if I give it my best shot, I'll be able to get through a lot more of "Crimes of the Umbramancer" than I have for several months. (If you are familiar with NaNo's fussy rule about doing new material, know that I'm disregarding it so I can finish what I started last November.) I have a new protagonist to focus on and build a story for, and that is going to be my focus.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTj_lsAMO0zpM9QjxY8vAL954_BM49T-PIg7Npt8LVUI3ZQtk-E6HSa6YT1hiZkXzUMYDEVzHYxMY99EKLUGsDrRtFVZ1nc7qiB1OIH0dsheLq7vKX0DfVOiNiVtqWWvx0ShvjlkwvSTU/s1600/camp1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTj_lsAMO0zpM9QjxY8vAL954_BM49T-PIg7Npt8LVUI3ZQtk-E6HSa6YT1hiZkXzUMYDEVzHYxMY99EKLUGsDrRtFVZ1nc7qiB1OIH0dsheLq7vKX0DfVOiNiVtqWWvx0ShvjlkwvSTU/s320/camp1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Thanks so much for reading folks. If you feel so inclined to donate to NaNoWriMo, you can find the link for me <a href="http://www.stayclassy.org/fundraise?fcid=200544" target="_blank">here</a>. Things will be changing up here the next month at the blog to expand what I've been doing. I realize I should probably do a writing blog each week along with a culture blog and my midweek mashup. Hopefully it will all go well. I'm Jayrod Garrett, the First OG and I'm hoping that you'll join me in the mad dash to 50K in June!<br />
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What goals do you have for this summer?</div>Jayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.com2Ogden, UT, USA41.223 -111.973830441.1752275 -112.0527944 41.2707725 -111.8948664tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8255329229751420925.post-54100622119342334852012-05-16T00:00:00.000-06:002012-05-16T00:00:02.476-06:00War Post: May 16th Mashup and Goals<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Another week another Mashup! Good to see ya'll. I hope that I'm able to deliver some good blogs and links for you all to be able to really enjoy. This one will be a little long, because I'm focusing on not on blogs this week, but some good links to sites that can help you in your journey into the world of literature. So without further ado I wish to introduce you to some of my favorite helps for writing more successfully!<br />
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Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Howard Taylor, and Hugo Award Winning Mary Robinette Kowal host a program called "<a href="http://www.writingexcuses.com/" target="_blank">Writing Excuses</a>" that you got to check out. I learn a ton from their weekly program and have begun using their writing prompts in my writing group.<br />
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"<a href="http://isbw.murlafferty.com/" target="_blank">I Should be Writing</a>" by Muir Lafferty is a great podcast that gets real about writing. Some of her material is videos, other things are just sound advice for how to become a better writer. It would do you good to check her out.<br />
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This chart does a lot for my own self esteem, I figure it might help you out too. It is called the "<a href="http://www.cockeyed.com/photos/bodies/heightweight.html" target="_blank">Photographic Height and Weight Chart</a>." It has helped me to better envision characters and get their proportions right in my head without having to look at hundreds of pictures online to get the same idea. It also has changed my ideas about weight and what is heavy and what is not. Give it a look.<br />
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This blog is run by a group of authors too numerous to share here, but they have some of the best material on the web about how to write better fiction and keep yourself sane while doing so. Check out "<a href="http://www.magicalwords.net/" target="_blank">Magical Words</a>", you won't be sorry you did.<br />
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For those of you who are aching to put yourself in ridiculous amounts of pain during the months of June or August, I have news for you! <a href="http://www.campnanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">Camp NaNoWriMo</a>! We get to do 50,000 words while working with folks in internet cabins. I've never the camp before, but I think it will be a lot of fun. I'm prepping myself for it now. Oh for the record, I will not be writing something new. Its a chance for me to get way ahead on Crimes and let my family know what kind of writing atmosphere I'll need come November. Join me!<br />
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For those of you getting ready to submit Query Letters a great resource to look into is "<a href="http://www.agentquery.com/default.aspx" target="_blank">Agent Query</a>." It is a website with all of the agents who are in the business all in one place. You can start your research into a good agent starting here. It will help you to get familiar with names and what a agent represents and allow you to find out what they really like to read too.<br />
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Do you like free music? Do you like video game music? Do you like remixes of free video game music? Look no further then than "<a href="http://ocremix.org/" target="_blank">Overclocked Remix</a>." They are a great site that has given new life to a lot of the songs from my childhood of playing video games. It is really neat to see what people do to the music to make it bearable to listen to outside of a game.<br />
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I'll end the favorite's this week with something that might appeal to some mathhead out there. This was a site my cousin showed me years ago, which has helped me immensely with my math. It is called "<a href="http://www.wolframalpha.com/" target="_blank">Wolfram Alpha</a>." It works much like a calculator, only you can put into it complicated problems that would take you a while to solve and it will show you all the steps of how it is done. I don't honestly know how to get the best out of it, but I figure if you like math, you'll figure it out. Enjoy!<br />
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And for our video of the week, I couldn't think of anything better than Lindsey Stirling's trip to Africa.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0g9poWKKpbU" width="560"></iframe></center><center>This girl makes me long to hear my cousin's wife play the violin. </center><center style="text-align: left;"><center style="text-align: left;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />This week has really been about starting to make time for my writing. Sometimes even when I shouldn't be writing. I've sacrificed sleep to be able to write this week. And it has finally gotten me closer to where I really want to be. I'm a big believer in the idea of projecting what you really want. You might have heard the idea on the movie <i>The Secret</i>. It's not that much of a secret really, envision what you want, work with all your might towards that goal, and be receptive to the myriad of ways that your dream can come to life. You'll notice that trend as we work through the goals today.</center><center style="text-align: left;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">1. Finishing Chapter Two and starting Chapter Three of "Crimes of the Umbramancer by next week.</center><center style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> Chapter Two is done. And I love what has happened in this chapter. I think it gives a nice introduction to my second character and enables me to bring her to life in a way that keeps the tension of the story. I'm really looking forward to what will happen in Chapter Three now. I need to switch back to the point of view of Sora, but much of the action will be around another character. Excitement builds!</center><center style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">2. Write <strike>seven</strike> four thousand words per week. (Between blog & fiction.)</center><center style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> I fell short of this goal by about three thousand words again. Some of that is due to the anniversary, some of it is due to just not working hard enough, but most of it is due to the fact that the goal is unrealistic for me. I think I can handle four thousand words. Seven is just too much with all that I have on my plate. (Keep in mind the four thousand is only my words for the blog and my fiction, I do other writing I don't count here.)</center><center style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">3. Exercise five times a week.</span></center><center style="text-align: left;"> This is one of the most challenging goals. I made it out to exercise three times and I got a gym membership and found friends to exercise with. As I've been working at this blessings have been consistent. I might not make the goal of five times a week yet, but things are certainly moving in a positive direction, that much is certain!</center><center style="text-align: left;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">4. Finishing up my school work from my last semester in College.</span></center><center style="text-align: left;"><div class="p1" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
Still not done with this one. I'm making it my goal to be done with this by the end of the round. I think that will make my teacher happy, and also go towards making the atmosphere of achieving goals a lot more cheerful!<br />
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5. Spending time everyday with a spiritual source.<br />
I've been doing really well with praying everyday. To be honest I usually find myself getting to <i>Morning and Evening</i> about once a week. I spend a lot of time reading it then. I would like to get a morning ritual of waking up and doing spiritual study then, but I'm trying to take things slow.<br />
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6. Finishing homework from Group Therapy.<br />
I'm all done with the first six weeks of my workbooks for group therapy! I'm really proud of myself for actually getting it all done. It's been pretty hard and I've learned a lot about myself. I'm hoping that I'm able to keep up the great work as I progress into the next phase of my program. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2D1tSV6JQUkPhPQoGEBHZzearCuRxHSeoy5SYhGV49qb99P9OnqFg0X17bsTGX1cdh7Pkq_z7frMOo1o5eWb7L0tuPdggN6gFUIPwP6yFPej_mif15uRQN-UrPKqyjffweAlpcgQcKg/s1600/ROW80Logocopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2D1tSV6JQUkPhPQoGEBHZzearCuRxHSeoy5SYhGV49qb99P9OnqFg0X17bsTGX1cdh7Pkq_z7frMOo1o5eWb7L0tuPdggN6gFUIPwP6yFPej_mif15uRQN-UrPKqyjffweAlpcgQcKg/s200/ROW80Logocopy.jpg" width="200" /></a>A while ago my son asked me, "Why do you talk about writing your blog as if it is a chore?" And it got me thinking that I must be putting off the wrong kind of energy about the things that I'm writing and working on. I don't want to do that, so I've worked at making my goals more positive. And thus far it is working, I feel better about writing and I want to do it more. Just have to figure out the right balance between writing and the rest of life.<br />
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This is Jayrod Garrett, the First OG. I'll be back on Friday with a post about a significant difference between the way that men and women think in my opinion. Thanks for reading. Much love to you all! Peace.</div>
</center></center>Jayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.com5Ogden, UT, USA41.223 -111.973830441.1752365 -112.0527944 41.2707635 -111.8948664tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8255329229751420925.post-57464146575262458712012-05-14T00:00:00.000-06:002012-05-14T00:00:03.550-06:00Faces of Manipulation: Addiction – The acceptable plague<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij5togAklT7VR-IxdhfOQdYWLsMReqyoGoyfldLjxxgbyXhyphenhyphenuXaA1D_t54Ghz-dbyULqFPY1L3lpu6Bdm4WuKeUAieTuandtqzz89bda3q6aiVkaR-Z-vY5v5apb2UbR_gMLh96eFpJOI/s1600/h1n1-pandemic-logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij5togAklT7VR-IxdhfOQdYWLsMReqyoGoyfldLjxxgbyXhyphenhyphenuXaA1D_t54Ghz-dbyULqFPY1L3lpu6Bdm4WuKeUAieTuandtqzz89bda3q6aiVkaR-Z-vY5v5apb2UbR_gMLh96eFpJOI/s320/h1n1-pandemic-logo.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div>
I remember back in 2009 when we called the <strike>Swine Flu</strike> h1n1 a pandemic in the United States. It was a horrible state of affairs, I knew of professors at my university who died, I had friends who came down with it, and the atmosphere of my employment and school completely changed. We suddenly cared about people being sick and getting them the care they needed because this virus was so dangerous. In the end according to the <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/estimates_2009_h1n1.htm" target="_blank">CDC</a> from April 2009 to April 2010 according to mid-range estimations 61 million people caught the virus, 274,000 people were hospitalized because of the virus, and 12,740 people died from the virus. When you consider <a href="http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2008/12/31/us-population-2009-305-million-and-counting" target="_blank">US NEWS</a> estimates of the population were around 305 million people living in the United States it becomes clear why people were worried, that's some pretty scary numbers. But everyone takes a collective sigh of relief that we lost no more than 18,300 people to it. That's less than a small city. It wasn't that bad. I was one of those who thought that way, until I realized that one out of every five people contracted the virus. It got me thinking about the pandemics which have been taking lives for centuries and effecting even more people world wide than H1N1 even began to touch in a single year. The pandemic, or rather plague, I'm talking about is addiction.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1H4dK4tL6QwUe1UPvOwbuGslLAuoF5eNrRiOkhGg0sjmkQctEWOtqket71ik4z2aT96jtWq-AchpzMfc_30FwOP2NYfLzCDcHKZAwIfF80xdKImuzcdMCdZiBH68ks06rwnR1SFdH0_o/s1600/pill1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1H4dK4tL6QwUe1UPvOwbuGslLAuoF5eNrRiOkhGg0sjmkQctEWOtqket71ik4z2aT96jtWq-AchpzMfc_30FwOP2NYfLzCDcHKZAwIfF80xdKImuzcdMCdZiBH68ks06rwnR1SFdH0_o/s200/pill1.jpg" width="160" /></a>Now I like to think about addiction in much wider terms than just alcohol and drugs, because this pandemic has arms that are much longer and more dangerous than that. An addiction is a pathological relationship with any mood-altering experience that has life-threatening consequences. So what kinds of things can be considers mood altering experiences? Alcohol, drugs (illegal and prescription), co-dependency, video games, and sex are only a few kinds of addiction. Each one gives to the addict a different emotional experience that strengthens a relationship with the addiction and weakens the relationship they have with themselves. And therein is the danger of addiction, because the addict loses themselves within their addiction which makes the addict capable of things that in a healthy state of mind they would never do.<br />
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Now you may ask why someone would seek out some experience or substance to make themselves feel better. <a href="http://www.johnbradshaw.com/" target="_blank">John Bradshaw</a> describes addiction as "an outer reach for an inner security." In other words addiction is an exterior symptom of a inward condition. So when you see the alcoholic with their vodka, or the drug addict with their lines, there is a hole in their life that they are trying to fill with the drinking or cocaine. The hole in my life is self acceptance. My mind was broken during my childhood and I struggle with being able to see myself as a good person.<br />
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I've tried to fill that hole with being uber religious. I've tried to fill that hole with numbing myself with video games. I've tried to fill that hole through being co-dependent with others. And each drug has only stripped me further of the acceptance I needed for myself. God's acceptance never penetrated my resentment. When I numbed my resentment I couldn't give of myself sincerely. And I when I returned to helping others I overextended myself and grew more resentful. Which sent me back to God asking for him to expel the anger and resentment from my heart. But none of these things helped.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ4zeKYwYY9-WDuc5-2oCJTCW45J3Bkbyiw9f3BgYPomEgUkID2iFRNqFsfYGagAXURu7GUQl2V8sNtJ2Js_EccuEfCUKdoPNbZvWYbJTrK1WpFxbFJKNPT9X4R-r0GjAaBZAPonB6AqU/s1600/Drama_Triangle3-300x294.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ4zeKYwYY9-WDuc5-2oCJTCW45J3Bkbyiw9f3BgYPomEgUkID2iFRNqFsfYGagAXURu7GUQl2V8sNtJ2Js_EccuEfCUKdoPNbZvWYbJTrK1WpFxbFJKNPT9X4R-r0GjAaBZAPonB6AqU/s1600/Drama_Triangle3-300x294.jpg" /></a></div>
And I didn't get how they related to me, until in my group therapy they showed us this diagram. Those places I tried to fill the hole with were unhealthy roles that removed me from who I really was. As the uber religious person (Persecutor) I tried to force myself to God. When I felt I was worthless (Victim) I played video games to make myself numb to my own pain. And as when I went out to help people (Rescuer) I over extended myself frequently and found myself resenting the situation, the people, or myself. And because I refused to directly channel that angry energy towards anyone I would just continue the cycle. Does that sound healthy?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAtqG0RswOk0cywTAfhjYfbeWj5JC9o0-IU4ZahiSJsSUyrq2tp8quPhVrUEb2TosrfiUNnSQeeXYRx5NU5VL7OMvz8YIcln7EDsi0hY8hxDRabR3MQHTNd8igVDbAiSxvM0wnYMjeuko/s1600/alcohol-addiction.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAtqG0RswOk0cywTAfhjYfbeWj5JC9o0-IU4ZahiSJsSUyrq2tp8quPhVrUEb2TosrfiUNnSQeeXYRx5NU5VL7OMvz8YIcln7EDsi0hY8hxDRabR3MQHTNd8igVDbAiSxvM0wnYMjeuko/s200/alcohol-addiction.jpg" width="200" /></a>Every addict deals with these same roles in a different way. Yet how many really have the education as how to deal with the addiction in such a way that they can begin to reclaim their identity? Let's count. According to the <a href="http://www.nacoa.net/impfacts.htm" target="_blank">COA</a> seventy six million Americans have been exposed to Alcoholism in their family. Almost one in five adult Americans (18%) lived with an alcoholic while growing up. And roughly one in eight American adult drinkers is an alcoholic or experiences problems due to the use of alcohol. Worst of all is the cost to society which is in excess of $166 billion per year. Shouldn't that mean the AA groups and Al-anon should be overflowing with people wanting help? Or that perhaps our government should address this addiction problem more directly? The scary part to me is that's <u>just the alcoholics</u>. I haven't even addressed the co-dependents like myself, the drug addicts, the sex addicts, or the myriad of different addicts out there. I would wager that every home in America has been affected by the actions of addicts in one way or another. And we called h1n1 a pandemic?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaeAU300crXgYtnWoHOD8hqxP8L9hpXOw9xlrtxLDt_5zTMHmWuUixOae3k1Oo961Agh8mplHLm7BeEeN7vwKjcp2dTr9UGOpDGInHZ3bTpwAtxgf7D2oD0OfHB5K-oJ7u63RzzkfSoxg/s1600/Ways+to+help.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaeAU300crXgYtnWoHOD8hqxP8L9hpXOw9xlrtxLDt_5zTMHmWuUixOae3k1Oo961Agh8mplHLm7BeEeN7vwKjcp2dTr9UGOpDGInHZ3bTpwAtxgf7D2oD0OfHB5K-oJ7u63RzzkfSoxg/s1600/Ways+to+help.jpg" /></a></div>
It is up to each of us to take the time to learn about this plague and do what we can to establish having healthy identities of our own, and to teach our children to have healthy identities of their own. There are groups like Alcoholics Anonymous for some. Others need groups like LifeStar. Rehab is a solution for some, but that's expensive and they don't always help you find your real identity. They just keep you clean long enough that you think you're healed. And the truth of it is, addiction is a life-long disease. You can manage it, but you'll never be cured.<br />
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My wife is with me on my journey of healing right now. Because she has been harmed by my self harm. She has learned things that she has to unlearn to be able to be whole for herself. Addicts never harm only themselves, they always leave victims in their wake. Whether the victim is the child ignored for the addict's isolation, the spouse the addict beat to control, or the woman in the casket the addict hit when they drove drunk. And we as a society must learn enough to help addicts seek the help they need without hating them for their weakness. Because hatred will not heal our homes or the addicts either.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAYIeSaokKbkuchK_kaVKpvYTBHDqQIozFsEriPqBAtV7xd0s80XAqEeHSyp_Jl6tEDwfiwxMVNEtZfMi4f4rBIUpivEpwuBkYTCcfZQA3LSDrMqhYre9u-Mf3kNq5JRLd46yjdJL57FE/s1600/mirror.see.yourself.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAYIeSaokKbkuchK_kaVKpvYTBHDqQIozFsEriPqBAtV7xd0s80XAqEeHSyp_Jl6tEDwfiwxMVNEtZfMi4f4rBIUpivEpwuBkYTCcfZQA3LSDrMqhYre9u-Mf3kNq5JRLd46yjdJL57FE/s200/mirror.see.yourself.jpg" width="191" /></a></div>
I'm an addict in recovery. You might wonder what that means. It means I work daily towards seeing myself in healthy vision. I find seek out healthy ways to cope with my pain. And I recognize that I will always be an addict. But it doesn't define who I am. My boundaries, my hobbies, and how I help others do define me. The lion in my mirror can either be the shame and repulsion of self that eats at me because I'm not living up to who I can be, or he can be my potential and the image I work towards being with each day. I choose potential.<br />
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I am Jayrod Garrett, the First OG, and it is my sincere hope that we as a nation can start to address these real problems in our society. Addiction is only one of many. Not only a face of manipulation, but a mirror of the society that we are embracing. What other problems do you see in the mirror?Jayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.com5Ogden, UT, USA41.223 -111.973830441.1752365 -112.0527944 41.2707635 -111.8948664tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8255329229751420925.post-76472880228339301782012-05-12T12:09:00.001-06:002012-05-12T13:42:05.711-06:00Anniversary Wife Hack!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisUJy1fpuco_NmGx2QwU81739J_svI7BQg64pwWRhoLTKoCeJeVsfOOe4SO01xq-coXFJwVwl27X0KlVszuzARbosbKeEUvNgjNPLq1K1inRye1v2B6ETm_tN0smVA3cT4ZyQr0dRURQc/s1600/12+May+07+J&J+31.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisUJy1fpuco_NmGx2QwU81739J_svI7BQg64pwWRhoLTKoCeJeVsfOOe4SO01xq-coXFJwVwl27X0KlVszuzARbosbKeEUvNgjNPLq1K1inRye1v2B6ETm_tN0smVA3cT4ZyQr0dRURQc/s400/12+May+07+J&J+31.JPG" width="270" /></a>Hey Everybody! This is Mrs. The OG and today is our 5th wedding anniversary. Jayrod isn't really into traditional gifts, so I have to get creative in order to make him smile. I decided to hack into his blog and tell everyone how great he is.<br />
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Jayrod and I were married in the Manti LDS temple in 2007. We met on an ancient website called MySpace, and I was drawn to him by a poem he had written and posted on his page. Well, that and a picture of himself in his army uniform. *drool* Our courtship was a quick one, not because it's an LDS tradition, but because 2 weeks after he proposed he was told that he was going to Iraq for a year. We were so broke when we got married, I had no wedding dress, there were no flowers, and our Utah reception was pot luck - but we were so happy.<br />
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It has been a great 5 years. That being said - marriage is hard. It is why half of them end. It's a ton of work, and if you ever take a day off, you have just given yourself an extra day of work to make up later. There are ups and downs, twists and turns, and on the day you get married you seem to think that the downs won't be so bad. We have shared a half decade of joy, laughter, love, funny dances, buying our first home, fun trips, friends, cuddling, holding hands, personal growth, sharing, and blessings. We have endured a half decade of deaths, being broke, depression, deployments, illness, sacrifice, miscommunication and sinks full of dirty dishes that nobody wants to do.<br />
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<i>And there is no other person that I would rather have endured with.</i><br />
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<b>There are a few things that I would like to share about Jayrod, that you would otherwise never know.</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyDtY3GWVCazG_b11bni5q1VbZaa03Gg5O9J7BU6B345zsGpSZQSxc5CJrmB7fkLYlzQNreDWnCacdmjKGXoBoIQHtGfjF5Xrc_bkzd_0bq2iPWGsfhXk5Oioa3IfJqLTM7cZt4W_W5Xc/s1600/dscf0131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyDtY3GWVCazG_b11bni5q1VbZaa03Gg5O9J7BU6B345zsGpSZQSxc5CJrmB7fkLYlzQNreDWnCacdmjKGXoBoIQHtGfjF5Xrc_bkzd_0bq2iPWGsfhXk5Oioa3IfJqLTM7cZt4W_W5Xc/s320/dscf0131.jpg" width="320" /></a>On a bitter winter night this past January, Jayrod came across a homeless man downtown. He took him to a motel and paid for him to spend the night there. Someone spent a warm night in a clean bed because my husband was willing to sacrifice of his time and money. I was so proud of him that night.<br />
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When my Grandfather died, I was sobbing and dry heaving on the bathroom floor in the middle of the night. Jayrod quietly walked in, sat down on the floor and stayed with me for I don't know how long. There was nothing he could say to take away my pain, but he just sat there with me and shared that moment.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj58R8WyaVv-a5RRAECkWiOIZlTLqi_Ihdoons2yfPQQ3Mpt0gNHJVXi7GqulYj8_lRvYbs_ShAhp0oHDh3YsGz6rKrOM-r8jOBPDb1TSJq_3_ca9abk-KX8Da-mi4hSIwlFrEsEQ5eaQY/s1600/dscf6017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj58R8WyaVv-a5RRAECkWiOIZlTLqi_Ihdoons2yfPQQ3Mpt0gNHJVXi7GqulYj8_lRvYbs_ShAhp0oHDh3YsGz6rKrOM-r8jOBPDb1TSJq_3_ca9abk-KX8Da-mi4hSIwlFrEsEQ5eaQY/s320/dscf6017.jpg" width="320" /></a>He has terrible allergies, his sinuses are always bothering him. Because of this, we decided to not have pets when we got married. But once he realized there was a hole in my life from not having creatures in my care, he changed his mind. A couple of days before Christmas 2008 we went to the Ogden Animal Shelter and filled that hole with cat hair.<br />
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I have a terrible irrational fear of flying, and I'm pretty embarrassed about it too because I know how ridiculous it is. As a result, I often take the long way to get places, opting to drive or sometimes I will take a train or bus. Jayrod has never complained about it or ridiculed me (like everyone else has.) He took a 52 hour train trip with me cross country and didn't mumble about it once. I think the army has taught him to be patient during long trips.<br />
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There is something that I want to share, but I think it will make him uncomfortable if I share it specifically. But I will say this, he was kind to the detainees in his care during his 1st deployment to Iraq.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3bpc4fgR8NXGZOPXPkOF8Z7GQfrM11XwGcOWLv2yCiuWJXFd7fdBn7QOf8-p2VEgO1FcJ0yAXfPEmV0N5WSupvoXYKRLZZiDlIeFckpxbqSI0fjJfES26_ZzFVH9xhssqfVCCuvobGcg/s1600/dscf5923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3bpc4fgR8NXGZOPXPkOF8Z7GQfrM11XwGcOWLv2yCiuWJXFd7fdBn7QOf8-p2VEgO1FcJ0yAXfPEmV0N5WSupvoXYKRLZZiDlIeFckpxbqSI0fjJfES26_ZzFVH9xhssqfVCCuvobGcg/s320/dscf5923.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Here are a few things that we have learned about marriage:</b><br />
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The things that drive you crazy about your spouse? In 10 years, they will probably still do those things - it just won't bother you anymore.<br />
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Putting a ring on your finger does not make you suddenly oblivious to the opposite sex. Sometimes we will notice attractive people. It's ok that we continue to have eyes and hormones after our nuptials. Thinking that someone else is attractive does not mean that you love your spouse any less. We will occasionally point out attractive people to each other.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4V5B6nXLBwpaRmQxY6ToOsfwZpOXdWL2O0UjYFSSoXIYAjDrCr75Sli1TbEu_JNfg_QuFAyQpzI3YNx-1gCKl_ano3ph1kHt0-FO0oeEoG-ZXfRhI8XHVA9B2EMFEGBfqySC2FSZFLU/s1600/ATT00020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4V5B6nXLBwpaRmQxY6ToOsfwZpOXdWL2O0UjYFSSoXIYAjDrCr75Sli1TbEu_JNfg_QuFAyQpzI3YNx-1gCKl_ano3ph1kHt0-FO0oeEoG-ZXfRhI8XHVA9B2EMFEGBfqySC2FSZFLU/s320/ATT00020.jpg" width="320" /></a>Name calling does not belong in a marriage. In 5 years of fights, Jayrod has never once called me an ugly name, and I have only done it once for which I swiftly apologized.<br />
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The obligation of marriage is what binds you together through the times where you might not want to be together. Those feelings will pass, and you will be glad for the glue that held you together.<br />
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Love is loving the other person more than you love your own pride.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyLJZCWu_VsoKSLO0gxvYcw6XGDn7zck6VO-VoO0UmNzxtiwMFPMIrzea-jhOGRWNMLGY1BXZ85Ms-cF5_P3DilO8RTfOTZwnuopwBjo-2NUtcPV7D-WIpivWH_LskVvtQgR0jbPDgfso/s1600/Pre+Open+House+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyLJZCWu_VsoKSLO0gxvYcw6XGDn7zck6VO-VoO0UmNzxtiwMFPMIrzea-jhOGRWNMLGY1BXZ85Ms-cF5_P3DilO8RTfOTZwnuopwBjo-2NUtcPV7D-WIpivWH_LskVvtQgR0jbPDgfso/s320/Pre+Open+House+14.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<b>Also, a list of books that have helped us tremendously:</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Love-Languages-Secret-Lasts/dp/0802473156/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336843893&sr=1-1" target="_blank">The 5 Love Languages</a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/And-They-Were-Ashamed-Strengthening/dp/1587830345/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336843933&sr=1-1" target="_blank">And They Were Not Ashamed</a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Desperate-Marriages-Moving-Healing-Relationship/dp/0802475523/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336843809&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Desperate Marriages</a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Five-Languages-Apology-Relationships/dp/1881273792/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336843984&sr=1-1" target="_blank">The 5 Languages of Apology</a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Codependent-No-More-Controlling-Yourself/dp/0894864025/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336844061&sr=1-1" target="_blank">CoDependent No More</a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Between-Husband-and-Wife-ebook/dp/B004P5O3FY/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336844091&sr=1-2" target="_blank">Between Husband and Wife</a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Power-Commitment-Active-Lifelong/dp/0787979287/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336844136&sr=1-1" target="_blank">The Power of Commitment</a> <br />
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Happy Anniversary Bear! This is my gift to you. Well, actually the new wedding ring that I gave you in December... that was supposed to be your gift. But there was no way in hell I was going to wait 6 months to give that to you. I love you!<br />
<br />Jayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.com19Ogden, UT, USA41.223 -111.973830441.1752275 -112.0527944 41.2707725 -111.8948664tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8255329229751420925.post-13483677356267447832012-05-09T15:15:00.000-06:002012-05-14T00:10:03.660-06:00War Post: May 9th Mashup & ROW80 Goals<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwXdXCEJaT3yv-rMfsbZLquWfCygBpfRy_aNhVf5SSh7T-WD9Ie3EoY3DS_NpU1PNg3b6EFzC0l6ukcCThOXuzhBr5B5egiB5yDC1LugWnFwrVnrWR_xDFE9eAxTfUK3YwIBqd2gcM4dc/s1600/The-Avengers-Mash-up-Trailer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwXdXCEJaT3yv-rMfsbZLquWfCygBpfRy_aNhVf5SSh7T-WD9Ie3EoY3DS_NpU1PNg3b6EFzC0l6ukcCThOXuzhBr5B5egiB5yDC1LugWnFwrVnrWR_xDFE9eAxTfUK3YwIBqd2gcM4dc/s320/The-Avengers-Mash-up-Trailer.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was made by a fan before the movie came out.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So it would appear that the Avengers was a hit. I was in my seat on Friday Morning at 12:01 cheering with everyone else in my theatre when it began. If you haven't seen the movie yet, you have to see it! It is probably the best piece of cinematic storytelling that I have ever seen. Sure there are things they got wrong, but in a movie this size, those are easy to ignore.<br />
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Now that I've plugged Avengers, we'll move on to the Mashup. Most of them are writer related today, just to let you know.<br />
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David Powers King shows us how to set up a villian in: "<a href="http://davidpowersking.blogspot.com/2012/05/tuesday-tropes-kick-dog.html" target="_blank">Tuesday Tropes: Kick the Dog</a>."<br />
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Heather Adkins, a formatting Guru shares tips on how to format ebooks in: "<a href="http://thebookshelfmuse.blogspot.com/2012/05/ask-formatting-expert-answers.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+feedburner%2FtKhz+%28The+Bookshelf+Muse%29" target="_blank">Ask a Formating Expert: Answers</a>."<br />
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J.A. Bennett shares a few great high school dating stories in "<a href="http://j-a-bennett.blogspot.com/2012/05/pancakes-blue-suits-and-u-hauls.html" target="_blank">Pancakes, Blue Suits, and U-hauls</a>."<br />
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Lisa J. Jackson talks about how she deals with super typing in writers flow in: "<a href="http://nhwn.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/grammar-ease-when-the-words-outpace-the-fingers/?blogsub=confirming#subscribe-blog" target="_blank">Grammar-ease – When the words outpace the fingers</a>."<br />
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Donna K. Weaver shares something she learned on how to make better characters in: "<a href="http://weavingataleortwo.blogspot.com/2012/05/storymaker-conference-report-pov.html" target="_blank">Storymaker Conference Report - POV</a>."<br />
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Shah Wharton has a great contest going for Storytellers you can read more about here in: "<a href="http://wordsinsync.blogspot.com/2012/05/storyteller-writing-challenge_09.html#more" target="_blank">The Storyteller Writing Challenge</a>."<br />
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Nathan Bransford had a really great article that helped lift me up called: "<a href="http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2012/05/how-to-keep-writing-when-s-hits-fan.html" target="_blank">How to Keep Writing When the S*** Hits the Fan </a>."<br />
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Jay Noel shares some awesome music for writing to as well as why a person might use music when writing in: "<a href="http://www.jaynoel.com/2012/05/music-to-write-to.html" target="_blank">Music to Write To</a>."<br />
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Karen Sandler points out how the unimportant has no place in fiction in: "<a href="http://karensandler.wordpress.com/2012/04/29/give-every-scene-a-purpose/" target="_blank">Give Every Scene a Purpose</a>."<br />
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S.E. Sinkhorn teaches us all how we can use Pinterest to help us with our writing in: "<a href="http://maybegenius.blogspot.com/2012/04/pinterest-tips-for-writers.html" target="_blank">Pinterest Tips for Writing</a>."<br />
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Ingrid Schaffenburg as always shares some great relationship advice that everyone should remember in: "<a href="http://ingridschaffenburg.wordpress.com/2012/05/09/lookin-for-love-2/" target="_blank">Lookin' for Love</a>."<br />
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Kristen Lamb shares more her ideas about how Writers can survive in the new world in: "<a href="http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2012/05/09/the-age-of-the-artist-time-for-a-revolution/" target="_blank">The Age of the Artist–Time for a Revolution</a>."<br />
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Piper Bayard spreads sunshine and happiness in her post titled: "<a href="http://piperbayard.wordpress.com/2012/05/09/making-tsa-underwear-bomber-gropes-exciting/" target="_blank">Making TSA Underwear Bomber Gropes Exciting</a>."<br />
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Lisa Taylor brings it home for us today with sharing about Science and Writing in: "<a href="http://writersparty.com/2012/05/09/sciencebucks/" target="_blank">ScienceBucks and Scientific Writing!</a>"<br />
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Now listen to Classical Spy Music. Enjoy!</div>
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<center>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/09RUuTAM2H0" width="560"></iframe></center><center>This is a local music group that I absolutely love. Check them out!</center>
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<center style="text-align: left;">Sometimes I get down on myself about my goals and the fact that I'm not making the progress that I think I should. But it occurs to me that I shouldn't get down on myself too much seeing as in the past seven months I have written more than I have in the seven years before. Writing is becoming a lifestyle for me and I am thrilled so much that you wouldn't be able to believe it. But without challenging yourself, growth ends. So I keep pushing hard to have growth, and I just get frustrated at how many little things get in my way on that journey. So if I ever sound critical or negative of myself, just realize that I know I'm growing, I'm just trying to spur greater growth. Now for the goals!</center><center style="text-align: left;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">1. Finishing Chapter Two and starting Chapter Three of "Crimes of the Umbramancer by next week.</center><center style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> Yeah, I'm half way through Chapter Two. Which is wonderful. I've struggled because I didn't know what was wrong with certain scenes, but I'm figuring that out and I think it will be as strong as my chapter one once I finish. </center><center style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">2. Write seven thousand words per week. (Between blog & fiction.)</center><center style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> I think I finished about four thousand this past week. Much of my time was put into building a stronger relationship with our foster son, who was at our home all weekend long rather than with his parents. It was a blessing to spend time with him and frankly it was more important than getting through the writing.</center><center style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">3. Exercise five times a week.</span></center><center style="text-align: left;"> I made it out about three out of four days this past week. And I'm grateful for the progress I'm making there. Getting out and moving my body feels really good and it has given me a great deal of time to work out prewriting ideas so that my story will move along much more smoothly. And it is really quite peaceful (once your legs are prepared for the pain).</center><center style="text-align: left;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">4. Finishing up my school work from my last semester in College.</span></center><center style="text-align: left;"><div class="p1" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
I'm not complaining this week. I'm still struggling with this goal, but you'll know when its done. I'll probably post my essay on Pride and Prejudice here when I'm done.<br />
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5. Spending time everyday with a spiritual source.<br />
<i>Morning and Evening</i> is still a great resource and I'm working hard at making more time for prayer too.<br />
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6. Finishing homework from Group Therapy.<br />
Last week I finished my Homework for Group Therapy, and this week I'm running behind because my wife has been sick and our foster has been home a lot. But I'm hoping to get through the rest of this today. Therapy is tonight and when you don't have the work done, it is harder to share in group.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2D1tSV6JQUkPhPQoGEBHZzearCuRxHSeoy5SYhGV49qb99P9OnqFg0X17bsTGX1cdh7Pkq_z7frMOo1o5eWb7L0tuPdggN6gFUIPwP6yFPej_mif15uRQN-UrPKqyjffweAlpcgQcKg/s1600/ROW80Logocopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2D1tSV6JQUkPhPQoGEBHZzearCuRxHSeoy5SYhGV49qb99P9OnqFg0X17bsTGX1cdh7Pkq_z7frMOo1o5eWb7L0tuPdggN6gFUIPwP6yFPej_mif15uRQN-UrPKqyjffweAlpcgQcKg/s200/ROW80Logocopy.jpg" width="100" /></a>I'm feeling really good about this past week. Don't ask me why. I didn't meet my goals as well as I would have liked, but I feel like I'm in a better place in the journey than I was a week ago. And perhaps that is the most important thing. Thanks for reading and here's the link if you would like check out my friends in <a href="http://www.linkytools.com/wordpress_list.aspx?id=138367&type=basic" target="_blank">ROW80</a>. I'm Jayrod Garrett, the First OG. Peace People!</div>
</center>Jayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.com0Ogden, UT, USA41.223 -111.973830441.1752275 -112.0527944 41.2707725 -111.8948664tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8255329229751420925.post-36619738944488683062012-05-08T10:00:00.000-06:002012-05-08T10:06:44.642-06:00FWBH: Evolution of Ideas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl71UhH_OlISSvFAiNgtEZ5vO4JaxtPP4lq6sR9uNgRN-6884NnsFBHmq5Yxb457Z-LxmbsI5svBgHBENLoKeBJKIlukwK4sK8086t0mWHQwP78opkXItpGQXDqLOH1T2u6y1nRoc9kP8/s1600/britannica+bookshelf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl71UhH_OlISSvFAiNgtEZ5vO4JaxtPP4lq6sR9uNgRN-6884NnsFBHmq5Yxb457Z-LxmbsI5svBgHBENLoKeBJKIlukwK4sK8086t0mWHQwP78opkXItpGQXDqLOH1T2u6y1nRoc9kP8/s320/britannica+bookshelf.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
For the Fellow Writers Bloghop this month they wanted for us to talk about how Brittannic announced that they were no longer going to print after 244 of their amazing encyclopedia. And I have to say kudos to them! They have joined the rest of the world in recognizing that they must evolve or die, which is something that we all must do in this ever changing world.<br />
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Evolution has multiple different concepts that drive it. The religious arguments of whether or not man was derived of apes or created by God are largely missing the fundmental idea that is at the core of evolution. When the environment around any living being changes, that being will change to match the environment or it will perish. That is the way it is. Nowhere this can be seen better than in economics and politics today. Let's think about this, many people don't like Walmart. (I don't really like Walmart, it just happens they are really convenient to shop at). But Sam Walton, had a great idea in bringing everything a person might need into a single shop and then seeking to get the lowest prices for it. That idea changed the entire market for how people do business. Companies that had for years focused on making a quality product for a low price had to either sacrifice the quality of their product or have their product made overseas to be able to do business with Walmart. The concept that Walmart set up changed the entire market for how we do business.</div>
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We can see this in the music industry. MP3's and digital music have changed everything about the music industry. I'm old enough to have listened to records, eight tracks, cassettes, and CD's. And the MP3 changed the game of music in ways they could never have suspected. Because it was digital and so much easier to transport, share, and even work with. The artists had to stop focusing on making sales by selling an album, but by targeting an audience with the songs that they wanted. During the time that they made this paradigm shift, they began making it possible to get clean versions of explicit music. Because it was all about the consumer now, and not the recording companies.</div>
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And that is the same way it is with Britannica. They are changing to meet the needs of the consumer rather than remaining in the past with what they have been doing. And it is a beautiful thing to see. At last for the educators who want a reliable online resource for their students to use, Britannica will soon offer opportunities that Wikipedia simply won't be able to compete with. Because their information will always be factual and unchangeable by the masses.</div>
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However Wikipedia will still thrive because they offer articles on so many more topics that Britannica cannot ever cover. Like when I want information about a video game I can still look to Wikipedia. Or when I need to get the trivia about the new Avengers movie. Our age of instant information requires there to be multiple means of getting similar information. It doesn't promise the quality of that information, but what it does promise is that if one has the correct question to ask, they can find answers to their question.<br />
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Because of this need for answers we must start asking better questions. The questions asked are what will determine what our reality will be. Because let's face it, it isn't the answers that determine reality and how it changes and what we do, but the questions we ask to get those answers.<br />
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Britannica going online is the best answer to Wikipedia I can think of. There is a need for both sources of information and I'm excited to see the dialogue between the two in the years to come. But what about Child Slavery? Sex Trafficking? Gun Control? The election of the President of the United States? The Occupy Movement? Or Tax Reform? These are huge ideas that are hanging out there in the wind. We as a public can control the direction they take by the questions we ask. If we allow the media to ask questions for us, because they are smarter, or have more information at hand; we sacrifice our freedom. Perhaps it is time for each one of us in the world to start asking better questions and going to primary sources for our information than trusting simply what has been written before. Because we should all know the saying, Time is a river and history repeats itself. But this has everything to do with what history the people who use the time create for themselves.<br />
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That's everything from me today. Tomorrow I'll throw up a Mash Up of Awesomeness and share with you how my weekend went from awesome time for writing to awesome time with a child. Goals will be met . . . somehow. I'm Jayrod Garrett, the First OG. And I hope that this raised some questions for you about how we can change our future.</div>
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</div>Jayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.com1Ogden, UT, USA41.223 -111.973830441.1752275 -112.0527944 41.2707725 -111.8948664tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8255329229751420925.post-56778531822957017002012-05-04T00:00:00.000-06:002012-05-04T08:07:55.188-06:00Religion Interviews #1: A Modern Saint<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This picture sits in our living room.</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Good day folks! Today I have a guest on my blog. It is my wife, <i>Jenny Garrett</i>. I wanted to give folks an unbiased view of Mormonism from someone who would understand what it means to have lived as a different denomination. My wife belonged to the </span><span style="text-align: left;">Episcopal Church as she was growing up and made a choice during her teen years to become a Latter Day Saint (Hence the name of this blog). For those of you not of our faith, this is one view of how one balances faith with what they know. I do this same thing differently, however I would like to believe that I am as unorthodox in my beliefs as my wife. You will meet various Mormons who see things slightly different as in any church, but the teachings through the church itself are the same. For the orthodox saints who read this, there are no apologies made here for how my wife has chosen to live. Not from her or from myself. God has accepted us as we are, and we expect any God fearing man or woman to do the same. To quote my wife, "</span><span style="text-align: left;">We are all products of our life’s experiences and I have settled into my faith and beliefs because of things that have happened in my life, the people I have known, and the trials that the Lord has helped me through." And within our own doctrine it states: </span>“We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men (including other Mormons!) the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may"(Article of Faith 11). So without further ado, my first question.<br />
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<b> #1 I've heard that members of the LDS faith are not Christian, is that true?</b></div>
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It depends on how you define the term “Christian.” If by Christian you mean people who believe that Jesus Christ is an actual man, the son of God, who lived a sinless life, ministered to the sick, preached Gods word to the masses, was crucified, and then arose from the dead, and that his death atoned for the sins of mankind - then yes, we are indeed Christians. But if you define Christianity as having a belief in the holy trinity and a testimony of the Nicene Creed and the Apostles Creed, then no, we are not Christians in that sense. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsWMbQHgh7PcDaCshuMQAHvW_NpoyDXejq1Pl42gi_wtHR2jqnXZJbL1otXsbuzNCxJs55KK5gSTYK1f-vsRvg1b6l-Qa9MNKHtLbsDrZR8Wx-P7aTE6yC-0DpDfSLIhQz_c-gMqJh5Q/s1600/Christians.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsWMbQHgh7PcDaCshuMQAHvW_NpoyDXejq1Pl42gi_wtHR2jqnXZJbL1otXsbuzNCxJs55KK5gSTYK1f-vsRvg1b6l-Qa9MNKHtLbsDrZR8Wx-P7aTE6yC-0DpDfSLIhQz_c-gMqJh5Q/s320/Christians.jpg" width="320" /></a>The majority of Christian tradition believes that God came down to Earth in mortal form, and that we called him Jesus Christ. For example, my Grandfather literally believed that Jesus Christ was God in a mans body. I grew up in the Episcopal Church and they taught that Jesus was God; God the son. As a child I found that confusing because I would read scriptures about how Jesus would pray, and I couldn’t understand who he was praying to if he was God.<br />
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Us LDS folk believe that God is a separate entity from Jesus Christ, even though they are one in purpose. We are what is called “Unitarianism” as opposed to the Christian tradition of “Trinitarianism.” We are one of several religions under the umbrella of Christianity who believe this way. Some of the others are the Jehovahs Witnesses and the Unitarian Universalists - both are great churches full of great people, we are in good company. I have found that the Nicene Creed is vague enough that it fits the spectrum of the LDS belief system, except where Jesus Christ is described as “being of one substance with the Father” and the declaration about believing in the “one holy Catholic and apostolic Church” However, our LDS prophets have clearly stated that we do not believe in the traditional Christian creeds.<br />
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I feel like a Christian. I read the New Testament, study the parables that Jesus Christ taught, try my best (fail though I do) to apply those teachings to my own life, I pray to God in the name of Jesus Christ, follow the commandments, and on Christmas and Easter I ponder the birth and resurrection of Christ first and foremost before I indulge in all the super fun pagan rituals that we all do, like putting trees in our house and hiding eggs in the yard. I call myself a Christian, and if anybody else says that I am not, well, it’s not really up to them to decide what I am.<br />
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<b>#2 What is it about Joseph Smith? Is he a prophet or some nut job?</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEjuVsvfArJDTHVBYzkjdiCfWmkIFyJw2BjGNdJEC-ElOx7xZjK0Gpa2HEFsCm4hLYF3shVIUvSxOfTWrcC2hATq18lDBorb4xEw0QaJ2pTnusGb1q8wuvPufRaETcUKZVXXkUyF7SG8o/s1600/parson-translation_HR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEjuVsvfArJDTHVBYzkjdiCfWmkIFyJw2BjGNdJEC-ElOx7xZjK0Gpa2HEFsCm4hLYF3shVIUvSxOfTWrcC2hATq18lDBorb4xEw0QaJ2pTnusGb1q8wuvPufRaETcUKZVXXkUyF7SG8o/s320/parson-translation_HR.jpg" width="236" /></a>Why can’t he be both? The Lord often calls unqualified men and women to do his work, does he not? From the LDS bible dictionary, a prophet is in a general sense anyone who has a testimony of Jesus Christ by the Holy Ghost. So, many people can be prophets. The question is rather, is he the prophet, seer and revelator he claimed to be?<br />
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Joseph Smith restored things to the Earth that were missing. The end result is the church we have today, which is wholesome and good, and has blessed many lives. We know Jesus Christ better, we have the most beautiful music, we have the largest Women’s organization on the planet, we have the tranquility of our temples. After a disaster, the Mormons are often there helping before the Red Cross even gets there. We give humanitarian aid to many impoverished countries. We have the power to do so much good.<br />
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But Joseph Smith did some pretty outlandish things in his day, and we often overlook them because they aren’t considered faith building. We sugarcoat many things about Joseph Smiths life. For example, much of the Book of Mormon was translated by Joseph Smith covering his face with a hat and seeing the words on a seer stone inside the hat. Now, if that’s the way it was done, and it was directed by the Lord to be done that way, why then do we hang paintings like the one above in our homes?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhalrztovia5xrIU28qJf_Y8TSwuitFga_5AhYjk9x13dhnUi0mfeTk8bV8lvS3L_iglsCEySudB7XZOqxNnro0Nv-8zLlXXJfAwEERuhmrDZqRurFuHo8U8W6zl7IEH2iezP4OHDSbgZ0/s1600/JSphoto.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhalrztovia5xrIU28qJf_Y8TSwuitFga_5AhYjk9x13dhnUi0mfeTk8bV8lvS3L_iglsCEySudB7XZOqxNnro0Nv-8zLlXXJfAwEERuhmrDZqRurFuHo8U8W6zl7IEH2iezP4OHDSbgZ0/s200/JSphoto.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDbs6-3DJf7eR0FtIUIviNgXddT-s0vGr28qXpiZDlPyW05lRJoFkLJY6Q7Wkg_mwjcbHFh7BH_nIkdNa99UxzoBUlZr0lMW3xlbk7xUJpSTUbQ1xRBgD3qpsrZcqF3X6x-B-wwb6ZmQw/s1600/adonissmith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDbs6-3DJf7eR0FtIUIviNgXddT-s0vGr28qXpiZDlPyW05lRJoFkLJY6Q7Wkg_mwjcbHFh7BH_nIkdNa99UxzoBUlZr0lMW3xlbk7xUJpSTUbQ1xRBgD3qpsrZcqF3X6x-B-wwb6ZmQw/s200/adonissmith.jpg" width="140" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Why do we make him out to be so dang handsome?<br />
He looks like this in photos, yet looks like Adonis<br />
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Because it seems foreign to us, and maybe even a little weird, how it was really done. Then we make movies about the life of Joseph Smith and don’t include the “hat thing” at all. Then we don’t include the fact that he married so many women, some who were teenage girls, and some who were already married to other men. He was a mayor, started his own militia, and planned to run for president. That’s pretty lofty! We sweep these undesirable things under the rug in an effort to keep people from doubting, but then they find out, feel deceived, and their whole faith falls apart.<br />
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I have heard some people say “If Jesus tried to attend sacrament meeting, we wouldn’t let him in because he has a beard, long hair, sandals, and isn’t wearing a suit.” It’s a cute little idea, and it tries to point out that we are sticklers for a tidy church appearance. But I submit this thought to you: If Joseph Smith was a member today, he would likely be excommunicated for his behavior.</div>
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Why can’t we have this? Joseph Smith: an imperfect man who was also a prophet of God. We sometimes put too much of our faith in Joseph Smith, when we should be putting it in Jesus Christ, and I think Joseph Smith might agree with me on that. It’s ok that he was not a perfect man. At least, I’m ok with it.</div>
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<b>#3 I couldn't help but notice that your husband is black, has that ever caused you any grief during your time in the church?
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Within the church, no. The day we were sealed for time and eternity, we were treated like royalty inside the temple. All of the workers there in Manti didn’t seem to care a speck that our skin colors were different. Might be a little surprising considering they were older, white, rural Mormons, but they were all wonderful to us.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCc0lF9v4uVV4tJ8z9X-0NOaZPvNYCPz4_E9F9TYIGkpjbs1bdvJ4alOljFta1BYIT3pb2SGhL0Y5BveuDOSyJFy6bHwy9iJJF6rFbGh1cztj3ja8aBhaxeHlthMcOqvAQghDikFzV4rA/s1600/IMG_9586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCc0lF9v4uVV4tJ8z9X-0NOaZPvNYCPz4_E9F9TYIGkpjbs1bdvJ4alOljFta1BYIT3pb2SGhL0Y5BveuDOSyJFy6bHwy9iJJF6rFbGh1cztj3ja8aBhaxeHlthMcOqvAQghDikFzV4rA/s320/IMG_9586.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Garrett's outside the Manti Temple in Utah</td></tr>
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Before we got married, I received council from my Bishop in New Hampshire. He is Chinese and his wife of a few decades is white, so he knew a thing or two about interracial marriage.</div>
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However in the culture of Utah, which is sometimes confused with the dictates of the church, because the two are so enmeshed, I have gotten some dirty looks from people, and confused looks from little children. An uninformed teenager was surprised that interracial marriages happened in the temple. Nothing too bad though. I think the only hurtful things have been said from our actual family, the strangers seem pretty accepting. It bothers people much more that I have tattoos. Now <i>that</i> has been my biggest grief!
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<b>#4 Do you have a conversion story and would you be so kind as to share it with us?
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Yes, I do have a conversion story. Everyone should! The people who are born into the church should become converted at some point just like us converts. I was baptized in 2000. It was a difficult age to join the church. I was 18 and had finished school, so too old for young women’s. All the sisters in Relief Society were at least 30, the closest institute class was 50 minutes away and the singles ward was just as far.
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Johns Episcopal Church</td></tr>
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As previously mentioned, I was raised Episcopal. I was baptized as an infant, and my Grandmother saw to it that I was fairly active in the church. I received my first communion (around age 8) after taking a few weeks of confirmation classes. I was an acolyte (altar girl) for years and sang in the Jr. Choir. In the summers of my childhood I would attend a Lutheran church with my other Grandmother.</div>
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I received several years of sunday school education. I still love the Episcopal Church, very much. I appreciate how progressive they are. We have attended midnight mass on Christmas Eve for the last 3 years because it brings back such fond memories for me, it’s actually my favorite part of Christmas. But as I became a teenager I lost interest in going to church.</div>
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When I was 16 years old, something happened in our family that shook me to my core. My Uncle, an amazing man, loving and kind and very good to me, who was serving in the Peace Corps, was shot and killed in a robbery - he was only 32. I never knew anyone who had died, let alone be murdered. I was inconsolable, just devastated. I went through some of the stages of grief, denial at first. When it finally hit me I just sobbed for days, sobbed like a person with no hope. And I was angry. And I was confused. I started to turn to religion to succor the immense pain. My belief system didn’t really have the answers I was looking for. I wanted to know if my Uncle still existed somewhere, somehow. Would I ever see him again?</div>
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I began to study religion, anything I could get my hands on. And this was in the days before internet research, I was reading honest to goodness books made out of paper. I studied Catholicism, Judaism, Shinto, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, you name it. I started getting called “Jesus Freak” at school. When I slowed down with the partying I had been doing, a lot of my friends lost interest in me. About 18 months into my search for religion, I picked up a book of Mormon for the first time. It was my mothers book. She and my Grandmother had joined the church a few years before, but fell away. When they joined, I wanted no part of it! I opened up the book, and the first few pages were of men signing their names that the book was true. I had never seen a book like that before. I literally called the LDS missionaries who were in the phonebook under ‘LDS missionaries’ and I said “My name is Jennifer and I want to get baptized” and they were like “Who is this really?” I listened to the discussions, quit smoking, and took the plunge! The LDS church had the answers for all my burning questions.</div>
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Some things I remember about my baptism were that my best friend showed up late and missed it, and also a friend of mine, Eugene, who I had not seen in a long time showed up, and he was a member of the church and I never knew. And my dear old friend Ben showed up too. We sang “I Stand All Amazed” because it was my Grandmas favorite hymn from when she was a member, and my friend Sariah gave a short talk. I felt so loved and welcomed by the members, a love that I don’t think I had ever felt before. A love that I feel is sometimes lacking by some of the wards I have belonged to in Utah.</div>
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My Mom was there for me, and my cousin Jan was very supportive. My Grandma was thrilled even though she had left the church. She took me to get my first set of LDS scriptures, which are the ones that I still use. Some of my family members were very upset with me, some thought it was a big joke and I lost Susan, one of my best friends. The last thing she said to me was that I was a “self righteous bitch.” And I get it, I understand it now. I was that freshly baptized overzealous teenager, and I was trying to change her.</div>
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Shortly after my baptism, I traveled to Washington DC to do baptisms for the dead. It was then that I fell in love with LDS temples and the tranquility inside. It has been 12 years now, my faith has changed, grown and evolved and I choose to stay in the LDS church so that people like me can bring about change. If all the liberals, democrats, intellectuals, and free thinkers leave the church, how will it ever change? The changes I’d like to see are more equality for women, more acceptance and love for our LGBT brothers and sisters, and more love and support for those struggling with addiction.</div>
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<b>#5 Are you going to vote for Mitt Romney, cause he's Mormon? I've heard a lot of Mormons plan on doing that.</b></div>
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The last thing I would do is vote for someone simply because they belonged to my church. Being LDS does not ensure that someone is a moral person, nor does it promise that someone is competent enough to run a country. When I first heard of Mitt Romney, in the early 2000’s, I remember thinking that a Mormon politician was an oxymoron. That being said, I believe he is educated enough, experienced enough, and competent enough to run the country. But he won’t run the United States the way that I think is right and moral, which is the main reason I will not be voting for him.</div>
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I lived in Massachusetts while he was the governor. If he was still “that guy” the Romney of 2003 or 2004, I might vote for him. But he has changed considerably. The man who instituted the Massachusetts health care insurance reform law, is now against “Obama Care.” He once supported stem cell research, and now he no longer does. He once supported a woman’s right to chose, specifically because a close friend of his died from an illegal abortion - but he has abandoned that also and is now pro-life. I won't stand behind a man who changes his core beliefs to suit his career goals.</div>
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<b>#6 How do you reconcile the faith of your childhood and the faith of your adulthood?</b></div>
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The faith of my childhood was based on the faith of the adults in my life. My family was Episcopal and so, that is what I believed. But there comes a time in everyones life when you have to decide for your self what you believe and what feels right to you, and not base your faith on what somebody else has decided is right. In the LDS church, we call it “piggybacking on your parent's testimony.” Even when our prophets speak, they tell us to pray about it and learn for ourselves, through the holy spirit, if what they say is true. I think this is an important step to take because not every word that rolls off the tongue of a church leader is meant for every member of the church. Sometimes the faith journey that we must take gets confusing because we want to please our friends and family. We might want to please them even more than we want to find which path we should travel. As William Shakespeare penned, "Above all: to thine own self be true."</div>
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After moving to Utah, something I saw for the first time was children getting up during testimony meeting with their moms behind them. I love seeing children getting up and speaking, but here in Utah their mothers whisper into their ear what to say. They tell them to say that the church is true, that they know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. How does this little child know that? They're not even clear on if Santa Claus is true, or if a flying woman actually removes teeth from under their pillows in exchange for cash. And how will they ever know that for themselves if you have been telling them to say it since they could walk? I would much rather have the children go up there and say what they actually feel and believe.</div>
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One of the sweetest testimonies I have ever heard was from a little girl who lost her pet rat and she prayed and prayed until she found it. She wanted to tell everyone listening that day, that Heavenly Father answers prayers and cares about rats.</div>
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Thanks Jenny. For your thoughts and your words today. I feel privileged to be able to share them with my audience. And I hope that all of you find something in what she has shared to help you better understand our religion. This is Jayrod and Jenny Garrett, the OG's, and we hope you've enjoyed today's blog. If you have any questions that you would like to ask us, please comment below and we'll respond to them as soon as we can. Thanks so much!</div>
<br /></div>Jayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.com2Ogden, UT, USA41.223 -111.973830441.1752365 -112.0527944 41.2707635 -111.8948664tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8255329229751420925.post-22464037009435757222012-05-02T01:00:00.001-06:002012-05-02T03:09:27.665-06:00IWSG: Self Trust and Voice<div style="text-align: center;">
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Last week I wrote about self trust at the end of a post and I thought I would elaborate on my own issues with self trust here for the support group. I think that most folks who have met me in person would agree that I exude confidence. I'm kind, charismatic, and gentle which I guess in a soldier is a good combination. However, I'm actually insecure about something that most wouldn't guess, and that is my voice in writing.<br />
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Obviously, I don't have an issue with speaking my mind. I'm willingly opening myself up to people criticizing my thoughts concerning abortion, politics, and black culture. I welcome that. It doesn't bother me if you don't agree with me. What worries me is that I come across saying what I really want to say. That isn't an issue of simply word choice, but the tone and voice of my writing.<br />
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Blogging for me is an exercise in learning to self validate. Often my writing when I blog is quite raw. It hasn't gone through multiple different people. It has seen my wife and sometimes our adopted son. But it hasn't gone to them for proofreading or to help me fix problems. Instead it has been about validating my writing for me. And that's not fair to them. I need to be able to self validate and trust that what I put down is good enough. But I bet there is someone else out there like me who suffers from the same fear of not being good enough.<br />
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So here is my advice to those of you who share my fear. Write inside your own comfort zone. My comfort zone is a unique one, I feel most comfortable talking about issues that are particularly controversial in society. I realize that I have good things to say about them. And that because of my own experiences that I have an education there that other lack. So I focus on those things because for me, I am most comfortable there. And it gives me an opportunity to exercise my voice and learn about how I write and how I express myself. Both of which are crucial for any young writer to learn about.<br />
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But once you have found your comfort zone, push the envelope of your abilities. You do not learn to walk without failure, and you will not learn how to write without failure. As I grow in my abilities and my education I hope to work towards making this more culturally friendly as a blog. I want to be able to speak about issues that the LBGT community, Asians, and the Native Americans face. I might have someone comment and tell me that everything I'm writing is garbage, and inform me as to what the real deal is on a subject. And guess what, that's okay! Because I'm comfortable with failure in my journey. Because I don't learn the most from my successes, but rather from my failures.<br />
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Soon I'll have a new comfort zone and I'll have to reach further to search out excellence. I want to the same thing in literature. I recently read a post from Nora Jemisin on RaceFail, and I realized that I'm coming into writing at a good time. When I was younger I wanted to just write a story about an African American Hero in Science Fiction & Fantasy, but now my views have expanded to want to see Heroes and Heroines of color throughout SFF. I think I'm a decent writer, but while I am bringing my skills up to the level that someone will choose to publish my work, I'm going to focus on other cultures and religions and bring them to light. But again I cannot do any of this if I lack confidence in my voice.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPWT7kkrFmT-fUT9MtroPBRkj7W4mgO-meurZxoY19m2uEIVNyRlOuwVcz06al1mJJAqvmogjqe6Ha7yFfhOZ-uLBMvLMvz3zTQDKHnRzSgg5Ok2XCc0rF37A22YODXmxWXTGTfHy4DHc/s1600/snoopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPWT7kkrFmT-fUT9MtroPBRkj7W4mgO-meurZxoY19m2uEIVNyRlOuwVcz06al1mJJAqvmogjqe6Ha7yFfhOZ-uLBMvLMvz3zTQDKHnRzSgg5Ok2XCc0rF37A22YODXmxWXTGTfHy4DHc/s320/snoopy.jpg" width="320" /></a>So I leave you my fellow writers with a challenge. Start writing within your comfort zone. And as soon as you think you have a grasp on your voice, start pushing the envelope. Don't sit back and think you are good as is. Develop the healthy mindset that you are always seeking out the next peak of performance. Writing is a journey that has potential to never end. Look at Frank and Brian Herbert, their journey in writing has already spanned two generations. There is no limit to what we can do as writers if we will work towards touching the stars.<br />
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If you are struggling with your voice, that's okay. But it isn't okay to give up. Sit down in your chair and write. Something, anything. One word or a thousand. Because for each word you put down you forge the voice within you. And after you have forged the edge of your own voice, you'll find the battle towards becoming a paid author one that you can tackle with the grace of a ballerina.<br />
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That's all I got for today. Stay tuned for the end of the week when I tackle my first interview. I'm Jayrod Garrett, and I'm the First OG. And naturally I have a question for you:<br />
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What do you want to do with your voice?</div>
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<br />Jayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.com0Ogden, UT, USA41.223 -111.973830441.1752275 -112.0527944 41.2707725 -111.8948664tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8255329229751420925.post-7140145886349509032012-05-02T00:00:00.000-06:002012-05-02T01:16:20.290-06:00War Post: May 2nd Mashup & ROW Goals<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today should be a Insecure Writers Support Group post. But I decided to make it just a Mashup and Goals like usual. Why you might ask? Because I wrote something separate for the IWSG. I realized that it needed to be separate, and it was a blog post all of its own, so check it out if you are into that kind of thing. Let's rock this Mashup and Goals peeps!<br />
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Scott Ashton made my week when I discovered his blog about Brandon Sanderson's creative writing class. Check it out at: "<a href="http://www.writeaboutdragons.com/home/" target="_blank">Write about Dragons</a>."<br />
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Ava Jae wrote about the challenge of Finishing in: "<a href="http://avajae.blogspot.com/2012/04/how-to-finish-writing-novel.html" target="_blank">How to Finish Writing a Novel</a>."<br />
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If you ever wanted to find out how many millionaires are paying in a lower tax bracket than you check out: "<a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/economy/buffett-rule" target="_blank">The Buffett Rule</a>."<br />
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Larry Correia shares a little about how ridiculous our administration can be in: "<a href="http://larrycorreia.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/freaking-ridiculous-child-labor-laws-coming-to-family-farms/" target="_blank">Freaking ridiculous, child labor laws coming to family farms</a>." (And if you want to read more go <a href="http://www.blogger.com/Rural%20kids,%20parents%20angry%20about%20Labor%20Dept.%20rule%20banning%20farm%20chores%20%20Read%20more:%20http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/25/rural-kids-parents-angry-about-labor-dept-rule-banning-farm-chores/#ixzz1tCjudvBq" target="_blank">here</a>.)<br />
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At Spirit of Ilithyia a story about the way birth is handled in this country, tune in at: "<a href="http://www.spiritofilithyia.com/blog/birth-years-impacts-birth-today/" target="_blank">How Birth One Hundred Years Ago Impacts Birth Today</a>."<br />
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Stephen Foster Jr. shares the thoughtfulness of a girls father and the sensitivity of a radio personality in: "<a href="http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/04/28/rape-away-the-gay/" target="_blank">Rape Away The Gay?</a>"<br />
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Martha Wells brings us back the past, so we can recognize the future in: "<a href="http://marthawells.livejournal.com/479995.html" target="_blank">Erasing Women</a>."<br />
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Bjorn Lomberg has great news telling us we have enough food to end world hunger, but we still need more in: "<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/copenhagen_consensus_2012/2012/04/copenhagen_consensus_which_of_these_three_ideas_to_end_hunger_is_the_best_.html" target="_blank">How To Get Food on Every Table</a>."<br />
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N.K. Jemisin talks about a topic I never knew came to pass in SSF (and I'm thrilled it did) in: "<a href="http://nkjemisin.com/2010/01/why-i-think-racefail-was-the-bestest-thing-evar-for-sff/" target="_blank">Why I Think RaceFail Was The Bestest Thing Evar for SFF</a>."<br />
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And Timothy Sexton wrote an article on similar topic in: "<a href="http://voices.yahoo.com/how-martin-luther-king-kept-lt-uhura-bridge-3775852.html" target="_blank">How Martin Luther King Kept Lt. Uhura on the Bridge of the Starship Enterprise</a>."<br />
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And for our laugh of the day I thought, let's watch Leonard Nimoy be lazy for a day. </div>
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<center style="text-align: left;">This week has been so much more productive than the last several. I'm so thankful for smaller goals. However as I was about to do a lot better, I had a friend in the National Guard take his own life. It kinda ruined the end of the week for me. Still here's a taste of what I accomplished in the last week.</center><center style="text-align: left;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">1. Finishing Chapter Two and starting Chapter Threeof "Crimes of the Umbramancer by next week.</center><center style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> I wanted to finish up Chapter Two, but unfortunately after the news I've become both depressed and busy. Hopefully I'll finish up this week, but we'll have to see what happens at this point.</center><center style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">2. Write seven thousand words per week. (Between blog & fiction.)</center><center style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> Well counting what I write on Twitter, Writing Group, my Scene, and getting a Blog Buffer, I have managed to get at least seven thousand in the last week. Which I'm very grateful for.</center><center style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">3. Exercise five times a week.</span></center><center style="text-align: left;"> The end of the week I didn't make running at all. Though I have managed to get a fair amount of walking in on Friday and Saturday, but it just doesn't get me the work out I need. Still working this goal.</center><center style="text-align: left;"><br /></center><center style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">4. Finishing up my school work from my last semester in College.</span></center><center style="text-align: left;"><div class="p1" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
Ever have a professor tell you how hard it is to get students to do work after the semester is over. It is true, because you have the multiple pressures of being in class, having friends with you, and most importantly, a grade that is hanging over you at the end. But remove that and you can find yourself floundering. I wonder if this is to all help me be a great college advisor? I've gone through pretty much every bad situation you can think of while I've been in school. Oh, but you didn't come here to listen to me complain.<br />
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Nothing got done this week (Thank God for a merciful teacher). And <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> is still kicking my butt. I'll get through it though.<br />
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5. Spending time everyday with a spiritual source.<br />
One of my cousin's gave me a little book called <i>Morning and Evening Daily Readings</i> by C.H. Spurgeon. Now I received this back around the time of my wife's grandfather's funeral, but I haven't read from it much at this point. But I picked it up thinking, it has some really good insights, and I haven't been disappointed yet. I've been reading since Saturday and it has given a shot in the arm to my spiritual walk.<br />
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6. Finishing homework from Group Therapy.<br />
I have a friend who has a motto in her home of "No Secrets." And I love this philosophy. But I also know that to keep such a rule you also must know how to keep certain knowledge within certain circles. It changes what you mean when you say that you trust somebody. So I thought I would test my own ability in following this rule and admit that I'm going to Group Therapy. It has been wonderful because they are helping me to get through some of the challenges of my childhood in an environment with other folks like me.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2D1tSV6JQUkPhPQoGEBHZzearCuRxHSeoy5SYhGV49qb99P9OnqFg0X17bsTGX1cdh7Pkq_z7frMOo1o5eWb7L0tuPdggN6gFUIPwP6yFPej_mif15uRQN-UrPKqyjffweAlpcgQcKg/s1600/ROW80Logocopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2D1tSV6JQUkPhPQoGEBHZzearCuRxHSeoy5SYhGV49qb99P9OnqFg0X17bsTGX1cdh7Pkq_z7frMOo1o5eWb7L0tuPdggN6gFUIPwP6yFPej_mif15uRQN-UrPKqyjffweAlpcgQcKg/s200/ROW80Logocopy.jpg" width="100" /></a>Well that's everything for Goals for ROW80. If you are interested check out the sister post to this blog for the <a href="http://the1stog.blogspot.com/2012/05/iwsg-self-trust-and-voice.html" target="_blank">Insecure Writers Support Group</a>. I'm Jayrod Garrett, the First OG and here is the ROW80 <a href="http://www.linkytools.com/wordpress_list.aspx?id=138366&type=basic" target="_blank">bloghop</a>. Look it up, comment, or join us. There aren't any cookies, but there is certainly a lot of love, growth, and thoughtfulness in our community. Peace peeps!</div>
</center></div>Jayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.com10Ogden, UT, USA41.223 -111.973830441.1752275 -112.0527944 41.2707725 -111.8948664tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8255329229751420925.post-30291684517395184792012-04-30T00:00:00.000-06:002012-04-30T01:24:21.200-06:00Black, White, and Rainbow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieedd3KLXxkS0FS6Sig0BaVLq6bJs4SDOzZfPy0nFMuYv1nyflhBjdYbRbKuku3wvdlzWQUDbBSYlV_qFDmV0ReyNKstfK1t96fjLyKNmaKEXdnOyxvIMOIb_HNuaZd2EhBIsJGm9bCJw/s1600/Black+vs+white.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieedd3KLXxkS0FS6Sig0BaVLq6bJs4SDOzZfPy0nFMuYv1nyflhBjdYbRbKuku3wvdlzWQUDbBSYlV_qFDmV0ReyNKstfK1t96fjLyKNmaKEXdnOyxvIMOIb_HNuaZd2EhBIsJGm9bCJw/s400/Black+vs+white.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Yet it often is. From the time I was a child, I was taught to think in terms of black and white. To steal was a sin, to lie was a sin, and to kill was a sin. Yet as an adult I learned:</div>
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<li>That stealing was okay as long as it was ideas (All collegiate essays require you to cite your source material).</li>
<li>That lying was okay to preserve peoples feelings (Does this dress make me look fat? Answer yes, and watch what happens).</li>
<li>And killing was fine when the government mandated it (How many have died due to the death penalty or war?).</li>
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Perhaps we teach children in black and white, because its easier, but unfortunately too many of those black and white ideas follow us into adulthood. And we begin basing the world around the black and white fallacy.</div>
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Take a step back and think about this as if you were a child: Jimmy takes Timmy's lunch money. Some of us might teach our children Jimmy is bad because he takes Timmy's lunch money. As a child this is as far as we will take the logic. Truth is that Jimmy takes Timmy's lunch money because his Dad spends all their money gambling. And when Dad spends the money Jimmy's Mom gets drunk and hits him. So he's only doing what he's being taught at home. So where is Jimmy spending the money? To buy something for dinner before he gets home, because if he comes home with money, it will be taken. Both Jimmy and Timmy in this case are being taught to think in terms of black and white. Timmy is learning stealing is wrong and that it isn't right for the strong to pick on the weak. Jimmy has been trained that life is about strength, and the strong take what they can to survive. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOwPclvhTQH24LhZWSq6mb8zCU8RI1EmarFE4Q7cJAyZEzyC8blVbE3gdGEXeF_Ci-DedoxXZ8er_MPNu7MKMdDh9Q1_rTPzw8dYZmp6PATpKm9ixEXjpyfp4RDuyqKgs4shELc8GtQIQ/s1600/false-dichotomy-t-shirt_design.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOwPclvhTQH24LhZWSq6mb8zCU8RI1EmarFE4Q7cJAyZEzyC8blVbE3gdGEXeF_Ci-DedoxXZ8er_MPNu7MKMdDh9Q1_rTPzw8dYZmp6PATpKm9ixEXjpyfp4RDuyqKgs4shELc8GtQIQ/s200/false-dichotomy-t-shirt_design.png" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a>This kind of thinking is called black or white fallacy or a false dichotomy. Where two alternative states are presented as the only possibilities, when in fact more possibilities exist. And lots of people suffer from it from those who suffer from Borderline Personality to a person dealing with Depression. In politics you can watch this kind of thinking taking place on a national scale and Americans rush to take sides. It even invade our speech when we think about ethnicity. White is associated with being cultured and educated. When a hispanic or a black man are either they are called white. Violence, drugs, and gangs are all associated with young hispanic or black men. Its a little frightening when you really think about it.</div>
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The commonly accepted view seems to tilt towards white, grey, and black thinking. Because most situations are not black or white and rather are someplace in between. Like the question of whether we should raise taxes for millionaires. Some folks feel that when someone earns their keep they should be able to use it as they wish. Others feel that if they have excess they should give it away to those who have less. This question isn't that simple though, because there are millionaires who give to charity yearly for the purposes of the tax breaks. So they are already supporting those with less. Should they be required to give even more? <a href="http://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/2012/01/25/bill-gates-says-higher-taxes-on-wealthy-is-justice/" target="_blank">Bill Gates says yes</a>. Others say no. This isn't a yes or no question, but rather one that doesn't lend itself to any easy answers. But too often we want easy answers.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtwBnrxw0N0siDIY9fwwlrSEss4JL19sDQtpcP8lENKDM3kfkZbKCteuoVoNteLG5Mkmkft3j4vNlTe3TlP11vl5W7fAs_AXojGViXHMXNr34O7QXNM0gChvX1jiwWvHSRhIH1_eUF148/s1600/Pregnant+Asian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtwBnrxw0N0siDIY9fwwlrSEss4JL19sDQtpcP8lENKDM3kfkZbKCteuoVoNteLG5Mkmkft3j4vNlTe3TlP11vl5W7fAs_AXojGViXHMXNr34O7QXNM0gChvX1jiwWvHSRhIH1_eUF148/s1600/Pregnant+Asian.jpg" /></a>And even among those who think in terms of white, grey, and black it tends to be difficult. A pregnant teen faces how people really think too often. She just wanted to prove to her boyfriend she loved him. Does that make her bad? And if she isn't bad, why does her father call her a slut and refuse to help her? Why does the boy tell her she meant nothing to him and he won't support the child? Why do the same people who fight against her aborting the child also fight the agencies that want to help her keep the child? And if she chooses to keep the child why won't anyone employ her? Some Christians will tell her that her child will be born in sin without a father. Other people will tell her she's a bad Mom, because she's not doing enough to find a way to support her child. And all this while she has no emotional support, no financial support, or friends to help her out. She has been painted black and it was all from a few hours of fun. But is that the truth? Is that right? And in all this have any of these people actually thought about the child in her womb? Of course you have, you thought: Hey put the child up for adoption! Which would be a viable option out of a lot of the troubles she's facing, but at this point she might not have the support to even make that choice. And that's a scary part of the society we live in. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_NVsc5lqbI_2qR05u6Y5o0wbn7BztmXGcGPFpxLeX5FxXEeNBRwrMqtUFFWIsUYtTg_8UXl5oF1RhxP3X4OP8kM-KR2HE2z6IbSH2P_mkkIdPavJmvGFZ1fHFDZMyTLFO9e9kn6svZJw/s1600/Religions+of+the+World.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_NVsc5lqbI_2qR05u6Y5o0wbn7BztmXGcGPFpxLeX5FxXEeNBRwrMqtUFFWIsUYtTg_8UXl5oF1RhxP3X4OP8kM-KR2HE2z6IbSH2P_mkkIdPavJmvGFZ1fHFDZMyTLFO9e9kn6svZJw/s200/Religions+of+the+World.jpg" width="197" /></a><br />
Perhaps what is most troubling when we carry this white, black , and grey thinking into religion. There are Christians out there who think that the only way to God is through Christianity. Muslims that believe the only law is Sharia Law. And Jews who believe both are terribly misguided. But where does that leave the Taoist, the Buddhist, and the Atheist? Are they wicked because they believe differently? I think these are questions that the grey area doesn't adequately cover. We should have a means of being able to recognize each other for who we are, separate the choices a person has made from that, and work to make the lives for all human life better. And I think that particular thought process is best compared to a prism.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiCKMsnJLv3JtPzne9Sn7piCK5vA5kRITD4znJw-cTEaRiP3tO2aCE4qhB2WMJT__ojasB3JLLLeHPvthlicageQB94VV58gDYwStOV5eOnU5EQqBjR3-vs2OLQF1YIin1LvjsECRWc4U/s1600/white-light-dispersion.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiCKMsnJLv3JtPzne9Sn7piCK5vA5kRITD4znJw-cTEaRiP3tO2aCE4qhB2WMJT__ojasB3JLLLeHPvthlicageQB94VV58gDYwStOV5eOnU5EQqBjR3-vs2OLQF1YIin1LvjsECRWc4U/s320/white-light-dispersion.jpeg" width="320" /></a>The white light that is reality comes into the prism. And for some of us what we perceive as one color of the spectrum another person will see differently, however we are able to keep in mind that it all comes from the same ultimate source. Some folks may say that source is God. Others science. I call it life. And with life I can paint a picture of stunning beauty or terrible cruelty.<br />
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I had a teacher who was fond of saying, "There is only one race: The Human Race." I agree with him. We don't live in a black and white world. And what is grey to you might be black to another person. But when we see each other as critical parts of a whole, the black and white thinking perishes and we begin thinking of our families, our communities, and our world in different ways. I love every color of the spectrum, and there is a need for each of us. The Jimmys and Timmys and unwed teens alike. We are all going to make mistakes according to the culture we live in and the rules it binds us by, but we do not have to see the world in black, white, and grey. It is full of color, both in morality and ethnicity.<br />
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Whew! That was a challenging one. Thanks for hanging with me to the end. On Wednesday I'll tackle both goals and the IWSG. I'm Jayrod Garrett, the First OG and I just want to know:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3WbDwmdc4DBHD2Ej4wPZCdvYugqRrr-5L-5fs7YdpHKsTfVR-bIKB8NkiJl6DzTmBNEooWQN5PxewKqwBzXH21Dif9teBpdhDGdcHltHk3LbHXbRcs_h7Bec054kdlOVAxGUa53GIBIU/s1600/Black+and+White+and+Grey.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3WbDwmdc4DBHD2Ej4wPZCdvYugqRrr-5L-5fs7YdpHKsTfVR-bIKB8NkiJl6DzTmBNEooWQN5PxewKqwBzXH21Dif9teBpdhDGdcHltHk3LbHXbRcs_h7Bec054kdlOVAxGUa53GIBIU/s200/Black+and+White+and+Grey.jpeg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcJzPqLRtw8m5tK9PU4ssDguP_L2XnDSff1GASdiUPk3XQ9fylrzQJVnaxJ7jKpO0kkrp3m51BLB31RNepl090LrIGZ7J39OnIBuEPxm1ws7jsuMT5Uv01_Xy-ABpzhQnEXOVJNzXtbsw/s1600/Rainbow_Ocean__by_Thelma1-300x225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcJzPqLRtw8m5tK9PU4ssDguP_L2XnDSff1GASdiUPk3XQ9fylrzQJVnaxJ7jKpO0kkrp3m51BLB31RNepl090LrIGZ7J39OnIBuEPxm1ws7jsuMT5Uv01_Xy-ABpzhQnEXOVJNzXtbsw/s200/Rainbow_Ocean__by_Thelma1-300x225.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Which do you prefer? Black, White, and Grey or The Color Spectrum?</div>
</div>Jayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.com8Ogden, UT, USA41.223 -111.973830441.1752365 -112.0527944 41.2707635 -111.8948664tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8255329229751420925.post-53642545607776842012-04-27T10:00:00.000-06:002012-04-27T10:32:55.728-06:00Faces of Manipulation: Abuse the Generational Destroyer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjROLJxHMmPRmIDlGelJmEV02jkpUrXaU_OxQmNrF7-vKWz97Q7euOzBtcZOnWw8ji1PR4mMVmE0FwM3HZgzCPjWfPGOqCsxJhpA8fx70-UW-NEN89Ell1FwfJLFxRs4hQrkQx4LAVZdnI/s1600/Abuse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjROLJxHMmPRmIDlGelJmEV02jkpUrXaU_OxQmNrF7-vKWz97Q7euOzBtcZOnWw8ji1PR4mMVmE0FwM3HZgzCPjWfPGOqCsxJhpA8fx70-UW-NEN89Ell1FwfJLFxRs4hQrkQx4LAVZdnI/s400/Abuse.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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We hear a lot about abuse in our society today. There is both outrage that we allow it to go on in our society, and that people would allow these things to happen to them. I find this curious though because too few people have even an idea of how abuse starts. So today lets reveal some of the patterns of Generational Abuse, and I see no better place to start than in the current Presidential Election between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimHjtVOp0UAMFOVUxiAe6I-8MvjoyVRNhw6wm6UyZh5-LeQMzJMPbOkIPOZX-vCxNlu473bzreJ2XbLiaHdDYIOWepFrlWAG3r7BmmOkg7hm6bF0l7ZPOCK3-rSLqd28g6MUsVjjTzio8/s1600/romney-crop.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimHjtVOp0UAMFOVUxiAe6I-8MvjoyVRNhw6wm6UyZh5-LeQMzJMPbOkIPOZX-vCxNlu473bzreJ2XbLiaHdDYIOWepFrlWAG3r7BmmOkg7hm6bF0l7ZPOCK3-rSLqd28g6MUsVjjTzio8/s200/romney-crop.png" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj_aPnEES6HrDGw3-tJu_Yb3ZzbjZJ6t6PzkceLanIm_xFcNuTU-UQf3LInaheUYJso0N74_g3hSO1CLNYanaG_L4tYbnkwGFtU2i49DUcoz1HP8xAWRqgHpLtdhSiaBLUCl9d6PHa5oM/s1600/220px-Official_portrait_of_Barack_Obama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj_aPnEES6HrDGw3-tJu_Yb3ZzbjZJ6t6PzkceLanIm_xFcNuTU-UQf3LInaheUYJso0N74_g3hSO1CLNYanaG_L4tYbnkwGFtU2i49DUcoz1HP8xAWRqgHpLtdhSiaBLUCl9d6PHa5oM/s200/220px-Official_portrait_of_Barack_Obama.jpg" width="147" /></a>I think both of these men are good people. I think they both have the best interests of America at hand. But I find it interesting that when you hear their campaigns, they both have to wreck the reputation of the other because "that's how the game is played." I've seen so many things about Mitt Romney being a flip-flopper and how he cannot stay consistent on any political subject there is for long. I've also seen a lot of propaganda about how Obama has destroyed the economy of the United States. And you hear about the negative so often that if there is any good, it is overshadowed by negative and hence you cause people to become disillusioned to the good of voting, the entire race for President becomes a popularity contest, and men who should be friends and colleagues working towards the best future for America, become bitter rivals who leave trails of discontent and shame in their wake.</div>
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But it doesn't stop there. Then we the people step in and add our own two cents to everything. From folks looking for ways to make Obama a Muslim and why Romney isn't a Christian. Because they are threats to what we as people most value. And in my opinion, what we value most my friends is power.</div>
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Anyone entrusted with power will abuse it if not also animated</div>
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with the love of truth and virtue, no matter whether he be a prince,</div>
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or one of the people. - Jean de La Fontaine, French Poet</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfhlh167e3vKRbj0d5jkvPU0I4FDUaCIHbId2IfLByl7ETfQmyubSkAvxeBMbeJp1gp3eZAOwg5QLPjD9vqEDmHnM3HSnpyhxsIVtD8MbIl9FS6iE0FYui9hE1gpxN4K3UpqoSZP4HjFM/s1600/Child+Abuse+%2528Verbal%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfhlh167e3vKRbj0d5jkvPU0I4FDUaCIHbId2IfLByl7ETfQmyubSkAvxeBMbeJp1gp3eZAOwg5QLPjD9vqEDmHnM3HSnpyhxsIVtD8MbIl9FS6iE0FYui9hE1gpxN4K3UpqoSZP4HjFM/s320/Child+Abuse+%2528Verbal%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
When it comes to abuse of any kind it is all about power. Think about it. When a person gets so frustrated at their baby that they shake them violently it is a power struggle. A newborn can make an adult feel helpless because they are so dependent on the adult for everything. And in the cultures where folks say it is wrong to leave your newborn with someone else so you get a break it gets particularly difficult. And when that child has cried for hours upon end and it isn't because they are sleepy, hungry, wet, cold, too warm or anything else you can do something about it is enough to break a person. So when a parent shakes their child, how empowered must they feel when that silences their child? The pattern repeats because they have found a way to quiet the child, and empower themselves. Similar empowerment could have been achieved with finding a good friend to watch the child, but some of us just don't have friends who are that good.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWSym6vxzNJEBN5QaPrB6MMQJkw_4wAYvw6d7SHhZoAgKQTkY6yGfxlNXEqhQUAaquexqnRm0CysMrOF5gVucTQ1NYtJ3jbS0CKR3xjsHIGhxipkUk0__HCx-TKjlr9sbjHZ1Ur_bGII/s1600/Cycle+of+Abuse.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWSym6vxzNJEBN5QaPrB6MMQJkw_4wAYvw6d7SHhZoAgKQTkY6yGfxlNXEqhQUAaquexqnRm0CysMrOF5gVucTQ1NYtJ3jbS0CKR3xjsHIGhxipkUk0__HCx-TKjlr9sbjHZ1Ur_bGII/s320/Cycle+of+Abuse.png" width="320" /></a>But this doesn't just happen to children. It happens in domestic partnerships (whether couples live together or get married) frequently also. For example with a man who beats his wife, he usually is angry about something. Usually it has to do with him, but he takes it out on her because it is easier. So as he gets angrier about his own mistakes his tension builds. Finally he gets so angry that he hits her. He beats her until he's released all the tension that's within. When she tries to get away it makes him angry because without her he can't release that tension. Later he'll tell her how sorry he is for doing it and he'll even give her a gift of some sort to try and make it up to her and then things will be alright for a little while. Until he gets overwhelmingly angry again. Usually we think the man in this situation is a terrible person and we blame him for everything, but lets be honest. He's a victim caught in a cycle which is a lot larger than he is. This pattern of abuse has been in his family for generations already. According to this <a href="http://lawblog.legalmatch.com/2009/04/22/over-one-fourth-of-domestic-violence-incidents-go-unreported/" target="_blank">source</a> one fourth of domestic abuse goes unreported. And before OJ Simpson how much went unreported? And reporting it to the police doesn't even mean they can do anything in a lot of cases. Because if the judge throws it out or the abuser is released from jail the next day, doesn't that just mean they are walking back into that home more angry? And more angry means the beating lasts longer and is more severe. Or that he needs to find other outlets for this anger, such as his children.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU0bUUds3rNNhXnyD3lplv45Z9IDdGo0YRCUMhBzdy1_aS8HAaMOYZF4t-MMEWJOWX7nzaN9KhvHbHCCoN6Ilg0x5G2nt9acnFHep2BGu-BrHl7IUr0RCMwS6SrYDPMMfFSSiTWjo7ak0/s1600/Harry+Potter+Cupboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU0bUUds3rNNhXnyD3lplv45Z9IDdGo0YRCUMhBzdy1_aS8HAaMOYZF4t-MMEWJOWX7nzaN9KhvHbHCCoN6Ilg0x5G2nt9acnFHep2BGu-BrHl7IUr0RCMwS6SrYDPMMfFSSiTWjo7ak0/s1600/Harry+Potter+Cupboard.jpg" /></a>And in all of this most men who are perpetrating this crime are victims of such abuse themselves. The kids like Harry Potter who turn out superbly well adjusted despite their abuse are remarkably rare. I wish I were one of them myself. But I'm not. But I don't hold that against the person who hurt me. They are a victim in this cycle just the same as I am. The difference between us is I no longer choose to be a victim. I reject that label and the cycle that comes with it. Like Harry Potter, I am a cycle breaker. </div>
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I didn't even know I was perpetuating the cycle, until recently. Even when you aren't trying to be abusive by hitting someone, or calling them names, the tones you use and the words you choose can send messages loud and clear that will be interpreted as "hurtful and cruel." And when I realized it I felt like I was less than the ants that people stepped on. For me this is another effect of my own abuse, because the voices of my childhood still affect me daily.<br />
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Cycle breaking is hard. It requires a different strength than it required for you to deal with the abuse. Because you have change everything you learned before. Never say a woman or a child isn't strong because of the abuse they've dealt with, actually they are very strong. But that strength has to be developed in different ways to silence the voices of their abusers in their head. I'm in group therapy right now to share my story in an environment I can trust and build that new strength. And God-willing I'll be able help others one day. Because the power I care about is Love, Truth, and Virtue.<br />
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This is not my mission alone however. Everyone of us can do something to break the cycles of abuse. It starts with learning about abuse. Why abusers do what they do, why the victims feel the way they feel, and how to get each the help they need to break their cycles. Because we all need help to break our vicious cycles and begin new virtuous cycles. And though it is hard, it is worth it to no longer carry the chains of generational abuse anymore.<br />
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Thanks for reading today. On Monday I hope to address the various ways people in the world think. And have a few more blogs in the buffer so that this will be much more efficient. Until then I'm Jayrod Garrett, the First OG with a question for you:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXhAK4GnDR3IHQrxs4jnHlkQ-EZrx-TJr6K4760LL4R3kF_J2UBiMRK15fX8NH_A9vlDL0E5jMiFV4iBetGvLn5eeuhtjVAYrFwPQMNhKAO-YPg9HJ7W_bhJ7Ch8oEIHMEyZcjGQb3-kM/s1600/Antwone-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXhAK4GnDR3IHQrxs4jnHlkQ-EZrx-TJr6K4760LL4R3kF_J2UBiMRK15fX8NH_A9vlDL0E5jMiFV4iBetGvLn5eeuhtjVAYrFwPQMNhKAO-YPg9HJ7W_bhJ7Ch8oEIHMEyZcjGQb3-kM/s200/Antwone-6.jpg" width="150" /></a></td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg66RhHYPDd_n29RHnUIUGca8QKD3wlbhtMN6-HzzUCczWi9XuDkLHt-QgqEANHztWUmVMixuxfijxTOzcMmQeXwrZGxzw_ejvTVcfzU5lj3ToIfGznCnbAYSANwQ-jXxnR7XMMQR7mn3E/s1600/Joyce-Meyer-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg66RhHYPDd_n29RHnUIUGca8QKD3wlbhtMN6-HzzUCczWi9XuDkLHt-QgqEANHztWUmVMixuxfijxTOzcMmQeXwrZGxzw_ejvTVcfzU5lj3ToIfGznCnbAYSANwQ-jXxnR7XMMQR7mn3E/s200/Joyce-Meyer-5.jpg" width="200" /></a></td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihxKIjCx4XMFUyLYRPbBKBfavmbmKSklHBWxBKF8i5y7D_SqGBQK-wQMTjV3NDTL3NhyphenhyphenWYjle1klwkgNmOEA7f9CKqfey_dk42Cvy0d_0ufq2tm-sUOHob69-DoMZsH2UyFPzKzevS9Xw/s1600/Carlos+Santana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihxKIjCx4XMFUyLYRPbBKBfavmbmKSklHBWxBKF8i5y7D_SqGBQK-wQMTjV3NDTL3NhyphenhyphenWYjle1klwkgNmOEA7f9CKqfey_dk42Cvy0d_0ufq2tm-sUOHob69-DoMZsH2UyFPzKzevS9Xw/s200/Carlos+Santana.jpg" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://articles.cnn.com/2003-01-10/entertainment/fisher_1_child-abuse-fisher-reports-film?_s=PM:SHOWBIZ" target="_blank">Antwone Fisher</a></td><td><a href="http://www.joycemeyer.org/articles/ea.aspx?article=abuse_and_the_miracle_of_recovery" target="_blank">Joyce Meyer</a></td><td><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-3475_162-163190.html" target="_blank">Carlos Santana</a></td></tr>
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Are you a cycle breaker?</div>Jayrod P. Garretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856869742909290300noreply@blogger.com8Ogden, UT, USA41.223 -111.973830441.1752365 -112.0527944 41.2707635 -111.8948664