War Post: Feb 29, 2012 and the Weekly Mashup

Well folks, in the Writing War it is Mashup Wednesday and I have had the blessing of being by a ton of great blogs this week.  Hopefully in your journeys to become better authors some of these will be helpful to you.  And if during your week you see anything awesome feel free to send it to me so I can include it here!  Thanks so much!

Miss Bennett asks the question of the century in: "Should your author blog be about writing?"

Paul Goat Allen writes about exploring diversity in: "Neo-Retro: Saladin Ahmed's Stellar Debut Novel is New 'Old School' Sword and Sorcery."

Angela fulfills our deepest needs as human beings in: "Lessons in Storytelling– I need you."

Jason shares with us a bittersweet evocative of why we make art in: "A Foreign Concept."

Debbie while boiling rice gives great writing advice in: "Six free tools to help you write your best novel ever."

Krys Lee reminds us of how insensitive we can be to each other in: "Should we still be using the term 'Ethnic Literature.'"

L.A Christensen shares about the mysteries of the writing universe in: "Alpha Reading."

io9 introduces us to perhaps the most important video game for Science Fiction ever in: "Why Mass Effect is the most important science fiction universe of our generation."

Marji Laine explains the pros and cons of blogging platforms in: "Blogger vs. Wordpress."

This will be posted on my blog permanently, Samuel Delany on: "Racism and Science Fiction."

I really loved reading Samuel's essay particularly because I haven't read him before.  I find myself feeling behind in reading ethnic literature because of where I have lived, but I'm trying to make up for that now.  Hopefully my efforts will be seen as enough.  As for my writing goals for this war post, here we are.

1. Finishing Draft Two of "Crimes of the Umbramancer" by the 30th of April.

     Okay I'll be honest, I haven't gotten much actual writing done on Crimes.  At a third of the way through I've done a lot of work on my outline.  It is still skeletal to anyone who would look at it, and it seems like the various things I have going on in it are spaced way out.   But I now know the entire outline of the story and I'm really thrilled to be working on it.  I suspect that as I continue through the story that there will be more done to the outline so by the end I'll not only know how I write a novel, but specifically how I outline a novel too.

2. Comment on ten blogs in ROW80:

     I've barely started for this week.  I've seen so many blogs lately and blogged so much lately that I haven't had a lot of time to work on my writing.  I'm really struggling here and trying to figure out what I should do here.  If anyone has any suggestions please feel free to offer them in the comments.

3. Walking at least a mile five times a week.

     Still failing, still keeping.  This one will change eventually trust me.

4. Building a new blog for my diversity issue.

   I think this is going well.  I would love more followers still and comments, but I'm starting to think Marji has a point about Wordpress.  I've heard from so many folks who I've talked with all this about that they have a difficult time posting on my blog.  And that by itself bothers me.  I'm wondering if I can keep an identical blog on Wordpress and then both communities would be able to hear from me.  I don't know right now, just bouncing ideas around.
5. Going back to my writing ritual.
   Still not been reading from the scriptures before my writing too often, but if I can get into a schedule in this next week perhaps that will change.  We'll see what happens.

Tomorrow the month is over and so will my first giveaway for N.K. Jemisin's book, "The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms."  And for every person who leaves a comment I'm putting your name into a hat for an opportunity to win a book by N.K. Jemisin called "The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms."  Mind you it is the first in a Trilogy and each book in the Trilogy has been nominated for a Nebula Award!  I'm super excited to give three copies of this book away and been thrilled with all the folks who've commented thus far!  If you have more to say, please comment again and get your name in the hat more than once!  On Friday's post I plan on sharing who the lucky winners are!  Whoo hoo!


As always, my name is Jayrod Garrett and I am the First OG.  Okay honestly, what do you think is better:

Wordpress or Blogger?

The Culture Blogs: Shades of Brown (Part 1 of 3)

Bronze, Burnt Umber, Chamoisee, Chestnut, Mahogany, Ochre, Russet, Sepia, Sienna, and Tan are only a smattering of the various shades of brown that exist.  Some of them warm browns and other cold.  Some of them dark and others light.  But they are all brown, and they are all colors that one could use to describe the various hues of the black men below.

This week I wanted to start a short series of blogs on black men.  After hearing so many friends tell me that I'm "the whitest black guy they've ever met" I decided that it was time to educate folks as the various shades of black men there are.  Following are famous black men, with a little of their biographies, achievements and how I see them in the world we have today.

Wyclef Jean

My wife introduced me to Wyclef Jean.  Before I met her I had no idea who this intriguing man was.  Because I didn't listen to a lot of hip hop or rap I missed him.  Perhaps it is because he appears also to fulfill some of the common stereotypes concerning black men.  He looks a like a gangster with all the red he's wearing and the chain too.  But it was when I listened to a song of his that nearly brought me to tears, that I recognized him as more.  It is called Ghetto Religion.  I would share with you a small bit of the lyrics here.

The Ghetto is a part of my religion,
The only thing my eyes can see,
There ain't no man gonna stop the vision,
The Ghetto is a part of me.

It hit home not because I live in a Ghetto, but because everyone around me thinks that Ogden, my hometown, is a Ghetto.  It is a part of my soul.  Just like his homeland of Haiti is a part of his soul.  He ran a charity to make his homeland better and later ran to be President of Haiti back in 2010, all because of his love for his homeland.  He didn't make it, but he's an example of a black man who found success.

Will Smith

Okay, I'll be honest.  I want to be like Will Smith.  He's amazing.  As a young man I wanted to be able to act, sing, and dance.  Unfortunately, I was only blessed with a voice.  But he was a triple threat from the beginning.  To top that all off he's athletic, ripped even.  I couldn't ever compare to this man (in his strengths at least).   But he and I share a gripe about the world.  He's also considered by folks to just not be black enough.  In the song I wish I made that he describes the fact that even though he does great in the movies, for some reason they don't play his music in the clubs.  He hits the simple stereotypes that folks think about black people either needing to steal, do drugs, or shoot people to be black enough.  And the sad part is, he's right.  Often times we define blackness by the violence they speak with, and the violence they live by.  Personally I think this is the new relic of racism that we have given birth to in this country, because when black men started to show the kind of talent they had, our culture unfortunately labeled them as being white attributes.  And we as black folks well we let our culture be redefined by violence instead of the integrity of our families, and the love of our communities.  However I am proud to be "white" like Will Smith.  Strangely, nothing could make me happier.

Kirk Franklin

When I was growing up we listened to a lot of black gospel music.  It was part of the heritage that folks that have known me throughout my life have never been very aware of (even though I often walk around singing the songs of my youth).  One of the artists I came to know back then was Kirk Franklin.  He's cut from the same pattern of blackhood that produced Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, that of following after God.  This is the pattern that so many of my friends are unaware of, that I follow after.  For those who doubt whether or not this is a part of black culture just google "Black Gospel."
I relate with Kirk more than most of the other men you will find in this series, because his life is so much like my own.  One of my favorite songs Let it Go expresses this best, because there is not a line of that song that I can't relate with.  He is an example for black men everywhere as for what it means to rise above the poor choices one makes to become a fine human being.


Each of these men is a musician.  Each of them is a family man.  Each of them fight against the stereotypes that are thrown at black men for what some of their generation has chosen to do.  They remember their roots in Rosa Parks, Dr. King, and Malcolm X.  And every one of them is aware of the sacrifices made for them to have freedom in this country to day.  Yet one is a politician, the other an actor, and the last a holy man.  That is the reality of culture.  Every culture is the quilt of the individual patterns of its members.

And even when you look at the young people who are rebelling, it is the very fact that we have achieved our freedom and are not fighting everyday to make things better that our young people have forgotten the sacrifices of their forefathers.  And in some cases the violence of gangs has to do with providing for or taking care of your family.  As we will likely touch upon in the next segment of this blog.

Another amazing black person is Nora K. Jemisin.  I've been promoting her book about half the month on my blog and I'm really sorry that the month is coming to a close.  She's deserving of far more praise than I can share about her.  And because I want to continue this conversation with you in the comments I'm offering three lucky commenters on my blog a copy of her book, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.  It is the first of a trilogy she's written (and every last book in the trilogy has been nominated for a Nebula Award).  On Thursday morning I am putting all the names of those who have commented on this blog into a hat (more than once if you commented more than once) and choosing three blessed souls to send a paperback copy of her book to.  So this is pretty much your last opportunity to comment before I have the drawing.  And I'd love to hear from you.

Aloha, my name is Jayrod Garrett, and I'm the First OG.  And how do you define black culture?

War Post: 26 Feb, 2012 & Fight of Gratitude

The sea breeze in your hair, smell of salt in the air, and the warm water in your Ecco shoes squishing between your toes makes you want to jump in.  Sprinting forward you leap into the water only to land face first in the wet sand.

As you crawl back on your knees you realize each of your wrists is bound by a bloody metal chain.  While wondering where they came from, you tug on the ends to discover they are attached to huge cement pillars rooted in the sand.

Furious you begin fighting against the chains pulling at them with all your might.  Yanking on one or the other to get the pillar to move; standing between the pair trying to muscle your way forward; and even trying to push or pull the pillars closer together to get you a little closer.  But all is in vain, you're tired, bleeding, and hopeless.  To be so close to the ocean, which has been your dream since you were a child and to be denied it is more than just frustrating.  It is a crazymaker which causes you to fight relentlessly, until there is nothing left.

Falling to your knees in the surf you hope that the tide will come in further, but as you wait it drifts further and further away.  "Come back!" you cry, cupping what little is left in your hands, but watching as it drains between your fingers.  This can't be happening.  You crawl a little further where your hands and knees are just barely in the surf.  The gentle embrace of the water is enough to bring you to tears and you find yourself sobbing moments later.

Between the tears you remove your shoes and stand in the ebbing water leaning forward.  And as your tears join their great mother, you think that even being able to be close to your dream means something.  And your heart swells with pride as you watch the last of the tide ebb away from you and you are left chained and alone on the beach.

Anger rears itself again, but you are too tired to give it life.  And though you are sad, the overwhelming emotion you possess is gratitude for the opportunity to witness the grandeur of the ocean.  In your minds eye you can see the storms and the calms, the ebb and the flow, and you remember that it will be back.  And for a moment you can see the birds in the distance, the sweep of the ocean against the backdrop of the evening firesky, and the other people swimming in the water.  They look so happy and you wish with all your might you could be like them.  "Help me!" you cry, and a petite woman turns to make her way towards you.

As she approaches you notice her wrists are heavily scarred.  She smiles at you.  "Keep fighting.  It's the only way you'll have the strength to swim among us.  The tide is too strong otherwise."  And with that she turned and jumped into the water again.

Realizing your dream was still at hand, tears of gratitude continue to pelt the sand as you look around and notice all around you on the beach are others struggling towards the ocean with their pillars.  Some far away, and others even closers than you, but all fighting towards one goal one purpose.  To live life engulfed by the tides of the ocean.  And you return to your struggle, grateful that you are closer than you ever were before.

*     *     *

Photo curtesy of Honikum

An hour or two ago I was going to write a post about how hard this past week was.  About how I felt so frustrated at the fact that I accomplished nearly nothing.  And I even went on the internet to find a picture to share how I felt.  My wife found this picture and I felt the need to write about it.  Not a few minutes later, or a few days, but right NOW.

I am so profoundly grateful for the opportunity to be fighting to join the community of authors and writers.  I struggle frequently with my writing, I have frustrations, fears, and difficulties constantly with it.  But I love writing.  I love the power of the written word to express emotion and truth.  I enjoy grappling with the difficult issues of our society revealing them in different lights and thinking about what that says about us.  And sometimes when my anger and my fears gets the best of me I forget why I'm in this fight.  I am not here to get published, but read.

If I wanted to be published, I could spend the money to get the ISBN number on something I've written and share the copies with friends who I don't expect to ever read it.  But that isn't enough for me.  I write for the mastery of the language and the opportunity to share my deepest feelings with others.  I write to share what I think is an important message with others and bring solace to folks around me.  I write because I am called to it the way a prophet is called to teach, the way a good teacher is called to teach, and the way men are called to be fathers.  I am called because I chose it, and I feel that power alive in my fingertips that says it chose me.  So this week, I'm revamping my goals.  Last week was a bust, because my life felt like it came apart at the seams.  But I've learned from my many friends (some writers, others family) some of whom are writing now, I've not even begun to fight.  Here are the goals of my fight:

1. Finishing Draft Two of "Crimes of the Umbramancer" by the 30th of April.

     I needed to do this for a long time.  I only set half hearted goals before.  The scene goal wouldn't have worked during NaNoWriMo and it won't work now.  I need to instead focus on big picture.  And that means when do I want to be done with this draft.  I realize the 30th of April is well into the next round, but that was the right date for the goal.  I'll update on how much I've finished from now on in this space.

2. Comment on ten blogs in ROW80:

     Done!  I barely made it this week.  Pretty much focused on the new job and my scenes.  And the fact that my world felt like it came unhinged Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  Thanks to wonderful friends and my wife it is back on its hinges again.

3. Walking at least a mile five times a week.

     Still failing, still keeping.  This one will change eventually trust me.

4. Building a new blog for my diversity issue.

   Still working on the ideas for the diversity part of this blog.  Kristen Lamb suggested I get a list of 100 before I started... So that's not going to happen.  Much of what I see I interpret into something that can be used for the blog.  Culture is a very wide umbrella, and I don't plan on always focusing on ethnic cultures, sometimes it will be technological cultures, or sociological cultures, but always culture and how to better understand it both as readers and writers will be prevalent here.
5. Going back to my writing ritual.
   Obviously I haven't been good at my writing ritual this past week.  I am going to continue to work on it and hopefully I'll find a specific time to sit down and do most of my writing each day.  I'm better learning how to balance my time, so I think I'll be there soon.

As the month is rolling to a close feel free to leave a comment.  Cause for every person who leave a comment I'm putting your name into a hat for an opportunity to win a book by N.K. Jemisin called "The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms."  Mind you it is the first in a Trilogy and each book in the Trilogy has been nominated for a Nebula Award!  I'm super excited to give three copies of this book away and been thrilled with all the folks who've commented thus far!  If you have more to say, please comment again and get your name in the hat more than once!  On Friday's post I plan on sharing who the lucky winners are!  Whoo hoo!

Until then, my name is Jayrod Garrett and I am the First OG.  Why do you persist in the fight to write?

The Culture Blogs: Left Brain vs Right Brain

“I am the left brain.  I am dependent on denotative language and abstraction.  I yield clarity and power to manipulate things that are known, fixed, static, isolated, decontextualized, explicit, general in nature, but ultimately lifeless.  I love the familiar.  Principles.  Segregation.  I am black and white.  I am organized reality.  I am your world and your views.    Morals.  Hatred.  Values.  Love.  I am the rational mind.”

                                    Versus

“I am the right brain.  I yield a world of changing, evolving, interconnected, implicit, incarnate, living beings within the context of the lived world.  I am Diversity.  An open mind.  Connection.  Intertextuality.  I am so many sounds you can't comprehend them all.  So many colors you can't tell where one ends and the next begins.  And more tastes than you can bear to examine.  I am boundless imagination.  I am everything and everyone.  Art.  Mathematics.  Music.  Noise.  Infinity.  I am the intuitive mind.”

You've probably seen this picture before.  If so you are likely saying that's not what the captions beside the picture say.  And you would be right.  But when I saw this picture I immediately decided to do a little bit of research on the matter.  What I found completely blew me away.  I discovered this RSA Animate on the Divided Brain and it sparked all sorts of new ideas for me.  From why we tend to polarize in politics, religions, and in education.  It has all to do with how our brains work and the society we have developed around ourselves.

It's kinda long, but I promise its worth it!

For those of you who didn’t watch it, I’ll give ya a short recap.  Basically it shares about how we have lost sight of what the mind actually does for us.  It is entirely designed to inhibit information from one side to the other so that we can correctly interpret it.  And as we have grown as a society we have begun to focus more on the power of the left side of the brain, the rational side as opposed to the intuitive side, and we effects of that in our society are interesting.

Here’s three examples of this culture that can be used in your writing:

1. Left Brain thinking in Politics

In politics there is a great deal of hero worship and demonizing that goes on.  I see it among my friends, neighbors, and those people that I try to ignore sometimes.  President Obama is a great example of these types of thoughts.  Those who support Obama think that he is amazing and that he has been good for America.  On the other hand those who don’t support him tend to say everything he has done has been bad, and there are even those who go as far as to call him the Anti-Christ.

Now is one end the truth or the other?  Personal opinion is that he’s probably somewhere in the middle.  But if you want to be able to write fiction that is balanced and referential to our current day, you wouldn’t go wrong by using this in your political climate. 

2. Left Brain thinking in War

As a soldier allow me to tell you that this is a crucial matter for a soldier.  I was trained to seek out and destroy the enemy back in basic training.  There were times I said kill as I performed an attack so much that I hated what I was doing.  But as a soldier I cannot have right brain thinking on the battlefield about the enemy’s family: their spouse, children, and pets.  I cannot afford to humanize them, or else when it comes down life or death I might hesitate.  And then the person dead is me.

However encompassing right brain thinking into the mourning process afterwards I think is important.  Because for me it forces me to recognize the importance of human life, and how people can be on opposite sides of a conflict and still fighting for the same basic values: Government, Freedom, Family, and Religion.

3. Left Brain thinking in Education

Math is the most hated class in high school and university classes hands down.  Often folks say that Math Teachers can’t teach.  Others say Math is useless.  And the iron gates of the Left Brain shut off to Math because it is hard.

Now I’m okay at Math, not great.  But I think it is because I approach it from the perspective of a Right Brained person.  Math is a language like Spanish, Russian, or German.  And so it requires me to study like it is a language.  Meaning I have to do study groups, find applications in everyday life, and spend copious amounts of time learning it.  I suffered from the Left Brain thinking for years before I realized that.  I passed Math once I discovered that.

If you spend some time thinking about it, I’m sure there are some plots or subplots to a novel you can use this concept in.  Or perhaps you can apply it to your own life, like I did to be able to get through my Math courses.  Either way using both sides of our brain to process what we are given each day is crucial to a correct understanding of the world around us.

Think about what issues you are decided on, and then spend time listening to the arguments of the other side.  Allow both sides of your brain a chance to use everything they have.  You may stay right where you are in your opinion, but you may experience a revolution of the mind where you discover not that you are wrong, but that there are other opinions that are just as valid and right as your own.

As we are drawing close to the end of February I would love for everyone who visits my blog to leave a comment.  For every person that comments on my blog this month I am putting an entry into a hat for an opportunity to win a copy of N.K. Jemisin’s The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.  I plan on giving three of these away.  It was nominated last year for both a Hugo and a Nebula award.  And it has been a fascinating read thus far.

That’s all for now folks, my name is Jayrod Garrett and I am the First OG.  How do you use both your rational and intuitive minds together?

Check In: 22 Feb, 2012 & My First Mashup!

As I realize the what the best ways for me to support the community of bloggers I thought I should share some other resources.  I am certainly not the only writer out there or the only blogger with anything to share.  So here’s a stab at my First Mashup.  Some from ROW80, Inkpageant, friends, & professionals.

Krissy Brady has a delightful post on: "Announcing the Ultimate Cure for Writers Block." 

Amber Mae learns something important in: "I don't have to love every aspect of my job."

David Powers King kills the last Mohican in: "The Last of their Kind."

Mary Ann Pope loads her shotgun and goes to take our the competition in: "This means War: the Love Triangle done right."

Kim Switzer is trying to keep her feet underneath her in: "Blown Away."

Shah Wharton shares about her goals and publishing deals in: "ROW80 19/02 & FiftyFifty.me challenge."

Natasha Guadalupe gets her groove on in: "1:20 AM When Music Mirrors Your Story."

Breeana Puttroff posts the new cover of her book in: "New Cover Reveal."

Morgan Dragonwillow posts a neat new contest: "Fantasy Fiction Writing Contest I - Day 1."

On Science Fiction and Fantasy:
io9 has an amazing post everyone who writes SFF should read on: "10 Writing Rules we wish more science fiction and fantasy authors would break."

Nora Jemisin (One of my heroines who was nominated for the Nebula Award again for the third book in her series.  This means every book in her series has been nominated for a Nebula!) posts on: "The Miseducation of the Writer."

SF Signal reveals how villainous they can be in: "Mind Meld: Who are your favorite villains in Fantasy and Science Fiction?

Some folks shared these with me in relation to my last post
This Food Technology one could be helpful if you chose to write about a lack of Instant Gratification (IG) in the food industry: "Food Technology Jobs."

This is a post on how living frugally helps our children (loosely tied to IG): "Five Ways Frugal Living Benefits Kids."

Hopefully you find something there that helps you in your day to day writing life or you are just able to cheer someone on in their quest to be the best they can be.  As for me here are my goals.

1. Finishing a Scene of "Crimes of the Umbramancer" each day.

     Early this week I focused on my blogging so that I would have the rest of the week to write.  Mind you that effort failed.  I spent so much time on Monday on my blog that I didn't write anything else.  I did draft and draft and draft to try and format the blog better... hopefully that counts for something.  However at my writing group yesterday I got some 400 words written.  :D

2. Comment on ten blogs in ROW80:

     Done!  I barely made it this week.  Pretty much focused on the new job and my scenes.

3. Walking at least a mile five times a week.

     I'm keeping this goal, cause while I'm failing at it, I won't forever.  And I really want to walk a lot more.  But life keeps getting in the way.

4. Building a new blog for my diversity issue.

   I’m reading Kristen Lambs books on developing a blog and hoping that I’m interpreting her advice correctly.  If any ROWers are up to it, I’ve love some advice to if I’m doing it right or wrong.  I got some advice for the past few days and it was wonderful.  Thank you to every person who shared their opinion!
5. Going back to my writing ritual.
   Sometimes I get lazy and I write before I have studies scriptures for that day.  But the funny thing is if I spend the time reading God's word before I write, I write better.  You may call this a form of meditation, but it is the form that is most important to my writing success.  I've got everyday this week down for studying, but not always before I begin writing for the day.  We'll see how the rest of the week goes.

I hope that each Wednesday I have a bunch of awesome blogs and posts to share from to continue this habit of the mashup.  I'm sure I will though cause there are so many wonderful bloggers out there it is hard not to find either quality work or inspirational work.

As the month is rolling to a close feel free to leave a comment.  Cause for every person who leave a comment I'm putting your name into a hat for an opportunity to win a book by, one of my role models in fantasy, N.K. Jemisin called "The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms."  Mind you it is the first in a Trilogy and each book in the Trilogy has been nominated for a Nebula Award!  I'm super excited to give three copies of this book away so please share your wonderful advice and thoughts with me in the comments.

As always my name is Jayrod Garrett and I am the First OG.  Who is your role model for what you write?

The Culture Blogs: The Microwave Nation

On a normal morning I wake up and immediately get on my computer to check Facebook.  Mind you that is likely what I did shortly before going to bed.  This is a symptom of a much larger issue in first world countries known as instant gratification.  Ultimately it affects us in everything we do, from playing on our phones with Twitter, to how we prepare our food, to how our doctors prescribe medicine.  In both life and literature this can play in our favor or against us, but more importantly than anything else we simply need to be aware that it is the present state of affairs for our society.

Look at the various entertainment industries.  Once they marketed a product to an industry.  Camera companies sold not only cameras, but film.  The music industry focused on record and later cd sales.  And even now in the beautiful world of publishing they once focused on books.  But none of them were thinking in terms of living in a microwave nation.   Our society now demands that we have the greatest and the best as soon as possible.  We will rant and rave when our computer takes two minutes to start up, or grumble when our cell phone doesn't have service, and perhaps worst of all when we are driving we are so focused on getting where we have to go that we don't move out of the way of emergency vehicles, because we have to get where we are going now!  So it came as a natural consequence that we as consumers would want easier and faster cameras, instantaneous music, and books on demand.  Honestly if we had just thought about the trends of technology we should have been able to see this coming years ago.

But we didn't, though as smart consumers and wise writers it is our responsibility to prepare for the future and that future is patience.  You're wondering why in the world I would bring up patience in a blog about instant gratification, right?  It has to do with how we interact with the world.  Instant gratification isn't a bad thing, it is the fact that we are growing so dependent upon it that makes it dangerous.  For instance instead of taking the time to teach our children discipline when they have too much energy, instead our doctors are giving them drugs to regulate their behavior.  Oftentimes this is done after only a few months of a certain behavior.  The same thing happens to adults when doctors prescribe for us depression medication.  We take it because we want to be fixed right now, when oftentimes if we learned better how to have patience again it would help us out more in the long run.  Like Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory we are losing the virtue of patience.  Admitted she never had any.



Don't misunderstand my meaning here.  On Facebook I saw a poster that stated: "Depression, anxiety, and panic attacks are not signs of weakness.  They are actually signs of having tried to remain strong for too long."  And why are we needing to remain strong?  Because everything in the world around us demands that we have to do things right NOW.  Constantly, incessantly, and without mercy our world requires us to act NOW.  Which means we have to think about how we are going to handle ourselves in this new and dynamic world.  We can see how not thinking about how to deal with the new world has affected these huge businesses that never thought things would change.  We have to think about how we are going to deal with the change in our world also.  What things are you going to do to make certain you make time for relaxation, rather than entertainment?  When will get away from the rush of things and pursue the beauties of the world around you?  How will you learn to control your emotions when you don't get everything you want right NOW?  Before I got caught up in the rush of life, I took walks and they enabled me to be able to deal with everything in a much more patient and capable way. I don't do walks anymore and I miss out on so much of what life has to offer, because I know I am caught up in the rush of everything.

As writers it is very important for us to understand how this affects our characters inside a book.  Think about what kinds of illnesses or disorders characters will get when they try to keep up this pace all the time.  And our character who are able to cope, how do they do it on a regular basis?  What keeps them stable?  And in terms of economy, what does having a nation like this do?  Currently our entire economic system is changing, because of the microwave nation we live in.  The food industry, the computer industry, and oil industry all understand how this functions.  What groups in your world understand it and don't?  Perhaps you have an alternate history where instead of entertainment groups getting caught up in the instant changes it is your food industry?  What kinds of effects would that have on the world?

As both readers and writers we have a responsibility to think.  To understand the world around us and prepare it to give to the next generation.  Mind you they are growing up faster too, cause our children want instant sex.  Between parents not teaching them about sex, a throughly sexualized culture, and easy access to others who want it, sex has become as instantaneous as our food.  There are ramnifications of the microwave nation to discover all over the place.  What are some of the ideas that come to your mind?  And what are some of the solutions you can dream up?  Any fool can make things faster, but it takes patience and courage to make the world a place where we can have serenity.

As a reminder I wanted to mention that to share my gratitude with my readers for commenting on my blog, I am offering three lucky people a copy of a book I am currently reading: "The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms" by N.K. Jemisin.  It is a great book that I'm really enjoying.  Think of it as my way of saying thank you for conversing with me.

My name is Jayrod Garrett and I'm the First OG.  Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going on a walk.

Check In: 19 Feb, 2012

One of the best things about doing A Round of Words has been he fact that it has forced me to work on growing as a writer in so many ways.  I've spent a lot of time building my blog into a more professional enterprise, started writing more regularly, and had the great blessing of getting integrated into various writing communities.

This past Friday my wife and I went out to take some pictures for my blog.  Unfortunately we got out a little late and they didn't turn out as well as we were hoping for, but these are some of the best ones.  These are made with the idea of urban fantasy in mind.

For some reason I see men in suits and fedoras with chainmail underneath their clothing.  And they would be toting both guns and swords, for different reasons.  Perhaps it is just my imagination running away from me, or I've read way too much of the Dresden Files.

The end of this week has been a great success especially considering the dry spell which preceded it.  Between the pictures and other great news I couldn't ask for things to be better.  Here's how the goals for the week went.

1. Finishing a Scene of "Crimes of the Umbramancer" each day.
     I have finished a scene a day since Wednesday and now I have actually hit the point in my story where it begins to take off.  But the ground work has been laid I believe to tell a very compelling story. I am either at the half way point or the one third point.  And all signs are looking towards finishing the draft at the end of April.
2. Comment on ten blogs in ROW80:
     Done!  Commented on way more than that, but I see no reason to up the goal.  I have enough other things going on in my life.  Weeks where I will only get through my ten are coming I feel it.
3. No more than twelve hours of video games per week.
     Earlier this week I said no more Zelda.  That was before I realized it was a long weekend.  So I put only a few more hours into it and now I have beaten Zelda: Skyward Sword.  Which means I have no more distractions.  I'll be able to make more progress on my fiction each week hopefully.
4. Bedtime between 11PM and Midnight each day so I can be up at six or seven to take advantage of the early hours to write.
     I'm scrapping this goal.  I fail at it repeatedly.  And I'm going to change my focus to writing at night when I am at my best.  Hopefully I'll find folks to do wordmongering with me then too.
5. Walking at least a mile five times a week.
     Still no progress.  However my wife and I purchased a new awesome blender this last night and will hopefully be living more healthy lives in the near future.
6. Finding a new job in the upcoming month.
    On Friday I was given two job offers instead of one!  My wife and I went out to dinner to celebrate.  It was a wonderful evening.
7. Building a new blog for my diversity issue.
   I've done work with at-risk children, served overseas in Iraq twice, lived in Hawaii for two years, been in the Utah Army National Guard for almost twelve years, and been in an interracial marriage for nearly five years.  I can't claim to have read a lot of multicultural novels in my day, but I know about diversity.  Which is why I'm reading The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms this month.  I know from experience what diversity is, and I want to be able to show you in literature how this is best executed.

I'm excited for this upcoming week.  I expect to keep my goals and finally get to a regular schedule at last, which will give me a better routine in which I can accomplish writing my fiction each day.  I'm even hoping that I can get my walking done.  Here's to a grand new week.

*As a reminder I wanted to mention that to share my gratitude with my readers for commenting on my blog, I am offering three lucky people a copy book I am currently reading: "The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms" by N.K. Jemisin.  It is a great book that I'm really enjoying.  Think of it as my way of saying thank you for conversing with me.

My name is Jayrod Garrett and I'm the First OG.  Don't make him angry, he likes to stab folks.  Here's some other ROW80 folks who don't have swords.

*Oops sorry I forgot this earlier!  Thank goodness for wonderful wives who catch mistakes!  I love you, Jenny!

The Culture Blogs: My Religion and Conversion

A while ago a good friend of mine Amber Mae, posted on her blog about her conversion story to becoming a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  In this particular season of trying to learn about our political candidates and what they stand for; I find it important not only for the purposes of using it in fiction to share my conversion story here, but also to clarify the facts about what I believe as a member of the LDS Church.

My Mom and I came out to Utah because of family strife caused by her own conversion to the church.  It was originally supposed to be a vacation, but after almost twenty eight years I think it would be fair to say we settled here.  Now Utah is a unique place for a black mormon family to live for several reasons.  Paramount among them is the fact that for most of my life I've felt like LDS community didn't accept me fully because I was black, and that the blacks didn't accept me because I'm LDS.  To illustrate this point I'll share a story.

Shortly after my mother and I arrived in the State we moved up to my hometown of Ogden.  (I've lived in Ogden off and on for about twenty seven years now.)  In the one of the first wards (another word for congregation) we'd joined my Mother was told by the Bishop of the ward to not bring me back to Primary (our children's Sunday School Program), because the teachers were unable to teach me.  Now I realize back at that age I might be a little hyperactive, but so were most of the other kids.  It wasn't because I was active, but because I was black.  Later on in another ward I was called nigger by the same kids who I was going to church with on a regular basis.  And mind you seven, eight, and nine year olds don't know that word, unless their parents teach them, but much of that story will be saved for when I talk about hypocrisy in religion.

So you can entirely understand when I say that as a child my faith in the church was shaken.  I say my faith in the Church because I've always had a relationship with God.  I know he lives just as well as I know I breathe.  One of the times he revealed his presence to me was when I was baptized into the Church.  Now I went a very non-traditional method of joining the church even though my mother was a member.  She wanted me to choose this for myself so at the age of eight years old, which in our religion is known as the the age of accountability, so I listened to the discussions from the missionaries and my mother took me visiting to different churches.  I still to this day remember some of the church meetings and have images of missionaries from when I was small (we totally should have taken pictures).  And I prayed about it.  I chose to be a Saint (what members of LDS church are called), because I thought this is what God wanted for me to do.

That isn't what solidified my faith however.  It was something my Mom said about God speaking to me through the wind, and that when it blew that meant he was proud of me.  Mind you there is nothing in the scriptures about this, but I believed my Mom.  On the day that I was baptized the wind was blowing really hard and I felt in my heart a warm feeling that I remembered the missionaries telling me was one of the ways that God would speak to me.  Since that day the zephyrs of the desert and the cold wind of courage have been my companions at times when I needed to know God was there.  And while not always the same warmth it has now grown to encompass greater courage, more determination, and perhaps best of all simply the knowledge that what I'm doing at that point in my life is right.

You might say that at eight I was too young to know.  You are entitled to that.  You might say that because I've had racism problems in the church, I know people who have told their bishops they have been raped and the church has done nothing, or because of controversial issues within the origins of the church that it isn't true.  My response to that is: Faith isn't faith if there isn't substantial enough doubt to test it.  My faith has gone through the fire and has been purified to be made knowledge.  I know a lot more about God and his love and his plan for me, than I did when I was eight.  I know that God lives; That Jesus was resurrected and lives that I might live with him again; and that there is a prophet on the earth today.  All of those things came from the commitment to serve God at eight.

What about you?  Are you a Non-denominational Christian?  Are you Hindu or a Buddhist?  Maybe you are an Atheist.  Regardless of what you have chosen to be, I'd like to hear about it.  What caused you to make those choose that belief system?  I am not here to put down what you believe, or what you don't believe.  But if we are to engage in building cultures in our writing we have to look at what one another beliefs with respect.  Because in the fiction, we will have to challenge the beliefs of our characters with solid reasoning from other faiths and ideologies.  But here we can recognize one another as human beings who are trying to find their way to happiness.

Because I know that sometimes it can be scary to follow or comment on a blog, I thought it would be appropriate to share my gratitude with my readers by offering to you a book that I am currently reading.  It is the "Hundred Thousand Kingdoms" by N.K. Jemisin.  I've really enjoyed what I've read thus far.  A black female protagonist in a first person narrative in a fantasy world is unheard of, but Nora K. Jemisin has made a beautiful and believable tale that I highly recommend.  So from now til the end of this month, if you comment on my blog I'll put your name into a hat to receive during March one of three copies of the book I plan on sending out.  Think of it as my way of saying thank you for conversing with me.

If you have any questions about being LDS, I am a pretty solid source to ask, because I am an active member of my faith.  I would love to hear yiu share about your own experiences with faith and your own ideologies, but I will not permit my blog to become a place to tear down other religions.  "And now abideth Faith, Hope, and Charity, and the greatest of these is Charity, (1 Cor 12:13)" and because charity or love is a power I believe we can all recognize that we believe in, please share your feelings with love and respect towards all others who might read.  That being said, I love all of you and hope to hear plenty from you in the weeks to come.  Peace!

Check In: Feb 15, 2012

When you are late with posting for the week typically catching up on goals doesn't take place.  It has been a week since I last wrote on my work in progress and I feel really bad about that.  But between looking for a job, going to a writing conference, and Valentines Day life has been crazy.

However I also have to admit my focus this past week has been much different.  I've been focused a lot on building a blog and trying to build a brand and audience.  You might have noticed that I've separated my posts for ROW80 and my actual blog, and a lot of this has to do with the fact that I wanted to be able to post for venues that would be looking for specifically writing blogs and it wasn't terribly professional to have both as the same post.

I'm really excited and scared to be on this journey of trying to build myself an audience for my writing and I've started reading Kristen Lamb's books on the topic and hoping that I am making all of the right moves as I work towards my ultimate goal of having some sort of audience for my writing.

For now I think I've done what I can and I'm going to switch my focus back to my writing and get into the next scene that I've been excited to write for days, but just haven't demanded that my focus be there to get me through the next scene.

And here the goals I choose for this week of ROW:


1. Finishing a Scene of "Crimes of the Umbramancer" each day.
     For the past week I haven't finished a single scene, because of various things I've been doing.  But I am exercising forgiveness and telling myself it is okay that the week was a wash.  I did other important things and I'll make the rest of this week with my scene goals.
2. Comment on ten blogs in ROW80:
     I'm usually slow on this at the beginning of the week.  I'll probably get most of my posts done tomorrow morning on the Wednesday updates.
3. No more than twelve hours of video games per week.
     No more Zelda this week.  After realizing I've put sixty plus hours into the game I got a little depressed.  I'll be glad when I beat it and can spend more time on my writing.
4. Bedtime between 11PM and Midnight each day so I can be up at six or seven to take advantage of the early hours to write.
     Let's be honest.  I don't do well at this goal.  I'd much rather know a bunch of folks who wanted to get together at night to do wordmongering and other such writing activities.  It would help me out a lot. I am a night owl, not a morning person.  But I'll keep this goal until I have folks to write with in the evenings.
5. Walking at least a mile five times a week.
     Again no progress in this goal.  Just been too busy.
6. Finding a new job in the upcoming month.
    Killed a job interview and I'm expect to hear back from them by Friday.  So that is on the upside!
7. Building a new blog for my diversity issue.
    I think I've done a good job in what work I've done at this point into building my blog.  I realize that there will probably be more that I have to do with it.  I am hoping to find someone that can help me to develop it further so any suggestions on this blog or the regular blog would be appreciated.

I will be back on track by this Sunday, and between now and then I am hoping to blog at least one more time about diversity.  Lot of good things coming in the future, and hopefully my life will calm down and I'll have a set schedule for all the things I want to get done.  Have a great day!

The Birth of the Diversity Blogs

This past weekend I spent at a writers symposium called, “Life, the Universe, and Everything.”  (Or LTUE for short.)  It is a wonderful program with many of the large names in Fantasy and Science Fiction who attend.  And each year that I attend I get so much out of it.  I learned about all sorts of subjects from “Plots, Subplots, and Foreshadowing,” to “Writing Humor.”  And I felt blessed for the opportunity to be there.  Only as I looked around I noticed something was missing.  I saw Tracy Hickman, L. E. Modesitt, Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dave Farland, and various other standards in the industry.  I met them and enjoyed their company and for some reason I felt like I didn’t belong.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to say I shouldn’t be writing, but I felt the same way I do when I go to church.  Like a speck of pepper in a sea of cream.  All of the big name authors there were white.  Most all of the folks I saw come to the symposium were white.  No hispanics, no asians, and no blacks were in attendance from what I saw.  Recognizing such a poor mixture of diversity in the group of people I aspire to join made me realize something.  This is part of the reason we see such a lack of diversity in the science fiction and fantasy markets.  It isn’t because the people are racist, or they are focused only on the tropes of elves, dwarves, and orcs, but because there isn’t enough diversity in the community.

Between this and a conversation with a man I met at the convention by the name of David Powers King (read his blog, its pretty solid), I realized that I need to start blogging not only how I feel about various things going on in our culture, but about diversity in the various cultures that we have in our world.  Talking about Gay Marriage, Being Black Enough, and what Freedom is are important aspects of the culture we live in and themes to approach in literature, but it isn’t enough.  I want to write about how the Native Americans known as the Inuit live from the perspective of one of their own, or about hispanic culture from those trying to get a college education who are living in it, and introduce people to the rich heritage of black spirituality.  We have so many opportunities to recognize the diversity around us, not only in terms of race, but sexuality, gender, morality, and religion.  And I want to be a voice for helping writers to begin to recognize that.

I heard back in high school that drama was the mirror of man.  Well writing fiction is a form of drama, and I want to see the diversity of the world that I live in reflected better.  Now I’ve been trying to build an audience of late, and I realize that my journey here to develop better fantasy and science fiction will not happen without a community effort of some sort.  I can write about these things all I want, but without you sharing your thoughts and feelings with me, this won’t ever really get started.  And offering you my opinion probably isn’t enough.  So I’ve started an excellent book called the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin.  She is a black fantasy author who plays against the traditional methods by telling the story in first person and having a black female protagonist.  At the end of this month I plan on putting each person who comments on my blog into a hat and sending three of them a copy of this book.  Think of it as my way of saying thank you for having a conversation with me.

So my question to you is?  What do you want to hear about?  I have plans of talking about the hypocrisy in religion, sharing my own conversion story to becoming LDS, and about what it really is like to be an eskimo.  But I know there are a lot of other ideas out there for cultural diversity and thematic writing and rather than search all of them out by myself, I want to hear from you.  Lets become a team and discover the miracle of the diversity of the world we live in together.

A New Start for ROW80

I missed Sunday's post for this round.  And I should feel bad about it.  In fact this past week has been nearly a wash for the goals that I've been working on.  I should feel sorry about that too.  But I have to be honest.  I don't.

Last Thursday I went to a writing symposium here in Utah called "Life, the Universe, and Everything."   Or LTUE.  It was a feast of marvelous ideas concerning writing.  Opportunities to enjoy networking among professionals in the field.  And most of all it was a complete overload of information in too little time.  I am still decompressing from it.  But while I was there I met a gentleman by the name of David Powers King who persuaded me to start something new.  A writing blog.  Now I have to tell you this scared me at first, but I figured that it would be the best way to develop an audience.  But I didn't really know what I was going to say.  That subject matter came up on Saturday.

Culture as I know it has been a concept in a lot of science fiction and fantasy for years.  We have our elves, orcs, goblins, humans, and dwarves.  Yet where are the black folks, the asians, the indians of both the Americas and India, or any of the other myriads of races that we have in the world.  All of the characters in traditional fantasy tend to be caucasian.  And few things I think are more wrong than this. I believe that drama is the mirror of man and that if we are to make certain that that mirror is an accurate image we must do the work to make certain that image is correct.  But we don't do that in the fantasy worlds that we create.  Instead we use stereotypes to build the worlds which only serves to create worlds of stereotypes and teach our children that the world is a much more shallow place than it really is.  I posted a few weeks ago about what I would need to do to be black enough.  I realize now that what I need to do is define blackhood and the possible cultures that I can choose from in such a way that students have the opportunity to choose for themselves what and who they want to be.

And here the goals I choose for this week of ROW:


1. Finishing a Scene of "Crimes of the Umbramancer" each day.
     Last week I got through my writing early in the week, but during and after the symposium I haven't been able to finish anything.  I am hoping that while I am home today, that I am able to begin the process of catching up.
2. Comment on ten blogs in ROW80:
     I got through most of the blogs I wanted to post on.  I posted on a lot of different blogs, not all of them ROW80, and there seemed to be good interaction.  I'll catch up on my blogs during this week as things continue to slow down.
3. No more than twelve hours of video games per week.
    Last week I didn't play any Zelda, but I played a little recently. I'm hoping for a little more this week, but well controlled.
4. Bedtime between 11PM and Midnight each day so I can be up at six or seven to take advantage of the early hours to write.
     Of seven days I got none.  No early nights and no early mornings... And even tonight I'm up late.  I'll be change that with the remainder of the week.
5. Walking at least a mile five times a week.
     Again no progress in this goal.  Just been too busy.
6. Finding a new job in the upcoming month.
    Killed a job interview and I'm expect to hear back from them by Friday.  So that is on the upside!
7. Building a new blog for my diversity issue.
    This is the goal I can say that was achieved over the weekend.  And I look forward to moving forward with it!

I have a long journey ahead of myself.  But it is okay!  I know that as I make my way along the road to becoming the writer I want to be, I'll have challenges that are going to knock me off track and back sometimes, but I have to remember I'm on this journey because it feels right and I'm making progress even when I feel like I'm standing still.

Proposition Eight and Marriage

At the risk of sharing a bit too much of myself with my audience today I decided, instead of posting about the unjust story of Rumpelstiltskin, I would talk about a current issue.  That is gay rights.  First before anything else I would like you to know that I fully support gay rights.  I think that we as law abiding citizens should all share the same rights as other people.  There should be no discrimination between people in matters of employment, rearing a family, or privileges and rights offered by the government to a person.  However there is a place where I draw my line.  It is in religion.

As I mentioned in another post recently I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (in other words a Mormon).  And as many of you know in the Proposition Eight controversy many members of my church donated money to the cause of seeing Gay Marriage blocked in the state of California.  In 2010 it was overturned and then people appealed it.  And yesterday that decision was upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California.  Which means it is finally truly legal for homosexuals to marry in California.  The entire issue of Proposition Eight has caused a great deal of challenges in the homes of many Mormons.  Even in my home.  My wife entirely believes that gays should have the right to marry.  I don't.

Most of the difficulty of the issue comes from the idea of whether or not marriage is a religious term or a legal term.  Because if it is meant to be a legal term then, of course gays need to have the right to marry and you cannot deny them that.  It would be a gross violation of civil rights.  And this is exactly where my wife and many people in the LGBT (or Lesbian-Gay-Bi-sexual-Transgendered) community are.  Because it is a legal term to deny them the right isn't only unconstitutional, but it sends us back to hundreds of years in our treatment of people in our nation.

I believe that marriage is supposed to be between a man and a woman who are joined in a holy union before God.  It is a religious ceremony and I would prefer it to remain that way.  However because of the nature of how our country was founded and has grown, it is no longer simply a religious ceremony as I would like.  It is so riddled with political and legal rules that it cannot ever be simply a religious ceremony of the union between a man and a woman again.

Do not misunderstand me, I do not mean to say if a church decides they desire to endorse a man and man or a woman and woman relationship that it is wrong.  I am saying that I personally don't believe in that.  There is a huge difference between those two concepts.

So now with all of this legal mumbo-jumbo concerning marriage and civil unions, I find myself wondering how in the world do we make this just?  How do we make this fair?  Gays can't get married in every state, and civil unions aren't accepted universally to my knowledge either.  And because I want the world to be a place where we can accept the diversity and uniqueness of everyone in the world, I need to have a solution to this current problem.

So I decided that we should abolish the legal function of marriage and instead institute civil unions throughout all those who are currently married.  This would do several things.  It would have all the companies who have their current laws set up to help only those who are married rewrite their rules and laws for their companies in such a way that it would have to include all those who are currently in civil unions.  It would also remove marriage which is a religious term from the vocabulary of politics.  It would return the power of declaring what marriage is and is not to the individual churches and religions themselves.

Personally I wouldn't mind what I am in being known as a civil union legally and a marriage religiously.  It wouldn't change how I feel about my wife.  It wouldn't change my rights or privileges.  It wouldn't make me any less of an Iraqi veteran.  It would enable people who love each other to have legal rights to their children with their partner, to change the way people see the LGBT community in their neighborhood, and perhaps most important teach us as a nation that each of us has an individual worth and value.  That we shouldn't hate each other so much, nor should we fight against each other so much, and instead we should seek to find how we can envelop the entire human family within the bounds of respect, truth, and love.  And I now stand by the overturn of Proposition Eight, grateful that the people of California spoke for what they wanted for themselves.

I chose this as my subject because during my writing today I was writing about a young female warrior who has PTSD (or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) in my story.  And it got me thinking about how sometimes people are so misunderstood and especially in that community.  Speaking of communities, perhaps I should share my goals now.

My ROW Goals for the week are now as follows:
1. Finishing a Scene of "Crimes of the Umbramancer" each day.
     I've been searching for a job lately and the same time that is dedicated to the job search is often shared with writing, so I'm behind.  I plan on catching up by this evening however though.  (For the record I got an interview coming up this Monday, which I'm super excited about.  Hopefully this will work out for the best.)
2. Comment on ten blogs in ROW80:
     I've been working hard on this goal.  I'm starting to retweet blogs of things I find important and also comment as much as possible.  I've commented on nobody's ROW80 posts for this week, but a lot of their regular blogs.  I'll take care of this tonight when I post however.
3. No more than twelve hours of video games per week.
     I haven't played anything this week at all.  I'm pretty proud of myself.
4. Bedtime between 11PM and Midnight each day so I can be up at six or seven to take advantage of the early hours to write.
     Of seven days I got about four.  Much better than last week.  But I think I still can do a lot better than that.
5. Walking at least a mile five times a week.
     I've probably gotten to this honestly about three out of five days this week.  I'm kinda bummed about that.  Being so busy with various obligations has made it difficult to find the time.  But I'm hoping this upcoming week will be better.
6. Finding a new job in the upcoming month.
    This past weekend I had a conversation with an Amir Jackson, the Founder of a Nurture the Creative Mind and perhaps I might be able to work with his organization and bring some of my talents to helping the minds and talents of local youth grow.  And as recent as this afternoon I spoke with a woman at a local Junior High about being able to work in a program at their school to help them out.  So things may be looking up in terms of jobs.  I worry only because I need to find enough employment to support my wife and I.  I am ever hopeful though.

You might also notice that I recently changed the design of my blog slightly.  I am working on branding myself and I wanted colors that represented me as well as something I could have in my twitter profile also.  I chose the topic today, because part of who I am, is about being fair and just as best as I can see how.  I might be wrong, but part of taking a stand for what you believe in is taking the chance that you could be wrong.  And I would love to hear you tell me why I'm wrong, or why I'm right, or what you liked about this.  Please comment below and I'll make certain to get back to you as soon as I can.  I sincerely enjoy responding to everyone's comments.


Here's the links to other ROW80 blogs.  Hopefully you find interesting comments there too.  Happy reading!

The Versatile Blogger Award

I might have mentioned this before once or twice, but I'm a little new to the Blogosphere and so to get any sort of cool award for anything makes me happy.  I realize that it is more of a game and a means to get a person more involved in the Blogosphere I'm happy to be working with it. Asrai Devin-Mavin of Mischief gave me this award and I appreciate her kindness in sharing it with me.

The rules of the game are as follows: 

1. Thank the person who gave it to you
2. Include a link to their blog: Asrai Devin
3. Next, select 15 blogs/bloggers that you've recently discovered or follow regularly.
4. Nominate those 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award
Here are several ROW80 bloggers, because most of them deserve this award: Here
And here are my nominees for Versatile blogger... who I know most have received this award before.
Piper Banard, Julie Glover, Amber Mae, Robin Oyeniyi, Rachel Peterson, and Natasha Guadalupe.  I'm new at this so I don't have a lot of people I follow as of yet.  Added to the list K.M. Weiland. 
5. Finally tell the person who nominated you seven things about yourself

List of Seven things about myself:
1- I am a Veteran.  Been to Iraq twice now.
2- I am studying English with an emphasis on Creative Writing in College.
3. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  You know that same one Mitt Romney belongs to.
4. I am an extrovert and I need social energy to fuel my writing.
5. Will Smith and Martin Luther King Junior are two of my role models.
6. I have talking hands (and am in need of a good ventriloquy teacher).
7. I am at work on my first novel called: Crimes of the Umbramancer.


Speaking of my novel my ROW80 Goals for this week:
1. Finishing a single scene of “Crimes of the Umbramancer” each day.
Almost caught up! Only a single scene to finish catching up today.
2. Comment on 10 different blogs in ROW80.
New week! New blogs to comment on!
3. Video games for only twelve hours for the week.
New week! Going to not play all week long. Have too much to get done this week (Okay I might play a little on Sunday before the Super Bowl.)
4. Bedtime between 11PM and Midnight to wake up at six or seven in the morning to take advantage of the early hours to get my writing all finished each day.
This goal went really well except for Sunday Morning. We'll be back on track on Monday Morning.
5. Walking at least a mile, five days a week.
I'm a scoutmaster and I wanted to help some of the boys who are a little less active reach for some goals. So I'm going to be doing a goal that gets me walking so I can keep him accountable cause I'm doing the same work I've asked of him. So far I walked Thursday, and I missed Friday and Saturday. I think I'll take a little walk Sunday morning!
6. Finding the perfect job within the next month.
Prospects are moving up. Hopefully will have a new job in the next two weeks!


Well if I nominated you, don't feel obligated to respond.  And as for if you want to know any more information about the above please feel free to leave it in the comments below.