War Post: March 29th Mashup and PreROW R2 Goals

I try to be up with my postings pretty much monday or tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, or Friday or Saturday so that leave Sundays for me to work on my own writing.  Lately I've been bouncing between days a little more than I like and I apologize for that, unfortunately life has been more hectic around the Garrett House and we are trying to figure out how to make everything work.  But you didn't really come here to listen to me complain about my life.  You came for the Mashup.  And here it is!

Jennifer Simonson tickles our funny bone with: "Lines from The Princess Bride that double as comments on Freshman Composition Papers."

Malcolm Gladwell upsets the balance by showing the little guy how to win in: "How David Beats Goliath."

Eric Zadawski opens up about the bigness of noveling in: "One Draft Contains Multitudes."

Laura Simms shares with us a tale about the abandonment of the root of all evil in: "quitting money: crazy?  or free?  or crazy free?"

Breeana Puttroff shares the mysteries of the little blue bird in: "Twitter Tuesdays: Lists."

Peder Hill points out how we can be better parents to our children in:"Four Things a Parent Must Never Do When Angry."

Donna Newton shares with us a plethora of awesome writing opportunities in: "Classes, Competitions, and Writing Opportunities Round Up #30."

Dan Blank of We Grow Media shares an opportunity for writers to learn about platform in: "Free Webinar: Author Platform Makeover."

Tracy Hickman, one of my heroes, shares some advice to writers about how to make it in the business in: "Writer vs. The World."

August McLaughlin gives us new insights into controversy in:"Controversial Blog Posts: How to Make Them Work."

David Murton shares some important tips about how to get more comments on your blog in: "9 Ways to Get People to Post Comments on Your Blog."

Kate Conner tells young women everywhere some of the most important advice ever in: "Ten Things I Want To Tell Teenage Girls."

Linda Yezak reminds us of the behind the scenes work of writing in: "Dancing with the Words."

Donna Weaver shares a really important idea about energy in: "Personalities: Introvert and Extrovert."

Kevin Hiatt reminds us that defeat, and surrender are not the attributes of writers in: "Who am I?"

Karen Sandler gives us a scoop on diversity writing in: "Why writing Multi-Culturally is so much fun."

Karen McFarland gets down to the fundamentals of writing a character in: "Guest Post by Bob Mayer."

M.C. Eging gets a friend, Charlie Holmberg, to post for us on one of my favorite topics: "World Building for Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels."



And for some fine music to let the soul breathe.
Now as I am preparing for the Second Round of ROW80 I'm really thinking about how I'm going to push myself further than I did in Round One and I've decided that I need to in order to make my goals for my writing.  I love blogging, it gives me such an opportunity to share my thoughts, but I really need to focus on my fiction now.  I've found myself back in worldbuilding mode and while it is a wonderful place to be, I'd much rather be writing because I learn more from that than from anything else.  As for what I want to do for the next round here are my goals:

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

     This will be a NaNoWriMo month.  I know where I am in this and I need to get through a draft.  No more playing around.  I know I can do this I just have to put my time into this rather than other hobbies for a month.  It means I won't a lot read next month, but seriously I don't think that is the most important thing for me at the moment.  But rather to finish this draft so I can figure out better how I will tie the culture I want into it.

2. Exercise five times a week.

     I'm actually doing much more in the way of exercise and I want this as an ongoing goal, because I just need to have it up here.  I've been getting in three to five times a week for a couple of weeks now and I think I can really focus on this for now.
3. Finishing up my school work from my last semester in College.
     I've been struggling with this because I just haven't felt really inspired to it.  So I thought I'd share this with our community and work my way through it with the wonderful energy you help me to develop.  I have to be done with this by mid April so I have a lot to get done, but I know that I'll be able to get through it with ya'lls help.
4. Get myself some stories ready to get published somewhere.
     This year really needs to be the one where I focus on getting myself published.  I think my writing is good enough, but I need to be validated by those who think I'm writing towards the audience I want to write for.  Editors and whatnot.  So I know during the next round I'll be looking for contests and opportunities to get my writing out there and get some publication things started.  Afterall I need enough rejection letters to say that I'm not good enough to justify the party I have one I get my first acceptance letter.

It is almost the end of our montly book giveaway of Tankborn by Karen Sandler and Dhalgren by Samuel Delany.  Both of these are excellent books and I'm giving them away this month to a lucky follower of the blog.  Cause I know that not everyone can follow my blog there are two ways to get entries.  One is to actually follow the blog this will get your name put into my hat three times, and the other is to leave a comment on the blog.  For each comment I receive on my blog during the month of March I'll put your name into the hat once.  I enjoy doing this because it gets me reading different books, supporting authors I love, and it allows me an opportunity to give back to you, my audience.

Next time we meet we'll be talking a little about Guns and Gun Control.  Until then, I'm Jayrod Garrett, the First OG asking you this: What goals do you need to make to achieve your dreams?

The Lucky Seven Meme & A request for help

I've not been writing too much about serious issues for the past few days, and just kinda relaxing a little bit.  After Wednesdays Mashup I plan on being back on track with some more serious issues, but I thought that I would take this opportunity to thank Breeana Puttroff for sharing with me this Lucky 7 Meme.  


Here are the rules to the Game:
1. Go to page 7 or 77 in your current manuscript.
2. Go to line 7.
3. Copy down the next seven lines (sentences??) as they are – no cheating.
4. Tag 7 other authors.


So I am grateful for the opportunity to share a few lines from my novel "Crimes of the Umbramancer" with you today.  (Incidentally I was really glad that a few weeks ago I rewrote this part so it is a little more clear.)  Started at line 7 on page 7:

*     *     *

     And his mother's scream was crystal clear at last: "Run Sora!"


     He ran down the hall and various men in black ran out of the kiften following after him with fireballs in their hands.  Throwing his bedroom door closed he ran over to his bed and hid in the corner.  Footsteps and hard breathing echoed in his ears as he prayed for deliverance.  And just as one of them was about to grab him he woke up.


     These were the nights that Sora hated.  Usually they were infrequent, but for the past week he'd had the same dream at the end of the first sleep.

*     *     *

Here's my seven victims who you should visit their sites.  (Pretty much this is the Word Mongering Crowd.)  For the record, none of you are expected to do this.  It is a just if you want thing. :D


1. Morgan Dragonwillow
2. Moni-Marie Vincent
3. Julie Jordan Scott
4. Eden Mabee
5. Annie Grey
6. Asrai, Mavin of Mischief
7. Julia Indigo

*     *     *

And that is it.  I thought it worth mentioning that at an event called, "Writing for Charity" I learned that discovery writers like myself is that we tend to do a lot of rewrites of the stories that we are working on.  Which is why I've always found myself revising so quickly.  So I'm planning on figuring out what doesn't feel right about what I've written most recently and I'm going to go ahead and continue my novel from where I left off.  It makes the most sense, and besides it cuts down on the massive amount I need to begin working through in the next month.  But I can't say this time that I've spent researching and trying to figure out what has been wrong has been for naught.  I've learned a lot about martial arts, a little about asian culture, and I thought that this would be a good opportunity to ask you my readers for some help.


One of the things about the story that I am preparing to tell is that it going to take place in an asian culture similar to either Japan, China, or Mongolia.  I would really love some recommendations for books that I can read to learn more about these cultures so that my writing can be more authentic.  


I find it a little strange that I'm starting a story in a culture foreign to my own, but I'm pretty certain there will be quite a few similarities that I'll be able to work with.  Or at least I hope so.



In the meantime, the end of the month is upcoming so take another look at our books of the month: Tankborn by Karen Sandler and Dhalgren by Samuel Delany.  Both of these are excellent books and I'm giving them away this month to a lucky follower of the blog.  Cause I know that not everyone can follow my blog there are two ways to get entries.  One is to actually follow the blog this will get your name put into my hat three times, and the other is to leave a comment on the blog.  For each comment I receive on my blog during the month of March I'll put your name into the hat once.  I enjoy doing this because it gets me reading different books, supporting authors I love, and it allows me an opportunity to give back to you, my audience.

Wednesday will be my Mashup like usual, and on Friday I hope to have a blog on guns in fiction and gun control itself. That's all from me for now; I'm Jayrod Garrett and I'm the First OG.  Any recommendations on good asian literature?

The Culture Blogs: a SmallSmall Thing

Howdy friends.  Sorry I've been away for a little bit.  Family comes before the blog, and I've spent most of this weekend with my wife.  We've been able to watch Hunger Games and participate in the events of the Holi celebration of the Hindu people.  I truly cherish the time I have to spend with my wife.

Really all of this quest for me to learn how to be a better writer, to eventually publish fiction, and even this blog has everything to do with being able to spend time with my family.  It is an investment of time and effort now to do everything I really want to be able to do with my life later.

One of the things that I want to do with my life is support causes that genuinely deserve it.  On my Google Plus account, I came across a post from Chuck Wendig (You know him as the vulgar writing comedian that I happen to like for his shock value, and the fact that he makes good points).  He was supporting funding of this documentary on Kickstarter, and I wanted to do my part to help.  So instead of sitting here giving you my opinion on culture in Africa, I thought I would enlist your support on a documentary on some good people who are trying to change the culture of Liberia that women may have more rights.  The film they are creating is called, "Smallsmall Thing."

Smallsmall Thing on Kickstarter

I'm not going to say that I have a lot to offer them, but anything we can give to them will make a difference.  I believe in being the change that I want to see in the world.  I hope that you'll take this opportunity to possibly begin a change for these people.  Corruption and evil doesn't thrive in an environment where it has been exposed, and it is my prayer that by supporting this documentary that we'll be better able to make the kind of world that we would feel safe to raise children in.  Thank you for your time.

Rather than share about my contest for the month, I'll leave it off here.  There is plenty to look into on their Kickstarter project.  Hope you give a little to them, it is a worthy cause.  I'm still Jayrod Garrett, the First OG.  My question for you tonight is: What is the change that you want to see in the world?

War Post: March 22nd's Mashup and ROW80 R1 End

I chose deliberately to be a day late, because I thought that the most appropriate posting day would be the end of Round One for A Round of Words in Eighty Days.  So here in no particular order is all the great links I have found in the past week.

Chuck Wendig reminds us that we must kill self doubt, while using vulgar humor to make us chuckle in: "Writers Must Kill Self Doubt before Self Doubt Kills Them."

Chris Hedges reminds us that America speaks in the language of violence in: "Chris Hedges speaks on Osama Bin Ladin's death."

Justin Rosario lets me know that if I had been raised in Wisconsin, I would have been abused by being raised by a single Mom in: "Wisconsin GOP to Battered Women: Don't Get Divorced."

Marc and Angel give great advice in both: "20 Things to Stop Doing to Others" & "30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself."

Danyelle Leafty is trying to do something special for kids check it out at: "Kindles for Kids Short Story Contest."

Christine Slaughter reminds us government starts within ourselves in: "My Personal Bill of Rights."

Carl Duzett opens our eyes to what Inception is really about in: "Inception is About Storytelling."

Kirk Cunningham of Jollyfish Press gives us valuable tips in: "The 7 Laws of Successful Social Networking."

MaryAnn Pope made the list because she talked about Prince Zuko.  Enough said.  Check it out at: "Antagonists: Depths and Motives."

J.A. Bennett reminds us in the crazy blogging we do of the impact of reading upon our writing in: "The Impact of Reading."

Erin Shakespear recaps a writing conference in Utah where our authors came and showed us how to write better fiction this past weekend in: "Writing for Charity Highlights."

Morgan tells what you can do with those funny looking trash talking trolls that might frequent your page in: "Trolls in the Writing World ... They're There."

Asrai Devin, the Mavin of Mischief shares about her acts of self forgiveness: "Acts of Self Forgiveness."

Alice Dreger informs us about the reality of giving birth in our modern era in: "The most scientific birth is often the least technological birth."

Phil Plait makes a great argument for why Science is so important in: "This is why we invest in Science. This."




After all the serious topics above I thought, "Lets have a good belly laugh."

Kait's Future Beach House

For this First Round of ROW80 I've had great success.  I joined up with ROW80, because I wanted to blog regularly.  Guess what, I blog three times a week because of them now.  I also joined because I wanted to find other people who write like me.  And I got that too!  On their Facebook page I am thrilled to be a part of it because I've met so many wonderful people.  Last of all I joined because I wanted to finish my draft of "Crimes of the Umbramancer."  I didn't get nearly as far with this goal as I would have liked.  I played Skyward Sword, I had weeks of no writing but for blogging, and I've read several wonderful books.  But guess what?  I'm writing more now than I ever have at any time before in my life.  And I'm becoming comfortable with my own voice in writing because blogs forces you to write raw.  ROW80 has been one of the best things for my writing that I could have ever dreamed of.  Kait Nolan, the creator of ROW80, should be given a beach house in the bahamas for such a great idea.

Here are the ending goals of Round One.

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

     I've started the rewrite here and it is going slowly.  But in this rewrite I'm learning concepts that I missed when I wrote the first time.  It is slow going, because I've picked up on a lot of reading.  I've read three books in the past month and before the month is over I want to be done with book four.  But April is crunch time for "Crimes" and I will be doing little reading that month.  Just working out the rewrites I need to do and finishing the draft.  (Yes next month will be a NaNo-like month.)

2. Comment on ten blogs in ROW80:

     This was an epic fail.  I visited the blogs of folks in ROW80, but I don't think I commented on a single ROW80 post.  This is totally unlike me.  As a Sponsor I'll do much better than this, because I know how much a single comment often meant to me when I was starting this.  Often Gene Lempp kept me going when I might have stopped early on.  I owe him a great deal.  Thanks Gene.

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

     ACHIEVED!  By gearing it back I've actually done better than three times a week.  I actually hit four I do believe and it has been awesome.  Glad to be doing this.  Next round I'll be in the middle of a Juice Fast to reboot my body... yeah that's going to be fun.  But totally worth it!

4. Going back to my writing ritual.
   This one is still a struggle for me.  I need to find a time of day that works best for this, and hopefully I'll find it soon.  But I tend to always do scripture study before doing any work on "Crimes."  And that usually makes me quite happy.

I finished this round with so many awesome things happening to me.  I've been to two writing conventions, joined several writing communities, started my own writing group, networked with several professionals, written over 70,000 words, read several books, and improved my relationship with my wife.  She's my Muse and one of the best sources of my ideas.  I don't recognize her enough for her support of my writing and the ideas she gives me.  I am overjoyed with how many good things have happened this round.

I'm still giving away our books of the month: Tankborn by Karen Sandler and Dhalgren by Samuel Delany.  Both of these are excellent books and I'm giving them away this month to a lucky follower of the blog.  Cause I know that not everyone can follow my blog there are two ways to get entries.  One is to actually follow the blog this will get your name put into my hat three times, and the other is to leave a comment on the blog.  For each comment I receive on my blog during the month of March I'll put your name into the hat once.  I enjoy doing this because it gets me reading different books, supporting authors I love, and it allows me an opportunity to give back to you, my audience.

As I've come to the end of this Round of Words, I'm not sure what I want to write about next time.  I'll just have to think about it.  Until then, I'm Jayrod Garrett, the First OG.  PEACE... Oh wait question time: What topic would you like to hear from me on next?

The Culture Blogs: Faces of Manipulation (1 of Many)

Manipulation has so many faces that it isn't even funny.  Like the Many Faced God in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice often we don't recognize what all of the faces are about.  Today I'd like to reveal to you one of the many faces of manipulation.  Peer pressure.

This is a form of manipulation everyone has dealt with their entire lives.  But how you've dealt with it has a lot to do with the kind of person that you chose to really be peers with.  Like the comic to underneath illustrates you can bludgeon someone into your choice by making them feel like they have no other choices available to themselves.  Especially when their knowledge isn't as broad as your own.

Curtesy of dndorks.com Check them out they're pretty funny, if you play D&D.  FYI: Druids are better healers.

This is an example of peer pressure.  Both of these guys are playing D&D together.  The one gets told what he's going to do because of what everyone else has chosen. It isn't fair at all.  But face it folks all of us have dealt with this kind of manipulation multiple times in our lives.

The Joker was one of the most memorable villians we've ever seen use this to the greatest end.  He set up a social "experiment" where a cruise ship and a ship of criminals are both dead in the water and he claims to have set up bombs on each.  The people on each boat are told that there is a time limit on the bombs, but they can save themselves if they are willing to push a button to destroy the other ship.  I'll not ruin the experiment for you if you haven't seen the movie, but it is great food for thought.  Because sometimes I wonder if I would have had the strength to push the button or get rid of the detonator.

Have you ever seen one person who is made stronger because of the peer pressure though?  They choose deliberately not to give in.  This is why I think peer pressure can be good, because you wouldn't have people who have such inner strength without it.  A perfect example of the kind of person who can be born of peer pressure is Anne Frank.

How many of us would have kept a disposition of love and joy while the government killed our people?  How many of us would still think people are still fundamentally good while being hunted in a game of genocide?  I wonder about such a question sometimes.  I would like to think I would keep such a disposition, but I've also been to Iraq and come home with various different ways my head has been messed up.  But I love the Iraqi people, they are certainly odd and many of the things they choose to do to one another make me want to cry, but I see them as people just like the rest of us who are trying to figure out their place in this world.  I can't blame a people who have been oppressed for living as if they have no civilization.  Oppression is a peer pressure all its own.

I for one believe that those who don't give in to negative peer pressure over years of torturous abuse have chosen a different peer group.  A peer group of good people that they don't want to let down.  Whether that be your family, your friends, or your God.  Peer pressure exists in every family.  We use it when we tell our children that we are disappointed in them or we beat them for their poor decisions.  Another part of this idea to consider.

I leave you with these ideas to consider as I close today.  I don't know how much peer pressure affects me.  But I'm trying to learn how to be an influencer of positive peer pressure.  It has been difficult, but I believe that if I keep working at it I'll be successful at it eventually.  Maybe I already am.  But I don't really matter here.  Rather you do.

I've chosen where I stand in my peer groups.  Stand or fall, I'll get back up and try and retain the stand I've taken.  I want people to believe that there are human beings out there that actually love everyone.   And ultimately the only human powers in the world that change hearts are love and hate.

Our books of the month remain Tankborn by Karen Sandler and Dhalgren by Samuel Delany.  In any book that deals with the concepts of race and racism like these do, the question of how one will be shaped by the pressures around them is ever present.  Joker chose to be shaped into a sociopathic sadist by what things were done to him.  Anne Frank chose to be a light to the human race.

One lucky follower of the blog will receive each of these books.  Cause I know that not everyone can follow my blog there are two ways to get entries.  One is to actually follow the blog this will get your name put into my hat three times, and the other is to leave a comment on the blog.  For each comment I receive on my blog during the month of March (I think it has said February a few times, my apologies) I'll put your name into the hat once.  I enjoy doing this because it gets me reading different books, supporting authors I love, and it allows me an opportunity to give back to you, my audience.



Tomorrow is the weekly Mashup and the End of the First Round of Words in Eighty Days.  I'll talk about my success and failures and what I hope for the next round then.  Jayrod Garrett, the First OG signing out.  Oh, I got a question: How has peer pressure shaped you in your life or how does it shape the world around you?

The Culture Blogs: The Hypocrisy of Religion or Where's the Love?

Of all the laws and rules in the world the most important one to remember is the Golden Rule. Every world religion has their own interpretation of it.  You can study it in psychology, philosophy, sociology, and most commonly religion.  Ultimately it has to do with empathizing with others.  Today I would like to take a moment to review several versions of this rule with you to give you a basis for the misunderstanding of this rule so often destroying our credibility in what we personally believe.

Islam: Not one of you truly believes until you wish for others what you wish for yourself. -The Prophet Mohammed, Hadith

Hinduism: This is the sum of duty, do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you. -Mahabharata 5:15:17

Buddhism: Treat not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful. -Udana Varga 5:18

Taoism: Regard your neighbors gain as your own gain and your neighbors loss as your own loss. -T'ai Shang Kan Ying P'ien 213, 218

Judaism: What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour.  This is the whole Torah, the rest is commentary. -Hillel, Talmud, Shabbat 31a

Sikhism: I am a stranger to no one; and no one is a stranger to me.  Indeed I am a friend to all.- Guru Granth Sahib, pg. 1299

Unitarianism: We affirm and promote respect for interdependence web of all existence of which we are all a part. -Unitarianism Principle

Christianity: Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. -Matthew 7:12 KJV

And the most plain version of all: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.

In each of these systems of thought it comes back to a concept that Christ taught.  I would say that regardless of your race, creed, or religious background this applies to everyone. 

Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. -Matthew 22:39 

Just think about this one concept.  How much better would the world be if we lived according to this one idea?  I don’t think we would have the bitter smear campaigns between the men and women who want to run the country.  It starts up with the politicians and soon it becomes all of the people who follow them saying “F-ing Republicans” or “Democrats are an unorganized bunch of idiots.”  I’ve heard both, and I’m certain you have too.  Most of the people who make that comment claim to believe the Golden Rule too.  But obviously we all have problems trying to live it.

This is a shaka.

It doesn’t just happen in politics though.  Its also a problem in our driving.  I lived in Hawaii for two years and I had the wonderful blessing of seeing how they drove.  Honking your horn at someone is a social taboo there.  Life is slower and the driving reflects that.  And when folks cut others off, or do something that is “cuss-worthy” as long as you throw a “shaka” (most of you know it as the hang loose gesture) to the person you may have offended with your “poor” driving, everything is great.  (In fact I knew folks who celebrated when they saw someone throw a shaka to them.)  While I lived there I never heard anyone cuss because they got cut off while driving, instead they cussed because the love of the shaka wasn’t shared.

If someone feels this way, why hate them?

One of the stories that enraged me more than any other was told to me by a professor at my school.  In class you would never be able to pick out the fact that he is an Atheist.  But if you care enough to visit him in his office, he'll open up to you.  He shared with me a story of when he lived in a different state, of which the majority of was Christians, with a bumper sticker on his car that stated: United Atheists.  That was the only difference between his car and the others in that parking lot.  The very day he placed the stick on his car it was keyed.   Sure it could have been a student who got a bad grade, but he was hurt that people who claimed to “love others as Christ loved them” would do something like that.

I live in Utah and Gay Rights is challenging subject in our state.  It makes some people uncomfortable, it makes other people angry, and some of us just want to see equality for other people in our society.  But some folks feel the need to discriminate, so if you are openly gay you could lose your job.  They hide behind the current laws saying that they are justified in what they are doing, but at the same time those same people will go to church on Sunday and profess their love for God and their fellow man.  That isn’t right.

I know a man raised by his single mother for most of his life.  She is a good woman.  She did community service projects, made sure her son never lived in any dangerous parts of town, and touched the lives of many of the young people she came in contact throughout her life.  And she praised her son in public so much nobody could imagine, that she called him worthless, stupid, and a failure at home.  Her public face was one of love, but what she showed privately was one of anger and resentment.  To be honest though, there was never anything she told him that she didn’t believe was also true about herself.  She lived the “Golden Rule” the best she knew how.  She treated her son the same way she treated herself.  But he left one day and she’s cried for years since then.  I feel sorry for her.

Humility is about unity.  Unity strengthens everyone.

Each day we have a choice.  We can choose our pride and anger or we can choose to find the humble way of life.  Humility is about unity.  That means it strengthens everyone.  We can choose to build the world into a place where I as a Democrat can look a Republican in the eye and tell them, “While I may not agree with you, I understand your intension and I hope that we may find a way to work together to find what will bring us greater prosperity as a nation.”  And where discrimination because of sexual orientation, religious orientation, or cultural orientation can be overlooked because we care about meeting each others needs so much that instead of barring one another from their needs.  And where parents love their children and support them through all the trials of their life.  Perhaps that last is the hardest world for us to find of all, but we must discover it.

While I stand here and I share my feelings I want to share with you that I’m a hypocrite.  Yeah, I’m the number one hypocrite.  And that’s because I know these things and still I disappoint myself with my anger, my pride, and my lack of love for my fellow man.  Every human being deserves the very best I can give them.  And that by no means is easy.  But part of the fact that I recognize myself as part of the problem is part of the solution.  I can be more aware of my own discriminatory or hateful attitudes and work on them.

Our books of the month remain Tankborn by Karen Sandler and Dhalgren by Samuel Delany.  Part of the reason I'm giving away these books is that they both reveal how cruel we can be to one another.  Some folks might purchase them on the recommendation here alone, others will hope to win one.  Regardless they each raise awareness for how we may treat one another poorly in day to day life.  

One lucky follower of the blog will receive each of these books.  Cause I know that not everyone can follow my blog there are two ways to get entries.  One is to actually follow the blog this will get your name put into my hat three times, and the other is to leave a comment on the blog.  For each comment I receive on my blog during the month of March (I think it has said February a few times, my apologies) I'll put your name into the hat once.  I enjoy doing this because it gets me reading different books, supporting authors I love, and it allows me an opportunity to give back to you, my audience.

Next time we'll talk about manipulation as a form of controlling others in both positive and negative senses.  Until then, I'm Jayrod Garrett, the First OG.  My question for you is: Are you a Hypocrite?

War Post: 14 March & The Avengers

Sometimes you just see pictures as you are looking for material for a post that is just too awesome not to use.  This was one of those things for me.  I love the advertising campaign for The Avengers, and each of the movies that have lead up to it.  My wife and I are really excited for it to come out.  I think the only thing that really disappoints me about this film is the lack of diversity among the cast.  Every character is an American.  Yeah Nick Fury is black, but seeing as he never rated his own story, it just isn't the same.  Maybe its just me, but the group likely to save the world would have a bit more culture than this.  Cause shouldn't they be representative of the world, and not just America?  Excited about the movie, just wanted to share a minor rant with you.

This Mashup was a big one this week.  I found so much material out there that was good, that I just had to share it all.  I'm sure someone else will post something cool next week.  My wife even suggested a few of these.  Feel free to tell her thank you in the comments.  On to Mashing:

Kristen Lamb shares her story of failure and steel in: "Failure- The Key Ingredient to the Successful Writing Career."

David Powers King reminds us of the awesomeness of the Fool in: "Tuesday Tropes: The Fool."

Lisa Miller of The Washington Post really gets me thinking in: "Feminism's Last Frontier: Religion."

Kana Tyler gives us the business of Freelance Writing in: "A Forum on Freelancing."

Katie Baker of The Daily reminds us of the dangers of bullying in: "Driven to Suicide at 10."

Tom Abbott reveals the secrets of the New Publishing Market in: "Understanding the New Publishing Market."

Ellen Oh shares about the how a book cover leads to racism in: "Why the Pretty White Girl YA Book Cover Trend Needs to End."

Adam Gaylord shows us real monsters in a little thing he calls: "Tips for Creating Believable Fantasy Beasts."

Angela Ackerman helps us understand how to write better characters in: "Character Trait Entry: Affectionate."

Lisa writes about something near and dear to every Latter Day Saint Woman in: "13 Articles of Healthy Chastity."

Jessica Strawser interviewed the big names in publishing to get the real deal in: "Writing Rules: 10 Experts Take on The Writer's Rulebook."

Morgan Dragonwillow still has her writing contest going on!  Read about it and submit something that can help you get another published work in your writing cap at: "Fantasy Fiction Writing Contest I: Day 23."

Chuck Wendig tells us how we need to choose the write–no, rite–no, right word in: "25 Things You Should Know About Word Choice."

Fabio Bueno shares about two weeks of #ROW80 goals (the real reason I chose this is the awesome video at the end) in: "ROW80 Update + Other Updates."

Cat Rambo dies of a case of awful jealousy in: "Transitions and Shifting POV in Fiction."

Julie Glover (My first role model in how to blog right) shares the ugly truth of following bloggers in: "I Know I Should Follow Your Blog But..."

Jane Friedman talks about all the things I wish I knew on Monday when I shared with a writing group about the business of writing in: "A Definition of Author Platform."

Karen Sandler shares about Tankborn Sequels!  Check it out here: "Tankborn Sequels!"

In my search I found this, a great Mashup Trailer by a Avengers Fan.  Enjoy!

As with every Mashup Wednesday I review my past week of goals for ROW80.  I don't think it is any secret I've been struggling with them lately.  But I honestly don't have energy to dwell on that.  For the first time in my life I'm writing regularly and even if it is mostly this blog, I love the feeling.  The story will come, but the writing needs to be my main priority always.  Heres my goals!

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

     I finally made a return to Wordmongering this past week and during my time doing it I finished about 3000 words on my WIP!  I realize I said I would get through 8,000 and that I would take the advice of my friends.  But after spending eight hours with only 3000 words to show for it, I thought it best to trust my gut.  One part of me says to finish the story and the other says to trust my process.  I'm going to be true to both voices.

2. Comment on ten blogs in ROW80:

     I got to four blogs not my normal ten. This week I'm going to make up for that by getting twenty for this upcoming week.   It will be good practice, because I was lucky enough to be chosen as a Sponsor for ROW80.  I'm really excited about it.  Woo!

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

     In the past week I've been out walking three times.  I'm hoping to make three times for this week too.  I think for now this is a more doable goal.  I'll up it again to five times hopefully in the next few weeks.

4. Going back to my writing ritual.
   The ritual is going well somedays, and poorly others.  Frankly this was a poor day.  (The eight hours of writing had both exercise and scripture study which is why I chose to trust my gut.)  Still four out of seven days is pretty solid though.

I'm not going to finish this round with a bang.  I'm going to finish it with conviction.  Since I've joined ROW80, I've been to a writing convention, joined several writing communities, started my own writing group, and written over 40,000 words on my WIP, and another 25,000 in my blog.  I don't talk about all I'm doing cause I don't think all of it is important, but I've made so many strides forward since joining ROW80 my life will not be the same.  Thank you for accompanying me on this journey.  We still have a long ways to go and I plan on having draft two of "Crimes" done by the end of April still.  To make that goal I'm going to keep April's weekends free for massive #wordmongering to reach my WIP goal.  To quote Larry Correia: "People ask how do you become a professional writer?  I just spent 26 hours editing and writing over the last two days."  That was this past weekend as he finished Monster Hunter Legion.  If he can do it, so can I.  It is all about how dedicated you are to it.


Our books of the month remain Tankborn by Karen Sandler and Dhalgren by Samuel Delany.  Both of these are excellent books and I'm giving them away this month to a lucky follower of the blog.  Cause I know that not everyone can follow my blog there are two ways to get entries.  One is to actually follow the blog this will get your name put into my hat three times, and the other is to leave a comment on the blog.  For each comment I receive on my blog during the month of March I'll put your name into the hat once.  I enjoy doing this because it gets me reading different books, supporting authors I love, and it allows me an opportunity to give back to you, my audience.

Next time our discussion will be on the Hypocrisy of Religion.  I'm excited because I've wanted to write this particular blog for several months, but I needed the ideas to brew for a while.  This is Jayrod Garrett, the First OG, with one question for you: What is your favorite science fiction or fantasy movie?

The Fellow Writers Blog Hop: Question of the Month

Learn more here.

Friends, I have to apologize to you.  I expected to be writing about the Hypocrisy of Religion today.  However I must forebear, because I made a commitment to use the second Tuesday of each month to share a thought for the Fellow Writers Blog Hop (or the FWBH).  This is only my second blog hop that I've tried out and I know there is Mark Hoopmans "Got Green" Bloghop taking place this week, but I thought it would be wiser to just do one at a time and just take things nice and slow.  I find myself blogging with too much of my writing time as it is.  I love you, but I have needs too.

So each month at the FWBH they ask a question that they want us to answer as writers.  And this months question was:

Be it a full size novel or a short story, a writer has to prepare for writing. What steps do you use, how do you research your information, what tips do you have to gear up for page one?

For me this is a loaded question because there are a lot of things I do to prepare myself for each kind of writing that I may need to do.  I'll try to approach all the different things I need to do in a manner that makes the some sense.

1. I try to read or listen to the Word of God before I write.  I find this ritual puts my mind in a much better place to do anything writing related.  I'm more at peace, more receptive to inspiration, and most of all I'm much more focused when I begin my writing.

2. I prefer to world build and idea monger before I actually start any story.  Much of this has simply to do with designing the background of the story that I'm working on.  Without any background it makes it really hard to write anything.

During this part of my process of writing I am developing everything for the story except the story itself.  I search for ideas to build my world, the setting that the story will take place upon, a series of events that could take place during the story, but I refuse to outline the story at this point.  I am not only a seat of the pants writer, but also an organic writer.  If I set up the events the characters should be able to play through them naturally in such a way that I get to the ending I have envisioned.

3. This is a more recent thing, but I build a community of people around myself of folks who I can share and gather energy with.  Sometimes it is as simple as just myself and my wife, and other times it is as large as my Google Plus writing group, my #wordmongering friends on twitter, and my #ROW80 friends too.  Each group serves a certain purpose in helping me with my writing and I'm glad to have them to help me.

Because right now we are celebrating the first birthday of #wordmongering I thought I would share a story with you.  Hopefully this describes how a community helps me with writing.  One of my blogging friends Asrai Devin, the Mavin of Mischief and I were #wordmongering together trying to get through our words.  But she was having a hard time with thinking of something to write about.  I was smoothly working through my words, but she had serious writers block.  I gave her a writing prompt and shared with her that she should write about what she enjoyed.  She began a fan fiction that night and the words flew from her fingertips.  But a couple of weeks later, during my own slump in working on my story she came back with encouragement and words of advice for me to get me through a hard time.  I rely on my community of friends I've made online to help me get through the hard work of getting a story written.  For me it is more than just a social experience.  It is the energy and lifeblood of my writing.

4. Lastly, I take the advice of Stephen King to heart.  In his book On Writing he states: "Never come to the blank page lightly."  This means you didn't come to just play around and doodle on the page, or give less than your best effort.  You came to create, you came to learn, and you came to inspire.  Make sure that is all reflected when you put your words on the page.  Like even for my blog.  I don't write with the strokes of my keyboard like you may think.  The ink left on these pages is white (once blue cause that's my favorite color) because I'm writing with the material of my soul.  I work hard to be honest, because that is what I want my writing to reflect.  I strive for sincerity, because I want you to believe me.  I labor for love, because that is what I want to share with my readers my love for them.

For me the blank page represents the relationship that I have with my readers when they first meet me.  Whether that is through my fiction or through my blog when you first read what I say we begin a conversation and a relationship.  I must share with you the gift that God has given me to express myself through the written word.  One day in the future I know that this will be a business where I'll receive from my readers cash for what I have written.  But these exchanges are meant to be something precious, even something holy.  Because by giving you a book or a blog that you might learn something from that comes from the inkwell of my soul, I hope to have given you things that might make your life better.  When that is given back to me in your time reading what I've written or paying for what I've written it is a donation to the welfare of my family.  To explain the concept better, I'd rather use a full post to describe the culture I hope to build for when I am paid for my work.

I believe like Howard Taylor (author of Schlock Mercenary webcomic.  Read it, for it is made of awesome.), that an artist should get paid for their work.  Is this art?  Sure it is, but my payment right now isn't a financial one.  I'm paid through the development of my writing skills, the comments you leave on my pages, and the opportunities to share what I've learned with others.  Just like any other job when you are training you don't get paid much, but what you learn when you aren't getting paid magnifies what you will be worth when you do get paid.

Which is part of why I give away books here.  Its part of the time, sacrifice, and love trilogy necessary for me to create good art.  Which is why I share with you you of our books of the month.  Tankborn by Karen Sandler and Dhalgren by Samuel Delany.  Both of these are excellent books and I'm giving them away this month to a lucky follower of the blog.  Cause I know that not everyone can follow my blog there are two ways to get entries.  One is to actually follow the blog this will get your name put into my hat three times, and the other is to leave a comment on the blog.  For each comment I receive on my blog during the month of February I'll put your name into the hat once.  I enjoy doing this because it gets me reading different books, supporting authors I love, and it allows me an opportunity to give back to you, my audience.

Next time our discussion will be on my weekly mashup and recap of #ROW80 goals.  And I promise that on Friday or Saturday morning we will have a post on the Hypocrisy of Religion.  It is always a juggle here at the Garrett home for time to make this work and also get everything else important in life done.  This is Jayrod Garrett, the First OG, with one question for you:

What do you need to create your art?

The Culture Blogs: The Weapons Cache (Swords)

Those of you who follow my blog already know, I'm a fan of "The Legend of Zelda" series of games.  As I've grown up becoming a knight has always been one of my dreams.  Running around with a sword and a shield defending right and defeating evil.  I learned from Link that being a knight was a state of mind rather than a title, because throughout the series of games, he is never once a knight of his Kingdom.  The culture that it established between knighthood and being a good person is the reason I still play the games today.

Weapons play an interesting role in how a culture works.   For example the Samurai and their law of Bushido is often represented in the katana.  Knighthood or the idea of good verses evil is represented by the English broadsword or longsword.   An ax usually represents a lumberjack or an explorer of some kind.  Each of these different weapons has a very specific way they define the culture they belong to.  From time to time I plan on coming back to this series on weapons to present new ideas and concepts to you.  However for our purposes today I thought it best if we began with a weapon everyone is familiar with: The Sword. 

Most folks are familiar with Star Wars and the Jedi-Sith's iconic lightsaber.  These marvelous weapons create an entire culture on their own.  While it is possible to see in the Star Wars movies folks who aren't Jedi or Sith wielding them, you won't see (or rather read about) anything other than a Jedi or a Sith make one.  This is because the process of building the lightsaber is intrinsic to the training process of both Jedi and Sith.  Each one makes their own lightsaber.  Like in the example to our right you see both Mace Windu and Obi-Wan Kenobi with their lightsabers.  Each one was handmade by the Jedi themselves.  Not only handmade, but they found all of the resources to build the lightsaber themselves.  So when you are looking at a lightsaber, you aren't just seeing a man with a blade of light, but instead it is a man with blade of their own light.  This culture is developed further in the movies, because all Sith have red lightsabers and each Jedi has their own iconic color.  Anakin or Darth Vader and his son Luke are the only characters who change throughout the series and this has much to do with their identities changing.  Anakin the legendary Jedi uses a blue lightsaber, and later becomes Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, with a red lightsaber.  As opposed to Luke who begins with his father's blue lightsaber, and eventually builds a green lightsaber like Master Yoda's.  This represents his progression from student to master (by default of being the only Jedi).  This is a great example of how a weapon defines not only the culture, but the people inside of it.

Perhaps one of the most renowned swordsmen of all time is a Japanese Kensei by the name of Miyamoto Musashi.  From the age of sixteen he fought in various duels.  He never lost a duel in his life.  It is reported that he fought in about sixty duels during his life, but this estimate is low because he also fought in a several wars also.  What defines him best is his style of fighting, because he is the father of the two sword method of fighting with katana and wakasashi.  This is described in his most famous book known as The Book of Five Rings.  Most folks don't know when they are watching various movies with two sword fighting in it they are learning about the way this man fought.

The iconic battle of which he is most famous is between him and Sasaki Kojirō, better known as The Demon of the Western Provinences.  Sasaki was famous for his ability to wield a nodachi.  Musashi arrived not only to the duel three hours late, but he didn't even bring a metal sword, instead he had a bokken (that legend says he carved from the oar of his boat).  The duel was a short one and Musashi killed his opponent with the bokken.  There are tons of theories behind why he won so quickly or easily, but the fact of the matter is that he knew enough about swordsmanship to recognize that the material of sword didn't matter, but rather the material of the swordsman.

A common trope of the sword is the Legendary Sword.  Arthur and Excaliber, Link and the Master Sword, and even the mighty Sword of Gryffindor are all examples of this.  Each one of these is an example of a sword creating a culture though.  Excaliber was how England would know its true King had arrived.  The Hero of most Zelda games is established by the possession of the Master Sword.  And the Sword of Gryffindor not only was prized by the House of Gryffindor in Harry Potter, but also by the Goblin community.  Each of these swords are precious not only because of the special powers they have, but the fact that they are unlike any real sword.  A real sword gets chipped and it warped by use in battle.  But have you ever heard of any of these blades being destroyed by use in battle?  They are nigh indestructible.  And that can be a very important part of the culture the sword can create.  If there is one sword more precious than others it has to have some special quality that affects the culture. Remember Anduril?  In the Lord of the Rings books that sword would only be wielded by the man who was the true King of Gondor.  And when Aragorn received it we knew that there would be changes culturally that would take place because of it.

Regardless of how you choose to use swords or other weapons in your stories, always make certain you do your research on the type of sword you are using and the culture it represents.  And if it doesn't have a culture that it is attached to, make certain to give it some sort of culture.  A weapon without culture isn't a weapon, but a prop that reveals the hand of the author in fiction.

And as I reveal my hand in gratitude near the end of each blog for your continued readership and deepening our conversation, I wish to remind you of our books of the month.  Tankborn by Karen Sandler and Dhalgren by Samuel Delany.  Both of these are excellent books and I'm giving them away this month to a lucky follower of the blog.  Cause I know that not everyone can follow my blog there are two ways to get entries.  One is to actually follow the blog this will get your name put into my hat three times, and the other is to leave a comment on the blog.  For each comment I receive on my blog during the month of February I'll put your name into the hat once.  I actually really enjoy doing this because it gets me reading different books, supporting authors I love, and it allows me an opportunity to give back to the audience I am building.

Next time our discussion will be on the Hypocrisy of Religion.  (I'll be doing more weapons blogs over time, be patient.)  This is Jayrod Garrett, the First OG, with one question for you.  What swords have inspired you over the years?

By the Power of Grayskull!