Writing Group

     

I LOVE to read. I mean absolutely adore it which is one of the reasons I like to write. Now for some of you writers out there words come easily. It doesn't take you an hour to write a paragraph. Not only do they come easy to you but it actually sounds pretty decent the first draft. My friend Hannah fits into this category. On the way home from NITOC I just sat and watched her write. On the very first try her words are intriguing, they pull you in and you want to know what happens. Others, like my sister Emily, have really good and creative ideas but don't know how to develop them into a cohesive story let alone put it into words. She helps someone like myself get inspiration. What ever your style of writing it is vital that you practice and continue to learn. This is my first writing post and I hope there will be more. There are many techniques and tips out there and I want to go over the ones I have done and let y'all know the options that are out there.
     One way to improve your writing is getting together with other writers from all background and experiences.  I got invited to a writers group and the first meeting was today. I was incredibly nervous because everyone else is in college and older. I am the youngest at the moment and even though I generally hang out with those who are older then I am this group was intimidating. But honestly after the meeting was over I knew it would be a perfect fit. The people are amazing and I know I will learn a lot. I don't know how much I will be able to contribute to the group besides support but I am super stoked. I think that writing groups are very important and every writer should be a part of one. It doesn't have to be big but there must be at least one other person there.  The main reason I think it is important is because you need critics. No matter how hard you try you are not going to spot every flaw in your story because you love it and as the author you tend to fill in things so they make sense in your head. This is not good. Very few people are published this way in fact I don't think anyone can be published like this unless they are a genus and even then good luck.  
     Be careful and make sure you find the right group. One whose dynamic suits you and one where you will learn. Also it helps if the others in the group are as devoted as you and have somewhat similar goals. If your goal is to be published don't join a group of hobbyist.

     By the way the picture I posted at the beginning is my favorite sign of all time but I can't seem to find it anywhere. If any of y'all see this sign could you let me know? Otherwise I shall have to make it.

Dealing with the Famous

     We have all seen those teenage girls screaming as some celebrity passes in front of them. Some people upon meeting a celebrity become incapable of speaking and are therefore are seen as airhead fan girls (or boys). I myself have a problem with this. No, I don't scream at the sight of Justin Beiber but when meeting writers I become incredibly nervous. Even after 4 years of speech and debate I still feel incredibly inarticulate when meeting authors. My friend and old debate coach, Matt, is the son of a well known apologist. I know and love his entire family but the first time I met Mr. Mittleberg my heart was pounding and I was very nervous. One time we were at a conference about Atheism and refutation to it. During the conference I had a question which I posed to my group. Matt said "Come on let me introduce you to Lee and we can ask him." Lee as in Lee Stroble....yea I was pretty freaked out. I couldn't believe he was so relaxed at introducing me to Lee Stroble! Luckily I ended up talking to Mr. Mittleberg instead and was able to articulate my thoughts a little better. What is the point of this blog post? No it is not to tell y'all of my inability to articulate thoughts when meeting writers but I want to talk about dealing with someone who is famous. Yesterday for 4th of July a whole bunch of my friend gathered together to celebrate the Mittleberg's included. Again I was very nervous when I saw Mr. Mittleberg had come and it got me thinking about fame and how the average person should deal with meeting someone famous. So here are my thoughts:

                                  1. Identify why you admire them
     This is the first step. Think about why you are starstruck. Is it just because they are famous?* Are they really successful at something you want to do? I am well aware that the reason I have trouble with talking to authors is because I admire them and respect them. I have gain knowledge through them that I wouldn't have gained otherwise. Without them I wouldn't be as close to God, be able to defend my faith nearly as well. Through authors I have learned about how people think, about places (real or imaginary) I haven't seen or known about, and am spurred to create worlds of my own.   

                                   2. Identify why you are nervous

     What is the real reason for your anxiety? You know why you admire them but why are you nervous? I mean you admire a teacher or friend yet you don't get starstruck. Is it the fame that changes things? Maybe but I know for me that fame is only part of the problem. The thing is when I admire someone I want to impress them, I want to show them that I have grown because of them. They have had success and especially for an aspiring writer people like Mr. Mittleberg are not just a source of adoration but also role models. And honestly when I have to do something like debate in finals front of someone I admire I become nervous and even more of a perfectionist than I already am. We are just more use to seeing them which would explain why Matt talks to well known apologist with apparent ease. He is use to it so it doesn't bother him as much.

                              3. Remember they are human
     This is the last and final step. Remember that they are human and they started out exactly where you are right now. Take a deep breath and if they talk to you don't freak out! Keep as calm as possible and pretend they aren't famous. That they are just the father of your friend or a teacher or whatever works for you. 





*If this is the case then skip to step three and no offense but it might be a good idea to find someone else to admire.

Great Thoughts about Aesthetics and Confidence from Cynthia

Friends. Some Random Thoughts.

   
     Recently I have had to say good-bye to some dear friends of mine who are graduating this year.  One good-bye was said knowing that we may never meet again. Although I have only known Rae and Elizabeth three or four months this was the hardest and first true good-bye I have ever had to say. I got to wondering why it was so hard to say goodbye especially since I hadn't known either of them very long. One revelation I stumbled upon is that the reason I was having such a hard time is because I had opened my whole heart to both of these beautiful young ladies. There was never a hesitation on either side in our friendship and that meant it grew quickly. Friendships are incredibly dangerous. They can hurt and good-byes are seemingly inevitable. But they are oh so worth it! I remember sitting outside one of my Mars Hill rooms with Rae. We hadn't really ever talked before but I laughed so hard throughout the conversation. Elizabeth and I have had some incredibly serious and some incredibly goofy conversations and together (with two others) we ran through a crazy maze in South Dakota. It was dark and we were all just running around trying to get to each of the stations and then to the exit. It took us a whole hour and we only had to dive under one fence ;). Oh geeze am I going to miss them.
      One of my favorite analogies when talking about friends is a puzzle. Now this puzzle is your heart and each person represents a puzzle piece. They are all different sizes and shapes depending on how they impact you life. Until you die your puzzle will never be completed. Everyone who has an impact on you becomes part of that puzzle. Here's the thing. When someone is no longer part of your life their puzzle piece doesn't go away. The things they said to you, the lessons they taught you will always be there. Of course now a days it is so much easier keeping up with people long distance. What with cell phones, texts, email, Facebook, Skype etc. Sometimes you keep up with someone and then your paths meet once more other times you must learn to let them go. There is that phrase "if you love something you'll let it go" and sometimes you have to do that with friends. That doesn't undermine all the awesome times you had together and what not but good-byes are a part of life. 
    Not convince? Well, think about it you only have so much time and energy. You can't have a hundred friends because some of them will feel left you and you will feel exhausted. (Yes even you extroverts) Saying good-bye allows more people to come into your life. Now don't think I am saying that you should say good-bye so you can have new friends. No, good-byes will happen naturally and you should let them. This is meant as encouragement and comfort for when they do happen. It doesn't make them easier in the moment but just remember for every good-bye you will feel more comfortable with someone else coming into your life.
      One last thing. God is like a director, he knows exactly when a character/person needs to enter and exit the stage of your life. He puts them there to fit what you need then, when the time is right, he calls them off stage.

Is Fear Really A Choice?

     I watched After Earth the other day with a group of my friends and something caught my eye or rather my mind and I have been turning it over in my head all weekend. For those of you who don't know After Earth is about Cypher Raige (Will Smith) and his son Kitai (Jayden Smith) who crash land on Earth after people have left. Now Earth has been abandoned by humans because we destroyed it (typical environmentalist ideas and what not). Everything has supposedly 'evolved' to kill humans. Now Cypher was severely injured in the crash and upon finding their distress signal completely destroyed, sends his son to find the tail of the plane which apparently has another distress signal device. All alone Kitai must track across the wilderness to find it but his father will be with him every step of the way with this suit that he wears. It allows Cypher to see everything his son sees (because apparently technology in the future still works after really bad crashes:P). 
     Sometime during the beginning of Kitai's trip Cypher gives him a lecture on fear. He says "Fear is not real. It is a product of thoughts you create. Now do not misunderstand me, danger is very real. But fear is a choice." Honestly I think this is the wisest thing I have ever gleaned from a movie. Think about it the more you come up with the worst case scenario the more fearful you become. People are hardly ever scared of heights  they are scared of plummeting to their deaths. Have you ever been in a tornado? Have you ever been in a room hiding from a tornado with someone who was terrified of tornadoes? If you are that person (as I am) you know that the reason you are scared is because you know what a tornado can do, you know the danger they hold and the reason you are panicking is because you are saying "Oh my gosh we're going to die! We are going to die. It is going to come and rip the building from the ground and we are all going to die" The more of those thought you produce the harder it is to calm you beating heart. Trust me, I have been there done that. Why is a little kid scared of the dark? Because of the monsters he "sees". The pile of clothes that now looks like some slime monster. The more the child allows his mind to wander the more scared he becomes.
      Think of a time you should have been scared but weren't. A time where you should have been shaking in your boots but weren't. Why? Was there someone there who you trusted to catch you, was there something that you trusted to keep you safe in that moment, had you accepted your fate and just decided to enjoy that time? Imagine it like this. When I was in Tae-Kwan-Do my instructor Mr. Tuck would always call me up so he could demonstrate certain moves. Now most people would be terrified if a 4th degree black belt decided to kick a half a centimeter from their face. I on the other hand was not, I didn't move I didn't flinch. My stomach didn't even do that weird flip-flop thing it does when you are scared. Why? Because I trusted him completely. I made a decision that I wasn't going to be scared because I knew that Mr. Tuck was in complete control of his kicks. Plus I knew if I moved a fraction of an inch I would no longer have a nose. I can't claim many times like this because I tend to be a fearful/nervous person. 
     Choosing not to be scared is a really hard thing to do but it is possible. In the movie there is a concept called Ghosting. This is where a person shows absolutely no trace of fear whatsoever and apparently the monster can't see them. (Warning somewhat of a spoiler....kinda) There is one part where Kitia is floating on a raft and he has a vision of his sister who is dead. When his sister asks him if he is scared Kitia answers he is too tired to be scared. Kitia's sister replies, with the key to choosing to be scared, something along the lines of 'good. Your heart is filled with something else"
     That is the key to choosing not to be scared. Your heart must be filled with something else. In the Bible it talks constantly about how God is with us therefore we should not be afraid (Deuteronomy 31:6, Isaiah 41:10, Psalms 23, 27:1, etc) Here is the choice we can choose to trust God completely and if we do that we won't be scared. 
      My friend Cynthia wrote a fantastic article about the Scary Ghost Places on fear which is worth the quick read. http://www.cynthiajeub.com/2013/06/05/scary-ghost-places/

Zebra Stripes and Birthdays

     My sister Emily has a birthday in March but because I had so many tournaments she wasn't able to have a friend birthday as she insisted on me being there. So on Saturday we were able to finally have the party. My Aunt, who just moved here a couple months ago, made all these decorations and set everything up for a spa party. I made cupcake as is my job. Emily loves zebra stripes and the color theme is purple and green. So I made zebra striped cupcakes with purple flowers and of course some luster dust. I got the idea from this website. I thought if you can do this with a cake why not cupcakes? My stripes weren't as uniformed owing to the fact that 1)it is in a smaller area which makes it harder to land right in the center and 2)I was trying to get them done somewhat quickly. Warning: If you want to make these this recipe will make 48 cupcakes because there are two batters. For a party of 5 that is just too much. If you only want 27 just do white cake and then divide the batter in half. To one half add some cocoa powder and proceed as usual. So here are the pictures from the party!

                                         Shot of the inside after it had been cooked

My Aunt made this cute stand with the cupcake holders and little stick things as well as the paper purses. Aren't they cute?

Great Blog for Teen Writers

     For quite a while I have been working on a novel which is part of a series. Every once in a while I get stuck and can't figure out how to continue or how to make a specific scene the way I want it. I have a couple friends who move along the writing process. My friend Hannah is a great person to discuss plot ideas and characters but when I want advice on how to write I tend to go to several different sources. On of which being a blog called Go Teen Writers. This fantastic blog is chalk full of extremely helpful advice for teen writers or any writer for that matter. The website is http://goteenwriters.blogspot.com. I encourage you to browse the site if you are a writer or are interested in writing.