June, 1863. In a bid to destroy the Army of the Potomac, Robert E. Lee invades Pennsylvania with an army of 70,000 men. Using the mountains to screen his movements, he advances toward Harrisburg, fully expecting to secure a victory that will end the American Civil War. But two weeks into the campaign, Stuart’s cavalry… Continue reading The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
Tag: tragedy
Ray Bradbury, 1920-2012
Wow. Ray Bradbury, one of the greatest writers of our time, just passed away at the age of 91. The news is affecting me a lot more than I thought it would. My first exposure to Bradbury’s work came in seventh grade, when I read Farenheit 451 as part of the required summer reading. Most of… Continue reading Ray Bradbury, 1920-2012
Trope Tuesday: Bittersweet Ending
WARNING! CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR AMERICAN GODS, LAGAAN, LORD OF THE RINGS, TREASURE ISLAND, AND CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON. And he sang to them, now in the Elven-tongue, now in the speech of the West, until their hearts, wounded with sweet words, overflowed, and their joy was like swords, and they passed in thought out to… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: Bittersweet Ending
Soundtrack for an untitled book
I’ve got this great idea for a novel, with a rough plot outline, an awesome ending, setting and characters all worked out, even the soundtrack–but no title. I enjoy making soundtracks for my novels, but this is the first time I’ve made one before writing the first draft. Usually, my first drafts are so all over the… Continue reading Soundtrack for an untitled book
Gah! It sucks
I’m about a third of the way through To Search the Starry Sea, and my greatest fear at this point is that it isn’t as good as the last novel I wrote. Because if it isn’t as good, that means that I’m getting worse, not better, and if I’m getting worse, that means I’m never… Continue reading Gah! It sucks
The second wind of inspiration
The more I write, the more I’ve come to realize that in order to finish a novel, you have to rediscover something powerful about the story that motivates you to tell it. The thing that motivates you to start the story is rarely the thing that drives you to finish it. Around the second half… Continue reading The second wind of inspiration
Breaking a roadblock
About a month ago, I stopped working on my novel Bringing Estella Home because I hit a roadblock. Basically, I realized at the end of the second part that I had failed to work out all of the secondary characters and their duties and responsibilities in the mercenary group that the protagonist hires. I had a… Continue reading Breaking a roadblock
Some thoughts
This is going to be real quick, since it’s 1:30 am and General Conference is tomorrow. The revision is going along really well for Genesis Earth–I am really excited about this project. My only regret is that I don’t have more time to dedicate to it. As it is, I’m probably putting too much time… Continue reading Some thoughts
Slow but steady
Okay, quick post before I go to bed. Things are progressing in this novel, slowly but surely, as you can see from the wordcount. Unlike past weeks, I’m not pushing myself too hard, mostly because I’ve got a lot of schoolwork right now and if I were to spend much more time on this novel,… Continue reading Slow but steady