Probably nothing, but I’m doing this out of the kindness of my heart. Do what you wish of it: Print it, revise it, expand it, wipe your ass with it, use it as a condom, whatever you want to do. The only thing I ask is that if any of these sell as-is to a publisher of any sort, let me know. A small donation would be appreciated. If you expand upon any of this and it sells, the rights are completely yours. Just send me a link or a copy of the writing so that I can view it. I won’t ask for a donation, I just want to see what was done with it. I doubt the first option will apply. These were all written when I was in high school and they weren’t very thought out. But, if the second applies, I would love to see what you did with it to make it work.

Just to reiterate, these are by far the worst writings I could possibly do, so don’t expect Poe when you read them. I simply do not want them on my conscience anymore and out of my library. Consider it a gift from me.

I may release more that I write in time, but I just haven’t written anything yet. I might actually release something of some intelligence. Who knows.Without further dramatics, here is:

Copyright-Free Writing Pack 1

Surrender

In the deep, dark crevice of my guilty heart, I feel my life slowly falling apart. On my wrist is a scarlet river that makes my body shake and quiver, and all the misery and anguish I have caused can’t be covered by physical scars.

You come to me as I’m lying on the floor. I don’t know you, but I’ve seen you before. “Take my hand,” you say, offering me a lift, “I have something for you; take it as a gift.” As I reach to cover the scars upon my wrist, I wish you couldn’t see me in a moment such as this. Though I’m empty-hearted, a smile is on your face. You say, “Son, I’d do anything and gladly take your place. I was strung upon the cross and died for all your sins. All you have to do it ask to be forgiven.” You speak to me with words that brings water to my eyes; “I don’t know why you think that you deserve to die.”

“Jesus, I’m a sinner, I can’t help the things I do.” You say, “Son, no matter what, I’m always loving you.” I try to look inside myself and my stagnant heart, but somehow, I don’t know where to start. My soul is so willing, but my flesh is so weak. Just then, I hear you say, “Blessed are the meek.”

I drop to my knees and cry a few tears. I give to you all my worries and my fears. I know that I haven’t been a good servant, and you have nothing to deserve it. I kneel before you at your feet, and then you help me to my seat. You grab my wrists and close your eyes, and instantly all my wounds have dried. I offer you my vacant heart, and you infest every part. I need you, Jesus, my pure and gentle Lamb. I need you to help me become better than I am. With you, I’m not in pain or sore. You help me to be more of a man than I was before.

A Knight’s Story

The Castle was in an uproar. It had been attacked in the night by the Massive Freakin’ Dragon. Homes were burnt, cattle were dead, and the peasants were scared out of their wits. Some had not been home at the time, and others that were. well, they could be worse off. King Gavin ordered that the Knights track the Massive Freakin’ Dragon and slay it. He hired Aleron of Popsicles to find an army that could protect the Castle. The King’s daughter, Princess Cassara, tried to convince her father not to send Aleron into battle, for she was in love with him.

“Please, Father, don’t send Aleron into battle.”

“Daughter,” replied the King, “I must do it. The Castle depends on him.”

“Father, please don’t send him away! I love him with all my heart, and if he was to lose in battle. I don’t know what I should do!”

But the King would not listen to her, because he resented the Massive Freakin’ Dragon for killing his wife. He vowed that some day he would kill the gigantic beast. Now, he was in old age, and his prostate problems prevented him from going on long journeys, so he had to get someone else to do the deed.

Aleron gathered the best men in the Village together, and they went off to battle, leaving the Princess to cry herself to sleep countless nights. It took nearly a month of riding for them to come across the Cave of the Massive Freakin’ Dragon. It was buried deep below the ground, the entrance hidden in a rocky mountainside. It was a magical thing, the light seeming too scared to enter the large cavity.

In the dim light at the entrance, Aleron could see large rocks protruding from the ground. He knew if the Massive Freakin’ Dragon was here they would have to venture into the Cave. He took out his torch and lit it. He pointed it into the entrance of the Cave. There was a long, dark tunnel leading down into the depths of the Earth. He could hear droplets of water dripping from the ceiling onto the floor. He looked back and waved to his troops to enter. They slowly and quietly entered the dark Cave.

Inside the Cave, they were surrounded by Darkness so thick that their torches could barely drown it out. The eerie sound of the dripping water was echoing in their ears, making them alert to any other sounds. They heard a loud roar. It seemed to be coming from the very center of the Earth. They knew they weren’t going to make it, so they decided to camp for the night.

In the morning, (at least, they thought it was morning, it was so dark in the cave they couldn’t be too sure) they woke up and ventured further into the Cave of the Massive Freakin’ Dragon. They hiked for 7 hours deeper into the Cave, knowing that they were beyond any help from the Outside now.

Aleron was the first to hear the terrifying sound of the Dragon. “Do you hear that?” he asked his troops.

“Yes, sir!” said Faris of Taco. “It sounds like a Massive Freakin’ Dragon.”

“It’s coming from deep inside the Earth,” said Balin of Spaghetti Sauce.

“Lets proceed slowly,” said Aleron.

So they slowly walked deeper in to the Cave of the Massive Freakin’ Dragon. After many more hours of walking, Aleron and his troops came out into a large empty space. There, lying in the corner, was the silhouette of the Massive Freakin’ Dragon. Aleron approached it cautiously. The Dragons nostrils were twitching. It was asleep. He quietly signaled to his troops to come closer. They were going to kill it in its sleep.

Without any warning, Balin stepped on a rock, and it woke the Dragon. The Dragon looked at Balin, and didn’t think twice; Balin turned into a pile of ashes and fell to the floor, not having any time to move out of the way of the yellow flames.

This caused the men to charge the Dragon. Before they could get within twenty feet of it, they were turned into piles of ash on the floor. Aleron took this as an advantage. He readied his sword and ran at the Dragon. The sword bounced off like nothing happened, the Dragon unaffected, but very angry. He charged again with the same affect.

One more time he charged, and this time, the Dragon turned to him, and shot flames from its nose. Aleron quickly dove out of the way, just barely avoiding being burned to death. It was down to him and the Dragon, and only one would come out victorious.

Aleron stepped out from behind the rock that was protecting him. He was met with the stare of the Massive Freakin’ Dragon. Again, he tried to charge the Dragon. The Dragon swung at him, leaving Aleron with three two- foot long, five-inch deep claw marks in his side. Aleron let out a loud yell, but no one but him and the Dragon could hear it.

Aleron fell to the ground, waiting for the fatal hit from the Dragon. He saw something shining in the corner of his eye. He turned his head to look at it. It was a small gold thing, with a tiny inscription on it that read: Iyytlana hesdrat erts casnaty. Aleron recognized the text immediately. It was written in the ancient language of Kelsi.

He picked up the gold object. He rolled over just in time as the Dragons claws dug into the ground where he had been lying just half a second ago. He threw the object at the Dragon, and it hit bounced off, back onto the floor. Thoughts of Princess Cassara ran through his mind. He couldn’t stand the thought of never seeing her again. He loved her, and he went on this mission for her.

A blinding, white light came out of the gold object on the floor. The Dragon let out a loud roar, and Aleron had to shield his eyes from the light. He took a quick look at the Dragon to see what it was doing. Its eyes had a small hole that wasn’t drowned in light, and Aleron knew what he had to do.

He readied his sword again, and charged toward the eyes of the Dragon. He felt the squishiness of the Dragons eye around his sword. The Dragon let out another brain-rattling roar, and then it collapsed into a ball on the floor of the Cave.

Aleron stumbled towards the tunnel that would lead out of the Cave. It was a long journey, having to walk out by him self. His wounds were so painful that it took nearly four days for him to finally come back into the sunlight. He got back on his horse and rode off into the horizon, back toward the Castle.

Princess Cassara had received word that all the men were dead. This news came from Uncle Sam, who often got wrong information from his informants. The Princess was crying her eyes out when she heard the Villagers running toward the Castle gates.

“Aleron returns!”

“He’s hurt, but he’s alive!”

“Someone get him a doctor!”

Princess Cassara stopped crying immediately after she heard this, and ran down to the gates to meet him.

“Aleron, oh, thank God that you are all right!” she said to him.

“Dear Princess,” he said to her, almost out of breath from his injuries, “I present you with a gift.”

He handed her a piece of rolled up cloth, tied up with a small leather strap. Princess Cassara opened it. Inside, was a Dragon claw, inscribed with the words Iyytlana hesdrat erts casnaty, which means “True love defeats all”. Princess Cassara wrapped her arms around Aleron, and kissed him on the lips.

The next day, in front of all the Villagers, Princess Cassara knighted Aleron, making him Sir Aleron of Popsicle. The next day after that, she became Pricess Cassara Sir Aleron of Popsicle. And they lived happily ever after, or at least until the children are born.

There’s only two. Looking back in my collection just then, I realized something: These are the only two that I want anyone to see. The others are going to be destroyed completely. Going in to this, I thought, “Well, someone will get a trip out of this.” I don’t think that would be the case. I would probably be scathed for even putting them on here. I am not ready to deal with that sort of criticism. As dumb as these two may be, at least they are something other than pure rubbish. I’m still debating if these are any good at all.

Expect some more from me over time, but for now, these are the only two I have that will one day, hopefully, deleted from my memory.

It was a rainy day here in Maine and the atmosphere was just not right for writing. I started off the day by watching Saving Private Ryan, but after the disc skipped, I decided maybe that wasn’t a good idea. I ran some errands, hung out for a while, then started watching 2001: A Space Odyssey. That is one of my favorite movies of all time. I like Ryan, as well, but wasn’t able to watch it due to the skipping. 2001: is awesome in itself, but is even better on Bluray. I have 2001: and Blade Runner on bluray, both of which I recommend buying if you have a player.

I guess I just needed a break away from writing for a day to take in other ideas and let things simmer for a bit. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. My grandmother and aunt are coming and I haven’t seen them in eons. It’s going to be interesting. I’ll probably also play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare tomorrow, as well, if I have extra time. But, I really want to take a crack at working on the second chapter of my novel, or at least write something towards it.

Today’s blog is very short and uninformative, and perhaps I shouldn’t have written anything in it, but I promised that I would. I won’t promise I’ll write tomorrow, but I’ll definitely give it a fair shot.

What is the purpose of this blog?

I should start by saying that this blog is intended as more-or-less a how-to manual for writing. I am not a professional author, nor will I ever claim to be, at least not for now. What I am, however, is an amateur author, an aspiring novelist, and a person who has many goals in life. Currently, I am in college studying healthcare administration. I have a fiancee and two kids. My passion is now my family, though the writing gene runs through my blood. My grandmother wrote a number of romance novels before she passed away. None of them were published, though they were of extremely high quality. I don’t think she would have wanted them published, however; she was a very humble Christian lady who, because of her illness, didn’t work in her last few years. Writing and painting, amongst other talents, were her hobbies.

This blog is focused on following my journey as I write a novel, or sometimes, a few novels at a time. This year, for the first time, I have entered the National Novel Writing Month competition, in which I will attempt to write a 50,000-word novel in only 30 days. My goal will be 27 days. I cannot start on the novel before Midnight local time on November 1, so at this point, I am not thinking of a plot, story, characters, or anything to do with it. My mind is blank. I don’t know what genre I will focus on. I might try something completely different than what I am used to, for added challenge, but I am resisting the urge to consider anything about it at this point. Because of this challenge I am partaking in, I have chosen to document my day-to-day activities surrounding the writing of my NaNoWriMo novel, as well as my current work-in-progress.

Is writing a novel easy?

No. And yes. It’s easy to write a novel, but it’s not so easy to develop it into something that anyone would want to read. Depending on who you are writing for, you don’t even have to write a quality work. 50,000 words isn’t that much… roughly 1,500 words a day for a month will bring you to about 50,000 words, which is a fairly decent sized novel, though some would argue that a novel should be longer. Depending on how much time you devote to writing a novel, either on a daily basis, or setting a goal of a month, six months, or a year, it really shouldn’t be that hard to fulfill.

However, if you are planning to showcase your work to an audience, you might want to make sure you write something of quality. Research what someone wants to read. Read the types of work you like to write about. If you’re just starting out, don’t show off your first piece, or even your second or third. Nothing aggravates me more than someone asking me to read their writing when it is poorly constructed, has no character development, and the emotional attachment is lacking. I want intelligent, thought-provoking writing, with original characters and ideas. I know not everything can be original, but don’t copy someone else and try to pass it off as your own. Find your own style and change it up a bit. It will all fall into place on its own.

How many rewrites should I do?

This depends on your own personal opinion. If you write an excellent story that has only grammar and style issues, a second run-through should suffice. You probably won’t write that well, though, unless you’ve been at it for a while, have done plenty of research and development, and have been a perfectionist since the first word (I am often like this, which is why I hardly finish anything.) I would say at first just write for the sake of writing. Get the story down. Write a 30-40 page treatment using limited dialogue and description. Once you are satisfied with the story, add the action first. This helps set the pace of the story.

Now that you have a story and action, work on characterization. Breathe life into the lungs of your characters and give them a reason to exist. If you find a character isn’t working, either try to put them some where else, or remove them completely. With my first novel, I had 7 characters. I tried to work with them all, but they soon became too hectic and trying to remember where they were at each given moment was very difficult. So, I cut down the number drastically. I had a maximum of three main characters at a time. When one character ceased to be in the story, I added another one to replace him. This worked for me as it also added an element of style into my writing. Three characters is like a triangle; very sturdy.

Next, add dialogue. Dialogue moves the story along by having the characters interact. Make sure each character has their own voice. They should all have different mannerisms from each other, unless they are clones. Use your discretion; each story and character is different. You might want them all to sound the same to the reader.

Finally, reread it and cut out the unnecessary bits. If you find a part is slowing down the story, try to move it to where it would help the plot, or else take it out. Movie directors do this all the time for various reasons, usually because of pacing, but maybe because they feel it pushes the story in another direction from what they intended. In my first novel, not only did I change the number of characters, but I rewrote the whole environment because the world they were in was taking away from the story and making it sound too cliche. Don’t get settled on one plot point, character moment, or location. Be open-minded; if something doesn’t work, change it!

In general, expect as few as 5 rewrites, but it may likely take as many as 20 to have the story just the way you imagined it. Trust me, it’s time consuming, and sometimes disheartening to have to rewrite so many times, or remove scenes or characters you love, but in the end, knowing you have something that flows perfectly is a very rewarding feeling.

Since it is now pressing 1:oo AM, I am signing off for the night, but I’ll be back tomorrow with Day 1 of my journey from nothing to novel.
Cheers, and happy writing!