Writing Update 4: Another One Bites The Dust

This past week, I made it to page 45 of my manuscript, during which I made the tough decision to remove Xia from the book. I decided to replace her with a different prophetess because, at this point, there are already many foreigners in the region of Yangvaad that Sandra is spying in and I want some natives to provide more "local flavor" to Part I of the novel. Additionally, I realized that I need to get a firmer grasp of the leadership in the area of the country that Sandra is in, to make sure the nefarious plot of the villain retains some sense of logic. I borrowed a book on famous gardens from the library, since one of Sandra's friends is a gardener and I want to have some realistic knowledge of the subject before I put a speculative twist on it. I went with this approach due to the success I had after researching Assyrian and Viking culture to flesh-out Yangvaad, and cannot wait to see what ideas I'll come up with after reading about the most famous gardens in the world.

In my Peace Corps memoir, I'm still in basic training on Pohnpei. Things were still rather quiet and pleasant at this point, so while it's fun to relive some of the memories, it's not nearly as exciting as Kosrae was when everything went downhill. If I continue to work steadily at two pages a day, I should reach my time in Kosrae within the next couple of weeks, and describe the surreal experience of being persecuted for going to a Baptist church.

In other news, some close friends of mine had my family and I over tonight and they absolutely loved the card game that I had developed while in Armenia, which features characters from my series. I want to get that game ready to show off to toy companies once I finish "Fionnuala" because everybody who's played it absolutely loves it.

Next post-Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes

Movie Review: The Blind Side

Abstract: Michael Oher, a homeless black teen, is adopted by the Tuohy family and goes on to become a football star.

Pros:
-The acting in the movie is spectacular and the characters are well-developed. The best performances are Quinton Aaron as Michael, Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy, the mother who takes him in, and Jae Head as my favorite character, S.J. Tuohy, Michael's fun and energetic little brother.

-The film is an extremely accurate portrayal of the true story of the NFL star, including an investigation that occurs later in the plot that I thought was made up for dramatic effect.

-The movie includes a lot of humor with the gripping drama and uplifting message of the story, such as S.J. putting Michael through his own personal training camp.

-The Tuohy family is portrayed as selfless, loving, and genuine in their faith in Jesus. This is a refreshing change for an industry that normally depicts Christians (in particular white Southern ones) as stupid, bigoted, and racist. It's always refreshing to see a movie where the Christians are the good guys for a change.

-The use of "Ferdinand the Bull" as a motif for Michael's gentle nature was excellent, as well as the way in which Leigh Anne convinces him to be more aggressive in the field to protect his teammates.

Cons:
-There's a grammatical error in the Bible verse used in the archway of the school that completely changes its meaning. It should read "With man, this is impossible; With God, all things are possible" to be a proper quote, not "With man, this is possible, etc."
-One character says that another man is handsome in front of her husband and, prior to that, spanks a football coach. While the latter was funny and probably meant to show how much of a sports' enthusiast she was, it still came across as somewhat odd.
-One character who reaches out to help Michael early in the film simply vanishes from the movie.

Overall: Phenomenal-A touching story of what God can do through people who reach out to those who are in need.

(The image used is from moviemobsters.com. I claim no ownership whatsoever over this image.)

Writing Update 3: Filling in the Gaps

I have made a lot of progress on both "Fionnuala" and my Peace Corps memoirs. On the former I'm on page 30 of my latest edit and on the later I've made it to the part where I am welcomed by the host family I stayed with on Pohnpei, the Albert family. It's amazing how writing about an experience can bring back memories in such vivid detail. Today, in the library, I almost felt like I was back on their naas (an outdoor porch of sorts)playing on the Xbox with Alfred and Keith, listening to Kiped talk about his travels to Fiji and Japan, and eating Asipa's delicious food, as well as teaching Danya some martial arts moves. Those were good times, although sometimes I got too comfortable and fell asleep on the naas instead of on my bed.

That will be enough nostalgia for one post, haha! I noticed another issue in my "Fionnuala" manuscript. It's suffering from a major case of NEI (Not Enough Information). Basically, if you haven't read the "Heart of Flesh" short story trilogy, you won't have enough information to truly appreciate what is going on in Part I of the novel. Additionally, some events that did not occur in those stories, (but which are still important parts of the backstory) need to be added. I've made marks where I will add these things in the rewrite. Also, I will give a deeper understanding of how spellcasting works in her world so that my readers will understand just how truly powerful she is, as well as to set up some of the action sequences I will add in later parts of the book.

That's it for now. Until next time, stay posted!

Next Post: Movie Review-"The Blind Side."

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