True Lies

Last night was my weekly creative writing class and I must say that I had a blast. It was the first night that we were able to do some writing and group participation. (a much needed change of pace from listening to our instructor simply read to us various writings)

The teacher decided to have us do a writing exercise that was called "True Lies," in which we were told to write a small blurb, about 50 words, telling a lie, yet somehow connecting some truth to it. I'm a very black and white kind of guy. Those instructions were a bit to gray for me and so I had him give an example or two, then I set my pen to motion. Here's my true lie.

I'll sit in contentment as we share our raft. She'll probably rest her weary head on my shoulder. "I told you so," I'll say. "I knew this would happen." She'll deny any wrong doing, but I'll sit happy in the knowledge that I was right. After all, happiness is a state of mind, not a follow up to circumstance.

The class was asked to try to brainstorm about what the truth was and it became something of a riddle for some people. When they asked what my truth was, I explained that my beautiful bride-to-be and I are going on a cruise. That's right! Her father decided to buy us a 7 day Mexican Riviera cruise on Princess Cruise lines. We'll be leaving in March during spring break. I'll post more on this later, but for now, I'll explain how it ties in to my true lie. The lie portion of my blurb was a prediction that our cruise line would end up sinking. See, I have a fear of being on the open sea. I blame it on diabetic camp at age 8, but that's another story. All in all, I'm taking a huge step in overcoming my fears, by going on this cruise. I know it will be wonderful, BUT, I've jokingly told my fiancée that "I've seen the Titanic movie, I know how this ends."

So, the truth was, the fact that we'll be going on a cruise over the open sea.
The lie was my 'knowing' about the ship sinking, leaving us to sit in a life raft.

That's it for now. Have any of you done any neat writing exercises that you'd like to share?

The Writer's Wedding Vows

My bride-to-be and I met with our officiant yesterday evening to discuss the ceremony details. We are having a traditional non-denominational Christian wedding, in which vows are said, rings are exchanged, a unity candle is lit and the big kiss seals the deal. So, as we discussed the options for vows, we were hit with the option of writing our own vows.

ME!? Write the vows?

Why was I so nervous about it, after all I am a writer? It's not like I don't have hundreds of pages of written work that I hope to have published some day. Haven't I entered contests for short stories and poetry? Shouldn't writing these vows be a simple act? Heck, I could even invite a few agents to the wedding and tactfully wink at them claiming "I will now read the vows I wrote," in hopes of landing a deal for my next novel.

Uh, no. Try again.

I realize that we, as writers, all (well most of us anyway) have a concern about letting other people read our writing. After all our sweat, blood and tears are put into those words, it can be devastating to hear that someone didn't like our masterpiece. [I mean, c'mon we ARE legends in our own minds.] I found that this translated to why I didn't want to write my own vows. I'm afraid to let people hear my writing. I know that this is a difficult task for so many writers and in my own life, I will have to get over it. I have still decided not to write my own vows, not just because I have reservations about letting people hear my works, but also because quite frankly the traditional vows are REALLY good. They encompass what I want to say anyway.

HOWEVER

In my attempt to break out of my shell and share a bit, I'm going to post an email that I sent to my bride-to-be. This isn't quite "Vows," but it does give a bit of insight into how I feel and helps me let go of my insecurities of being critiqued. This blog has helped me do this quite a bit as I've been able to post all sorts of things I've written. So, without further ado, here's my love letter:

P.S. I did write the first part of this "cheesy" on purpose.

Dear Bride-to-be,

It's come to my attention that you intend to marry me. I think that's fantastic! In fact, I'm so very excited about the idea, that I've already gone out and ordered a tuxedo and invited 75 of our closest family and friends to come celebrate the event with us. I'd love nothing more than to see you walk up that aisle to me, take my hand, and jointly declare before God and Family that our love will ensue through this lifetime. I've taken the liberty to prepare my heart and mind, sanctifying it for you and you alone. You are my one, you are my only, you are my love. I vow to protect you, cherish you, teach you, love you and be true to you as we walk hand in hand together after God. Your love is precious to me and I will hold it like a porcelain doll, with gentleness and care. I will do my best to serve you and make you proud to be my wife. I'm so happy you've chosen me and I will strive to make sure you are always happy to have made that choice in me. I love you more than the stars in the sky.

Your husband to be,
Voidwalker

What about you? Did any of you writers, write your own vows? Did you find it harder or easier than some of your traditional writing? Care to share?

Fight Scene Blog Fest

So, over at Crimson Ink, I was informed that there was a Fight Scene Blog Fest Event. I totally came into it late, but here's a clip from a story of mine. It's in the first draft stages and will probably be getting some re-working, but that's not the point. Here's a short fight scene from my novel, "The Watchers."

“As for the bodies, this is what happens to anyone stupid enough to try to infiltrate Daethia. That’s enough now to satisfy your curiosity. We really shouldn't be out here. Every second we stay here puts us in more da-.”

Suddenly I heard an earth shattering impact and I realized the irony of Devin’s statement.

My eyes froze open wide as I watched in slow motion, Devin flying past me down the side of the hill we were standing on, tangled in the arms of what looked to be a baedra…or was it a drifter?

The creature wrestling him on the way down had a darker shimmering skin. Its face bore a look of anguish, but maintained a distinct humanoid quality. Devin’s own dark skin made it difficult for me to tell where he began and the creature ended. It all seemed so sudden as I watched them roll toward the valley below.

“DEVIN!” I screamed. “Hold on.”

My heart burned inside my chest as I bolted down the hillside after them. They each struggled to gain advantage over the other. It didn’t take me long to catch up and as I ran, I looked around making sure we were alone. I threw myself into the wrestling match, pulling at the creature’s arms with all my strength. I felt that I may as well been pulling on a stone statue. The being was much larger than me and stronger by far. His smooth skin was hot to the touch as I tried to get a good grip to pry him off of Devin.

“Get his stone,” Devin yelled out from underneath his attacker.

I looked in the direction Devin had yelled towards and noticed a bright canary-yellow orb lying on the ground nearby. The assailant, realizing he had dropped his stone, bounded off of Devin and made a quick dash to try to recover his stone before me. He slipped out of my grip, but luckily Devin caught him by the leg and pulled the being back as it clawed toward the ground.

“Hurry!”

I didn’t waste any more time. I made haste to pickup the orb and as soon as I did, I focused on the stone and the creature it was tied to as I had been taught. The creature, which yelled with frustration, suddenly ceased to move. His voice was full of fire as he demanded to me, “Release me.”

“Do you have him Caz?”

“I think so.”

Devin released his hold and ran over toward me as our attacker stood still, frozen under my command.

“Here, quickly,” He grabbed the yellow stone from me, gripped my arm with his free hand and suddenly we were within Deathia once again.
Devin panted and sat into a crouch.

“We dodged a bullet there Caz. You wanted to see a drifter, there you have it.”

Yin's Love

Keeping this post light today, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for the encouraging words regarding my upcoming wedding and writing. You all have been so very helpful to me in so many ways and I want to say a thanks. Also, I just wanted to share a poem that I'm submitting to my local college publication's poetry contest. I'm not big on contests, but it doesn't hurt to try right? Here's the poem, titled "Yin's Love."

Ever since my Yang came back,
His face has changed,
His image black.

Where once like me, his every movement lithe,
Fluid in touch,
His soul was alive.

What happened since he went away,
Yang turned aside,
He lost his way.

Though I wanted to follow, I couldn't go along,
I'm simply Yin,
I just wasn't as strong.

Then returning from whence, I asked that he tell,
Yang seemed so different,
Like he'd just escaped Hell.

I was glad he was back, on this I've not lied,
Yet his demeanor seems darker,
It's as if he had died.

And so we've picked up, where once we left off,
I hold up my Yang,
While he stares from aloft.

Yet in its place, where once was a grin,
His passion abated,
As he stares at his Yin.

I'll never let go, despite his look from above,
Every Yang needs his Yin,
And even darkness needs love.

21 Days & Counting

21 days until my beautiful bride to be and I tie the knot. This picture was taken a couple of months ago at my cousins wedding (that's my fiancee I'm kissing, not my cousin LOL) Not too long from now, she'll be in the wedding dress and I'll be garbed in the penguin suit, hopefully replicating this scene after a heartfelt "I do."

Though we won't have our honeymoon right away, as the wedding itself approaches, I may be missing a post here or there, or unable to leave a comment back for each and every one of my readers. Don't worry, I am going to try my darnedest to keep up, but please have mercy if I miss a beat. I don't want to lose any of you devout void-stalkers.

Anyway, in the mean time I'm still hoping for more participants in my post below, regarding the quote and how it applies to writing. Keep em coming guys, I really find encouragement and get a lot of great ideas from you all.

Have a great weekend and I'll be back on Monday with more Voidwalking goodness.

A Literary Exercise

With much vexation of heart, I announced boldly to my body that it was time once again to get back into my exercise routine. I happen to have a physical therapy department at my office where I'm allowed to use it after all patients are done being seen for the day. In the department, they have many different exercise machines to help rehabilitate injured patients. One such machine is our good ol' friend, the treadmill. As I jumped on Mr. treadmill and set it to a hearty 3 incline and 3 miles per hour (Yes Grandma, you do in fact move faster than that in your wheelchair) I noticed a letter that was posted on the wall not 15 feet away from me. The letter contained a phrase that went something like this:

"Those who do not find time to exercise now, will have to find time for illness later."

I couldn't believe it, not only would I get a physical workout, (Yes Grandma 3 miles per hour does get MY heart going these days, geez, get off my back would ya) but I'd also get a mental one as I mused on this phrase. I thought of any way I could apply that to my writing world so that I could come back and astound everyone with a deep philosophical blog post. Then it hit me, faster and harder than a shoe being thrown at the president in contempt. I realized that it could be a fun activity to ask my readers to either comment back how this phrase could apply to their writing world, or ask them to post on their own sites an example of how it could apply.

So, here's where you come in.

1. Post back a comment to me explaining how you can apply the above quote to your writing life.

OR

2. Write a post on your blog explaining the same thing and asking your own readers to do the same.

I'd love to see some of the concepts you guys/gals come up with.

Results, Benchmarks & Award

After yesterday's poll, I looked into the results and the comments you all left (big thanks to everyone who answered) and found that generally speaking, people mostly want a mix of posting topics. That's what I figured I'd see, but there were a few deviations making the 2nd highest choice topics about ME ME ME. **BLUSH** Thanks guys and gals.

I'll try not to disappoint you.

As for the "Benchmark" part of the title, I just wanted to shout out a big thanks to everyone who's joined my blog as a follower. I've passed the 50 followers benchmark. It's an honor for me to have so many of you stopping by to read what I have to say and encourage me in my own writing journey. A big special thank you to those of you who, not only follow me, but come by regularly to comment! Also I'd like to give a special thank you to Moonrat, who's industry related blog inspired me to start blogging again. So Moonrat, if you find yourself in sunny AZ, you are welcome to all the goodies in my trash cans and I promise I won't call Animal Control. **for those of you who don't already follow Moonrat, go check it out the blog, it's great!**

On to the "Award" portion of the title. I recently found myself a new blog to follow called Southern City Mysteries. I'm sure a lot of you are familiar with it and if not, drop by. There's some great postings and information coming through. I was graced there with an award called the "Creative Writer Award," and a wonderful review for my blog. THANKS! This particular award does not appear to have any stipulations or anything. I'm going to hold on to it and will pass it on here in the near future, so stay tuned. EDIT: Also, Tiana Lei was kind enough to pass on the Honest Scrap Award as well. I've answer the Honest Scrap questions before. Here is that post if you want to see my answers.

As a side note, I'm posting a missing persons request. Does anyone know where Ash went? She ran the blog "From Ramblings to Interviews," but it's not there anymore. I wondered if her link changed or do we need to send out the blood hounds and helicopters?

What do you people want from me!?

Keeping it simple today. I'd just like some feedback from you all to know what you hope to see from me in the near future.

Um...

So as you may or may not know, I am employed in the health care industry. I've worked in the administrative or patient service side of health care for coming on about 7 years now, following a decision to leave the computer world of networking and technical services behind. It didn't take long for me to learn that, just as it was in the computer world, the healthcare industry is saturated with funny stories and quotes. In the spirit of this blog discussing issues revolving around writing and reading, I'm going to share some of the funny things I've encountered in written messages between patients and their physicians over the last few years,

So without further ado, here are the quotes, questions and comments that have left me dumbfounded or smiling.

[Moment 1]
Patient: "How long does it take for marijuana to get out of your system?"
Me: "um..."

[Moment 2]
Patient: "I took my wife's birth control. What is going to happen?"
Physician Response: 'Well Mr. _______ you won't be getting pregnant."

[Moment 3]
Me: So let me get this right. You want Dr. ______ to write you a letter for work clearing you of TB (Tuberculosis), but you haven't been TB-skin tested nor have you had a TB chest x-ray in over 2 years?
Patient: "Well when you say it like that, you make it sound bad."

[Moment 4]
Patient: "I need to know what to do. I got bit on my nose by a Bee."
Me: "I'm sorry, did you say the bee 'bit' you?'
Patient: "Yes, it bit me on my nose."
Me: "um..."

[Moment 5]
Physician's Order Reads: "OB wants Neurology to clear the patient before delivery of her child"
Me: "um...What if they say no?"

[Moment 6]
Patient: "I'd like to know if my doctor can give me an antibiotic for the camel flu."
Me: "Camel Flu?"
Patient: "Yes."
Me: "um..."

So, Here's the Scoop: Tokyo Vice

About 2 weeks ago, my soon to be father-in-law made a reading recommendation to me. Little did I know that the book he was referring me to, Tokyo Vice, was going to open as much of a door to my mind and heart as it did. I listened to him explain the premise of the book, then told him I'd love to read it and so began my journey.

The reading journey brought me back in time, to 2006, when I had went on a personal vacation to spend 3 weeks in Tokyo. Hoping not to come across as a completely unprepared foreigner, I thought I'd do my homework on Japan. I'd learned to read and write the Japanese Hiragana and Katakana which would help me survive some of the written world of Japan. I'd read about onsens, Kabukicho, foreigner job opportunities, visa options, gaijin houses, hostess clubs and most of the do's and don'ts to make sure I was prepared for what I'd be getting into. Little did I know that those things were only scratching the surface of a culture symbiotically tied with the Japanese Mafia. Little did I know that while I was playing around in Tokyo, trying to escape some of the woes of my past, the author of Tokyo Vice, Jake Adelstien, was right around the corner from me (literally at times) risking his life gathering information against the Japanese organized crime syndicate Yamaguchi-gumi. So, obviously, this book hit home with me really hard and really fast.

The book begins by taking you through a wild, and quite funny journey of Jake's introduction into the world of journalism in Japan, namely covering criminal activity for the Yomiuri Shinbun. His wit, skills, gaijin status and luck come together forging the perfect ingredients to bring about this memoir tell-all. As I followed his journey, I was enlightened to many aspects of Japanese culture, criminal or not, that I and many others are ignorant to. In some ways, I almost wish I hadn't heard about some of the things he mentioned in the book, after all King Solomon put it best in his own journal of Ecclesiastes: "For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow."

Despite the difficult elucidations I was being filled in on, I found myself unable to turn away from the book. The further into it I read, the more real the characters and the author became to me. I was filled with sorrow, encouragement, happiness and fear in this roller coaster ride of a book. I can honestly say that I've never felt more part of the story or connected to the characters as I have with Jake's story. His train-wreck of a tale ultimately leads him to a very dangerous dilemma, that any reader could easily agree makes an amazing climax. Without revealing too much, I simply want to say that if you have any passion for Japan or curiosity toward journalism, this is a MUST READ. It will leave you breathless, scared, entertained and maybe even a bit paranoid by the time you finish it. I would offer this warning though, if you have any aversion to sexual content or foul language, you may need to pass on this one. Jake is brutally honest and when honesty meets the crime world, you are bound to be left uncomfortable.

As a critical point to the literary compiling of this book, I did find that the time line of the story, as well as the abundance of Japanese names, were sometimes hard to follow, but by no means were enough to hinder the progression of the story. There are a few rabbit trails he takes you on, but they are there to fill in the gaps and are well worth the time to read.

All in all, it was an amazing read. I felt more emotions being drawn out of me than I've had in a long time. If you spend the money on this one, you won't be disappointed.

I also wanted to include a link to the Polaris Project, which helps fight human trafficking. After reading the book, please consider helping their cause, I know I will.

And for anyone else desiring to continue the story beyond the book, here is Jake's website