JFM - A Novel Approach

DAY 024 - 26/24/1 - Throughout my school days teachers often told me, "Every book has something to teach you." I did not believe them until I started to write my own stories. That's when I saw how much I was affected by all the books I read. Whether a book was enjoyable or aggravating, I always learned at least one thing from its pages. Some books taught me the importance of making wise decisions; that it's better to be honest than to cover up mistakes. Other books taught me about the nobility of heroes; their worthy struggles to stay righteous in broken and desperate worlds. There were also books that taught me about disappointment; that not every glitzy story maintains its promising adventure.  Yes, there is a lot to learn from every book, and there is a good reason why that is.  That reason can be found on its spine. On a book's spine there are always two things: A title and an author. The title is the name of the book. The author is the person who wrote it. No...

DAY 014 - 26/14/1 - "The wheels are in motion." I've always admired this phrase. Perhaps it's from all the road trips I've taken. They'd start with loading the car and checking the map, but the trip didn't officially begin until the car got rolling. I had a recent chance to see this phrase in action; not through a road trip, but through my LEGO club. It meets once a month, and I help run it. This month we challenged attenders to build monster trucks. The trucks had to roll down an incline, jump over a ramp and race across two tables, where waiting at the finish line was a pyramid of plastic cups. Whichever car could roll down the track without falling off the side, and knock down the most cups would be the winner. The prize was a new unopened LEGO Jeep. Everyone was excited to race, but the kids were more excited to win.  Some kids finished their cars in minutes and hastily brought them to the track. They watched as they rolled down and then veered off the...

DAY 007 - 26/7/1 - My writing journey started with an idea, as all stories do; even the nonfiction ones. All great men and women of history changed their world, by first having an idea—a dream that they wanted to come true. Even the world itself was born from God's mind. He created everything, by speaking His thoughts. "God said, 'Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.' And it was so," (Genesis 1:9 NIV). Ideas are the beginning of everything. If there's one thing people say about ideas, it's that they are hard to pin down. The reason isn't always because they fly away. Most of the time, it's because new ideas don't make any sense. As long as an idea stays inside someone's mind, it's safe. However, there comes a moment when what is imagined becomes real; when the pencil meets the paper. That's when what seemed attainable reveals the fractures in its smooth design. It won't survive, but th...

DAY 001 - 26/1/1 - As I sat on the couch watching It's a Wonderful Life , hearing those cinematic bells ring in the new year, a thought came to my mind that made me smile, "This is the year I will publish my novel." I did not consider this lightly. For the past 16 months, I've been outlining, typing, revising, editing and re-editing; all to ensure my debut young-adult novel will be a treasure for my readers. This project has consumed my conversations. ("Hey random person at the library, what interests you in a first chapter?") I've been on a grand journey, where I met several local authors and read some terrific self-published books. I'd like to talk about them in future posts, as well as discuss my favorite books and other media that inspire me. 2026 is the year that this novel will be realized...or, rather, it could be. Don't get me wrong. I'm not scared of rejection. I'm enchanted by the idea of my book on a store shelf, overshadowed b...