A New Blog

I haven't been this excited about sharing news with you, my readers, for a while.

In my last post, I raised the idea of starting a new site to focus on my college experiences. I decided to go along with that idea, and that site is now live! Please feel free to stop by, and let me know if you have any thoughts about the content, design, or anything, really. I love feedback!

Adventures and Escapades

adventuresofaneagle.blogspot.com

That being said (or, rather, presented to you as a large heading), I will still post here, on The Eagle's Aerial Perspective, to keep it alive and to share ideas that might be too unrelated to the new blog. Hope you will all drop by either blog from time to time!

And now I must go read some of your blogs, something I haven't done in far too long. If you've commented recently, I should be visiting your website soon!

-----The Golden Eagle

A Potential New Beginning!

Hello blogosphere!

I hope you've all been doing well and have been enjoying your summer.

It's been a (very) long time since I posted on here, and an even longer time since I talked with any of you guys. Sometimes I wonder if I should go on permanent hiatus and leave this website here as an archive of the years I spent on Blogger, rather than a live site . . . but to be honest, I'm really not sure I want to. I may have changed since I created it (definitely changed, actually) and I may be about to start up a new chapter in my life (college awaits in the fall! Only four weeks until move-in day), yet I remain quite attached to this blog, despite the fact I've posted five times in the past two years and I'd like to revamp some of the elements of The Eagle's Aerial Perspective.

I've been thinking about what I want to do. Remain in the blogosphere but create an all-new blog? Keep posting here? At the heart of the issue is whether I think I have the time and the will to blog in college--I'd love to chronicle my experiences, if even a post or two a month, since my school is relatively close to one of the largest US cities and I'm hoping to have some neat adventures. (Plus normal college student studying nightmares fun times.)

So the more I thought about it, the more I've decided I like the "new blog" idea. Get a new URL, start a new site for my upcoming years of college, and maybe occasionally update this one so it's not completely dead. Would you any of you be interested in following a new blog of mine? I'm kind of assuming I'm not posting to a total vacuum right now, but then it has been quite a while . . .

But that's enough about me. How have you been? What's been happening in your life over the past few months?


-----The Golden Eagle

It's Fall

. . . and this year, the trees seem to have synced up perfectly with the dates. The maple trees around here have turned bright red, gold, and yellow and it's very colorful.

As usual, autumn looks like it will be my favorite season out of the year. Weather to look forward, exciting things to do, projects to be finished, and holidays to be celebrated. Sure, it's busy, yet that's also a good part of the reason why I'm looking forward to the next few months.

What are you looking forward to this season?

*And in case you're wondering, no, that's not a picture I took. But it looks like that here.


-----The Golden Eagle

Top 4 Reasons Why Blogging Is A Good Idea

(. . . from the perspective of someone who has decided to get back into this part of the blogosphere one step at a time, beginning with a new post.)*

1. It keeps the brain moving.
Not blogging means I'm not looking for post ideas and I'm not considering all the things I could be posting about from everyday experience. My mind isn't putting thoughts on the back burner to be turned into scintillating (or at least vaguely shiny in patches) posts to be published later.

2. Writing skills are always put to the test.
From speed typing to constructing my last sentence, I feel like my writing has deteriorated a bit since I stopped posting and commenting regularly, which is probably part of the reason why I let it slide for so long. Time to get my writing mojo back with some good old blogging time. (Maybe not as much as before, but a little. Every week. For the foreseeable future.)

3. All the interesting things happening in the blogosphere.
I miss know about this event or that blogfest, even if I'm not participating in them. There are so many great challenges circulating people's blogs year-round (including ones I know I've missed that I wish I had done, like the A to Z Blogging Challenge). I have no idea what's happening or coming up soon, and look forward to getting a sense of what exciting things have been happening while I disappeared.

4. The people.
More than knowing I'm missing out on some great blogging events, I miss knowing what's going on with all you fellow bloggers. I have no idea who's left, who's still here, and who's made their debut. I miss commenting on your blogs and reading posts, as well as reading your comments on my own blog. If you're here, hello there! Please leave a comment so I can go and check out your blog and say hello in your comment section. Seriously. I want to say hi to people.

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So yes. I'm back, for the time being. It's already going to be a busy year--I'm a senior in high school this fall and am preparing for college applications and all the required tests for said applications--but I felt like I needed to stop pushing blogging aside and spend some time around The Eagle's Aerial Perspective, even if it's just a little bit. 

I won't be able to put in the hours like I did when I was blogging in previous years (I used to blog at least three hours a day, each day of the week, and I simply can't do that now) and I won't be able to comment as much on other people's blogs (which bothers me even more, since I want to visit everyone who I know stops by here and I won't be able to reciprocate all the time) but I'll be trying to post at least twice a month (hopefully more!) and visiting you all when I can. I don't know precisely what I'll be posting about; I think it will remain a combination of all the things that interest me, as my header has declared since . . . oh, years ago. Hopefully there won't be too much nonsense.

And here we go! The Golden Eagle Blogs Again, version 2.0.

*I tried thinking of five things about blogging to make it a nice, typical number for a list, but I couldn't come up with a good fifth one. Oh well. Four is decent, right?

How are you guys doing? What's been your favorite moment from this year, so far?

-----The Golden Eagle

2014

Hello.

Happy 2014!

Remember me?

I sort of used to blog here before I decided to take a quarter of a year off from Blogger.

Kind of inadvertently. 2013 was crazy from start to finish.

But I've decided that this year, I'm going to blog. It's not going to be every day; I'm not going to be able to read as many blogs and comment on as many posts; I'm not going to be replying as often to comments on my own blog.

However, I will still be posting. I don't want to let go of blogging as an activity--it keeps me writing, if only a little bit, not to mention the fact that I've really missed knowing what you wonderful people are saying and doing and achieving.

I won't be participating anymore in Teaser Tuesday or the Insecure Writer's Support Group; I may or may not get time to do blogfests. Regardless, I am unwilling to let The Eagle's Aerial Perspective turn into a blogging graveyard.

So, here ends the obligatory "change is coming and I'm sorry for abandoning you all and yes I'm still alive" post put out by all returning bloggers, and here's to the new year! :)

How are you all (assuming anyone still reads this)? How are you doing? What's your biggest goal/resolution for 2014? What's the thing this year that you're looking forward to the most? What was your favorite moment from holiday break?


-----The Golden Eagle

Random Things: CassaStorm, Autumn Weather, Monty Python And The Holy Grail, Colds, And Your Favorite Networking Platform

It's been a very long time since I did a post consisting of a random assortment of things I thought were blog-worthy. Since I'm attempting to get out of a slump, I thought I'd resurrect that old format just to get some words flowing. Here we go! (I know it's a bit long, but you can always skip to the categories you're interested in or ignore me entirely or take a snack break while you read this or whatever.)

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CassaStorm:

First, the news. Alex J. Cavanaugh's new book CassaStorm was released this week on the 17th, sequel to CassaStar and CassaFire, and has since reached the top 100 Space Opera books on Amazon. Huge congratulations, Alex!

Commanding the Cassan base on Tgren, Byron thought he’d put the days of battle behind him. As a galaxy-wide war encroaches upon the desert planet, Byron’s ideal life is threatened and he’s caught between the Tgrens and the Cassans.
     After enemy ships attack the desert planet, Byron discovers another battle within his own family. The declaration of war between all ten races triggers nightmares in his son, threatening to destroy the boy’s mind.
     Meanwhile the ancient alien ship is transmitting a code that might signal the end of all life in the galaxy. And the mysterious probe that almost destroyed Tgren twenty years ago could return. As his world begins to crumble, Byron suspects a connection. The storm is about to break, and Byron is caught in the middle…

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Autumn Weather: 

Now that fall is almost officially here (well, at least in this part of the world) I've fallen in love again with the cool temperatures, brilliant blue skies, changing leaves, and the sharp, fresh smell of the air. I adore this time of year, particularly right now, which is just before the nights get so cold you turn into an ice block when getting up in the morning.

via Pixabay.

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Monty Python and the Holy Grail:

Up until two weeks ago, I'd never actually watched anything involving Monty Python (it took me only slightly less time to realize Monty Python was, in fact, more than one person). I'd seen references to Monty Python and the Holy Grail both knowingly and unknowingly, so when I noticed the library had the Holy Grail I snagged it.

Most of my response for the duration of the film was "Ah, so that's what the 'it's just a flesh wound'/Knights who say Nii/killer rabbits/airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow/knights with coconuts for horses" scene comes from!" because I'd absorbed those through the internet. Particularly the killer rabbits bit; I was especially confused before about what the heck was going on in that scene. LOL.

It's quite funny, at any rate. I'd recommend it, if you don't mind British humor.

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Colds:

I have a cold. Apparently a lot of people are getting sick right now, and I really, really sympathize with them because needing to blow your nose every half minute and having a sore throat isn't fun. Also having your brain start physically feeling like the mushy, heavy, oversensitive thing that it is; I'm getting headaches now and again, which has never really happened before, that I can think of. Sigh. Maybe I'll make soup later or something. (And keep watching copious amounts of Whose Line Is It Anyway?)

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via Pixabay.

Favorite Networking Platform:

I'm curious. Obviously, if you're reading this now and have any intention of commenting on it, you're somewhat invested in Blogger as an internet platform--but if you had to choose, which would be your favorite? Not necessarily in a "if you could only use one for the rest of your internet life" sort of way, just as a "which has the best features/layout/people in your opinion" type of query. Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc.

I like Blogger/Wordpress as blog hosts since they have a pretty open and welcoming atmosphere, at least from what I've experienced, and they give you the ability to post a huge range of content. But I'm not sure about many of the other "social networking" platforms (except for Tumblr, which is opinionated, fast-moving, and extremely image-based), so I want to know what you guys think. Preferences? Dislikes? Things you'd change about a platform you use?

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Read CassaStorm yet? Enjoying or disliking your weather? Watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail? (And if you have, any recommendations on what to watch next?) Have a cold? Don't have a cold? What do you think of networking platforms and their differences?

And if you've made it to the end of this post, here, have some virtual cookies and/or hugs. (Though seeing as I have a cold, maybe not a hug . . . how about a warm cup of tea?)


-----The Golden Eagle

I Can't Believe It's Not August: An IWSG Post

The Insecure Writer's Support Group was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh and is co-hosted this month by Alex, Chemist Ken, S.L. Hennessy, Michelle Wallace, and Joylene Nowell Butler. More about the group.

This time, my insecurity is . . . well, time. Time and productivity. Time flies like an arrow (fruit flies like bananas) and I feel like I haven't done nearly as much writing as I could have this year, and it's already past Labor Day. Furthermore, I feel like I'm crashing on the blogging front as well, which I consider to be a kind of writing. I've been blogging, but not on The Eagle's Aerial Perspective, and I don't know for sure how to revitalize it.

I've been sinking time into Tumblr, and while Tumblr is a great deal of fun it's not the same as having to type things out and express ideas, and also to comment on other people's posts. So I suppose my insecurity is: How am I going to get back to blogging, for real this time? I've been considering jumping into some kind of prompt-influenced thing (if any of you would like to give me prompts for posts, I'd love it) or forcing myself to post every day to get me to at least visit my dash daily. I don't want to give up on Blogger, because this blog is important to me. (Much as that might not be apparent based on my lack of activity.)

What do you do when you're in a blogging slump and can't find the words? 


-----The Golden Eagle

Teaser Tuesday (116)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Rules for participating:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week, my teaser is from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I've never read anything by Dickens before, so a couple weeks ago I checked out this book and Oliver Twist from the library. I don't really know how his individual books are regarded, therefore Great Expectations is mostly being read by chance; I'm hoping it will be interesting.

And here I may remark that when Mr. Wopsle referred to me, he considered it a necessary part of such reference to rumple my hair and poke it into my eyes. I cannot conceive why everybody of his standing who visited our house should always have put me through the same inflammatory process under similar circumstances.

-p. 72

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Have you read anything by Charles Dickens? If so, any favorites? What are you reading now?


-----The Golden Eagle

Writing Styles: An IWSG Post

The Insecure Writer's Support Group is hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh, and co-hosted this month by M. Pax, Karen Walker, and Melissa Maygrove. Find out more about the group.

My writing insecurity this month falls under the header of the subjectivity of different writing styles/voices. A lot of writers and authors these days seem to recommend, or at least lean toward, a very short, direct sort of style. Short sentences, simple sentence structure, uncomplicated dialogue. Granted, this style can be quite effective. But occasionally I hate it and I cannot really write it, or at least I don't enjoy writing it very much. My preference is for long, flowing sentences with plenty of semi-colons and hyphens, and as many variations in sentence structure as possible.

Of course, that goes against a lot of advice, particularly in terms of publication. My main question, I suppose, is whether my love of a . . . let's say, longer writing style (I'm sure there's a technical term I don't know or have forgotten) is actually just bad writing. My inclination is that it's not, but I'm wondering what your opinion is.

Do you consider a certain writing style better than others? If so, which one do you have a preference for? Or do you enjoy all styles?


-----The Golden Eagle

Teaser Tuesday (115)

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Rules for participating:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week, my teaser is from Shadows Over Baker Street edited by Michael Reaves and John Pelan, which is an anthology of Sherlock Holmes stories written by various authors combining Arthur Conan Doyle with H.P. Lovecraft. To be honest, I took it out of the library for one author--Neil Gaiman--whose story "A Study in Emerald" is included. It's quite a good story, and the others I've read are also well-written.

The thorned branches thrust sharply outward like claws, and the whole growth gave one the impression of many black entities congealed into a single one. Each step I took was laborious, each outthrust root a cause for alarm. 

-p. 91, "A Case of Royal Blood" by Steven-Elliot Altman

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Do you read anthologies? Who's one author you'll hunt down if you discover they've written something new? What are you reading now?


-----The Golden Eagle

Teaser Tuesday (114)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Rules for participating:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week, my teaser is from Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. I'm not very far in yet so I'm not sure what to make of it, the book being one of the so-called classics (I try to read classics during the summer each year). Though I do find some of the passages rather funny, if in a black, cynical sort of way.

The government paid him well for every bushel of alfalfa he did not grow. The more alfalfa he did not grow, the more money the government paid him, and he spent every penny he didn't earn on new land to increase the amount of alfalfa he did not produce. 

-p. 79

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Have you ever read Catch-22? If so, what did you think? What are you reading right now?


-----The Golden Eagle

Teaser Tuesday (113)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Rules for participating:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Gosh, it's been a long time since I've done this meme. Over two months, really. Ahem. Anyway, this week my teaser is from Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. It's taken me a long time to get around to reading this book; with the recent NSA spying issue/debate and the general constant political concern that government is getting too big, I suppose it's better late than never.

(Not the cover of the copy I'm reading. But I couldn't find the right one.)

He lay back with his eyes shut, still sodden in the atmosphere of the dream. It was a vast, luminous dream in which his whole life seemed to stretch out before him like a landscape on a summer evening after rain.

-p. 161

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Have you read Nineteen Eighty-Four or anything else by George Orwell? What are you reading now?


-----The Golden Eagle

Getting Back Into The Swing Of Things: An IWSG Post

Hello, everyone!

It's the first Wednesday of the month, so it's time for another Insecure Writer's Support Group post. More information about the IWSG is here.

My insecurity this month is trying to jump back into a story I was writing. The last edit date was 3/3/2013, according to Word--an embarrassing amount of time--and when trying to open the document, I realized I'd completely forgotten what I'd even titled it (it turned out to be National Novel Writing Month 2012, since I'd never come up with a real title sort of title). Not that I'd forgotten the characters/plot or anything, but it made me realize how far behind I am with the story.

My plan is to hit the ground running from here out: Don't reread too much, don't agonize over plot mistakes, don't worry about editing, just continue where I left off and follow the plot outline I made. That way I can finish the story faster and push continuity issues into revisions.

How do you usually get back to writing a story you've left alone for a while? Do you go over things extensively before writing again, or do you jump back in right away?


-----The Golden Eagle

. . . Hello, Blogosphere

*ducks in anticipation of tomatoes*

So, I kind of took an unplanned hiatus from blogging, except for a guest post by the lovely Rachel Morgan last week. By so doing I missed a blogfest and the Insecure Writer's Support Group and have neglected visiting and commenting on blogs, which I feel terrible about. My apologies to all the hosts and to the wonderful people who came by and read and commented on my blog recently, because I really didn't keep up my end of the bargain here.

I'm not exactly back into the blogging swing, either. May and June have kind of been crazy months and the next couple of weeks promise to be even crazier. I'm aiming for July to sort out--well, reinstate--my blogging schedule completely (of course, right when Google Reader shuts down, hurrah), so this post is more of a I'm-not-dead-and-hope-you-still-remember-me kind of announcement. I'm definitely going to be publishing posts in the future, just not on as regular a basis until the dust settles.

But enough about me. Anything new with you? Really, tell me . . . got a new project, draft, book deal, agent, pet, kid, whatever? Is there exciting stuff happening in your life? What are you looking forward to right now?


-----The Golden Eagle

Faerie Prince Book Tour: A Guest Post By Rachel Morgan On Writing For An International Audience

Hello, everyone! Today I have the honor of hosting author Rachel Morgan, who is here to talk about writing for people in the connected world of the web. Take it away, Rachel!


Writing for an International Audience

I'm a South African living in South Africa, which means I write and speak British English (we like to add extra letters to our words and use "s" instead of "z". Like neighbour instead of neighbor, and realise instead of realize). I wrote my first novel using British spelling, because that's the way I'd always written words. But when I started writing books that I knew I was going to epublish through Amazon, I figured the majority of my audience would be US readers. (There are people in South Africa who read ebooks, but we're way behind the US in that regard.) So ... I decided to switch to US spelling.

The thing is, the difference doesn't stop at spelling. We use different words as well, and I didn't always realis/ze that while I was writing! Fortunately, my critique partner lives in the US and she pointed out the differences as she went through my manuscript. I remember a particularly confusing email exchange about a plug in a bathroom, because she thought I was referring to an electrical plug (what is your character plugging in?) while I was referring to the plug you put in the bath to stop the water running out (oh, you mean a stopper, she said).

Here are some other examples of words I changed after the first draft:

post = mail
zip = zipper
bath = bathtub (I even asked for suggestions on Facebook about what word to use for the noun bath! People were very helpful.)
icing = frosting (although it seemed to me from my Googling that US writers use both icing and frosting, so I stuck with icing in the end)
sweet = candy

And there are a whole lot of other word differences that I didn't use in this novel but that I have to remember in future writing (like bonnet = hood and chips = fries).

If you're a writer, have you had to consider these spelling/word differences before when thinking about your intended audience? If you're a reader, do you notice whether the book you're reading has US or UK spelling, or do you just read the book?

~  ~  ~

Rachel Morgan is the author of the newly released YA paranormal fantasy The Faerie Prince, second novel in the Creepy Hollow series. You can find it at the following online retailers (and if you haven't yet read the first book, The Faerie Guardian, you can find out where to get it on this page):

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Barnes & Noble

Apple iBookstore

CreateSpace (print)

~  ~  ~

Rachel Morgan was born in South Africa and spent a large portion of her childhood living in a fantasy land of her own making. After completing a degree in genetics, she decided science wasn’t for her—after all, they didn’t approve of made-up facts. These days she spends much of her time immersed in fantasy land once more, writing fiction for young adults.

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest

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Happy Memorial Day!

I hope those of you celebrating have a wonderful Memorial Day. And if today isn't a holiday where you are, then I hope you have a great Monday regardless!


-----The Golden Eagle

Teaser Tuesday (112)

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted for Teaser Tuesday. Between recovering from surgery and the A to Z Challenge, I haven't blogged about what I'm reading since March 12. Time to get back into the swing of things, I think!

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Rules for participating:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week, my teaser is from The Dreams That Stuff Is Made Of : The Most Astounding Papers on Quantum Physics and How They Shook the Scientific World edited by Stephen Hawking. I am excited to finally be able to read this book, since it includes some really landmark articles by Max Planck, Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Erwin Schrodinger, Richard Feynman, and other physicists.

 

Before proceeding to discuss the explicit significance of quantum mechanics it is perhaps right for me to deal briefly with this question as to the existence of matter waves in three-dimensional space, since the solution to this problem was only achieved by combining wave and quantum mechanics.
     A long time before quantum mechanics was developed Pauli had inferred from the laws in the Periodic System of the elements the well-known principle that a particular quantum state can at all times be occupied by only a single electron.

-p. 243, "The Development of Quantum Mechanics", by Werner Heisenberg

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What was the last book you were excited to read? What are you reading now?


-----The Golden Eagle

Unexpected Packages And Star Trek Into Darkness

So . . . this is a bit random, but I received a surprise in the mail and thought I'd share it with you guys, because all the nerds I know are a.) online and b.) mostly bloggers.

This was on the top of the steps leading to the house when we got home yesterday. My mom's response was a quick "That's not ours" because no one had ordered anything, but when I checked the label it was addressed to me. And it was from Paramount.

It was kind of obvious what the package was based on the shape, but I still had no idea what it was from. I've been playing around with the Star Trek Into Darkness app (which is pretty cool, by the way, even if the software it uses has to be reinstalled every so often) but hadn't put my address into that.

Then I found this paper attached by rubber band to the roll--

--which is something I had signed up for way back when, a few weeks after it launched in December. Are You the 1701? was just a black screen with a sign up form at that point and I couldn't resist, it being about Star Trek and looking so mysterious.

The other side of the paper said this:

And the 3D trailer is here. But anyway, here's the best bit:

The detail is impressive. I love just looking at it and admiring it--the poster's quite big, around 2.5x4.5 feet. For now it's going to stay in its packaging since I don't know what to do with it exactly (all my wall space is taken except for right across from where I sleep, and I'm not sure I want to stare at it when I've got insomnia, lovely as it is) though I'm definitely keeping the poster. (Insert obligatory comment about selling it on eBay as an antique in the future.)

Anyone else looking forward to the movie?


-----The Golden Eagle

Will I Ever Be Able To Do That Story Justice?: An IWSG Post

The Insecure Writer's Support Group is hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh, and co-hosted this month by Lynda R. Young, Mark Koopmans, and Rachna Chhabria. From Alex's blog:

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

The first novel I wrote is the first I finished--and every once in a while, usually 1-3 times a year, I'll suddenly be struck with inspiration for how to revise it. The story has a particular piece of my heart attached to it, which may just be because it is my first novel, but I'm still continually drawn to it several projects later. It's a gigantic mess right now (I divided into a trilogy with a total of around 500,000 words . . . which is not as bad as it sounds when you realize it was originally a single book) and I want to fix it.

However, whenever I think about the story after that brief moment of inspiration, I run into walls. Perhaps (probably?) they're manufactured walls, but when I think about all the things I want to achieve in rewriting the project I always feel like I'm entirely inadequate to fulfill those aspirations. To capture the pieces of humanity I imagine in my head, to make the plot as intricate as those in the stories I really admire, to avoid turning the characters (one in particular) into stereotypes.

Then I wonder if it's even worth going back to. Few writers seem to have their very first novel published, having written and polished several projects before coming up with something truly publishable and/or ready to submit. Assuming it is . . . I wonder if I'll be skilled enough at writing to not turn the story into another mangled pile.

Have you ever had a story that returned to you again and again over several years? If so, did you wait until you'd worked on other projects before writing/rewriting it? Do you usually feel up to the task of working on your stories?


-----The Golden Eagle

A To Z Challenge: Zoology And Zebras

Zoology, a branch of biology, is the study of animals. It is a wide-reaching field and includes--but is not limited to--biochemistry, biological systematics, ecology, embryology, ethology, evolution, genetics, molecular biology, morphology, and physiology.

Looking up a recent development involving animals and zoology was a strange experience. Almost all the articles I found were depressing pieces about animal abuse or some other horrible cruelty (and I found out I'm apparently not human, since I don't have any special attachment to cute pictures), so I hope you won't mind if I repeat what I did last year and this year for Lepidopterology: Post images. Because it's the last day of the A to Z Challenge (so okay, partly because I'm worn out), it doesn't wear at one's faith in humanity, and who doesn't like good pictures? (Even if they're not really "cute".)

I sort of lied. Kittens and puppies don't affect me, but I would
vote for Frogmouths as one of the cutest animals in the world. Seriously.
Image via Wikimedia Commons.

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Sources:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/zoology
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/657959/zoology

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What is your favorite animal? Or do you just like a certain category of animal, like birds or reptiles or insects?


-----The Golden Eagle