100 Pages

I have great news to share with y'all today. By the end of the day, I will have finished 100 pages of my book "Dragon Earth." Woopie! Crack out the Root Beer bootles and let's have a party. Or maybe not. But you can tell that I'm excited. I even shot a video for you curious folk on what I've been up to. Take a look. :)

Writing Diseases?

Hiya! This is LaVel Moorehead. I want to mention 2 books that I'm looking to purchase soon and just a bit of background on them.

The first book is called "Unstuck: A Supportive and Practical Guide" by Jane Anne Straw. I chose this book because Ms. Straw recognizes the truth: that we all deal with writers block whether your a full fledged author or a college student or working in a business. When I read the summary some of the topics of the novel, I became excited. Ms. Straw deals with "fear and anxiety, carving out time and space to write, clearing out old beliefs and doubts, experimenting with genre, voice and subject matter, finding your voice." All of these topics matter to an author. Over time, I've managed to come out of my shell with writing but I still need more confidence so I can ask others for feedback. I definitely want to experiment with other genres of writing and not just fantasy or science fiction. Also, finding voice is key so I stand out from other writers. I remember in high school how I struggled to find my voice; the problem was that I was trying to emulate other authors and not be myself. It's not about the big words that nobody knows or the that impresses people in the end, it's your unique outlook and perspective in your writing world that counts.

The other book that I'm purchasing is "The Midnight Disease" by Alice Flaherty. In it, Ms. Flaherty. Of course, she deals with writers block but she goes a step further. She explores the scientific and psychological aspects of writing: the first which is Hypergraphia or the outstanding craving to write and the opposite which is Writer's Block. Explaining the feeling of Hypergraphia, Ms. Flaherty wrote "the sight of a computer keyboard or a blank page gave me the same rush that drug addicts get from seeing their freebasing paraphernalia." Wow! That makes me want to read her book even more. :)

So, I will purchase these books and break them down on the blog. I will write a blog post for each chapter or so in each book to explain my findings on Writer's Block. Feel free to share your thoughts on the authors, I would love to hear from you. So join me as we explore the world of...Writer's Block! Stay tuned, this is just the beginning. Peace. :-0)

Prologue: Safe House

Hello everyone! I promised to post the prologue of my novel to Blogging the Block and I didn't lie. Here it is. Remember, it's a work in progress so I will make changes and tweak it. But don't worry, I'm very happy with the starting point of my novel. Without further ado, enjoy the prologue of..."Dragon Earth!"

I guess what I would say before you read it is: The Pixie, the Knife, and the House of Stone. That's what you will encounter here. So read on. Click on "link text" below. :)


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Purpose of Blogging the Block...Revisited!

Hello everyone, this is LaVel Moorehead. I'm baack! :) Today, I want to get back to the roots of my writing project "Dragon Earth" and my blog "Blogging the Block." Why did I start the blog in the first place? Here, I examine three main themes I have for the blog:

1. This blog maintains a diary of progress on my novel "Dragon Earth." Previously, I would have thought that a diary was "girly" or absolute nonsense. This isn't the case. In fact, I feel like I'm generating excitement while I'm writing and I believe this will make myself accountable to write every day. It doesn't matter if I write a sentence of five pages, it's the "act" that counts.

2. Extend my writing to a community of readers and writers. Many times, fellow writers keep others accountable to write. I know I need that because there are days when I don't want to write at all. This blog is a great way to receive feedback on my writing. I promised that I would post bits and pieces of my writing and I will. Thus, I will be able to receive some feedback on my writing. I will post my prologue soon so y'all can read the beginning of... "Dragon Earth!"

3. Examine the main question: what is Writer's Block? Some people think that it's a problem dealing with problem solving, some think it's a psychological problem, an emotional problem, etc. I want to examine what causes Writer's Block and how can fellow writers conquer it. Therefore, I will order several books on amazon and post articles on the blog for my blog community to read. I definitely need advice on how to conquer Writer's Block because I want to be as efficient as I can every day.

So, those are my three main themes for the blog. Originally, I came up with the idea for the blog because Dr. Orlando (my adviser at the University of MD, College Park) pressed students to brainstorm ideas for a creative project. I always wanted to write a book but I didn't feel the courage necessary to do it. But now, times have changed. I hope this blog will flow with great thoughts and ideas in the coming year and I hope you will join me on the ride.

Okay? I will post my prologue soon so y'all can read it. Of course, it's preliminary and I know I will edit and revise, edit and revise, edit and revise...ahh! But that's the writing process. I will see you soon so stay tuned my friends! Peace. :-0)

Divine Inspiration: A Message from Matilda

Hello, hello, and many times hello. This is LaVel Moorehead, how are ya'? I am doing fine right now; thankfully, I'm not sick anymore. I feel as free as a bee. Definitely, I feel back in the mode of writing. I've been revisiting my outline for my novel the past couple of days. I've learned a couple of things over the past few days so I'll let you in on it.

Well, one of my main characters Leo sits with his friend during lunch at school. And lo and behold, there's this student called Larry Temblore or "The Bull" who comes into the lunchroom. He wants to bully someone...and bully someone now. And who does he pick on? My other main character: Bilal. The Bull absolutely hates Bilal and calls him a "twerp" because a girl (Alexis, my other main character) stood up for him in an earlier chapter. While Leo wouldn't typically associate himself with the "nerdy crowd," he tries to help Bilal because....the Bull also threatens his crush, Alexis!

Dun, dun, duuuun! Oh the drama! So, that's trial number one. Why does Leo help Bilal? I established Alexis as the link, but I needed to go a step further. As I've stated before in earlier posts, Leo steals a magical object. Leo soon learns that this object contains powers such as telekinesis. The second trial dealt with Leo fighting the Bully? How would he do it and where does the magical object come in? Well, Leo's emotions are raw and powerful in this scene, and he guides his anger against the Bull through the Star Jewel (the magical object described). In chapter four (which I'm still writing), Leo's anger causes objects such as a lunchbox and other things on his lunch table move. He recognizes this and sees the Star Jewel glowing. Then, Leo connects two and two together and decides to move against the Bull. Ta-dah! I hope to get all the kinks fleshed out in revisions, but there you have it.

Writing takes planning and I didn't want to go in this scene without a plan. The Star Jewel is an important magical artifact because it's the essence of all five dragons of Dragon Earth. Leo doesn't know this...yet. But he will in the upcoming chapters.

So, who do I have to thank for helping me with chapter four? I have to thank Roald Dahl and his wonderful book "Matilda." Matilda learns that she has powers to move objects and she uses this to her advantage to fight the Trunchbull. Thus, Leo does the same with Larry Temblore, the evil, evil Bull. If you haven't seen "Matilda", go watch it because it's a great movie.

Well, I'm off on an adventure: homework, homework, and more homework. Pray for me y'all. I'll be back tomorrow with several blog posts that I think you'll find interesting. Stay tuned! Ta-tah and I'll see you then. Peace. :-0)