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Writing Post Round-up 2016

I enjoy Twitter – and what I enjoy most is sharing and finding new blog posts or resources to help me in my writing journey. I realize not all of us are writers as well as readers, but for those who enjoy both, here are the articles/posts I’ve found most helpful or interesting this past year.

(I read 99% of the articles I tweet out, but not all of them are worth going back to later. The ones below are worth the effort!)Writing Post Round-Up 2016 — Kimia Wood

The Authoring Landscape

The Man Behind the Mask: On the Creation of Batman—and Rewriting Authorship Itself,

by Sean P. Carlin (@SeanPCarlin):
A long and thought-provoking post about assigning authorship to intellectual property, the hazards of mob rule, “correcting for history”, and the baffling fact that someone has published a collection of Shakespeare’s works with Christopher Marlowe as co-author. Important read with telling worldview implications. Continue reading →

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Trump’s Victory Illustrates Self-Publishing

What the Vote Tells Writers About Ourselves

Trump's Victory Illustrates Self-Publishing — Kimia Wood — self-publishing

Image credit: ABCNews

Much has been said of Donald Trump’s recent election as president of the U.S.

I think it can be used to illustrate the self-publishing environment, with some worldview implications that are very interesting.

The ebook market of the last decade or so has been deluged in material, especially from small-scale authors. It’s no longer necessary to get an agent or sign a publishing contract; all that’s needed to get your words in front of people is a few basic tech resources and a document of text.

Authors (typically) like this, and I think one of the reasons is they can do what they want. Continue reading →

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7 Thank-yous

Behold: seven things I’m thankful for in this season of gratitude!

  1. Jesus died to take the punishment for my sins, then rose again, paving the way for me to be adopted as God’s child and received new life in my soul. Nothing compares with that mystery…
  2. My parents. They love me sacrificially, protect me, challenge me, and spur me to maturity. No apologies – my parents are the best.
  3. My brother — he’s my polar opposite in so many ways, but he’s my brother, and I would die before I saw him come to physical or spiritual harm. That’s why I lecture him so much – just ask him 😉20161103_164710
    Like with God’s love, it’s really something you have to see to understand, but once you’ve seen it it never lets go of you.
  4. Writing. Sometimes, I have trouble imaging what people do whose lives aren’t wrapped up in 1) experiencing stories (in games/books/movies/history), 2) discussing those stories and the characters/themes/theology/psychology they manifest, and 3) inventing our own tales as a family.
    I wouldn’t have it any other way.
  5. My country. I recognize that America has some deep fault lines (that I believe are on the point of fracturing in the very near future), but it’s still one of the freest countries in the world, and I am grateful to live in such a prosperous, friendly, free nation.
  6. Cats. I realize not everyone agrees with me, but there’s just something about a rumbling cat curled in your lap on a cold day, or a warm ball of fluff nestled at your feet at night…
  7. Dogs. Our family got our first dog this year, and it’s been a great learning experience as we come to understand how to communicate with him in “dog” – and compare our interactions with his limited dog-mind to our interactions with the Infinite One who made the universe with His words, yet still likes to speak with us.
    Can you say mind-bending?
    (Also, the dog is cute and gets very excited when we come to walk him. How can you not appreciate that?)imgp6210
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Vote DESTINY 2016!

With the clock counting down to the U.S. election, many are in a tizzy over who to vote for in November.

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The post apocalypse: when most problems can be solved with a bigger gun. Or a rocket launcher.

Not me. I’ve got my ticket – right down to what cabinet assignments I’d make. So, without further ado, here’s the presidential ticket we need to put America back on track: Continue reading →

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Top 5 Namesakes

Five Reused Names

The Top Ten Tuesday subject for today is “Ten Characters I’d Name A Child/Dog/Cat/Car/Etc. After”. Fictional characters frequently have cool or memorable names, don’t you think? I’ve only been able to think of five examples of fictional namesakes – and yet it’s curious how many names we’ve snitched over the years.

1. On April 27, 2006, I created a ranger character for a D&D campaign my dad was game-mastering. I named this character “Elwin“, after Elwin Ransom in C.S. Lewis’s space trilogy. Continue reading →

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“The Rakshasa’s Bride” by Suzannah Rowntree

31phj4vyyvl Love is dynamite, every woman a detonator, and every man a fuse. In the hand of God, it builds castles…in the hand of man, it destroys cities.

This book felt like more allegory than story, and at 1800 words it felt like I sped through it. Although I’m much less familiar with the original “Beauty and the Beast” than I was with “The Fisherman and His Wife,” this retelling felt less like the Disney version and more like Taming of the Shrew. Continue reading →

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“Operation Zulu” by Ronie Kendig

51mp1f2omsl When the book opens with someone getting gunned down in the street clutching a laptop, you figure it’s going to be good. Operation Zulu Redemption focuses on a team of female Special Forces soldiers who have gone into hiding after a mission accidentally took the lives of twenty-two innocent bystanders. Living new civilian lives, they hide from the past and from whoever was responsible for sending them in – until someone starts killing them.

Continue reading →

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All About Audio #TopTenTuesday

I don’t know about you, but I like to listen to music while I write, and frequently the words or mood of a song will inspire a story or connect to one of my stories in a special way.
For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday post I’ve chosen to share ten examples of the music that has spoken to me the most.

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Image credit: Amazon

1. “Glory to God” – Matthew Ward, Armed and Dangerous
This song begins with a lilting descent that ends on a trill, a fascinating draft that repeats (with musical variation) for the opening chorus — this sequence is one of White Mesa’s recognition signals 😉.

Paired with this energetic yet flowery melody, the lyrics are a beautiful prayer for praising God. Continue reading →

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All Time Favorites! #TopTenTuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten ALL TIME Favorite Books!

Crafting an “All Time Favorites” list is always difficult, but I have attempted it with the understanding that my tastes and evaluations may have changed ten years hence, and there’s nothing criminal about that!

Without further ado:

  1. That Hideous Strength, C. S. Lewis 51qy8pnfsal-_sx325_bo1204203200_

I recently read this masterpiece for the third time, and in this most recent reading the theological truths, the philosophical overtones and subtexts, vibrated for me in a way they hadn’t previously. Especially as I watch Western civilization teetering on the brink of self-destruction, it was intoxicating to see the seeds of our destruction are as old as the earth itself, and liberating to know Man’s Salvation is older than Time. Continue reading →