C.J. Sears's Blog, page 21

Miscellaneous Things & Final Sneak Preview

I’ve struggled to come up with an interesting topic of discussion this week. Usually, the inspiration hits me (for secular discussion) or the Holy Spirit guides me (for evangelism and biblical topics). But my mind and my focus have been elsewhere recently.

So today’s (one day late) post is a bit of a change-up. I’m calling it “miscellaneous things” because it’s a hodgepodge of what I’ve been involved with lately.

I got a new cat! His name, funnily, is C.J., and he’s super sweet. I adopted him from a PetSmart back in Longview, TX. He’s been a little shy around the house, but started to come out of his shell a couple of days ago. Not sure if he’s part Maine Coon or just a long-haired tabby, but he’s a sexy beast (if you will indulge the corniness of that statement). Sissy (my Calico female) isn’t very approving of him, but he doesn’t seem to dislike her. Hopefully she’ll come around to his presence.[image error]
(Most) video games aren’t doing as much for me as they once did. It’s good that I devote less time to it, but it also means I’m straining to dredge up the will to do much of anything but scour the web for articles and discussion forums to peruse. The methods are different yet the results (lack of ambition) are the same. I want to do things, need to do things, but the hand of complacency and procrastination seizes me even when I don’t appreciate it.
I’m realizing more and more that my future may not be as an author. Don’t misunderstand me: I love writing. The sequel to The Shadow Over Lone Oak is still underway, albeit becoming a nuisance in the last stages. This blog will persist as long as I’m capable of updating it with new content. I will always be a writer. But the next Stephen King/J. K. Rowling? A millionaire/billionaire auteur known around the world? Barring a miracle, that’s not going to happen. And I don’t want it. The love of money is the root of all evil. I’d rather be poor and alive (in Christ) than rich and dead (in sin).
With regards to wrestling, I’m ambivalent. I do enjoy seeing great nostalgic acts and truly capable up-and-comers, but the favored stars of the higher-ups leave a lot to be desired. Bobby Lashley (Impact Wrestling’s current Heavyweight Champion) and Alberto Del Rio El Patron are not an entertaining main event pair for me…and the less said about Roman Reigns aka “The Big Dog” aka “Two Moves of Doom” aka “Mr. Unlikable Face” the better. As far as I’m concerned, these guys are (don’t take this lighthearted statement too seriously) dummies, yeah!
I’m often more tired than I can understand. This ties in, I think, with my unwanted slothfulness. It’s an ongoing cycle of waking up, trying to engage with work, failing, loafing around, getting sleepy early, going to bed at my usual hour, and then repeating. It’s like I’m imprisoned in a jail of my own making. But I firmly believe that I can break free as long as I keep trying, keep tunneling with that metaphorical spoon of hope, and come out the other side smelling a little dank but otherwise the better.

Finally, here is the very last sneak preview for my upcoming sequel novel (and yes, one day it will have a title, but that day is not today):

He was never a Starbucks junkie, so Finch took Kasey to a low-key joint sandwiched between a rundown department store and an antique shop. The Meister’s Brew, run by an elderly hippy couple for more than thirty years, had that old-fashioned beatnik feel. Dim lighting, poetry readings, and whispered words greeted them as they entered the establishment.

She insisted he pay for drinks. Had to be a gentleman, didn’t he? He never minded, but it was another example of how she always got her way. Until he ended the relationship.

The price was a bit steep. He’d rather support this place than a conglomerate, but twenty bucks for two vanilla lattes and a cinnamon bun pushed his charity to its limits. He forked over the dough, trying to reconcile how he’d lost one hundred twenty dollars on his first day back to work.

Kasey picked out a table adjacent to the “Lover’s Corner” section of the room. He was starting to wonder if she’d purposefully gone deaf considering what he’d told her in the elevator.

Finch seated her first, careful to avoid lingering eye contact. He didn’t need her getting any untoward ideas. This was strictly professional, just two operatives planning out a strategy. He hoped that was enough for both their sakes.

“This is nice,” Kasey said, loosening her ponytail and letting her golden strands rest on her shoulders.

“Yeah.”

“It’s so you.”

“I suppose,” said Finch. Truly, he was the king of conversation today.

“You don’t have to be a stiff,” she said, twirling a lock of hair. “We’re still friends, aren’t we? We can talk like normal without dredging up any…memories.”

He wanted to believe that. But the last things he’d said to her, after that night’s tussle, hadn’t been pretty. How could she forgive him so easily? He hadn’t even forgiven himself. Never could.

The latte was icy, the polar opposite of how he liked his usual black coffee. Kasey’s frothed as she swirled a plastic spoon around the rim like it was the carousel at an amusement park. Her cinnamon bun looked delicious, dripping with sweet, buttery goodness. She bit into the roll with elegance befitting a debutante at a ball.

“I’m sorry,” he said, not certain if he was apologizing for his current behavior or for what happened years ago. Maybe a bit of both.

“It’s fine, Llewyn. I mean, I wish things were different but that’s the past. I get it. You’ve moved on. No crying over spilled breast milk, you know?”

Kasey had a way of being crass that somehow wasn’t offensive.

“If you’re sure.”

“I am,” she said, firm and succinct, so unlike her. “We were partners and friends first.” Lovers second went unsaid.

I’m now completely without anything to share that won’t dramatically spoil (in my opinion) the plot of the novel). But I hope you’ve enjoyed every tease, every sidestep, in today’s meandering blog post. Have a great Tuesday, a wonderful week, and God bless you for always taking the time to read my (sometimes) baffling musings.

Folly of Material Things Revisited: Treasures of the Heart

It’s amazing how much the world changes in only a few decades. Just over twenty years ago, I remember seeing the first truly portable cell phones (not the Zach Morris abominations but the first flip models). I remember buying VHS tapes and messing with rabbit ears on top of a TV. I even remember now-defunct ideas like the Shirley method and the food pyramid.

It’s weird that I often feel ancient and out of touch when I’m only twenty-six. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not anti-technology. But I do think that the race to better our products highlights a key weakness in the human condition: we’re never satisfied.

It’s not enough to have fresh food available at any grocery store: now it must be delivered to us via Amazon. It’s not good enough to have access to a phone that allows us to call anyone anywhere: now it needs internet access, instant messaging, and video games. It’s never enough to have the latest in a long line of iterations: we’re always thinking of the next improvement, no matter who small.

Why is that? Why can’t we ever be contented? The answer is quite simple. Ancient. We must go back to the beginning.

“The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.” (Genesis 2:15-17)

We lived in paradise. We had eternal life. We had a personal relationship with the Creator.

And we threw it away. For what? Godly knowledge. We wanted to be Him. Many still do. But they no longer clothe their shame in fig leaves. No, now they wear uniforms, robes, and lab coats, preaching their sinister designs and desires from backrooms and in front of large crowds.

But even in their selfish ambitions, these men are still not gods. They owe their allegiance to a pantheon of modern deities: money, science, fame, power, and lust. In the end, their gods are but one: sin. Their lord is the devil and in his false promise of godly knowledge.

No one is immune to these temptations or their influence. We all fall short. We all want more. But when we look to Him, when we believe in and trust Him who made us, we come to embrace one idiom that is true more often than not.

Sometimes, less really is more.

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:25)

Restraint, I think, is something we could all practice a little more. An abundance of material possessions and wealth is fun, but it means nothing in the sight of the Lord. Be careful where you place your heart and be discerning about such things in your life.

Next time you think you need to upgrade your phone, really ponder how necessary it would be for you to have. Can you not make do with your current model? Is the difference between 8 GB versus 10 GB so great that you cannot be satisfied?

In the same way, anything that you wish to store up here on Earth should be considered with extreme caution. Maybe 4K isn’t the next step for you? Maybe your house is small, but you’ve managed so far. Maybe you’re struggling with pining after success, not realizing that the things you have are sufficient?

Whatever it is, don’t think I’m making this post to be judgmental. Far from it. God knows I haven’t been the best with my free time and my money. There are a lot of wasted hours and ill-spent gain in my repertoire. But I have faith in Him who saved me that I can begin to lose my undue attachment to the things of this world.

“Don’t collect for yourselves treasures on Earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

Have a wonderful Monday, God bless, and see you next week-

-hopefully with an update on progress for my sequel novel…

Struggles of a Sheep

This past Sunday I attended my first church service in over a decade. I was nervous. I had never been to this particular building before and knew no one there other than my mother. I’m not an outgoing, extroverted person, so things like meet and greet or singing make me want to retreat.

In a word, I’ve never felt like I belonged in a church. So how did my first service in years pan out? On Easter Sunday?

It was good. The music was performed well. The sermon focused around Romans 8:10-16 and our new life in Christ. The pastor seems like he knows his theology and is a pretty amiable guy. The children performed a little play/chorus that was pretty cute and thematically appropriate.

Did I sing? No. I kind of hummed along to the rhythm. Did I shake hands? No, and no one really approached me to do it. But I liked the service. I think we’ll attend again this coming Sunday before I head back to Arkansas.

I couldn’t help thinking all week (sorry for the late posting) that something was wrong with me for not engaging with worship the way others did. Was the Spirit not in me as I’d thought? Was I wrong to believe that I’d been saved?

These questions are plagues. They do nothing but fuel doubts and further condemnation.  The Lord does not condemn but convicts. The thoughts that I was having came not from Him but from the other – the one who seeks nothing but the sinner in me.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you’re not good enough or you’re not doing it properly or you’re not right with Him because you didn’t raise your hand high enough in worship.

Truthfully, none of us is good enough. It’s not something we can obtain by means of our works or activities. We are saved by His Grace through faith alone. It is a free gift, this salvation. A gift of His love for us. We don’t truly deserve it because of our rebellious, sinful nature, but He has given it to us anyway. What a fantastic Father is our Lord.

We are His children. He wants us to be with Him and come to Him. He shares in our struggles. He bore our burdens when He took on the Cross. When you’re feeling down or conflicted about your faith and your belonging with Him, always remember His words and His promise to us. Trust in Him, seek Him in life and prayer, and you will always be able to find Him.

Some of us become so consumed by our failings that we believe we are irredeemable. But as the Lord says:

“What do you think? If a man has 100 sheep and one of them goes astray, won’t he leave the 99 on the hillside and go search for the stray? And if he finds it, I assure you: He rejoices over that sheep more than over the 99 that did not go astray. In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones perish.” (Matthew 18:12-14)

So even if you have truly drifted from the faith, if your problems aren’t merely figments of the imagination or the work of the enemy, He still wants you. He will chase you until you return to his flock. He is that Good.

Thanks for reading. Happy Thursday. God bless!

Nature of Failure & God’s Forgiveness

What exactly is failure? Is it simply the opposite of success? Is it an emotion, a feeling, or an actual state of being? Is it even perceptible in the way that we believe?

Various definitions of failure include:

Lack of success
An unsuccessful person, enterprise, or thing
The omission of expected or required action
The action or state of not functioning
A lack or deficiency of a desirable quality
Being unable to live up to a standard

I think we can all agree that these are solid interpretations of what failure means to us as people. I doubt anyone, even the most successful business CEO, is unfamiliar with the downtrodden, happiness-sucking, agonizing torture that is failure. To err is human, as they say. And boy, do I (and you) err more times than I wish to recount.

“I’ll write four pages today.” No, you won’t.

“I’ll play a couple of hours of that game and stop.” No, you won’t.

“I’m going to get out there, stop fooling around, and do the right thing.” No, you won’t.

Failure is a necessary pit stop on the road to a successful plan. You get knocked down, you get up, and then you get knocked back down again. The goal is to keep on pushing through in spite of your losses and in spite of the voice in your head telling you that you’re just going to screw it all up again.

But what if that’s not the answer? What if motivating yourself to persevere isn’t enough? What if the truth is that there are no successes earned purely by the human condition? What if what you perceive as success isn’t success at all but, instead, the ultimate failure?

In a previous post, I mentioned the battle of wills that persists between humanity and the Lord. To me, this is also important to consider when we discuss the failures in our life. Perhaps it’s a sin that you’re struggling with (immorality, idolatry, etc.) and no matter how many times you think you’ve conquered it you come crawling back. Some of us crumble under that pressure, believing that we are hopeless and without anywhere to turn. We rail against ourselves, stating that God should just give up on us and find someone who can actually follow through.

But the beauty, I think, of our Lord is that not only does he forgive us our mistakes, our trespasses, but that our relapses can be seen as part of the only plan that matters: His. It’s a misstep to believe that one should conquer all their faults or problems in a fell swoop. That’s not how progression works and more to the point it undermines the truth that His will be done.

If you could accomplish anything and everything by your own cognizance, why would you ever need Him? Or, more bluntly, you would be under the false impression that you simply don’t need anyone but yourself. It’s vainglorious to believe that your power alone keeps you afloat, that your will alone is all that matters when trying to extract yourself from sin (or even simple flaws that aren’t necessarily sin).

It’s an easy trap to fall into when we’re continually brushing against a wall. We think that if we only did this or that, if we concentrated harder, then surely that’s all it would take to smash through the proverbial brick to the other side. But that’s never been true.

For years I struggled with a particular temptation, always reneging on the promise to quit. But when I lost all hope and Christ came into my life, I found that while lingering thoughts may still flitter through my head like snapshots of a dying man, the power it held over me had simply vanished. The biggest roadblock in my life was gone from me and I was free to come to Him for anything that troubled me.

My other struggles and sins are still with me, but I am able to recognize them and the Spirit rebukes them. I may fall, I may stumble, but I live knowing that He loves me and literally died for me and you and everyone whether they believe it is true or not. It’s a beautiful thing to recognize and realize that someone cares for you so much that they bore all your burdens millennia before you were even born.

That’s powerful. That’s the Lord. That’s your Father and mine.

“Though a righteous man falls seven times, he will get up, but the wicked will stumble into ruin.” (Proverbs 24:16 HCSB)

How many times can you be forgiven? Jesus uses a real number in the following passage, telling Peter that a man should forgive his brother four hundred ninety times, but it is clear that God’s love, greater than that of any man, is infinite for as long as you truly seek it.

“‘I tell you, not as many as seven,’ Jesus said to [Peter], ‘but 70 times seven.’”

He goes on to tell a parable of a kingdom where a master wants to settle the accounts of his slaves (what we would call indentured servants). A slave begs forgiveness for being unable to repay and the king grants his request. But then the slave turns and denigrates his fellow man, turning his wrath upon them. As a result, he is penalized by the king and tortured for his actions.

This discussion is mainly about forgiving your brother (fellow man/woman) and doing unto others lest you reap the sorrow and suffering of hell. I think we can extract another lesson from the passage: God loves you, wants you to come to Him, but He will not tolerate the person who spurns Him and spits on His grace.

So because you’ve been given this grace, always pursue it in earnest. Understand that though you may fail to live up to your own expectations, you yet live up to His by placing Him at the center of your life. The only true failure is to turn away from Him and seek to harm others and yourself to get what you want.

Do not be deceitful, asking God for forgiveness and aid while showing contempt for it. Do not be the man in the parable who accepted the king’s forgiveness of his debt and immediately turned around and enacted vengeance on his fellow man.

Do not harden yourselves to the Lord. The stumbling blocks of life may cause you to trip and wander multiple times, but He will always take back those who seek Him and His will for their life. His love for you is unquestionable.

“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Don’t think that missing a deadline or failing to live up to a standard you’ve set for yourself is a true measure of your success. Rather, remember that learning from one’s mistakes is as much a process as it is an action. It can take months, years, even decades, but so long as you believe, He will take you where you need to go.

Maybe I won’t be a hit author with a bestseller on the front page news (not what I want anyway, really). That’s okay.

Maybe video games will always be a part of my life, but they don’t have to override my decisions.

Maybe I don’t know what I want with my life. Maybe I don’t know what His plan for me is, but that’s okay. He does.

All I know is that even when I make a mistake, when I go the wrong direction, when my thoughts linger on that which they shouldn’t, He is still there. He is always available, always listening, always caring.

All you have to do is pray.

Battle of Wills: Giving of Yourself

Life is a battle of wills. Your will vs. your employer’s will. Your will vs. the will of your neighbors, friends, or family. Your will vs. the will of our Lord.

It doesn’t matter where you are in your walk, you as a person are in a constant struggle with the intentions of others. You’d like a raise, but your boss doesn’t see the value of your work. That’s a battle of wills. Maybe your loved ones are pulling you in different directions, wanting you to do this or that for them, but you’re not sure you want to commit to any of them? Also a battle of wills. You strive toward a goal, want to focus on completing a task, but the Lord says “no, now is not the time” and thus you have once again entered a battle of wills.

Amazingly, your answer should be the same in all these situations: submit to His will. Consult the Lord when undertaking any great task. Ask that He should guide you and steer you away from sin, tell Him what you want from life but nevertheless acknowledge that His will be done.

Let’s use one of the examples I’ve given. You asked your boss for a promotion or compensation, but he won’t give it to you. What should you do? Campaign against him? Whine? Give up? No, the answer is simple: ask Him who governs us all. There must always be a reason for the things we don’t receive in this life. Maybe getting that higher position or money will drive you into sin? Greed is an odorous parasite that can affect even the poorest among us. If God’s will is that you should remain where you are (or seek employment elsewhere), perhaps it so that you may grow in your spirituality and not become warped by the desires of the flesh?

The hardest lesson to learn in this life is that sometimes what we want is not the same as what we need. Millions of people want to be rich and famous, basking in the glow of their wealth. But, if they had such things, what good would it do them? Money doesn’t buy real love but a mere shadow of it called adoration. It’s a fleeting, dirty thing that wanes with each passing day.

I’m not saying that all desire to improve our lot in life is sinful. Many of us want to be successful not to glorify or to hoard it but because we want to make comfortable lives for our families. That is indeed a noble goal. I don’t think the Lord has a problem with anyone wishing to provide for their families. But it’s a slippery slope. At what point is success enough? Can you resist the urge to go higher, faster, and further in the world? Will you be content with high five-figures? Six figures? Millions?

At what point does a person with means and money put his foot down and say, “Okay, that’s enough. I should start giving back.”

It’s not an answer that can be found in a self-help book. It can’t be deduced from the works of a prosperity teacher. No, the answer to any question, and most especially with a struggle of wills, is always in the Word. Seek and ye shall find, you know?

Whatever your lot in life, regardless of what form your battle of wills takes, always remember that God’s will is to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. By your means, give of yourself to the world that which glorifies His name. If you have money, donate what you can to the poor—not for your own pride, but for the sake of their living. If you have wisdom, share that with others—and hope that it doesn’t contradict the only true wisdom that is the Lord’s! If you have not an ounce of knowledge nor a penny to your name, give over that which the Lord has granted you—a good-natured sense of humor, love and appreciation of others, etc.

“Sitting across from the temple treasury, He watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums. And a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. Summoning His disciples, He said to them, ‘I assure you: This poor widow has put in more than all those giving to the temple treasury. For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she possessed—all she had to live on.” (Mark 12:41-44 HCSB)

In this example, many rich people were tithing in great sums to show off their wealth and glorify themselves. But Jesus notes one little old widow with a few coins and says that she is the most charitable. Why? Because she gave what she had, everything she could spare.

The lesson to take away isn’t, I think, that we should give up everything we own (although we probably could and should if capable), but that one offering that seems meager to us is in fact equal in the eyes of the Lord. We are not measured by our level of success but by what we do with it.

Maybe you’re living in poverty and all you can afford to give to someone else is a kind smile and a conversation. That’s valuable in the Lord’s eyes. Maybe you’re not great with monetary charity, but you can preach the Good News so that it reaches eyes and ears across the world. That’s valuable in the Lord’s eyes.

The point I’m trying to make is this: while life is a battle of wills, it doesn’t have to be as simplistic as me vs. you or you vs. your boss or us vs. God. We are free to make our own decisions in life, but the success that matters isn’t in the form of money or admiration. It’s following God’s will, His plan, to be with and in Him, to walk in His steps to the best of your ability no matter where we fall in the metaphorical food chain.

“You don’t even know what tomorrow will bring-what your life will be! For you are like smoke that appears for a little while, then vanishes. Instead, you should say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’” (James 4:14-15)

Sorry for the late posting. Have a great day, thanks for reading, and God bless!

Unwarranted Criticism: How Not to Analyze Writing

When analyzing any work of fiction, critics (amateur and professional) are quick to point out that which they perceive as a weakness. It’s in the nature of humans to lean toward negativity and a tendency to embrace harsh opinion—especially in the case of confirmation basis. If you go into your critique expecting the worst piece of garbage you’ve ever read, then that’s what you’ll get. Your mind will even trick you into thinking that minor details are substantial chinks in the armor of an otherwise solid narrative.

That’s not to say that bad writing doesn’t exist. It certainly does. But more often than not, the preconceived notions of a given individual influence their opinion on whatever they’re in the midst of critiquing.

Take, for example, the recent influx of mixed or negative reactions by professional reviewers to certain aspects of Mass Effect: Andromeda. As early as the first trailers, negative perception began to take hold. “What’s wrong with that character’s face?” “Why is she holding the gun like that?” “Mass Effect 3’s ending sucked and this whole game will.” All of those have a certain validity—there are questionable animations in the game (though no different from any of the previous three), there is a bug where a character holds a gun incorrectly, and Mass Effect 3’s ending (especially pre-patch) does indeed suck.

But when those nitpicks became the oft-repeated word, when a narrative about the state of the game began to form, it became apparent to me that whatever flaws the game has were being magnified by these negative voices. Things that would otherwise be overlooked by many became the focus of a kind of heightened sensitivity. This, then, eventually bled into analysis of the game’s story and characters, lambasting them as being just as weak or unpolished as the animation.

I spent a lengthy amount of time with Mass Effect: Andromeda (dozens of hours and everything but a few additional tasks) and I can safely say that much of the criticism is either unwarranted or misplaced.

WARNING: EARLY GAME SPOILERS AHEAD

The basic premise of the game is thus:

In 2185, four arks containing five different races (humans and four alien races) launch from the Milky Way into dark space. Six hundred years later, they awake from cryostasis with the hopes that the golden worlds they sought will be their new home. As you’d expect, they are not that lucky.

A dark energy mass called the Scourge tears through enemy ships and corrupts planetary atmosphere. A hostile alien race called the Kett is after ancient technology guarded by machines known as the Remnant. This ancient technology appears to have some effect on clearing the atmosphere and making it suitable for life. Meanwhile, the Nexus, the hub of the ark races, experienced a mutiny and is in dire need of resources.

The inhabitants of the human ark, Ark Hyperion, arrive at Habitat 7 and quickly come into combat with the Kett. Your father is Alec Ryder, the man in charge of finding humanity a home as their “Pathfinder” dies trying to bring the planet’s atmosphere back into acceptable parameters. He names you, the main character, as his successor. You are considered unqualified and circumvented the procedure for picking subsequent pathfinders. The Nexus leaders don’t have much faith in you. It’s up to you and a small band of misfits with various agendas to find a new home for the Milky Way races and stop the Kett from achieving their goals.

So, what exactly is the problem here? According to some, the method of how the main character acquires his position is unbelievable. [pause] Uh, I think that’s kind of the point. Ryder are meant to be unproven. You are meant to be young. You are meant to annoy those struggling to stay afloat in positions of power. Becoming the Pathfinder via your father’s quick decision making works well—especially when you know the full context that is discovered through later story material.

This decision resonates throughout the story. People constantly perceive you as one of two things: the hope of life in a new galaxy or a man/woman with delusions of grandeur. This creates conflict between yourself and the people you meet. How do you live up to expectations when people already doubt your capabilities?

In a way, that’s the story of the game itself. Mass Effect: Andromeda’s developers were under a lot of pressure to deliver a fitting sequel to a highly vaunted franchise. Compared to the original team, they were newcomers, having very little experience with creating a triple-A game and even less with one as massive a scope. There were bound to be flaws, errors that slipped through simply by the mass of things to consider.

But like Ryder, much of the criticism is embellished to the point of absurdity. A simple, well-known narrative device becomes a contrivance to the person critiquing the story.

This leads me to the point I’m trying to make. How does one avoid the many common misconceptions in judging the quality of a given piece of writing?

Misconceptions about Mass Effect: Andromeda and other work:

A loose thread becomes a plot hole to an errant reviewer. When writing anything that involves discovery or mystery, there will not always be a bow to wrap up every facet of a story. Han Solo is left frozen in carbonite at the end of Empire Strikes Back, yet it would be foolish to call that a plot hole. Unresolved mysteries and narrative threads are sequel bait at worse, not plot holes.
Lack of believability, according to a misinformed reviewer with an axe to grind, is a critical error. But the fact is that some of the greatest stories ever written have that flair of the intangible or the ludicrous. Would Star Wars be as enjoyable without the Force? Would Luke’s guided shot into the exhaust port be nearly as thrilling if we knew he could do it through sheer skill? I don’t think so.
I don’t like these characters, so they must be bad. This is tricky, because the fault here can go ways and some tastes are subjective. Perhaps the characters in question are poorly written. In this case, the reviewer would be justified. On the other hand, too often does the likeability of a character alter the supposed quality of said being. Walter White is a disgusting human being, yet the character himself is fantastic. Likewise, I may not like Peebee from Mass Effect: Andromeda, but she’s not a bad character. Just an obnoxious one.

There are more misconceptions about writing than what I’ve presented, but I think I’ve made my point. When being critical of any work, including my own, I try to remind myself to keep these aspects in mind:

Does the work tell a complete story? Or does it mandate a sequel? Remember that leaving something unresolved in a narrative is not the same thing as requiring a sequel to tell a whole story. Jurassic World, for example, has sequel hooks but is entirely resolved within itself. That said, even a cliffhanger ending that necessitates a sequel is not an inherent flaw. It’s not about loose threads being present but why they exist. That’s the difference between good writing and bad.
A character can be both great and completely unlikable. Many villains are like this. The measure of a character is determined by their reflection of believable humanity. Do they, by their own means, seem to take reasonable actions within the context of a story? Or are they caricatures with irrational motives and fluctuating personalities? The best character can be the most dislikable person ever as long as what they do and how they behave makes sense.
Plausibility, believability, and yes, reality are important in any work of fiction. But they’re not the end-all for deciding whether a narrative is functioning well. For me, the best stories have an air of “hey, this could happen” contrasted with “but this is definitely fantastic fiction” as a difficult balancing act. I want to believe but I don’t want to be bored by the mundane. A story should be thrilling and conceivable, but it must never become a chore.

It’s a long and winding road to discerning good fiction from bad. Try not to take the turns too sharply or you’ll end up in a ditch or off the edge of a cliff.

And what good will your preconceived ideas do you then? You’ll be screaming at a nonfunctional and possibly burning machine about how many things you wanted have been left unresolved.

As always, thanks for reading and I hope you have a fulfilling week. God bless.

The Dark Hand of the World & Sneak Preview #4

The dark hand of the world is active. This is not new information. Turn on any television set, read any historical documents, or generally pay attention and you will see that forces are at work in this world that do not have our best interests at heart. Whether it shows itself in the form of politics, volatile religion, atheistic humanism, or merely a bad word shared between friends, there is abundant evidence that sin—and the Devil—are at play.

A few days ago, it came to my attention that yet another “celebrity” had become embroiled in a sex tape fiasco. Why does this happen? Why risk devastating your career, your livelihood, and your relationships for the sake of a cheap thrill? The answer is always the same: sin. You are a sinner. I am a sinner. We are all fallen.

But I daresay it goes deeper. For many, their life isn’t something for which the goal is good fruit and wholesome love. No, for those that participate in such illicit activities, the simple fact is that they have long embraced unrepentant sin. They are of this world, taking pride in the flesh, the lusts of their eyes and minds.

“You are of your father the Devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and has not stood in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of liars.” (John 8:44)

In this example, Jesus was speaking to the Jews of their hypocrisy. Previously, the Pharisees and Scribes had attempted to entrap him regarding the punishment of an adulterous woman. How can they cast their judgments when they themselves are not free of sin? We are imperfect and can only be made better by sanctification through the Grace of God. Now, let me clarify that what Jesus is saying in messages like this isn’t that one should never judge another (the often repeated Matthew 7 defense). Rather, he is putting forth that one should acknowledge his own sin before he is able to root out the unrighteousness of his brother.

See, the Devil tells you that nothing is wrong with enjoying your life however you wish. You want to be filmed engaging in indulgent recreation by another? Go for it, says the Devil. It’s your body, your life. From the beginning, the Devil has twisted words to make his way seem the truth. “Has God said?” he asks Eve, knowing that he is deceiving her into believing otherwise. He tells her that if she eats from the tree of knowledge that she will become like God, knowing good and evil.

This is what lies at the center of sinful life. An unrepentant sinner loves the world, loves the things that he or she can claim as his, never giving thought to the Creator, only ever craving that which satisfies the flesh. In this way, they become their own master, their own God. That is the lie of the Devil: you should submit only to your own whims and passions.

This is the way of ruin. Under this purview, men and women commit crimes against God and their own soul. Why should they do anything but embrace that which brings them their own joy? They will make that sex tape. They will defraud a business. They will enslave the masses. They will murder and steal. Their will be done is how they see the world.

There remains a fundamental difference between worldly joy and heavenly Joy. Worldly joy is seductive and fleeting, arriving in spurts, nothing more than a series of ups amidst a sea of downs. Heavenly Joy, the embrace of our Father, is everlasting. It is not a minute of bliss or fifteen seconds of fame. It is peace forever more.

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.” (Revelation 22:14-15)

In this life, the pleasures of the flesh take hold and steer you away from the truth. In the next, you are eternally separated from the love of God. So why remain unrepentant? Why not embrace the free gift that is the Grace of God? Why not be born again?

I hope that I’ve made sense in this post. All of us can attest to struggling with some form of unnecessary and possibly sinful indulgence. For instance, I’m readily aware that I have devoted far too much of my existence to playing video games. I don’t believe that they are inherently sinful, but as always, moderation is the key to any pastime. With God’s help (and really, he’d be doing all the work), I pray that I can better manage my time as a Christian.

Thank you for reading. Now, as I promised, here is another (perhaps the last) sneak preview of my upcoming sequel novel. Still working on finishing up the first draft. I can already see that editing is going to be a pain in my rear, but it’ll all be worth it when the novel is finished.

[image error]

He opted to take a look around, see if he could find the bathroom. With all the sweating and lack of anything to drink, he thought he should be dehydrated. His bladder disagreed.

Kasey must’ve done well for herself in JTTF. Situated between two pairs of custom Zaisu Tatami chairs that she had to have imported from Japan, an oval coffee table caught his eye. The top was glass, but the legs were wooden with a leaf motif and gold finish. A stone statue of a Greek siren adorned the top. Chic it was not.

Finch walked down the hall toward Kasey’s room, hoping that the azure nightlight he had glimpsed meant the bathroom was near. Along the way, he passed various replicas of famous paintings: Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Edvard Munch’s The Scream, American Gothic by Grant Wood—it was a smorgasbord of selected artistry with no rhyme or reason.

He thought Sinclair’s money bought nice things, but her tastes far exceeded that of their boss. None of it clicked or made decorative sense, but that was Kasey.

Multi-colored oriental wallpaper clashed with white tile in the bathroom. Atop the toilet sat a statue of Gautama Buddha, but Finch knew Kasey wasn’t a practitioner. She loved the shine, like a crow pilfering trinkets or a dragon guarding his hoard.

He washed his hands in the surprisingly modest sink. While he dried them off—with a towel bearing the image of cupid shooting an arrow through a heart—he peeked around the corner. The door to Kasey’s room was closed. Apparently, she was going to be awhile.

“It’s like waiting for a prom date,” Finch muttered, moseying back to the living room.

There you go. Not much story in there, but I bet it’s enough to gain a little more insight into the character of Kasey and her relationship with Llewyn Finch. Anyway, glad I got to share with you on this wonderful Monday. See you next week. God bless.

Author of Our Lives – The Greatest Story Ever Told

Stories are one of the primary ways human beings keep themselves entertained. We lust for adventure and fantastical narratives. We want to track down killers and bring them to justice. We desire to fall head over heels for that special someone like all the best romances. We wish for comedic buddies and fun times. Sometimes, we even think being scared is a jolly endeavor.

Fiction storytelling is the best possible avenue for exploring these aspects of our wants or needs at a comfortable distance. We admire the eccentric federal agent, but we don’t want to get too close to the action. We love the handsome, beautiful, and charming personalities of characters, but we don’t want to put ourselves out there in that way. We like to laugh, but some of us just aren’t funny. And yes, many of us enjoy nearly messing our pants, so we take in horror through the eyes of another.

In this way, fiction enables us to explore ourselves. But stories aren’t only fictional. Many stories are, in fact, truer and stranger than fiction. Firemen rescue civilians from burning buildings at risk to their own health. On occasion, a cancer patient finds that his supposed terminal illness has gone into complete remission of its own accord. And, of course, men have risen from the dead—one man in particular is most important.

Where am I going with this? What does the Risen Lord have to do with storytelling? Everything. It’s quite simple: God is the greatest storyteller of all. He is the Creator of everything, including us, including our talents, including our ability to craft stories. Our own creative outlets are shadows of His, a reflection of His image. We could not do what we do without His having created the story of us.

Now, let me be clear—humans have free will. It is both a blessing and a curse. We are free to choose our own paths in life both to our success and our detriment. In the earliest days, we decided to disobey his will for us. Thus, the world as we know it was born. But, as I said, God is the foremost expert in Creation and telling our story, so he did not let us persist without hope.

“Then the Lord God said to the serpent: Because you have done this…I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed, He will strike your head and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:14-15 HCSB)

Much has been written on Genesis and its meanings, but for those of us who are Christian, the purpose here is clear: God predicts that one will be born of a woman, of Adam’s stock, who will be bruised by the serpent (Satan) but ultimately triumph over him and free us from our slavery to sin. This man is Jesus Christ, Messiah, our Lord and Savior, both God and man. He is our Redeemer, the ultimate and pivotal figure of history, the main character to stand tall over all others.

Don’t mistake me here. I am not demeaning the Lord—he is not a fictional character around which revolves a specific narrative. That is the view of atheists and skeptics, not mine or any believer’s perception. Rather, I am saying that He is at the epicenter of the greatest story ever told—the story of the world, past, present, and future, of Creation itself. There is no one on this earth who can be compared to His greatness.

We should all give glory to the Author of our lives. With Him, we are reborn. Without Him, we are but dead men (and women) walking. He could have erased us from our own stories. Instead, He let us do what we may, but ultimately His will be done.

As Jesus said to Martha while discussing Lazarus:

“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die—ever. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25)

Do you?

Thanks for reading. I’m still working on my sequel novel, so stay tuned next week for another sneak peek. God bless and have a wonderful Monday!

Thanks, Explanation, & a Tease

I’d like to give a tremendous thank you to all who have taken time out of your schedules to read my blog over the past six months. You guys are the best! I wasn’t sure what would happen when I launched impromptugameof52. Your responses and comments have made it all worthwhile. Obviously, there’s a lot of room for the site to grow, but I think we’re doing really well.

Folks might wonder why I don’t keep the blog strictly to one subject. I’m a writer, so why aren’t all my posts about writing? Answer: because limiting myself to one topic is a) boring and b) not fruitful. In other words, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. I like to draw in people from all walks of life, get them to appreciate both the simple things and the larger aspects of our world. You can’t do that when you stifle your own creativity.

So while this blog primarily functions as a way for me to connect with readers of my fiction novels or short stories, it’s also an avenue for evangelism, discussion of culture, philosophy, and other interesting but perhaps not important subjects like gaming or movies.

Now that I’ve got that out of the way, let me also say that I’m truly grateful for those of you who partook in the Kindle Countdown deal over the past week. I appreciate every opportunity for my work to reach fresh eyes. Writing is my hobby (maybe a career), but I’m always looking for outside input and interpretations. Hearing fans rave about (or criticize) my work moves me to do what it takes to create fiction that will top their expectations.

“That’s all well and good,” you say, “but what’s going on with the sequel right now? How far along is it?”

Friend, I’m pleased to say that I’m approaching the end of the first draft. I didn’t reach the self-imposed end of February deadline, no, but I think I’m going at reasonable pace. Right now I’m looking at two chapters that need to be written before I can call it a day on the rough draft. I’m also considering revising an earlier chapter and splitting it in half for better pacing.

“Based on what you’ve written so far, would you say that you like the sequel better than The Shadow Over Lone Oak?”

It’s difficult to answer that question. I considered TSOL to be my writing baby, having been with me in my mind for two years in some way or form. But the sequel is going places and doing things that I didn’t expect to be writing. It definitely contains one of my favorite chapters I’ve ever written. As I said, the book is not finished, so I can’t in good conscience make that judgment call quite yet.

As a tease, I’ll give you more random details about the sequel (still untitled) that I hope intrigue you:

One chapter is entitled “Blood on the Snow” and features a junkyard
A rainstorm plays a pivotal role in certain events in the novel
Llewyn Finch’s past and present will collide
Lingering questions about Lone Oak will be answered

Ooh, how mysterious. Bet you’re frothing at the mouth right now. If you are, you should probably get that checked out. That might be rabies. Or poison.

He is Always a Good Thing

Apologies to some who might’ve been anticipating a writing-related post this week, but I had something spiritual I wanted to say instead.

Plans change. We spend much of our lives devising goals and thinking forward to specific landmark moments in our future. But we aren’t omniscient. We are not seers. We have no significant foresight into possible events. Detours are prevalent. Thus, no matter how thought out our plans may be, they are bound to be altered by apparently chaotic occurrences.

But saying that life is chaos is also wrong. Most of us develop a routine, don’t we? We have a general schedule of when we eat, sleep, and go to work. We have a basic idea of what we want to do at any given moment. When things go wrong, we get upset. Understandable. When you’ve become obsessed with an idea or accustomed to doing something, you’re not going to respond well to outliers.

Take me as an example. Some of the worst days in my life started out as normal or otherwise pretty good mornings. Then a variable that I couldn’t have accounted for interrupted whatever joy or peace I had been feeling. My mind and body went rogue, perpetrating an act that I regretted. Could I have done something different? Yes. Why didn’t I? Because I became so focused on me that I assumed there was only one solution. Maybe it wasn’t even consciously something I was doing, but it’s what happened.

This is one of the follies of mankind. We are squishy, fleshy, temperamental things bent on getting our way. It’s been that way for millennia. We are rebellious by our own sinful natures. Every day that we are fortunate not to succumb to our darker sides, we should be thankful to the Lord. Every day that we do screw up, we should still be thankful, because He has chosen that moment to let us be convicted by the wrongdoing in our hearts.

It is a sign that He cares when he does not let you dwell in pride and arrogance, when He demonstrates what you have been mistaken about in your life. In that moment when everything has gone wrong, when all seems lost, that’s when you know that God loves you, because He has chosen to save you from yourself and the sins that have dwelt within you.

That is what happened for me six months ago. I was consumed by loathsome self-pity, depression, and anxiety. I was mired in sin and evil, guilty but I couldn’t understand why. I thank the Lord every opportunity I can for revealing Himself to me in the way that He did. The darkness I’d fallen into, the absolute nihilism of a sorrowful life—these were all the product of a godless existence, even if I hadn’t realized it at the time.

I am not perfect. No one is, whether they’re Christian or otherwise. But believing in the Lord and His sacrifice on the Cross is your salvation (which is by Grace through faith) and also your recovery. When you become indwelt with the Holy Spirit, you find that your taste for that which is sinful begins to wane. The process of sanctification begins and it’s Good.

That does not mean you’ll never have a bad day. Of course you will. But you’ll respond better each time. By coming to Him, you are no longer bound only to yourself and selfishness. You have a higher calling to obey and delight in Him.

I pray that I haven’t misspoken in this post. It’s still early yet in my faith, so it’s entirely possible that I’ve inappropriately said or labeled some aspect of my belief in a way that’s not properly understood. But I hope you will take to heart the message that even when plans change, when it seems like you’re having the worst day of your life, when all is misery, that so long as you believe in Him, it will always be a Good thing.

“For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purpose.” (Philippians 2:13 HCSB)

“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.” (2 Peter 1:7)

Thank you for reading. God bless and I hope to make another post very soon.