Justin Pyfrom's Blog, page 6

June’s Book for 2023 Reading Challenge

For the month of June, I have read 12 books. These are the books I loved during the month of June.

 

These are the books I somewhat disliked during the month of June.

Done With That Chaos

Today is a good day for many reasons. I just finished my last paper for my Literary Theory and now I can return to my actual writing (I was only doing about 25%).  I will admit that this class was something fierce and gave me a newfound respect for literary theorists. I mean, the amount of analytical thinking involved with this type of narrative nonfiction is quite something. It’s something else entirely and I know hands-down that I’m not going anywhere near it after I finish this class.

Along with that, my students are almost done with school. I say my students are almost finished because I still have to work for two more weeks because of summer school.  That doesn’t bother me, though; it’s easy money and I get to work on school and my literary project.

Oh! And, since it’s the summer holiday, I decided to double up on my classes. Usually, I take one class a semester so I don’t overwhelm myself. But, since I don’t have school during the summer, I decided to take two classes this semester. I know…I’m such a rebel. Ha ha ha! Now, I am going to be in Spain for two weeks but I’m taking my laptop with me so I can do my schoolwork. Either that, I do all the work two weeks ahead of time so the only thing I will have to do is turn it in.

Finally, I can breathe. This class took a lot out of me. I do have one more paper to write, but it is a really short one and I can get that done on Monday. I’m just happy that this class is effectively over. I don’t know if I’m going to maintain my Honor Roll streak (an A is definitely out of the question, I think). Now, it’s time for me to press forward to my next class and – hopefully – get my mojo back.

Please don’t forget to follow me on my social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads) on my web page’s right side. Also, I love hearing suggestions of what books to read outside of my norm (Science fiction and fantasy) as I am a part of the Goodreads’ reading challenge for 2023. I aim to read 200 books this year and am currently 99. I’m starting to read through The Walking Dead comic book series and I want to do the same with Magic The Gathering.

May’s Book for 2023 Reading Challenge

For the month of May, I have read 12 books. These are the books I loved during the month of May.

     

These are the books I really liked during the month of April.

These are the books I liked during the month of May.

These are the books I somewhat liked during the month of May.

Growing New Bones Despite My Protest

Let me be the first to admit this openly: I don’t have much of an analytical bone. When I read books, I notice things and can examine the surface meaning and themes of the books. However, I can’t say I can apply criticism/lenses to them. You know…psychoanalytical, feminist, Marxist, deconstructionist, and such. And, it’s because of this that I’m having a difficult time in my current class.

This class is called “Literary Theory” and it has officially become the bane of my existence. I’m holding on to a decent grade in the class and the professor is helping me as much as she can, but I’m still having difficulties. Actually -strike that – I’m slowly starting to get the hang of it but very sloooooowly. I’ll be happy if I pass this class with a high B or a low A as I already got an F on an assignment because I misunderstood the assignment. That and my refusal to ask for help. Alas, I have learned my lesson.

On a side note, Sinful Tales of Wicked Vile Delights was a “delightful” success.  It’s out to the public and, according to the data, the Portuguese version of the novella is the most popular. It’s no surprise as it was the only one that had a trailer attached to it – a sexy one, too. Along with it, I have a Spanish and Chinese version of the novella available for the Kindle and the Arabic version will be coming out later this year. For some reason, it’s a little difficult to find an Arabic translator due to the subject matter and the fact that it’s a book.

Next month will be the month where I’m going to apply the Audible treatment to my books, which I’m really excited about. I’m debating if I want three narrators for three versions or just stick with the English version. Decisions. Decisions. But, first and foremost, I need to pass this class!!!

Please don’t forget to follow me on my social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads) on my web page’s right side. Also, I love hearing suggestions of what books to read outside of my norm (Science fiction and fantasy) as I am a part of the Goodreads’ reading challenge for 2023. I aim to read 200 books this year and am currently 82. I’m starting to read The Walking Dead comic book series and finishing up all of M.D. Massey’s books.

A New Book For the Sinfully Curious…

His death has been grossly exaggerated. The famous literary narcissist lives on and has been quite a busybody in his new “profession”. He has so many stories to tell and he wishes to tell them to you. Would you care to listen to his delightful tales?– Book Description

I am beyond proud to announce that I have released a new book. A novella that presents a new monster and a fresh look at something we are all too familiar with. I had a blast writing this one and working with five different models for this project. Three (English, Spanish, and Portuguese) are done and released with two more (Arabic and Chinese) being worked and, hopefully, more versions on the way. I hope you all enjoy the reading. Thank you all for your patience and now it can be purchased on Amazon and Kindle (just click on the photo). Please buy and give an honest review as I love learning and improving my craft.

No Rest For the Somewhat Weary

So, I’m writing this blog during my break – at work! Yes! I am at work because the Chinese government doesn’t like it when students lose a day of school. So, since we had a five-day week (one was the actual holiday), we were told that last Sunday and this Saturday would be work days.  Yeah…my students and I are pissed.

It’s not too big of a deal, though. We got to work on their research paper and interview for an elite ELA program in Hong Kong. Spoiler Alert! Many of them have passed the interview and are doing quite well on their research paper.

On top of that, I’m still trying to work through my Literary Theory class. Again, not the analytical type and it’s becoming more and more apparent. Luckily, my professor is beyond patient with me so I’m thankful for that. Additionally, I’ve chosen 1984 by George Orwell for my class project; I have to actually write a literary analysis and I am terrified. But I know me. I’m going to panic and then I’ll be just fine.

I do know that hands down. I’m going to do nothing when I get home. I should have been doing nothing, anyway. Saturdays are my rest days and I’m going to try to salvage what’s left of it. It’s definitely going to seep into Sunday for this week. I’m also going to have to redo my writer’s calendar to accommodate it all.

Please don’t forget to follow me on my social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads) on my web page’s right side. Also, I love hearing suggestions of what books to read outside of my norm (Science fiction and fantasy) as I am a part of the Goodreads’ reading challenge for 2023. I aim to read 200 books this year and am already at 73. I’m starting to slow down but will pick it up back up.

April’s Book for 2023 Reading Challenge

For the month of April, I have read 4 books. These are the books I loved during the month of April.

These are the books I liked during the month of April.

Triple Threats? Triple Stress? You Bet!!

Well, since the first novel of my crimeverse was typed up and put away for a while, I’m now tasked with hiring models the professional and lengthy way. Yes! It will be my first time utilizing a professional website/service. Yes! It will be my first time being the only one who will be picking the models. Yes! I understand that the models have to be sexy and closely resemble the characters in my story. Yes! I’m fully aware that, if I pick wrong, the characters will not pop and my book series will be dead on arrival. Yes! I am clearly in a panic right now, but the book isn’t the only reason.

See, as an author, I’ve come to accept the fact that there’s a certain amount of stress that comes with the job. In fact, I’d prepared for it with calendars, schedules, rest days, and all that. Furthermore, I knew that there was a certain level of stress that would come with being an educator and a grad school. Again, I prepared for that. However, what I didn’t prepare for was all of them hitting me all that once.

See, the last two weeks, I had midterms to create, conduct, and grade. Along with that, I had a final paper to do for a school. Then, on top of all of that, I had to finish typing my novel. Now! I was almost with my novel anyway and my final paper practically wrote itself, but that wasn’t the point. The point was what was happening to me. I was getting hit with three stresses all that once and I didn’t see it coming. I got overwhelmed so hard and so fast that I just shut down; I wanted to be left alone and I made sure of it. I made sure no one spoke to me that day (Friday) and weekend; my rest day turned into a weekend of rest. A much-deserved one, too.

I’m fine now. Even though I’m panicking about my Literary Theory class as I’m not really the analytical type. Plus, I don’t really see myself utilizing any of it as a storyteller. Nevertheless, I’m going to give 150% of my effort. Who knows? I might actually become good at this; I’m definitely going to learn something new from it. I can say the same thing for this casting call that I’m going to be leading. Good Lord…I’m growing, aren’t I?

Please don’t forget to follow me on my social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads) on my web page’s right side. Also, I love hearing suggestions of what books to read outside of my norm (Science fiction and fantasy) as I am a part of the Goodreads’ reading challenge for 2023. I aim to read 200 books this year and am already at 66. I’m starting to slow down but will pick it up back up.

March’s Book for 2023 Reading Challenge

For the month of March, I have read 20 books. These are the books I loved during the month of March.

These are the books I really liked during the month of March.

 

 

Done With The Done…Well…Almost Done

This day has become a special one for me. Despite all the chaos I had endured, I finished creating my midterms for my eighth graders, measuring the English Room, editing my students’ research paper projects, and decorating the board for the school’s Reading Month. Most of all, I finished typing out the first installment of my LGBTQ+ Crimeverse, and my chest is swollen with pride now!

For three years, I had been building a world and creating characters that reminded me of my beloved Gayborhood. I have been plotting, planning, postponing, prioritizing and any other “P’s” I can think of. I wanted to challenge myself in creating a crime story and I ended up creating a crimeverse. This is going to be so much fun as I have everything plotted while still letting the worldbuilding around me.

Now! About the book itself…I just learned something new and it’s called the Flesch-Kincaid. I didn’t even know that this even existed and now that I know, it makes perfect sense on what I need to work on. I knew my writing style would make my stories easy to read through pacing, but I didn’t think it was because of my word choices. I don’t like the idea of a program telling me that my story is at a fourth-grade reading level. Luckily, I have an easy-ish fix to this new resolution and it’s something I was already doing.

I have a word journal – the same one I make my student use. In this journal I write words from various choices:

Words of the Day – dictionary.comWords I found interestingWords I found coolWords I didn’t know; heard for the first time

From there, I write the part of the speech along with one synonym and one antonym so I will know how to use the word correctly in a sentence. Now that I’m writing this out, I would like to bring my story to, at least, a high school audience. That is with the combination of words, themes, and diction. This will also help me evolve my writing style; this is going to be so much fun.

Please don’t forget to follow me on my social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads) on my web page’s right side. Also, I love hearing suggestions of what books to read outside of my norm (Science fiction and fantasy) as I am a part of the Goodreads’ reading challenge for 2023. I aim to read 200 books this year and I am already at 60. I’m almost done with the Colin McCool series; I’m on the last book of the main series.