G. David Walker's Blog, page 8
March 29, 2017
From a Far Land – Part 4
[image error][For 14 weeks, beginning on March 19th, on Sundays and Wednesdays, I’ll be posting chapters of book one of my Jaben’s Rift trilogy: From a Far Land. I hope you enjoy it. The first part is here. I’d love to hear any feedback.]
A Matter of Opinions
Jason woke from a dreamless sleep to someone shaking him. As he pried his gritty eyes open, he saw Reyga.
“Oh, did I doze off while you were talking?” he asked with a yawn. “Sorry about that. What were you saying?”
“No, my boy, it is time to get up....
March 27, 2017
Too Late to the Party?
[image error]You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. – C.S. Lewis
I didn’t start writing my first book until I was 40 years old, working two jobs, with a wife and two kids. I finally published it seven years later. Now in my 50s (down to one job), the trilogy is done, and I’m working on three other books with lots of other ideas waiting in the wings. Of course, I’m still pretty much unknown outside my own circles.
So, as an unknown 50-something writer, am I too old to be a succe...
March 26, 2017
From a Far Land – Part 3, “First Impressions”
[image error][For 14 weeks, beginning on March 19th, on Sundays and Wednesdays, I’ll be posting chapters of book one of my Jaben’s Rift trilogy: From a Far Land. I hope you enjoy it. The first part is here. I’d love to hear any feedback.]
First Impressions
In time, their path joined a broader road, which came to a village Jason assumed was their destination.
“This is Drey’s Glenn,” Reyga said. “It is the largest village in this province.”
Jason looked at the buildings around them. They were a variety of...
From a Far Land – Part 3
[image error][For 14 weeks, beginning on March 19th, on Sundays and Wednesdays, I’ll be posting chapters of book one of my Jaben’s Rift trilogy: From a Far Land. I hope you enjoy it. The first part is here. I’d love to hear any feedback.]
First Impressions
In time, their path joined a broader road, which came to a village Jason assumed was their destination.
“This is Drey’s Glenn,” Reyga said. “It is the largest village in this province.”
Jason looked at the buildings around them. They were a variety o...
March 23, 2017
He Interjected, She Exclaimed
[image error]Or He Said, She Said
Let’s take a look at dialogue. In particular, the use of the word “said” vs. other alternatives. Deciding which way to go can be confusing. Basically, there are two ends of the spectrum on this issue:
School A says: Avoid overuse of the word “said.” Vary the text up using other dialogue tags (murmured, cried, shouted, etc…). There was a thread in one of the writing groups I belong to about this. One guy said a fellow writer had sent him a list of over two hundred possible...
March 22, 2017
From a Far Land – Part 2, “A New Day Dawns”
[image error][For 14 weeks, beginning on March 19th, on Sundays and Wednesdays, I’ll be posting chapters of book one of my Jaben’s Rift trilogy: From a Far Land. I hope you enjoy it. The first part is here. I’d love to hear any feedback.]
A New Day Dawns
Misshapen trees with gnarled, twisted trunks surrounded Jason. He thought he saw tortured faces in the bark, frozen in expressions of horror and despair. Where am I? He didn’t see anyone else, but the primal sounds coming from the shadows told him he wa...
From a Far Land – Part 2
[image error][For 14 weeks, beginning on March 19th, on Sundays and Wednesdays, I’ll be posting chapters of book one of my Jaben’s Rift trilogy: From a Far Land. I hope you enjoy it. The first part is here. I’d love to hear any feedback.]
A New Day Dawns
Misshapen trees with gnarled, twisted trunks surrounded Jason. He thought he saw tortured faces in the bark, frozen in expressions of horror and despair. Where am I? He didn’t see anyone else, but the primal sounds coming from the shadows told him he wa...
March 20, 2017
Chasing Someone Else’s Dreams
The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want. – Ben Stein
[image error]While this sounds like a simple thing, sometimes it can be much harder than we think. In order to figure out what we want, we have to get past everything the world is trying to tell us we need. Every day we’re bombarded with advertisements telling us we need this product or that product in order to be happy (or cool, or popular, or complete, or whatever). We hear “experts” tell...
March 19, 2017
From a Far Land – Part 1, “Arrival”
[image error]For 14 weeks, beginning on March 19th, on Sundays and Wednesdays, I’ll be posting chapters of book one of my Jaben’s Rift trilogy: From a Far Land. I hope you enjoy it. I’d love to hear any feedback.
Prologue and Chapter 1
Prologue
The ancient structure crouched in the middle of the Scottish woods. For centuries, it had waited…
The sound of crunching leaves broke the late afternoon stillness as a solitary figure pushed through the tangle of brush toward the building. Mesmerized by his discove...
From a Far Land – Part 1
[image error]For 14 weeks, beginning on March 19th, on Sundays and Wednesdays, I’ll be posting chapters of book one of my Jaben’s Rift trilogy: From a Far Land. I hope you enjoy it. I’d love to hear any feedback.
Prologue and Chapter 1
Prologue
The ancient structure crouched in the middle of the Scottish woods. For centuries, it had waited…
The sound of crunching leaves broke the late afternoon stillness as a solitary figure pushed through the tangle of brush toward the building. Mesmerized by his discove...
