Julia Benally's Blog, page 4

A sneak peek of "Renzhies," pt. 1: a rare writing technique

The Sirix Ruins

Renzhies is coming in a few weeks!

All main characters are returning from "Nri Kryne" and you get to see what happens to them while they're in the Sirix ruins.

I wrote this book different from the first, and it's not just a change of the main character. While Vijeren is still there and lights up the scene, he'll be taking a back seat. He doesn't mind, either. He went through so much in the last book that he really wanted a rest before he took the torch of main character again.

Zhin will be taking over.

The ruins near nightfall

When I first began to write "Renzhies," I started out the book in third person and wrote it kind of like a mystery of who was who and what not. Then I realized it didn't work in that way. At the same time, the events were right.

What was happening in the ruins was right, too, but that was in the present. So how could I mesh the two together? I couldn't get rid of one or the other because both time periods belonged. They completed each other, but I just didn't know how. It was a gut feeling at the time. My brain had it rough.

A book case from the underground library

And then, I was reading Watership Down. It clicked. Zhin would tell the important tales of his life, but they wouldn't be random. They would all have a purpose. Somehow, these tales would have to come together at the end and have a huge impact on the present. That part was so difficult to do, but I knew I had something special. After pain, suffering, and a million prayers, I ended up with stories told in first and third person, while in the present, the story is told in third person omniscient. Running through the whole thing is a despicable, wretch of a villain who just won't go away and won't die.

You'll also get to see Rilkin's origins. There's more to him than I let on in "Nri Kryne." He will jump in and tell you his own story in his lazy Vaylanian way as the book nears the climax.

The Child City at dusk

The present will get more into the growing relationships between the characters, but is careful not to drag. It's spiced up with new creatures, including the behemoth haladon, whose only debut in the first book were giant claw marks through pure stone in the Sirix ruins.

The Haladon

Fourteen little overlooked tips for writing and being in the writer world

1. You can always improve, so never settle for "I'm good enough!" The great ones never did.

2. If you know how hard it is to write a book, you are NOT obligated to give any book five stars.

3. Swapping reviews will put a lot of bad books under your nose and you just might detest reading after a while.

4. Learn how to use your verbs. It's actually an art form.

5. Thinking your first draft is good for publication is like going to the bathroom but you didn't wipe your butt or wash your hands before you came out.

6. Don't ever publish with a publisher who makes you pay them money or you've been had.

7. And make sure they have a website so you can scope them out first.

8. This goes for people who want to review your book, too. WHERE IS THE WEBSITE.

9. Scammers try to bully you into handing over your book and act like you promised them something when you never did. They also like to give you pep talks on keeping your promises where no promise was given. Treat them as if you were on the phone with them and hang up. They also like to gush about how great you are. Where did they hear this??? Nowhere. They also like to say things like, "You're a new author so we don't know if you'll sell well, so you better pay us first." Then of course you don't sell well because they don't do anything for you and so when you come to publish again, you pay again. Also, red flag if and when they grow angry when you want to pull out and then they treat you as if you're the one being a jerk. They also claim they've started your services already when no payments or agreements have been made. I once saw a person who worked for a vanity press get into a massive argument with someone in a facebook thread because the person was telling the person who made the main post to stay away from the vanity publishers. The woman from the vanity press started name calling and acting like a brat.

10. Don't listen to just anybody on social media. Most don't know what they're doing.

11. Being different isn't how the masses say you should be different.

12. Warning: Writing communities aren't the supportive groups they claim to be. They're full of trolls and angry people. Be very paranoid of where you go and remember that you risk your peace of mind in going to those places.

13. Buying books to support fellow authors, but then not reading those books is NOT support. It's a waste of money.

14. Buying books so other authors will be obligated to buy yours doesn't make a profit and doesn't get you any readers either. Okay, maybe two out of twenty crap books you picked up. Thinking that this is a good idea for gaining readers is nuts. If you can spend this much just for two readers, why not spend this much on ads and then you have the freedom of not filling your yard sale boxes with brand new books labeled for 25 cents.

Villains reveal for "Renzhies" coming your way in June!

As my artist has gone AWOL, you are stuck with my art. My only comfort is that I found an online dpi converter. Let us proceed.
When I came up with the "Renzhie," it was supposed to be something different from what it ended up being. I was trying to mix two monsters together to make a new one. It didn't work since both Renzhies in the book were two different creatures when they began. After I finally figured out what a Renzhie was, I decided there would be two different types, regardless of what the person was before he or she became a Renzhie.

This is the first type. Also, this is the main villain of the book, whom I despise with every fiber of my being. And so will you.

This is the second type of Renzhie. I abhor this one, too. This is the secondary villain and absolutely annoying.

Only an Iskerkin like Zhin can fight them and kill them, as you will see when "Renzhies" drops in June, ready to thrill an terrify, laugh and reach into your vengeful emotions.

The 18 omelets

That egg roll recipe didn't work.

I actually baked something that worked!

 

I actually baked something that actually worked! This is a sour cream and lemon cookie, stamped out with a snowflake cookie cutter that was bought for Christmas and never used. Better late than never, right?

The recipe came with a frosting recipe to put on the cookie, but I don't know what happened to that. The frosting ended up looking like the oatmeal full of blood on The Golden Child. Only when I pressed it, butter came out.

BUT, the cookie was perfect! I used frosting from Walmart so it was all good. The recipe didn't have an oven temperature, so for my oven I used 375 degrees F.

Yeah, so, if I can do it, you will certainly fly with it. Did you see my cream-filled donuts? 😅

If you want to try the recipe, this is the link: https://www.littlehouseliving.com/gluten-free-sour-cream-cookies-lemon.html

PS: There was no high elevation hacks for it. I'm over 7000 feet, and the recipe worked just fine.

Death in writing

Okay, let's look at death in writing.
People have a lot to say on the subject. Things like, it's necessary, it makes more meaning, it motivates a character into action, it wouldn't have been as powerful if so-and-so hadn't died. Blah-blah-blah....
These are true, and so if the scene calls for it, I say enjoy it. Your character isn't actually real.
BUT, is death the end all and be all of a good story? No, it isn't. Are you overusing it? You better put on the brakes and check. Are other writers overusing it? Definitely. Some death scenes are so plot and forced that it's ridiculous.
If writing has no rules, then why is everyone making it a rule to kill off characters? And why do most kill off only one gender: the man? A writer who wants to use death to make it real should know that Death doesn't differentiate between age and gender. It catches children, men and women. It comes for animals all the time, too. It will eventually come for the writer trying to put their own constituencies on it. It'll come for their spoiled dog, too.
Death is a fire that too many writers play with like it's water. They will kill off one thing but give plot armor to another so it doesn't die, but their death quota is filled, along with whatever asinine statement they think Death is actually going to listen to in real life. Is this what writing and stories have become? Statements?
Argue that the story isn't real and they can choose who dies, but then why use it at all if that's the truth? No violence against women? Magazines scream against this, but they don't do anything to actually stop real violence against women. They choose to cover it up. How they must hate Charles Dickens for his reveals! Now there was a man who knew how to use his deaths. He understood it. If you're going to use death, you can't be a bleeding heart.
Don't jump on the bandwagon. Use your deaths tastefully and sparingly, otherwise it's like putting a whole cup of lemon into a recipe that only calls for a teaspoon.
A happy story is turned into a drama as soon as somebody dies. If you want a drama, fine, but if you're making a drama because it's in fashion, then what is the matter with you?
Everybody is murdering off main characters and beloved characters because everybody says you have to. They say it adds depth and motivation.
I've killed off characters in my stories, but I also let others live. A sad ending isn't always the answer. A disappointing one is garbage. Murdering off other characters because you don't know what to do with them is LAZY. Killing off somebody for motivation for another character can actually be lazy, too. There are other ways to motivate a character. There are always other ways. Explore this. You might get a better story out of it.
I once hit a wall in a story. At the time I was on Twitter and made a comment about it. Somebody immediately told me to kill this character. Others agreed. They went on a spiel about death being needed.
Well, I didn't kill this character. One, because it was Twitter, and two, I felt I was missing something and needed to find it. I chose to rend my brain until it bled. Killing the character was the easy way out. Keeping the character alive resulted in an emotional, juicy scene that radiated out to the rest of the story and made the reader cry in a good way. This character was set up for a character arc that will result in a new book.
I spent FOREVER on that scene, massaging it, forming it, smoothing it out, and in the end, it was so worth it.
Now that every writer under the sun is murdering off their character, it's become a trope. Everyone is also trying to avoid tropes, so they kill and kill and kill. Their kills are tropes. Who they kill is a trope. In the end, you are a creator. Who gives a crap what other creators say and do? Someone could even totally ignore me here and then mention me in some derogatory comment somewhere else. While I'd think they were a grade A butthead, they can think and do what they want, and I would still have the right to think they were a butthead.
The Covid-19 has killed a lot of people. Making people upset over what they're reading is not healthy. The writing that is pounded out during an emotional break should stay under the bed. Take a break after this madness. When you're all right again, go back and you just might find the agonies and deaths written on the page can be safely edited out.
Here is a quote which makes a lot of sense, and it can be said for writing as well.
"To my mind a picture should be something pleasant, cheerful and pretty. There are too many unpleasant things in life as it is, without creating still more of them."― Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Brain Shocks!

A few years ago, my dad got his legs amputated because there was a disease in his legs. There was a vein that turned red and that was where the disease was. He said the doctors couldn't see it because when he went to get tested, his legs kept twitching. Hence, he lost his legs.

I was so stressed out at the time that I got some white hairs out of it. I also developed a mortal fear for my legs and feet. I got OCD about checking my feet and looking for red veins that I swear I got a complex. I don't even have diabetes. I stubbed my toe and all I could think about was MRSA.

And then, I began to notice that I was twitching. I'd been twitching for years. I'd be laying down and my legs would twitch. Oh crap! It runs in the family! Panic City, here I come!

The other day, my sister walks in like a little sunbeam and says, "Did you know the brain will periodically send a shock through your body to make sure it's still alive? When you twitch in response to the shock, it means you're alive."

What???

Out of all my years of schooling, you would think some teacher would have had the compassion to tell me that.

So, if you were wondering about the twitches, there you go.

June is coming, and so is Renzhies!

June is coming and that means "Renzhies" is coming, too! Formatted, beautiful, and now I'm getting the cover!

It isn't up for pre-order on Amazon yet, but you can order it directly from me, a flat twenty bucks. I get a new shipment in every month. In fact, I just got one right now!

I'm so excited for you to read this!

This second one is about Zhin. It's his origin story and it's as far from a Marvel origin as possible, if you're worried.

We'll also be delving into Rilkin's past and meeting a new cast of characters you, Vijeren, Sibare, Miranel, and N'Nar are gonna love.

At least you'll love most of them. The rest you're gonna want to rip in half.

"The Haunting of Hill House," a non-technical review

Back when I was on Twitter, I asked the stupid writing community for a story about a good haunted house. Usually, when somebody on Twitter asks for something to read, they get book plug-ins from their fellow authors. This was what I was hoping for, because I was in the mood to buy and I was going to buy somebody's book.

Nobody sent me anything except for a couple of people, and the books weren't written by them. One was The Amityville Horror and the other was The Haunting of Hill House. I put both on my reading list and was finally able to get one of them. The Haunting of Hill House.

I feel like The Shining was Stephen King's answer to Hill House.

The main character annoyed me. Unlike the woman who made the intro almost as long as the book, I was not invested in Eleanor's character. It was like, can someone kick her please? Hill House, if you eat her, I'll love you forever. And then it ate her and Hill House and I became friends.

Did the author scare herself, and so at the last second she softened the scary parts and turned it into a boring women's fiction?

Eleanor and Theodora get into this big fight because reasons. The intro tries to explain it, but seriously, that quarrel comes out of nowhere. I attributed it to the house possessing Eleanor and making her believe things that weren't true.

Something scary finally happens about two third's into the book, but the scarier of the two happenings occur off camera. We're stuck with Eleanor cowering to the sound of strange knockings when the doctor and Luke are out chasing down a creepy ghost dog. Something weird happens to everybody, but it all happens off camera. By the time it's Eleanor's turn, I'm about to ready to quit reading already.

When the doctor's wife shows up, the book starts picking up. The wife herself is annoying as crap, but she makes a valid point about the doctor being stupid. He came to Hill House looking for psychic phenomena, and when he did see something, he said, "It was my imagination." When his wife comes with her planchette, he won't believe in that either and calls it rubbish. If he's going to look for crap, he better do it expeditiously.

I think I'm gonna go read The Shining.

Review of a stupid Chromebook

You all know the sad tale of the death of my computer. I finally was able to get one last week. I went to Walmart to buy the computer and of course everything was gone except the ones that craved for your life's blood.

I went online and ordered a really nice looking computer for a cheap price. Considering that all the computers were vanishing like mad, and they were the more expensive ones, I thought myself lucky. Ha-ha! What a joke. I ordered the computer and in two days it reached my house. I opened it up and do you know how you just get a bad feeling immediately? I got that feeling.

The computer was silver, very thin and very light. It was a Chromebook. Being that I've never owned one before, I thought I'd just give the thing a chance. First red flag went up when I found I could never replace the battery myself. It had to go to a special technician to pry open the whole computer so they could replace it for me.

Second red flag, I couldn't just explore the computer once I opened it. I had to sign in to my e-mail, which I didn't like at all. Next, there were no instructions to maneuver this Chromebook. Everything was online, and I didn't even know if some sites were legitimate or not.

What I did find out was that Chromebook didn't take Word. One site said I could get Word for free by downloading it as an App in my Play Store, or whatever that thing is called. Google Play Store? How is it supposed to be free in the STORE? I went and downloaded it as the instructions said. The instructions also said, "You might want to sign in to your Microsoft Account for your 365." What the hey was that supposed to mean? MIGHT WANT TO? What might? What if I might not?

After forever, Word downloaded and I was happy. I put in my USB and found out I couldn't open documents. There is a way to open them, because after an hour of messing around on the thing, I opened book 3. It's not worth it, so I won't put any "How to's" because as soon as my MS opened up, the thing said, "Reading View."

"If you want to edit and save your document, you must sign in to your Microsoft Account."

Thanks, you stupid website, for saying YOU MIGHT WANT TO as the last step in getting Word on Chromebook.

So I signed in and I thought I was ready to go.

But then a notice showed up and said, "If you want to edit and save your document, you must get a subscription for Microsoft 365."

I don't want some STUPID subscription. What am I supposed to do with PowerPoint and Excel? I don't use Outlook Express and I never want to. I don't need them to write. I definitely don't want to pay 79 bucks a year for things I don't use.

Chromebook wanted my cell phone so it could send me commercials. It wanted me to sign in for everything I did so it could "Help me." It wanted my bank account information. It wanted everything that would get my identity properly stolen all in one place, while all the while saying the computer wasn't secure and I needed to get anti virus. I also read somewhere that Chromebook didn't get viruses, but that was from the same site that said I could get Word free. You can't.

The Chromebook was like a giant version of a cheap phone. All it was good for was watching movies and playing games and buying things, all of which you can do on a normal computer, only the normal computer can do more things than that. You know, like writing a book and being able to download certain fonts and software for making a kindle e-book.

Since I bought Chromebook at Walmart.com as a guest, I didn't have an account and I had to contact an agent on how to return the stupid thing. On the website itself, there was all this mess on how to return a computer by signing in to your account. Returning things via mail or returning an online item to a store sounded impossible without an account. How about returning things without your account?

Here's what the agent told me on returning it to a store, because I guess that's the only way you can do it if you didn't buy through your account: write down your order number on a piece of paper (BECAUSE IT'S NOT ON THE BOX) and take it to a store. I was advised to have a photo ID, but it ended up I didn't need it. Make sure you have the box, because surprise, surprise, the bar code is on it. They take the order number, scan the bar code and bam, you have your money back. It doesn't matter how you paid for it.

Keep the box and everything that came with it so you can haul it back. They inspected the Chromebook for damages, so it was a good thing I didn't smash it on the floor like I wanted to. Also, perform the POWERWASH on the Chromebook, which returns it to its original factory settings, and that erases all your sign-ins and all that bull crap they wanted from you. The Powerwash is in the files folder thing and you can just type in "factory settings" or "powerwash" to find it.

After all that mess, I went to Best Buy and got a normal computer and bought Microsoft Office. It still had PowerPoint and Excel with it, but it wasn't a subscription to Microsoft 365, which promises that you can WORK ACROSS YOUR DEVICES! Oh yeah, I'll be typing my book on my phone. Bleah. I don't think so.

After all that, I'm still getting e-mails about how wonderful my new Chromebook is. Ha, the joke's on them. I don't have it anymore. Also, when I plugged my USB in to my brother's computer, some thing popped up saying, "This USB drive has no App connected to it!"

Oh no!

Ha-ha! Oh yes!

Piece of trash. Why should a storage device be connected with an App? Ugh...

The vestiges of the Chromebook was still lingering like the ghosts of a murder house.