Taylor Hohulin's Blog, page 6

On Writing and Depression

I write because I’m depressed.

It’s not the only reason I write.It isn’t even the main reason.It is, however, a big motivator behind the hours I spend banging away on a keyboard.

I almost hesitate to say this. I’ve always hated the way peopleglamorize the concept of a tortured artist, and there are plenty ofpeople out there over-romanticizing the creative process. It’s all artist’s temperamentthis andkeeping the demons at bay that. It’s an exercise in getting excited about all the wrong thing...

When The Bad Guys Get It Right

You speak to me as though I understand them, said the Priestess.

You just said you studied them! Ethan was growing frantic. You told me all thisstuff about them, and now you say you dont understand them?

The Priestess smiled. I said I have studied them. I did not say I understand them. Iwould not worship them if I could understand them. That which can be understood doesnot deserve to be worshipped.

I was driving home from work when I realized the Priesthood of the Cloud had better theology...

Christian Music Roundup – April 2015

It’s that time once again!

I’ll be perfectly honest – I haven’t been as thorough scouring musicreleases this past month as I have in months past. Life has beencrazy lately, because we had Share-A-Thon at Power FMjust last week. Anyone in listener-supported radio can attest to how hectic that time and the weeks surrounding it can get. It’s incredibly rewarding and a lot of fun, but also busy and stressful. So I apologize if I missed something truly brilliant, but I’m going to use my job as an...

Free Short Story

I’m hard at work on the sequel to The Marian, but in between finishing the rough draft and beginning the heavy editing phase, I took a break to work on something else. I’ve been hanging outin that world of Priestesses, salt dunes, and completely improbable spider-ships for a good chunk of time now, so it was nice to get a brief change of pace.

So here’s the fruit of my labor. It’s a short story called “Polaroid.” It’s about a man who finds a photo of his missing wife at a garage sale. He buys...

Christian Music Roundup – March 2015

Spring has sprung! Everything is turning green, Peeps are somehow being sold again, and there are brackets everywhere.

Seriously. Everywhere.

This was an interesting month for music. The first couple Tuesdays were pretty heavy on hip hop and worship, which are stylesI tend to be a little more picky with. At first, I was worried March would bea light month in terms of genresI typically enjoy(and let’s face it – that’s really the only music that matters) but then the rest of the month more than...

The Time Discrepancy

More than likely, the amount of time you spend reading this blog will end up being a fraction of the amount of time I spendwith it. Once I factor in brainstorming, writing, and editing, I’ll end up logging several hours.

You, on the other hand, will probably spend a couple minutes on this thing. Maybe parts of it will stick with you. Maybe you’ll think about it occasionally after you read it. Even so, you’ll still be way behind me.

More and more, I’m finding this to be true in all aspects of...

Journey vs. Arrival

If you’re curious, there are usually three thoughts I can always count on going through my mind when I’m editing a novel:

1) Man, I’m ready to be done with this thing and publish it already.

2) Man, unedited Taylor��is pretentious.

3) Man, this book sucks.

If this seems like a negative mentality, that’s because it is. Reading your own unpolished work can have that effect. Editing is essentially the practice of looking for things in your book that suck. Granted, it’s so you can take them out and m...

Christian Music Roundup – February 2015

Check it out! I haven’t completely given up on this monthly music roundup thing yet. I’m so proud of me.

It’s been a good month for Christian music. There were a��few highly anticipated albums due in February, and they all delivered. It’s always nice when that happens. I get so nervous when I get my hopes up, because I know I’m just setting the bar that much higher for a band.

Anyway, enough preamble. Here are my picks for the month:

Aaron Strumpel – Bright Star

I don’t usually like to sit down...

On Rough Drafts and Making Stuff

I’ve done it.

It didn’t seem like I’d ever do it, but I’ve done it.

I’ve finished the rough draft for��The Hunted.

The sequel to��The Marian��is officially the longest rough draft I’ve written, and��I only hate it a little right now. Don’t worry: this is perfectly normal. You’re supposed to hate a rough draft, because rough drafts are supposed to suck. The good news is that��as much as I hate this draft, I love what it can become. This story is going in some really fun directions, and I know��th...

Christian Music Roundup – January 2015

I’m trying something new in 2015.

It seems like every year, I put together two lists of my favorite Christian albums: one at the midway point of the year, and one at the very end. The problem with this is that every time, there are artists I have to leave off for the sake of not rambling on and on. So here comes the something new: instead of just posting Christian music recommendations twice a year, I’m going to try a once-per-month schedule. We’ll see how it goes. Writing 1,000 or so words ev...