They say everything has a price, but I never believed it. How could everything—literally everything—have a price? Surely, there must be something either worthless or priceless. Yet, no one ever talks about the structure of a price.

First of all, celebrating Christmas alone in the UK feels like a first-hand experience of lockdown. You realise how deeply people love their families when you see them travelling across countries just to spend the holidays together. For a month, with most students gone, I found myself staring at my to-do list, struggling to imagine ways to fill the days.

Then came the storm. They called it The Beast from the East.

It ruined everything.

With my plans in shambles, I decided to go trekking with a group of strangers. Loch Muick. Even now, I’d walk around that lake again in a heartbeat—it was a fun trek.

The strangers didn’t ask for money. It was a two-hour drive, and I listened to their conversations about work. One was loud and aggressive—definitely a waitress or someone in the food industry. Everything seemed too good to be true. And it was.

Though the trek cost me nothing financially, the price I paid was sharing the backseat of the car with a creature—a dog that looked like a mouse, or maybe a mouse that looked like a dog—who farted non-stop for the entire journey.

It was winter, but not just any winter. The winter of the Beast from the East. Windows stayed firmly shut, as opening them would have meant risking hypothermia. The heater was on full blast, sealing us in with that dog... and its persistent contributions to the atmosphere.

My goal is to become a voice actor (preferably in video games and anime, but I am up for other opportunities too). One way I am working towards this goal is by reading and recording my own writing in order to practice and improve at the recording process. These pieces that I have turned into new audio recordings include a Bible journal for Nehemiah 13:11, and also the third chapter from the first arc of my fantasy/sci-fi series "New Adventurers: Enter The Pirate & Crew!" Please listen and enjoy via the links below, and I welcome and appreciate feedback!

Nehemiah 13:11 - Restoration (Bible Journal) - https://audiomack.com/roses311sublime/song/nehemiah-1311-restoration-bible-journal

Original written post: https://theprose.com/post/443158/nehemiah-13-11-restoration-bible-journal

A Nice Pirate Walks Into A Bank (Chapter 3 of New Adventurers: Enter The Pirate & Crew!) - https://audiomack.com/roses311sublime/song/a-nice-pirate-walks-into-a-bank-chapter-3

Original written post: https://old.theprose.com/post/409460/a-nice-pirate-walks-into-a-bank

50 years ago, I left Vietnam after serving in the U.S. Navy — fixing radios, playing Ping-Pong, and sweeping floors. I wrote about my experiences in “Orange Socks & Other Colorful Tales." It's a collection of funny, sad, and poignant stories. Here's a link to a sample chapter:

http://www.jslstories.com/about

It’s a beautiful morning … The sun is out … Birds are chirping … Husbands hug wives; Moms kiss their kids … A perfect day. Then “BAM!” Flight 11 hits the World Trade Center—the first domino has fallen.

* * *

Let’s say you’ve a written a story, but something seems missing. It could be the “Inciting Incident”—that first domino.

In “Hamlet,” a king is killed, starting a chain reaction that leaves Denmark in ruins—and a bunch of people dead. “Romeo & Juliet” ends even worst. Ah, that Shakespeare guy. What a writer.

But it’s not just the Bard who knew how to ruin somebody’s day.

In “Die Hard,” John McClane wants to reconcile with his wife. If Hans Gruber picks another building, John and Holly might reunite without incident. End of story.

How about “Star Wars”? If Darth Vader doesn’t stop Leia’s space cruiser, she delivers the Death Star plans without incident. End of story.

Want more examples?

• Bruce Wayne’s parents don’t get shot: No Batman.

• Bruce the shark goes to Brazil: No “Jaws.”

• Lucy, Edmond, Susan, and Peter never visit Narnia: No Lion. No Witch. No Wardrobe.

But wait, there’s more. What if …

• Harry Potter never learns he’s a wizard.

• The tornado doesn’t take Dorothy to Oz.

• Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth never meet: No Pride. No Prejudice. No nothin’…

So, writers, do yourself a favor: Ruin somebody’s day. Start a chain reaction by knocking down that first domino and let the others fall where they may.

Ker-plunk. Ker-Plunk. Ker-Plunk!

Copyright 2021

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI8MgWhEqxk&t=23s

My goal is to become a voice actor (preferably in video games and anime, but I am up for other opportunities too). One way I am working towards this goal is by reading and recording my own writing in order to practice and improve at the recording process. I am going to try to record and share a couple of my audio pieces each week. Please listen and enjoy, and I welcome and appreciate feedback!

Setting The Stage For An Unknown Plan - For Now (Chapter 1 of New Adventurers: Enter The Pirate & Crew!) - https://audiomack.com/roses311sublime/song/15135514

Original written post: https://theprose.com/post/409028/setting-the-stage-for-an-unknown-plan-for-now

1 Corinthians 15-19-20 - Words For Doubts (Bible Journal) - https://audiomack.com/roses311sublime/song/15135537

Original written post: https://theprose.com/post/435772/1-corinthians-15-19-20-words-for-doubts-bible-journal

Doctor Sic's Plot- Pirating The Pirate (Chapter 2 of New Adventurers: Enter The Pirate & Crew!) - https://audiomack.com/roses311sublime/song/15135559

Original written post: https://theprose.com/post/409168/doctor-sic-s-plot-pirating-the-pirate

Sitting on my deck this morning with keyboard and coffee at my fingertips, I reached a milestone, wholly arbitrary though it might be. I have (I think) written half of a novel.

I sketched out the first rough plan for The Ghosts on the Glass a little over a year ago, so that I could get something together for the Trident challenge. I outlined 24 chapters and estimated 50,000 words, which was too short, so I magically bumped the number to a still-short 70,000 words and crossed my fingers that I’d find them along the way.

I’ve got 45,000 words right now, and with my updated, more precise outline, I think I’ll land around a respectable 90K. It’s chapter 20 I just drafted. I hadn’t counted planned chapters in a while, but as I ticked through them, it looks like I’m presently slated for 40. All of which is to say, if my novel follows my plan precisely (it won’t), I’m precisely halfway. I’ve only attempted one novel before, years ago, and I didn’t make it nearly this far; this time, I’m really going to do it.

The unwritten pages no longer feel like a yawning void. I pick through my notes once and again and add to them, inserting fragments or tying future chapters to earlier threads. They’re slivers, but I have a feel for those chapters, and their emptiness no longer intimidates me.

That’s what I’ve learned the most about during this endeavor: working through the emptiness. Starting a fresh chapter, an empty Word doc feels vast, and copy/pasting my piecemeal notes helps only a little. I think through more interactions and narration and jot them down, come up with a line of dialogue or six, and I rearrange and remix it all until there’s a basic flow from start to end. Hopefully one of my drafted phrases can open or close the thing, but if not, I’ve learned not to worry about it. My first job is to fill the pages. I can perfect structure, phrasing, and transitions later. There’s no need to torture the newborn paragraphs to extort meaning: nuance emerges as I revise, organically. Michelangelo said the form already existed in the stone so that he only had to bring it out, but I’m no Michelangelo and I’m not whacking a chisel with a hammer. My writing requires shaping and smoothing and occasionally wholesale remolding just to find the form, and that’s alright.

Several of you in Proseland have mentioned an interest in reading the novel, and I appreciate your encouragement more than I can say. It’s not ready yet, but I’m working on it.

Here's the first assignment I wrote for my Creative Writing Class.

We were asked to define the characteristics of good writing.

The opening chord to “A Hard Day’s Night” by the Beatles is a dominant 9th of F in the key of C. It’s an edgy, crisp, metallic, strum that assaults the ear while vibrating the heart and spine—though not in an entirely unpleasant way.

The first Beatles movie opened with that chord.

“Clang!”

I remember. I was there. In 1964. Sitting in the rain at a drive-in theater with a vintage art-deco speaker held to each ear. Ended up with bronchitis. Small price to pay.

Why bring this up?

It’s like that line “You had me at hello” in “Jerry Maguire” (1996). That banging-clanging chord grabbed my attention. When the song resumed three seconds later, I was all-in. Into the movie. Into the characters. Into the story.

Muriel Rukeyser, American poet and political activist, once wrote: “The universe is made of stories; not atoms.”

“A Hard Day’s Night” is like that. Other examples:

“Hawaii” (1959) by James A. Michener

“Soul of a New Machine” (1981) by Tracy Kidder

"Diary of a Young Girl" (1952) by Anne Frank

“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” (1950) by C.S. Lewis

Each of these books offers an engaging blend of characters, conflict, victories, and defeat—a literary trail mix of textures and tastes, which (by the last page) give the reader a sense of satisfaction.

In April 2020, Rolling Stone published “100 Greatest Beatles Hits” under Elvis Costello’s byline. The No. 1 song? “A Day in the Life” (1967) which begins:

“I read the news today—oh boy

About a lucky man who made the grade

And though the news was rather sad

Well, I just had to laugh

I saw the photograph

“He blew his mind out in a car

He didn't notice that the lights had changed

A crowd of people stood and stared

They'd seen his face before

Nobody was really sure if he was from the House of Lords”

Though not my top Beatles song, I’ll say this: More than 50 years since I first heard it, “A Day in the Life” still haunts—and its epic 53-second E-chord at the end continues to resonate. In my opinion, the song exemplifies the essence of successful writing—enjoyable during the first go-around and like visiting an old friend thereafter.

Copywriting 2021

And there was silence

No words

Just absence of sentence

Like we had no license

To speak in constance

As life sometimes

Leaves us out of balance

Creating a clearance

That leaves room for a voidance

But

In the distance

There will be a defiance

Breeding

A distinct guidance

Assistance

That will rid us of silence

Thus

Creating a brilliance of conversation

That will match a fragrance in sweetness

And yet be full of substance and essence

For now

Let us be in coexistence

And the sharing of words

Today

Spell out incongruence

Let us enjoy

the incipience,

the commencement of ourselves,

into this experience.