Tag: teaching English abroad

Quick update and Star Wanderers cover previews

First off, I’m happy to say that Stars of Blood and Glory is coming along quite nicely.  I’m currently finishing up with the last couple of chapters, and should have the first draft done by the middle of next week.  Hopefully by then I’ll know if and when I’m starting my TEFL job overseas, but I’m sure I’ll have it finished before then.

This first draft is pretty rough, so I’m sure it’ll be a while before it’s up and ready for you to read.  For some reason, this draft is extremely short–I doubt it’ll be much longer than 80,000 words.  I don’t know if that means my writing has gotten tighter since Bringing Stella Home, or if I’ve unintentionally left too much out.  I’ll probably let it simmer for a few months, do a quick revision, and send it out to some first readers, just like I’ve done for Heart of the Nebula.

In the meantime, I’m getting really excited to pick up work again on Star Wanderers. I’ve been workshopping part II in Kindal’s writing group, just to get some reactions.  I’ll probably revise that part while I’m writing parts III and IV, getting it ready for publication after I hear back from Writers of the Future according to the serial model I outlined previously.

I’m so excited, in fact, that I went ahead and made some mock-ups for the cover art!

Pretty cool, huh?  These make me sooo happy. 🙂

I’m not quite sure if this is the right design, though.  Star Wanderers is very much a science fiction romance, and while these covers definitely scream “science fiction!” they don’t really seem to say “romance!”

My original idea was to use these as backgrounds and commission an artist to do some character portraits from the waist up, using one portrait each for the foreground.  But then again, that might make the covers a bit too complicated.  I can always redo the first one to get rid of the planet, keeping the galaxy–the other ones probably wouldn’t be so bad with a character in the middle.  But then again…

I don’t know.  What do you guys think?  If you saw one of these covers while browsing for ebooks, what kind of impression would it give you, and would you be interested in checking it out?

(By the way, I made the covers with Celestia.  Coolest.  Space simulation.  Ever.)

EDIT: I decided to redo the first cover; the planet wasn’t quite doing it for me.  I’m not sure if that means I should redo the cover for the third part, since that one is a heck of a lot more colorful than the others…hmm.  We’ll have to see.

What I’ve been up to recently

I thought it would be a good idea to do a quick post explaining what I’ve been up to the past month or so, since a lot of things have changed and I’m sure they will be changing a lot more in the future.  So, here’s what’s up:

As you may or may not know, I decided about four or five months ago to leave the USA to teach English abroad.  For the past few little while, I’ve been applying for a program to teach English to elementary school kids in Georgia.  I had the interview over Skype just yesterday, and I think it went pretty well!  I should hear back in the next couple of days, so fingers crossed on that.

If they decide to hire me, I’ll leave in three weeks and stay until at least mid-June.  At that point, I’ll either sign up for another semester or go somewhere else, either the Middle East or Eastern Europe. The pay isn’t great, but it seems like a good cultural experience, and I’m a lot more interested in the Caucasus than I am in East Asia (no offense to Asians).

Ever since I graduated in 2010, I’ve been looking for a fulfilling career that I can balance with my writing aspirations.  I learned pretty quick that that simply doesn’t exist in Washington DC; either you sacrifice everything for your career, including your family, or you end up trapped in an office pushing papers all day.  In Utah, I bounced around a lot of temporary jobs while struggling to make ends meet, but I never found anything more permanent that seemed to strike a balance.

I hope that teaching English will help me to find that balance, and from what I’ve heard from some of my former expat friends, I’m optimistic that it will.  Perhaps more importantly, it will probably enrich my writing by exposing me to new peoples and cultures.  Desert Stars was certainly enriched by the time I spent in Jordan; without having lived in that culture, I don’t think I would have been able to write it.  Besides, English is something I’m good at, and so is teaching–so why not capitalize on the skills I already have?  It certainly sounds better than wasting my 20s in a warehouse.

So that’s the plan: launch a TEFL career and spend at least the next three to five years abroad.  At least.  I might not get married until my 30s–or who knows, I might find someone out there and go native–but this is something I want to do as a career, not just as temporary filler before I figure out what I want to do with my life.  I’m through with filler.  Whether it takes one year or ten for my writing career to take off, I’m going to get out and do something useful and worthwhile.

That’s the plan, anyway.  And of course, I’ll always keep writing.

Right now, I’m finishing up Stars of Blood and Glory; I’m on chapter 15, with only three more and an epilogue after that, so I should finish that well before I leave.  After that, the next big project is Star Wanderers, which is already about halfway finished.  I’ll probably take some time off and work on polishing part II, then release parts I and II sometime in the spring–unless by some weird fluke it wins Writers of the Future.  I’ll know in February.

And after that?  Well, I’m thinking it’s almost time to pick up Edenfall again, but I can’t say for sure. Probably, though–I definitely want to finish that one before the end of the year, and preferably get it published.  After Stars of Blood and Glory, I’ll probably take a break from the McCoy continuity in the Gaia Nova universe, though I may pick up something from Jeremiah’s timeline in Star Wanderers.  I really want to do a parallel novel from Noemi’s point of view–maybe that’s the one I’ll do in seven days, just to hit that resolution.  Everything has to be ready fist, though, and right now it isn’t.

So much is changing–I have no idea where I’ll be in the next six months, creatively or physically. But right now, I’m just enjoying a relaxing time with my parents and getting ready for the next big transition.  Life is good.

Journey to Jordan is now published!

My travel journals from the 2008 BYU Jordan Study Abroad are now available as an indie published ebook from Smashwords!

Originally published as a blog, I always wanted to make it available as a book someday.  I spent the last couple of months running through it, putting together all the old posts as well as a few private ones.

I’ve edited them to bring the quality of my writing up to date, but did my best to retain the original sense of enthusiasm and discovery.  I’ve also added a foreword and afterword to give it a little more context, especially in light of the past few years.

This is the unillustrated version; I’m not exactly sure how to format ebooks with pictures, so the illustrated version with the photographs will have to wait.  I can’t promise I’ll get it up before I head out to Georgia (I’m just waiting to get the call–I could be leaving as soon as next week), but I’ll do what I can.

This version will be exactly the same as the other except for the photos, however, so if that’s not important to you, the unillustrated version is cheaper and much less unwieldy (only 895 KB).  Also, until Smashwords allows for direct epub uploads in a little less than a year, the only version available from Smashwords will be this version.

It was a lot of fun putting this one together, and I’m excited to see it up!  As with all my books, thanks for taking the time to read it, and I hope you enjoy!

Halfway to 10k

I was going to post my ebook numbers for December and a report for the last quarter, but then I got caught away in my latest novel, Stars of Blood and Glory and wrote over 5.6k words for the day.

This is probably the most new material I’ve written in a single day since 2009–perhaps ever.  Revising tends to come a lot easier for me, so I’ve spent a lot of time in the past doing that, but this indie publishing gig is making me up my game.  I’m working my way up each day; hopefully I’ll be able to write even more tomorrow and keep up the pace until the book is finished.

Of course, it helps that I’m hanging out at my parents’ place without any obligations or time commitments.  I finished my application to the TLG program last week, and they just sent it out today; with luck, I’ll hear back that I’ve been accepted within the next five days, and then I’ll have a definite idea of how much time I have left before I’m off on the next adventure.  It probably won’t be much longer than two or three weeks at that point.

My (rather lofty) goal is to finish the rough draft of Stars of Blood and Glory while I’m here in Massachusetts, seeing as I have nothing else to compete for my time.  Once I’m overseas, it’ll be a flurry of activity and I’ll probably be lucky just to manage one or two thousand words per day, at least until things settle into some kind of routine.

So that’s the plan for the next few days.  In order to finish this book by the end of January, I’ll have to average over 3k words per day, but I think I can do it.  This story is so much fun–the characters are practically leaping off the page at me, and I’ve got some awesome twists planned.  Space battles, mercenaries, a runaway princess, and opposing princes who are determined to prove themselves men–it’s going to be a clash of epic proportions!  I can hardly wait to write it!

The Prophet by Gibran Khalil Gibran

AL MUSTAFA the chosen and the beloved, who was a dawn unto his own day, had waited twelve years in the city of Orphalese for his ship that was to return and bear him back to the isle of his birth.  And in the twelfth year, on the seventh day of Ielol, the month of reaping, he climbed the hill without the city walls and looked seaward; and he beheld his ship coming with the mist.  Then the gates of his heart were flung open, and his joy flew far over the sea.  And he closed his eyes and prayed in the silences of his soul.

Thus begins The Prophet, a timeless masterpiece by the Lebanese poet Gibran Khalil Gibran.  As the prophet Al Mustafa prepares to leave on his ship, the people of Orphalese come one last time, asking for him to share his wisdom.  And so he does, on a variety of subjects from love to houses, clothes to prayer, beauty, pleasure, and finally, death.

I really love this book, and not only because it gives me a chance to practice my Arabic.  Just about every line in this epic poem is both moving and profound, and gives you pause not only to think, but to feel, and feel deeply.  One cannot help but feel that Khalil Gibran was a man who knew not only great joy, but also great pain in his life–pain which made his soul all the greater.

Like many things Middle East, however, the book is not without controversy. I have no doubt that many of my friends would find some words in this book with which they would strongly disagree.  Even some of my Arab friends don’t like it for (I suspect) that reason.  However, even though I don’t necessarily agree with everything in here, it’s such a thoughtful book and makes so many good points that I can’t help but love it.

The style is very Arab, which is to say it’s a lot wordier and more colorful than most modern English literature.  From what I’ve heard, though, Khalil Gibran wrote this in English first, and then translated it into Arabic.  Still, it has a distinctive Middle Eastern feel to it, which I love.  One of my favorite passages:

Yet I cannot tarry longer.

The sea that calls all things unto her calls me, and I must embark.

For to stay, though the hours burn in the night, is to freeze and crystallize and be bound in a mould.

Fain would I take with me all that is here.  But how shall I?

A voice cannot carry the tongue and the lips that gave it wings.  Alone must it seek the ether.

And alone and without his nest shall the eagle fly across the sun.

That’s exactly how I felt before I left Utah, and one of the main driving reasons why I’m leaving to start a career teaching English abroad.  In dozens of passages like this, Gibran’s words reflect my own feelings even better than anything I could ever write.

I suppose that’s what poetry is all about; using words in such a way that you can really make people feel.  Gibran is a master of that, which is probably why he’s the third bestselling poet in the world (after Shakespeare and Lao-Tzu).  Regardless, this is definitely a book that I will read over and over, in English and in Arabic.

Getting back into things

Sorry I haven’t posted much lately; I just got back to Massachusetts from a cross-country train trip (after spending Christmas between Utah and Texas), and I’m still getting situated here at my parents’ house.  If all goes well, I’ll be leaving by the end of the month to teach English in Georgia; worst case scenario, I sign up for a different program and spend a few more months here than I’d bargained for.

Things on the writing front are going well, though; I’ve been pulling between 1.5k and 2.5k words per day pretty consistently, all on Stars of Blood and Glory.  It’s very refreshing to be working on a new project again, and while I don’t feel like I’m into it as much as I could, with nothing else to distract me hopefully that will soon change.

One other interesting thing I’m doing right now is keeping track of the stats for my writing sessions: how many words I write, what times I start and finish, how many words per hour I average, etc.  The data is turning out to be quite interesting, so once I get to about 50 or 100 data points, I’ll post my findings.  It’s definitely giving me some much needed insight into my writing process.

In the next couple of days, I’ll post the ebook numbers for December and my quarterly report (I might actually combine the two into one post, come to think of it).  Also, I’ll finally get around to sending out the email newsletter, with some goodies like desktop wallpaper for Desert Stars.  If you haven’t yet signed up for the newsletter, you can do that via the form on the sidebar. —>

Finally, to round things out, I’ll link you to this awesome Final Fantasy VI tribute I found on teh internets:

Man, such an awesome, awesome game. I almost did a full length novelization of FF6. Instead, I wrote my first novel. It was definitely the better choice at the time…but a part of me still wants to revisit that world through writing my own fanfic. Someday, maybe…

Slogging along

So I’m working part time now, making ends meet as I get ready to finish up the year and go abroad for a while.  This time, I’m only doing about 20-30 hours per week, so it’s much easier to balance writing with everything.  Minecraft is still a distraction, but I think I’m finding a good balance.

Star Wanderers is coming along, but I made the mistake last week of reading some of the critical feedback on the first part while working on the second.  Not that the feedback is bad–it’s quite good, actually, and very helpful–but taking criticism on a work in progress put me into a temporary slump.  I think I’m most of the way out of it now, but progress is more sporadic than I’d want it to be.

However, I just started revising Into the Nebulous Deep today, and I’m very excited about that.  Into the Nebulous Deep is a direct sequel to Bringing Stella Home, featuring James, Lars, and the Colony five years after the events of the first novel.  I haven’t looked at it since May, but lately I’ve been thinking a lot about it, so I think it’s time to dust it off and work on it again.

It definitely needs a new title, though; “Into the Nebulous Deep” is much too convoluted.  Anyone have any ideas?  I’m thinking something like “Heart of the Nebula” or “Into the Deep,” but neither of those have quite the right zing.

Even though I finished the first draft almost six months ago, no one has read this one yet.  It had some pretty big issues that I felt I needed to fix before sending it out to first readers, but I wanted to give it some time to settle before reworking it.

As if that’s not enough, I’m also working on getting Journey to Jordan up and published.  This book is more of a travel journal, so I’m self-editing it, but it’ll probably take a couple weeks before it’s up and ready.  I was going to publish it under a pseudonym, but now I think I’ll just keep it under my own name.  I’m not sure whether I should change the names of people mentioned in the book; I never say anything libelous about anyone, but if that’s the standard MO for works of non-fiction, then maybe I ought to do it.  In any case, my goal is to have it out over Thanksgiving break.

Other than that, not too much to report on.  I’m bringing back my travel blog in anticipation of going abroad, but I haven’t said anything particularly interesting other than “I’m back!”

Oh, and I’m reading Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet and thoroughly enjoying it.  I don’t generally like poetry, but Poe and Gibran–I could read them all day.

Random late night thoughts

I’ve been going on a lot of late night walks lately, just wandering restlessly around Provo.  Tonight I had some interesting thoughts about how much I’ve changed in the last year.  Surprisingly, I’ve grown a lot.

Last  year at this time, I was all geared up for World Fantasy Convention.  I had just finished Bringing Stella Home, and I my thoughts went something like this: “if I’m lucky, maybe I’ll find an agent, and they’ll like my pitch enough to see it, and after they read it they’ll want to represent me, and then they’ll sell my book somewhere, so that maybe, just maybe, I can make a living as a writer in ten years.”

Now, I don’t want to get into the whole indie vs. traditional debate, because I think it’s ultimately a false dichotomy.  However, now that I’ve gone ahead and published my own work independently, I feel like I’ve taken charge of my career in a way that I hadn’t before.  I’m no longer waiting on someone else to make my hopes and dreams come true, I’m going out and pursuing them myself.

That’s the big thing that I think has changed in the past year: I’ve gained a lot more confidence.  A year ago today, I was working a temp job in a costume company warehouse, fretting and worrying over how to make ends meet and where to find a stable job.  I had considered freelancing as a translator and teaching English in another country, but hadn’t actively pursued those options because frankly they terrified me.  And as for writing, that was the impossible dream that might come true someday, but not today.

Now, writing is still the impossible dream, but at least I’m on a path that doesn’t involve lottery thinking like the old one.  None of my books have really taken off yet, but at least I have them published and available for readers to discover, so when I do start to get some traction I’ll be in a much better position to succeed.  And either way, I’ve taken charge of my own career.

So yeah, I can say I’ve grown a lot in the past year–which is surprising, considering all I did was stay in my old college town and work odd jobs.  At least I didn’t move back in with my parents–which makes me part of an elite 15%.  But now, I think I’ve just about reached the limit of how much I can grow here in Provo.  If something doesn’t change, I worry that I’m going to start stagnating.

So in a year, where will I be?  Who knows, but if I’ve grown as much as I have since October 2010, I’ll count that as a success.

Decisions suck, writing is awesome

Whew!  I just finished revising through almost 9k words in Desert Stars.  I’ve only got three more chapters and an epilogue to go, and man, I am so excited about this story!  I have no doubt it’s my best work yet.

Of course, I might be biased. 😉

Star Wanderers is also coming along very well.  I’ve only got a few more scenes to write/revise before it’s ready to send off to the next round of first readers.  Part of me wants to send it off to Writers of the Future right now (and according to Dean’s sage advice, that’s probably what I should do), but I want to get some feedback first just to make sure there isn’t something I’ve missed that would make it better.  If all goes well, I’ll probably send it off by the end of the month.

This is the best part of writing process: finishing up a project that you know is good.  This is one reason why I love rewriting so much.  If I could do this all day, every day, and get paid enough for my work to make ends meet, I’d be living the dream.

Until then, however, I’ve got to figure out another way to make ends meet.  One option I’m considering very seriously is selling my contract and driving across the country this Thanksgiving to spend a month or two with my parents before going overseas.  My mom was the one who suggested it, and I have to admit it makes a lot of sense; if I’m going to go abroad to teach English anyways, why not spend some time back home?

If this is something I need to do, I’m going to have to make the decision very soon, possibly before the end of next week–and if you know me, you know that I’m terrible at making decisions.  However, I have been thinking about it enough to make a couple of lists, and this is what I’ve come up with so far:

Reasons to go to abroad:

  • To start a new career.
  • To have adventures.
  • To experience another culture.
  • To gain TEFL experience.
  • To support myself as I write.
  • To have a change.
  • To see the world.
  • To have something to write about.

Reasons to stay in Utah:

  • To get married.
  • To focus on writing.
  • To pursue a graduate degree.
  • To stay in a predominantly Mormon community.

I decided to list only the positive reasons for making either decision, and not to consider any of the creeping doubts or fears (and there are many!).  So let’s break it down:

To start a new career: This seems prudent, especially if it takes a while for my books to really take off.  Specifically, a TEFL career seems like something I could juggle with my writing career, and it would certainly offer a lot more satisfaction than a grunt day job.

To have adventures: Perhaps not the most responsible reason, but hey, you’ve got to remember to have fun.

To experience another culture: One of the perks of traveling, for sure.  It would probably improve my writing considerably as well, though culture shock and distance from family would certainly pose a challenge.

To gain TEFL experience: In other words, to find out if teaching English as a foreign language is something I want to build a career around, or whether I’m just not suited for it.  This is why I’d want to do the TLG program first, before heading off somewhere like Cairo or Amman.  And if it doesn’t work out…well, at least I’d know.  Right now, I don’t.

To support myself as I write: This is huge.  I hear that most TEFL jobs only take up about 20 hours per week, and that if you’re living in a local apartment, it’s not hard to make time to write.  In the past two years, I haven’t had any success balancing writing with full-time work, and working part time probably wouldn’t earn me enough to support myself here in the states.

To have a change: Not quite as tangible a reason, but important nonetheless.  I can’t quite explain it, but if I stay where I am now, in my current life situation…it’s just not going to work out.

To see the world: I could probably lump this under “to have adventures.”

To have something to write about: Also huge.  My experiences in Jordan and the Middle East were a huge inspiration for Desert Stars, and if I’d never gone over there, the novel wouldn’t be nearly as rich.  Who knows what else my imagination would produce if I spent some time traveling the world?

Now, for the other side:

To get married: Honestly, this is more of a negative reason than a positive reason.  I’ve already decided that I’m only going to marry someone who’s a practicing Mormon, and since Utah is predominantly Mormon, I’m worried that if I leave Utah, I won’t be able to find someone.

Trouble is…I’ve been here for almost six years, and still haven’t found anyone.  I could probably put more effort into dating, but the truth is probably that finding a marriage partner is more about your mindset than where you physically live.

Besides, I could always spend a year or two abroad and come back.  I’d be pushing thirty and well beyond “menace to society” status, but at least I wouldn’t be a loser who spent all his twenties in Utah.

To focus on writing: This was why I decided last year not to go teach English in Korea.  The ebook revolution was just getting started, and I felt that I needed to stay in the states to learn how the market was changing and focus on building my indie writing career.

Now, however, I feel like I’m high enough on the learning curve that I can afford to work on other things.  Besides, with the current state of the economy, I don’t think I’m going to find balance if I stay in the states.

To pursue a graduate degree: I’ve largely ruled this one out.  I don’t see how an English degree would help me at this point, and I don’t currently have any career aspirations that would justify pursuing an advanced degree.  The only reason I’d go back to school is to postpone facing the real world, and that’s probably the worst reason I could possibly have.

To stay in a predominantly Mormon community: Kind of the opposite of “see the world” and “experience another culture,” and it gets at the very heart of the matter.  Would it be better to establish myself among people who are more like me and share my values, or should I venture out of the “bubble” and see what else is out there?  I have a much stronger support group here in Utah than I’d probably have as a global nomad, but do I really need it?  Am I independent enough to strike out and bloom wherever I’m planted?

I don’t know.  My thinking is so muddled with doubts and second thoughts that this whole exercise has probably been futile.  If I had to make a decision RIGHT THIS SECOND, however, I’d probably choose to go.

If nothing else, it would give me a good two months of writing time. 🙂

Let the job hunt begin!

Pull!

All right, I just updated my resume to account for the last year or so, and I’m ready to start looking aggressively for work.  Given the state of the economy, I’m not optimistic that it will lead anywhere, but hey might as well give it a shot.

The ideal job would be something part time that allows me to write on the side while teaching me useful skills like book selling or copywriting.  Oh, and it wouldn’t hurt to have interesting coworkers (especially female coworkers) and a fun work environment, too.

I’ve got to be honest, though; there aren’t very many jobs here in Utah Valley that are awesome enough to keep me here.  In September, I finally got my TEFL certification, which means that I could probably land a decent job teaching English abroad if I were to look for one.  In fact, if I showed up in Cairo or Amman with $500 USD in my pocket, I’ll bet I could establish myself.

So while there are a few jobs here in Utah that would make me decide to stay, if I can’t find anything satisfactory in the next few weeks, I’m probably going to go with teaching English abroad.  My friends who have done it say that it gives you tons of free time to write, though generally more if you have a private apartment than if you’re living in a homestay.  Even so, I think I’ll try out the Teach and Learn with Georgia program first for a few months, just to test the waters and see if this is something I actually want to do for a career.

That’s the tentative plan anyways.  Things that could derail it include:

  • Finding an awesome job here in Utah.
  • Getting signed with my band.
  • Selling a bazillion ebooks.
  • Falling in love.

But either way, something’s gotta change.