Tag: The Middle East

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… Continue reading Decisions suck, writing is awesome

Difficult choices and keeping perspective

So I have some news, and it’s probably going to freak my parents out a little bit…I decided to turn down the full-time job offer that I mentioned a few weeks ago. The company is great, they treat their employees well, I got along well with everyone there–so why not take the job?  Because it… Continue reading Difficult choices and keeping perspective

You should check this guy out

As some of you may know, in 2008 I traveled to Jordan with the BYU study abroad program.  One of my friends from the program was Joey Anthon Jackson, pictured here. When we got back from Jordan in August, Joey graduated and promptly went back overseas.  Ever since, he’s been traveling the world, spending no… Continue reading You should check this guy out

Desert Stars 3.0 is finished!

That’s right; after almost exactly two months of writing, the third draft of Desert Stars is now complete! This is the first draft where I feel that things are truly coming together the way they should be, where the story is transforming into something that not only works, but is actually fairly awesome. I’m probably… Continue reading Desert Stars 3.0 is finished!

Writing is like tending an orchard

So I was hiking the Y tonight, pondering various things, and the thought occurred to me that writing is a lot like an olive orchard. First, you’ve got the land, both cultivated and wild.  Cultivated land is like your conscious mind, where everything fits neatly into order and you have control over what you create. … Continue reading Writing is like tending an orchard

Where will Joe go?

Just a quick and dirty update before bed, because hey it’s been forever since I’ve posted to this thing. Holy crap, this last week was CRAZY for my family!  Youngest sister got married, middle sister had a baby, and oldest sister…well, I’m not at liberty to discuss that yet.  But congratulations to all of you!… Continue reading Where will Joe go?

Thoughts on the protests in Egypt

So unless you’re living under a rock, you know that there’s a revolution going on in Egypt right now. Protesters have been demonstrating 24 hours in Tahrir square in Cairo for the past seven days, demanding that President Mubarak step down from power.  With police unable to contain the protests, the army has been called… Continue reading Thoughts on the protests in Egypt

I’m still here!

Man, it’s been forever since I’ve posted something.  I’d blog more often, but I think you guys would get bored pretty quick if all I did was tell you how the writing went each day.  Don’t be fooled; the writing process isn’t NEARLY as interesting as the stuff we write (unless you’re writing amateur fanfic…just… Continue reading I’m still here!

Where were you on 9/11/01?

Tuesday Sept 11th, 2001 Day of the Terrorist Attacks on the WTC and Pentagon Today has been an incredible day. In describing the events that happened today, one of the teachers said that “the world has changed significantly from what it used to be.” There’s no doubt that that’s true. It’s so strange, I’m still… Continue reading Where were you on 9/11/01?