Grandeur Things

The Journey Thus Far (Month 1)           This blog is many things to me; a way to communicate with an audience, a way to share my writings, and a way to help build a fan base, but most importantly I want to use it to document my journey. Because I am unable to post to my blog every day, I want to emphasize quality over quantity. I had no idea when I first started that author's had to do so many other things besides just writing. Here is an up-to-date list of what has gone on so far:           I started writing a fictional novel one month ago (approx. 5/15/17). I planned it out for a few days and did some research, jotted down some ideas, and then started writing a story. Since then, I have learned so much about how dialogue works, narration, Point of View, and several other things. I am now nearing completion of my first draft just a month after starting. Tales of Grandeur: Heroes Rise and Fall  will be about 200 pages and 50,000 words.           I created a FaceBook a

The Uncrowned King By C. J. Strong             Sometimes toughness is synonymous with stupidity, and this was just the case with Gerald G. Griswold or Jerry as some would call him. Jerry was a basic man with basic qualities. In fact, the only thing that wasn’t basic about Jerry was his temperament. He once killed a man solely because he was wearing a nicer hat than he was.             Gerald was born to a small family with little to no money to their name. Which is what made Gerald’s story so impressive. He came from nothing, yet by the time he was sixteen he had already a hundred soldiers under him. This was because he joined the Royal Army at the ripe age of fourteen, which wasn’t unheard of back then. Once he joined, his bloodlust for battle quickly got him a bad reputation. He slayed his way to the top, being as cut throat as possible. Once he had enough soldiers under his command, he split from the Royal Army to create a new organization. Of course, this meant he and his

Travesty at its Finest By C. J. Strong His name was Travis, and he was an alcoholic He loved to bowl, and drinking gave him an edge His passion for the sport was unparalleled, and he was very good He could have gone to the Olympics, but drinking was his best sport His frame of drinking and bowling slowly came to an end He had wasted most of his life as a could-have-been He watched on as friends and teammates became famous He decided that enough was enough, and he quit cold turkey His life finally started to turn around, and he started to compete again His bowling prowess and untapped potential was unlike anyone else His technique helped him win several perfect games He decided to make one last go of it, and so he did His shot back to the top, and he was off to the Olympics He was finally fulfilling his dreams, that is until an old friend came back into his life His alcoholism was back, and back to the gutter he went He only took one shot of

The Ultimate Thrill By C. J. Strong           Carvin North was a teen with little to no self-worth. He had lost half of his right leg the year before due to frostbite, and had to have it replaced with a prosthetic. Still, he didn’t see himself as a victim though, after all it was his stupid choice to stay out for too long.           It was in the middle of winter, and he decided to do it. As a member of the North family, he felt obligated to do so. After all, it was a trek that every male in his family had taken for generations; a passage into manhood if you will. The goal was to leave without any supplies at all, and climb to the top of the Grilda Summit. Now, for any normal healthy adult, this wouldn’t be so bad. For Carvin, it was quite the task.           He left his house with only a jacket and cane. He failed to mention to his parents that today was going to be the day, though they had a good idea that he would eventually go. Once that front door closed behind him, he

Creating Fiction Part 2           Creating something that really comes alive can be difficult. Once you've finished the first five steps, you should move on to these in better detail. Step 6: Plot: The plot as we all know is how exactly the story goes. What struggles are going to take place, when and how they are resolved, and the overall lesson of the story. Remember that all of this centers around your protagonist as well as antagonist so develop them well. This draws a lot on the 4th step of creating characters, so make sure you choose who is going to be what early on. You could have countless 'bad' guys and many supporting characters, but the plot has to be driven by someone or something. This also ties in to choosing whether you write in 1st or 3rd person. Step 7: Start Writing: Not all authors begin writing immediately, but once you have the general ideas down you will be anxious to get started so why not give it a go. Just know that no matter how great y

Creating Fiction Part 1           Hello everyone! Today I'd like to take a moment to break down how I come up with the things that I do. Every author has different ways, and each of them are unique and interesting. Step 1:   Pick a Genre.  This may seem obvious to most, but as soon as the ideas start swimming in your head, narrow them down to a few choices. You can always decide on this later, but the sooner you get it out of the way then the sooner you can get to the real fun which is writing. If you have a lot of ideas about space then choose Sci-Fi, if you want to create an entirely new world then maybe Fantasy would be best. The internet is your friend, so feel free to do your research as you go along. Step 2: Choose an Audience.  Ultimately if you are writing to be successful or for profit, then you definitely want to cater to a specific demographic. You won't want to target an audience of children if your book is going to be a 300 page novel about war. If howev

New Beginnings ~ By C. J. Strong           First of all I would just like to thank everyone for coming on and viewing my Blog. My name is C. J. Strong or better known by as my real name Cliff Armstrong. The reason for a pen name is because I am an aspiring author. All that means is that I am dedicating large amounts of my time into writing  a novel . I'm already well into my first draft and I plan on writing an entire series of them.  What type of book you may ask?           Well, I am trying to write it within the realm of fantasy. It's coming along nicely and definitely has a lot of suspenseful moments along with twists and turns, BUT I am not here to just promote my book. I am here to build a fan base, a community, dedicated to knowledge. A college professor of mine recently told me that to be a student is great, even a successful student, but what will set you apart from the rest is to become  a scholar . So here's to New Beginnings! Writing, is it ea