by Jason Joyner | Dec 16, 2009 | Blog, Randy Ingermanson, software, writing craft
I’ve had a few suggestions for writing software in the past. When we did the tour for Curse of the Spider King, the authors Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper recommended Scrivener, but apparently that is only available for the Mac.
Back to the drawing board for me.
Now Randy Ingermanson has release a software version of his famous “Snowflake” method of writing a book, titled aptly enough, “Snowflake Pro” . He ran a promotion for it on his Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine (the ezine is free if you want to check it out), and I couldn’t resist.
If you click on the Snowflake Pro link, you can see how it looks. The basic method is starting with a simple overview statement of your novel idea, and slowly expanding it, like a snowflake fractal. It helps you expand the summary statement into a summary paragraph, and further on until you supposedly have a great outline ready to be filled in.
I have Randy’s Fiction 101 lecture and have read his Snowflake method before. It seemed logical, but I had trouble sitting down and doing it. So far the Snowflake Pro is making it easy to do so. It includes audio clips from Randy as well as text notes. It has helped me get some dull coals fired back up again, and I’m hopeful it will help me plot out further so I can really attack the story this winter. The software is simple to download and install, and with the help features, it is pretty intuitive so far.
Does anyone else know about writing software and have recommendations? I will post more about Snowflake Pro as I use it more, but for now it seems quite helpful. I’m sure there’s a ton of products out there, so if anyone has experience with them, I’d love to hear about them.
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by Jason Joyner | Dec 14, 2009 | Blog, Christmas, giving, social justice
I’d like to provide the Spoiled for the Ordinary 2nd annual Alternative Gift Giving Guide. If you’re having trouble finding the perfect something for a loved one, maybe it is because they don’t need anything!
Instead of buying another unwanted trinket, consider donating on behalf of others and benefit those who really need it.
International Justice Mission – an organization providing justice, rescue, and rehabilitation for victims of the slave trade and sex trafficking.
World Vision – providing food and medical care around the world for years. One of the most respected charities out there.
Wonderfully Made Jewelry – do double duty! Find a beautiful jewelry piece for someone, made by rescued victims of trafficking. The jewelry may seem a little expensive, but it is not coming at the expense of sweat-shop labor.
Angel Tree by Prison Fellowship – Angel Tree provides presents to the children of prisoners, and is a way of showing hope to both the prisoner (who often feels guilty about not being able to provied for their kids) and the family left at home. Prison Fellowship offers many outreaches and services to prisoners all year.
Mercy Ships – these ships travel the world to offer medical, dental, and community development services to some of the poorest of all.
There are other worthy organizations out there, but most of these I’ve had experience with, and I know there is good return on your investment.
Be a blessing this Christmas season, and God bless you!
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by Jason Joyner | Dec 14, 2009 | Blog, Christmas, giving, social justice
I’d like to provide the Spoiled for the Ordinary 2nd annual Alternative Gift Giving Guide. If you’re having trouble finding the perfect something for a loved one, maybe it is because they don’t need anything!
Instead of buying another unwanted trinket, consider donating on behalf of others and benefit those who really need it.
International Justice Mission – an organization providing justice, rescue, and rehabilitation for victims of the slave trade and sex trafficking.
World Vision – providing food and medical care around the world for years. One of the most respected charities out there.
Wonderfully Made Jewelry – do double duty! Find a beautiful jewelry piece for someone, made by rescued victims of trafficking. The jewelry may seem a little expensive, but it is not coming at the expense of sweat-shop labor.
Angel Tree by Prison Fellowship – Angel Tree provides presents to the children of prisoners, and is a way of showing hope to both the prisoner (who often feels guilty about not being able to provied for their kids) and the family left at home. Prison Fellowship offers many outreaches and services to prisoners all year.
Mercy Ships – these ships travel the world to offer medical, dental, and community development services to some of the poorest of all.
There are other worthy organizations out there, but most of these I’ve had experience with, and I know there is good return on your investment.
Be a blessing this Christmas season, and God bless you!
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by Jason Joyner | Dec 8, 2009 | Blog, love
I’m off to enjoy the Winter Wonder Slam tour with Tobymac and Relient k tonight. Since 12/8 is a special day for me, here’s a post from December 2006 that highlights why:
—
Ten years ago, a modern love story began.
Two people had grown up together, through church and school. Her mother taught both of them in Sunday School and youth group. They didn’t run in the same crowd at school, but being in an area of few Christians, they had a connection there because of their faith.
She was popular, in student government and choir. He was a little awkward, in band and drama. He wrote some weird creative stories that could get him kicked out of school nowadays. He was pretty shy, and asked her to prom – only because he knew she was so nice she wouldn’t say no. Otherwise he probably wouldn’t have had a date! They had fun, but it was just as friends.
She was actually a year older than him in school. When she graduated, she went to Youth With a Mission for their Discipleship Training School in Lakeside, Montana. He was a little lost without his good friend that year, but ended up following in her footsteps, also going to YWAM after his graduation.
When he returned, they both attended the local university, actually carpooling together the first year. She didn’t like it when he was snooty about having to listen to country music. He wasn’t amused when she and her friends all got in the back of his car and treated him as their chauffeur. Sometimes they seemed to bicker like brother and sister, but they remained friends through it all.
She found that she could even call on him when he was about to sit down to a hot plate of homemade macaroni and cheese, when she was being chased by a vicious spider. He arrived at her house, only a few blocks away, to find her standing on the kitchen counter using a broom to fend off the ferocious arachnid. A well-placed sandal ended the threat.
After a couple of years he decided he needed something radical in his spiritual life, and signed up for a Bible school program through YWAM – in Australia. She is one of the last people he spends time with before leaving. He even calls her from Oz, since he has some extra time on his phone card. She wasn’t quite expecting a call from overseas, since they were just friends.
After 9 months he came back from Down Under, and their friendship resumed. She noticed that he had actually matured in his time away. He had always honored their relationship so much that he never dared to make it more, because he didn’t want to scare her off.
Over the next year, they continue their friendship. Best friends now, they even start working together at a local restaurant. But when asked if he’s ever thought of dating her, he replies that “they’re just like brother and sister.” When you’re both in your early twenties, and some of the only Christian singles around in a small town, that automatic pairing is inevitable. However, they both share a strong passion for the Lord, and they try as best to let Him guide their lives.
Their college studies are coming into focus: she is majoring in education, and he is trying to get into the physician assistant program. Come December, and he’s dealing with finals in fun classes like anatomy, physiology, organic chemistry, etc. English papers aren’t the highest priority, so that’s why on a Sunday he is holed up in his basement most the day to research and write his next assignment. He might have been farther along, but his mind was distracted by what she said after church.
“I need to talk to you about something. But I can’t do it right now.”
Isn’t that maddening?
“Well, when are you going to tell me? What if I call you when I get my research done?”
“Okay.”
He finds that he can’t concentrate, and his active imagination is spinning with different possibilities. Finally he gets enough done where he figures he can take a break and give her the long awaited phone call. Despite all his imagination, he can’t expect what would happen next.
“Remember how you said we were like brother and sister?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, my feelings for you have changed.”
Pause. “What do you mean?”
“I like you more than a friend.”
That may not be the most amazing line ever spoken in a romantic film, but it was the most wonderful thing I have ever heard. This woman, who was my ideal, had just opened a door that I could not have ever hoped would open. She is beautiful. She loves the Lord with all her heart. She is sweet and kind, tender and caring. Her smile lights up a room, but she could also speak with God’s fire when moved.
So our courtship began. Being good friends, we knew that this wasn’t a trifle. The next day I fasted and prayed and the Lord spoke Proverbs 18:22 to me. Wow.
It wasn’t easy to be single and waiting. Both of us railed against that at times, but mercifully Jesus kept us hidden in His hand, keeping us from any serious entanglements, keeping us pure.
March 28, 1998, was the day that we were joined into one, and that day will always be special. But our journey started 10 years ago. The day we fell in love.
I love you Beccy. Always and forever.
—
by Jason Joyner | Dec 8, 2009 | Blog, love
I’m off to enjoy the Winter Wonder Slam tour with Tobymac and Relient k tonight. Since 12/8 is a special day for me, here’s a post from December 2006 that highlights why:
—
Ten years ago, a modern love story began.
Two people had grown up together, through church and school. Her mother taught both of them in Sunday School and youth group. They didn’t run in the same crowd at school, but being in an area of few Christians, they had a connection there because of their faith.
She was popular, in student government and choir. He was a little awkward, in band and drama. He wrote some weird creative stories that could get him kicked out of school nowadays. He was pretty shy, and asked her to prom – only because he knew she was so nice she wouldn’t say no. Otherwise he probably wouldn’t have had a date! They had fun, but it was just as friends.
She was actually a year older than him in school. When she graduated, she went to Youth With a Mission for their Discipleship Training School in Lakeside, Montana. He was a little lost without his good friend that year, but ended up following in her footsteps, also going to YWAM after his graduation.
When he returned, they both attended the local university, actually carpooling together the first year. She didn’t like it when he was snooty about having to listen to country music. He wasn’t amused when she and her friends all got in the back of his car and treated him as their chauffeur. Sometimes they seemed to bicker like brother and sister, but they remained friends through it all.
She found that she could even call on him when he was about to sit down to a hot plate of homemade macaroni and cheese, when she was being chased by a vicious spider. He arrived at her house, only a few blocks away, to find her standing on the kitchen counter using a broom to fend off the ferocious arachnid. A well-placed sandal ended the threat.
After a couple of years he decided he needed something radical in his spiritual life, and signed up for a Bible school program through YWAM – in Australia. She is one of the last people he spends time with before leaving. He even calls her from Oz, since he has some extra time on his phone card. She wasn’t quite expecting a call from overseas, since they were just friends.
After 9 months he came back from Down Under, and their friendship resumed. She noticed that he had actually matured in his time away. He had always honored their relationship so much that he never dared to make it more, because he didn’t want to scare her off.
Over the next year, they continue their friendship. Best friends now, they even start working together at a local restaurant. But when asked if he’s ever thought of dating her, he replies that “they’re just like brother and sister.” When you’re both in your early twenties, and some of the only Christian singles around in a small town, that automatic pairing is inevitable. However, they both share a strong passion for the Lord, and they try as best to let Him guide their lives.
Their college studies are coming into focus: she is majoring in education, and he is trying to get into the physician assistant program. Come December, and he’s dealing with finals in fun classes like anatomy, physiology, organic chemistry, etc. English papers aren’t the highest priority, so that’s why on a Sunday he is holed up in his basement most the day to research and write his next assignment. He might have been farther along, but his mind was distracted by what she said after church.
“I need to talk to you about something. But I can’t do it right now.”
Isn’t that maddening?
“Well, when are you going to tell me? What if I call you when I get my research done?”
“Okay.”
He finds that he can’t concentrate, and his active imagination is spinning with different possibilities. Finally he gets enough done where he figures he can take a break and give her the long awaited phone call. Despite all his imagination, he can’t expect what would happen next.
“Remember how you said we were like brother and sister?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, my feelings for you have changed.”
Pause. “What do you mean?”
“I like you more than a friend.”
That may not be the most amazing line ever spoken in a romantic film, but it was the most wonderful thing I have ever heard. This woman, who was my ideal, had just opened a door that I could not have ever hoped would open. She is beautiful. She loves the Lord with all her heart. She is sweet and kind, tender and caring. Her smile lights up a room, but she could also speak with God’s fire when moved.
So our courtship began. Being good friends, we knew that this wasn’t a trifle. The next day I fasted and prayed and the Lord spoke Proverbs 18:22 to me. Wow.
It wasn’t easy to be single and waiting. Both of us railed against that at times, but mercifully Jesus kept us hidden in His hand, keeping us from any serious entanglements, keeping us pure.
March 28, 1998, was the day that we were joined into one, and that day will always be special. But our journey started 10 years ago. The day we fell in love.
I love you Beccy. Always and forever.
—
by Jason Joyner | Dec 2, 2009 | Blog, social justice
Psalm 82:3-4
Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;
maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.
Rescue the weak and needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
by Jason Joyner | Dec 2, 2009 | Blog, social justice
Psalm 82:3-4
Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;
maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.
Rescue the weak and needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
by Jason Joyner | Nov 24, 2009 | Blog, CFBA, christian fiction
Jason sez: This book arrived too late to review, but I’ll try to get to it soon.
This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingLoss Of CarrierBookSurge Publishing (October 27, 2009)byRuss White
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Russ White is an internationally recognized internetwork engineer. He has co-authored eight books in the field of network design and routing
protocols and is a regular speaker at international networking conferences.
In addition to working on several expert and senior-level network engineering certifications, he is a certified firearms instructor.
Russ, his wife, and their two children live in the Raleigh area of North Carolina, where they enjoy spending time on Jordan Lake and attending Colonial Baptist Church. Loss of Carrier is his first novel.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Bright yellow cables against a blue shirt? Carl never would have approved of that color combination. Why was his face so white? His eyes should be closed, not open. Why hadn’t one of the security guards seen this and reported it to the police? The lights were off, the cameras were useless in the dark.
Of course, the cables wrapped around Carl’s neck explained why the server wasn’t working. Loss of carrier.
Jess Wirth lives a dreary life. He spends most of his time crammed inside a cubicle, toiling as a network engineer and stewing over the details of his ugly divorce. But when he finds his co-worker dead in the basement of their office, Jess’s life takes a surprising—and unpleasant—turn.
The police quickly declare the death a suicide, but Jess isn’t so sure. Not long after he begins digging into the victim’s work, another co-worker turns up dead, convincing him once and for all that something sinister is brewing behind the cubicle walls.
His investigation leads him to a mysterious woman name Leah, who pushes him to entrust her with the information he’s collected about his dead colleagues. Wary of Leah’s motives yet inexorably drawn to her, Jess keeps her at arm’s length…until an attempt is made on both their lives. Realizing they are close on the trail of a dangerous criminal, the pair race to expose a data theft ring before they become the killer’s next victims.
If you would like to read the first chapter of Loss Of Carrier, go HERE
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by Jason Joyner | Nov 24, 2009 | Blog, CFBA, christian fiction
Jason sez: This book arrived too late to review, but I’ll try to get to it soon.
This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingLoss Of CarrierBookSurge Publishing (October 27, 2009)byRuss White
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Russ White is an internationally recognized internetwork engineer. He has co-authored eight books in the field of network design and routing
protocols and is a regular speaker at international networking conferences.
In addition to working on several expert and senior-level network engineering certifications, he is a certified firearms instructor.
Russ, his wife, and their two children live in the Raleigh area of North Carolina, where they enjoy spending time on Jordan Lake and attending Colonial Baptist Church. Loss of Carrier is his first novel.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Bright yellow cables against a blue shirt? Carl never would have approved of that color combination. Why was his face so white? His eyes should be closed, not open. Why hadn’t one of the security guards seen this and reported it to the police? The lights were off, the cameras were useless in the dark.
Of course, the cables wrapped around Carl’s neck explained why the server wasn’t working. Loss of carrier.
Jess Wirth lives a dreary life. He spends most of his time crammed inside a cubicle, toiling as a network engineer and stewing over the details of his ugly divorce. But when he finds his co-worker dead in the basement of their office, Jess’s life takes a surprising—and unpleasant—turn.
The police quickly declare the death a suicide, but Jess isn’t so sure. Not long after he begins digging into the victim’s work, another co-worker turns up dead, convincing him once and for all that something sinister is brewing behind the cubicle walls.
His investigation leads him to a mysterious woman name Leah, who pushes him to entrust her with the information he’s collected about his dead colleagues. Wary of Leah’s motives yet inexorably drawn to her, Jess keeps her at arm’s length…until an attempt is made on both their lives. Realizing they are close on the trail of a dangerous criminal, the pair race to expose a data theft ring before they become the killer’s next victims.
If you would like to read the first chapter of Loss Of Carrier, go HERE
—
by Jason Joyner | Nov 21, 2009 | Blog, books, CFBA, fiction, reviews
From one blog tour to another, from Elven lands to cyberpunk, where there’s books, Spoiled for the Ordinary will go!
This week the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is featuring first-time author Kirk Outerbridge and his book Eternity Falls – A Rick Macey Cyberthriller. I mentioned this book last month due to its excellent cover art, and today is my review.
In the year 2081, no one has to die. Thanks to the Miracle Treatment from Gentec, people never age, and can actually be restored to any time in their life they want. But when spokeswoman starlet Greta Darling dies from apparent natural causes, this could destroy the product and company.
When the lovely VP from Gentec, Sheila Dunn, wants to find a reason that would show it wasn’t due to the failure of the Miracle Treatment, she turns to Rick Macey, a retired government operative who has secrets that match his formidable skills. He will need all his experience and abilities to deal with the various forces that want Ms. Dunn and Gentec to fail.
I’ve not read a cyberpunk type novel before, and it’s not surprising that this offering in the Christian fiction realm comes from Marcher Lord Press. Jeff Gerke’s publishing company is the perfect vehicle for a book that doesn’t fit with the mainstream of CBA novels.
Outerbridge has a solid first effort here. He sets a very interesting dystopic future, with the wonders of the Miracle Treatment nicely contrasted with areas of Los Angeles that are home to cybergangs due to the neglect from the government. Futuristic touches such as neural nets that provide instant messaging and computer searches with a thought, holographic ID’s, and other technological advances are well-thought out and used throughout the book.
Rick Macey is a good protagonist with some surprises in store for the reader. He is a complex individual, and he wrestles with his past and his future throughout the story. Other characters such as the mysterious Virgil and the mobster Pooly add to the colorful landscape of the story. Sheila Dunn is mixed, appearing strong, petulant, spoiled, and a damsel in distress at various times, never consistent enough to be terribly believable.
The plot overall moves at a pretty suspenseful pace, but there are several points where the narrative could be edited to keep the story sharper. There’s too much introspection, dialog, and description at times that bog the story down. The imagery of “eternity falls” is potent, but gets overdone at the end of the story.
Overall, I wasn’t sure how “Christian” cyberpunk would play out, but Eternity Falls is an interesting read that has flaws, but is nonetheless entertaining. Fans of near future sci/fi and cyberpunk should check it out, as well as suspense fans. I think Outerbridge has the potential to be a strong player in the development of Christian speculative fiction in the future.
If you would like to read an excerpt from Chapter 1 of Eternity Falls, go HERE
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