Fantasist's Scroll

Do you journal?

I have in the past, in the “real world”, that is. Blogging is a journaling of a sort, but not the kind that I mean. When someone asks me if I journal, they’re asking me if I record my innermost thoughts on paper. They’re asking me if I write to excise the demons of my heart, mind and soul by opening a vein and pouring ink onto the pages of a book that no one else will see. As I mentioned, I have done that in the past. I often toy with the idea of starting again.
And, I have to admit, I lust after a particular notebook to journal in: Moleskine. If you haven’t seen these gems, find them. Fondle one and you see why anyone who has done any kind of journaling has longed to have their words recorded in these notebooks. The paper is creamy and soaks up the ink. The black, oil-skin covers feel soothing in your hand as you open them, inviting you to write. You can imagine Hemingway or Joyce or even Wilde pouring out their thoughts and adventures into these beauties. Moleskines make you want to journal. So, the other day when I was searching around for things on the web and found them again… Well, let’s just say that I started to think about journaling again.
If you’re looking for an excuse to journal, these would be it.
Moleskine Large Ruled (lined) Notebook
MOLESKINE Large Ruled (lined) Notebook – quantity 2
MOLESKINE Pocket Ruled (lined) Notebook
MOLESKINE Pocket Plain (no lines) Notebook – quantity 2

Go take a look, it’s worth it.

Did someone take my idea?

Or is it just so, so lame that more than one person thought of it? Okay, let me explain. See, I’ve had this idea for a fantasy fiction setting that I called the Five Kingdoms for several years. In fact, I’ve been talking about it so long that I don’t even remember how far back it goes. But, the other day when I was looking through some stuff on CafePress, I found a book called The Sorean, which has, right on the cover, a reference to “Tales from the Five Kingdoms”. I laughed so hard I almost ruptured something. The whole thing just totally cracked me up.

I knew that, sooner or later, this kind of thing would happen when CafePress started selling books. Of course, I figured that there’d be plenty of folks selling books that they’d taken from Project Gutenberg, and there are, but some of the other stuff surprised me a bit. A pleasant surprise was the Ethereal Press Language series. As someone who’s “into” constructed languages, these books were really interesting to me. I’m not sure that I’d ever buy one, but I think it’s great that someone is making them.
I also found more “serious” books, like The Book Of AisthC*tikos, which advertises itself for the “serious student of the occult”. So, all you lame posers can piss off! This book isn’t for you!
The other thing that was fun to browse through was the CafePress music offerings. Now, to be fair, some of these are probably really, really good, but undiscovered bands. On the other hand, some of them are just funny. My favorite “WTF” music cd was Shut Up The Devil by King MC. The devil is totally whack, yo!

And, of course, there is my very own Ye Old Wizard’s Shoppe, now with more panties. It’s really almost a joke, but if anyone ever buys anything, and I mean anything, I might just pay for a “premium” shop and do more with it. Anyway, I guess I may just be forced to give up on the Five Kingdoms and move on. After all, I wouldn’t want to infringe on any market right that The Sorean might now have. (Yes, I’m kidding.)

I’ve always loved these.

I always used to get a “Word A Day ” calendar for my desk, because I loved the idea that I was building my vocabulary. Of course, I probably never used those words in actual conversation, but it was fun learning about them anyway. Well, if you like that sort of thing, too, then the A Word A Day site is for you. You can sign up to recieve, via e-mail, a word a day, just like the book or calendar. How cool is that?!

Anyway, it was cool enough for my Friday Fun Link. Go check it out.

This was a GREAT book!

Okay, regular readers of this blog know that I’m an amatuer writer with delusions of granduer. But, for those of you who are new, I want to write. What that means, though, is that I’m always reading books to help me with my writing, in one way or another. This past week I read Creating Short Fiction : The Classic Guide to Writing Short Fiction, by Damon Knight. This book is an all-around, kick-ass writing book. Damon Knight, though famous for his science-fiction writing, really hits all the bases in this one book. He covers, if lightly, everything from the creative process to editing to submitting your work. If it relates to writing, it’s in there.
I admit, I got this book because it was: a) on sale, b) short, and c) written by Damon Knight, who’s a great science-fiction author. But, this book only touches on science-fiction, as well as several other genres. Mainly this is just a really good book on writing short fiction. And, let’s face it, most authors start in short ficition before they get anyone to look at their longer work. It’s just how it is. So, writing short fiction is something that almost every fantasy or science-fiction writer will do at some point in their career.

So, if you’re looking for a refresher, or if you’re just getting started writing short ficiton, this is a great place to start. In fact, I got so excited about this book, I wrote a “So you’d like to…” guide over at Amazon.com, called So you’d like to write “speculative fiction”. Check it out!

Today is Frank Herbert’s Birthday.

Of course, we haven’t had him with us since 1986, the year I graduated from high-school, but his work lives on. Mr. Herbert is primarily known for his seminal work, Dune, and the Dune books that followed. Though, interestingly enough, he never intended to write sequels.
Often refered to as the science-fiction Lord of the Rings, Dune and the books that followed detail an amazingly rich science-ficiton culture. The novels are some of the first to have detailed political and sociological sub-plots, not to mention ecological sub-plots! The way Mr. Herbert used religion in his work is quite interesting as well. In a genre that often avoids discussing religion, he explored the topic in detail and with a depth that was personally inspiring.

There hasn’t been anyone else quite like Frank Herbert and I am in awe of the ways in which he influenced the genre.

I finished The Freemasons: A History of the World’s Most Powerful Secret Society by Jasper Ridleylast week.

As a Freemason myself, I found the book quite interesting. First of all, it looks at masonic history from the perspective of a what is known and concrete, not with any real speculation at all. It’s a very, very scholarly work which included a significant bibliography.
Secondly, it was written by a non-Mason. While that, in itself, is not remarkable, what is special about that is that the author maintains an even-handed look at masonic history. He sticks to the facts and was actually quite enlightening in many areas, at least to me.
Thirdly, the book covers quite a bit of history, but it completely discounts the claims that some authors have made regarding Freemasonry being descended from the Knights Templar. This is, oddly enough, unusual these days. It seems like the majority of books lean the other way. Jasper Ridley, though, maintains that the simplest explanation is, in fact, correct. That the story we’re told from the Grand Lodge is right. Namely, that the Freemasons are an outgrowth and offshoot of the original working, or operative masons, who were essentially an early trade union.
Finally, as Mr. Ridley sums up at the end, he gives the Freemasons a fairly good endorsement, which we can surely use for a change!

If you have any interest at all in the history of Freemasonry, this is an excellent place to start. I wish I’d read it first, before all the others that I’ve gotten into this past year or so. But, if you’ve only a passing interest, there are other, easier books to read. As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, this is a rather scholarly work.

I’m not really a writer anymore.

When I noticed that Joe Clifford Faust had listed my website under “Resources” instead of “Writer’s Blogs” I was, well, a little miffed. Don’t I have free fiction on my site? Haven’t I submitted to magazines? And even been accepted?! Well, yes, I had one story accepted by a magazine that promptly shut down. More than ten years ago.

More than ten years ago.

Gah! What have I been doing with myself? Not enough writing, that’s for sure. So, I have to reluctantly admit that I am NOT, in fact, a writer anymore. I’m just a “wannabe”. So, now, after not really writing in quite some time. How do I start again? Well, I guess, I’ll start by reading a book by Damon Knight on short story writing. I have it right by my bed. It’s called Creating Short Fiction : The Classic Guide to Writing Short Fiction. And, then, I guess, I’ll have to actually make time to write!

Oh, my stars, yes, loads of fun!

I first saw the Ghyll Encyclopedia, then the blog post that inspired it. So, I came to understand this glory in a ’round about fashion. Still, it seems like loads of fun. I have no idea how many readers this sad blog draws, but I hope they all go to discover the joys of this game. In fact, I like it so much, I may just set up one of my own! Yes, it’s that inventive.

Oh, for Heaven’s sake, it’s Friday, go see!
(And, yes, I am, in fact, the alter ego of “Doctor” Phineas Crank.)