thegingerbeardman36

[thegingerbeardman36]

Remember

I can still

remember

everything

even though

it’s the last

thing I want

[thegingerbeardman36]

Damn

Fair

I know they say

life isn’t fair

but why is it

that you were left

with everything

and I was left

drowning in pain

[thegingerbeardman36]

Rare

Once in a while

I have a good day

that brings confidence

and lightheartedness

into my worn soul

And on days like this

I am proven wrong

when I tell myself

I am much too weak

to live in these bones

[thegingerbeardman36]

Forever

Sometimes I want

to sleep forever

because I’m so tired

of myself

[thegingerbeardman36]

Wow, it's been a full 3 years since I've been here. I forgot how much I enjoyed this website.

[thegingerbeardman36]

Second book

Hey friends, i’m sorry I’ve taken the last few months off from this account. Honestly, i just fell into a bit of a spiral after my last book released. I guess i just expected it to gain more traction than it did.  Anyway, as of this morning, my second book, Infinity, is now available for purchase on Amazon. This one is a little better of a quality than the first, since the whole process is a learning one. Infinity is science-fiction, and also loosely connected to my first book. Make sure to read the description before you blindly decide to listen to me, it may not be your cup of tea. Also, if any of you have read my first book, Her Name Was Moi, it would be great if you could leave a comment on Amazon for me (don't do so if you hated it, there is such thing as bad publicity). Anyway, without further rambling, please buy my books and i will be forever grateful. Just follow the link below if you are interested. 

https://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Joshua-Reed/dp/0999792016/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1522771264&sr=8-2&keywords=joshua+reed

[thegingerbeardman36]

Quote of the day

"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance."

-Alan Watts

[thegingerbeardman36]

Hello friends!

I have a confession: I'm quite depressed. This time of year just isn't a great time for me and as a result I end up sulking well past Valentine's day. On a much brighter note, I have reached 2k followers! I really didn't think I would get so many followers in the beginning, so I am extremely grateful for all of you. For those that have been here since the start, thank you so much! For those that are new, sorry for my inconsistency in posting. The darkness is a lil hard to shake sometimes. Real quick, I have to plug my book. Starting on Valentine's day, the ebook format for my novel, Her Name Was Moi, will be a whopping 99 cents. So, if you have nothing to read, go check it out. Sorry for that, but anyway, I really do appreciate you all. Have a fantastic day!

[thegingerbeardman36]

Lil’ snippet

Hello all! as promised, here is a little snippet from my novel, Her Name Was Moi, which is on Amazon in both paperback and eBook formats. If you enjoy this much, I would appreciate your patronage. No pressure, though, your life is your own and you should live it that way!

Normally, he would wake into his dream, which was somewhere familiar to him. This time was not the case, and nothing about this dream seemed very familiar. Still, he felt in control, so he started walking through the unfamiliar dreamscape. The scene was filled with a field of flowers and a beautiful summer sky. At the other of the end of the field of multi-colored flowers was a single ash tree, and beneath the tree was a single girl, sitting in solitude.

She was as beautiful as the surrounding landscape, and for a second Jay hesitated, but then he made his way toward the tall ash tree. It wasn’t until he was three-quarters through the field that the girl looked up and saw Jay coming toward her. The girl jumped up and started running toward Jay, who was staring at the ground. When Jay looked up the girl was inches away from his face and staring up at him with entrancing green eyes.

“Hello there!” The girl said excitedly as she kept staring Jay in the eyes. “Hi, uh, what are you doing out here all alone?” Jay asked as he looked away out of embarrassment. He knew if he stared at her too long, he would blush. “I’m always out here, usually alone, but now I have you,” the mysterious girl said. She was a few years younger than Jay, at least, and four inches shorter. “That sounds lonely, but you’re right, I’m here now,” Jay replied.

The girl nodded, and her long, auburn hair bounced around gorgeously. “Do you want to go by my tree?” The girl asked excitedly. Before Jay could answer, she grabbed him by the hand and started pulling him through the field. As she grabbed him, Jay felt a weird knot in his stomach, something he couldn’t very well describe. The two left the field and stepped onto a grassy plain with a single towering ash.

“This is my tree, I spend most of my time here. From here you can see the whole field of flowers, the lake, and even the town on the other side of the lake,” The girl described. “So, how long have you been out here? Is it just you all of the time?” Jay asked. “I’ve been out here for a long time, but it isn’t always just me. Sometimes my mom and my sisters stop by,” the girl explained as she stood up.

“At least you aren’t alone all the time, right? Your view could be worse too,” Jay replied. Jay knew the girl was a figure of his imagination, but he felt the need to comfort her. He didn’t know anything other than she was beautiful and she seemed kind, but he felt sorry that she was so lonely. “Sometimes my dad comes too, but he’s busy, so he isn’t here as often as I’d like,” The girl continued.

Jay couldn’t think of anything to say, so he just listened to her. She was so excited to see someone else, and even if she wasn’t real, it wasn’t like he went into his dreams with a plan. “You don’t just sit under the tree all the time, do you? There has to be more to do around here,” Jay asked. The girl looked at him with an innocent smile that made him turn away before he blushed again.

“You aren’t bored, are you? There’s plenty to do, I just like sitting under the tree because it feels nice,” The girl replied. The girl grabbed Jay’s hand and helped him off the ground and started leading him again. Jay wasn’t the type to like touching people or being led anywhere, but it felt natural with the mysterious girl. “I come down to the lake to catch frogs, but that’s usually after I fall asleep under the tree,” the girl said as she bent down to try to catch a frog.

The frogs would dive under the lake as fast as she would step toward them, and eventually Jay found it funny that she couldn’t catch one. “If you’re such a frog expert, why don’t you catch one?” the girl asked provokingly. Jay knew it would be easy, it was his dream after all. He spotted a large bull frog on a Lily pad, so he walked over and without failure picked the frog up. “You made that look easy! You could win a contest or something,” the girl complimented.

“I don’t think there is such a thing, but thanks I guess,” Jay replied. He felt a little guilty that he made it look so easy, but then he remembered that it was just a dream. The girl sat down next to the lake and stared out toward the town on the other side. “I sit here a lot and look at the town, but I never go over there,” she explained. “Well, why don’t you? We could both go if you want, the lake isn’t that big,” Jay offered.

The girl’s warm smile turned somber. “I can’t, I would really love to, but I just can’t,” She said. Jay saw that the thought was making her sad, so he quickly changed the subject. “So, you haven’t told me your name yet. I’d like to know the person showing me around,” Jay said teasingly. “To be fair, you haven’t told me your name either. But my name is Moi, nice to meet you!” Moi said as she reached out to shake Jay’s hand.

“My name is Jay, it’s short for James. What kind of name is Moi exactly?” Jay asked as he shook her hand. “It’s short for Moira, and I told my mom that I didn’t want to have an old lady name,” Moi explained. “Well, why don’t you go by Mo? That’s a normal name,” Jay suggested. Moi laughed at Jay’s suggestion and stood up from the river. “So, my choices are Moira, which sounds like an old woman, or Mo, which sounds like an old man?” Moi asked Jay.

“I guess you’re right, in that case, Moi isn’t that strange. It’s nice to meet you Moi,” Jay said as he stood up beside Moi. Moi gave Jay a warm smile that he couldn’t help but return, even though smiling was unnatural for him. “It’s a shame that all of this is my dream, it’s really such a beautiful place,” Jay said while looking back at the ash tree. Moi shot him a confused and concerned look. “But this is my dream,” She said.

Link to Amazon (let me know if it doesn’t work pls) :

https://www.amazon.com/Her-Name-Was-Moi-Tragedy/dp/0999792008/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1517505489&sr=8-1&keywords=her+name+was+moi

[thegingerbeardman36]

Quote of the day

"Since new developments are the products of a creative mind, we must stimulate and encourage that type of mind in every way possible."

- George Washington Carver (not George Washington, the president)

[thegingerbeardman36]

Greetings!

Now that I've finished a novel and am working on a second manuscript, I think I'll start posting some excerpts. Seeing as I've kind of abandoned the journals for the time being, this could be a placeholder. Hopefully you like the stuff I'm working on, and I'll put some excerpts from the book I've finished to try to convince some of you beautiful, avid readers to check it out. Anyway, have a great day!

-Josh

[thegingerbeardman36]

Quote of the day

"Progress is not an illusion, it happens, but it is slow and invariably disappointing."

-George Orwell

[thegingerbeardman36]

Questions!

Thanks for the tag @burningemberjade. I rarely find time to do these, but they are fun.

 1. What is your proudest moment as a writer? In terms of actual writing, an amazing pun or gorgeous metaphor or killer chapter ending, etc. Hmm…I think I’m proudest of myself whenever I finish a manuscript. As far as content goes, I love a good plot reveal. I guess you could use the word “climax” but saying “I like a good climax” can be a little crude, haha.

2. Do you listen to specific music for specific works? Make playlists? If so, post one! Honestly, I listen to Pandora while I write, almost always. As far as specific playlists and stuff, it’s generally classic rock or soundtracks. I heard video game music helps you concentrate, but I haven’t tested that hypothesis yet.

3. Which of your OCs is the hardest to write, and why? Let’s see…I have an OC named Orion that is a part of my WIP. The only reason that it’s difficult is because he’s supposed to be a very stoic person, which can be hard to write. 

4. What’s the best writing compliment you’ve ever gotten? As bad as it sounds, I can’t remember a lot of the compliments people give me, maybe it’s just because I focus on the negatives more. Although, I do hear that my stories are creative, which I always appreciate.

5. What scares you most about publishing/sharing your work? I’m not sure…I know that my writing may not take off, but I see it as something I love doing, so it’s a bonus if people enjoy it. I think typos are a natural enemy of mine though. Even if you use an editor (and I recommend it), they may not catch every error.

6. Does worldbuilding or characterization take you longer? I would say character development. Even though a lot of my characters are influenced by people I know, I still need to assign them individual characteristics to set them apart from their non-fictional counterpart. 

7. (Stealing from Siri cuz I like this) What would your fandom symbol be? (The Deathly Hallows from HP, ring from LOTR). It’s basically three connected clock gears. Like, a large gear connected to a medium one, and the medium connected to the small one, and the small one connected to the larger one.  

8. Do you research before you start writing, or just jump in and makes notes of what you need to look up? I do basic research, like if it’s a non-fictional setting I want to build off, but typically I just jump in and go. 

9. Is it better to stop for the day in the middle of a scene or the end? I stop in the middle all the time, but I don’t like stopping in the middle of a paragraph because it just feels weird to me

10. And since this was a hot topic today, how do you go about giving characters flaws? Do character flaws or plot come into your brain first? People are flawed in general, so what I do is focus on the flaws of humanity and the characters pick them up naturally. I like to plot first, because the flaws are more circumstantial and will come with time.

 I think I’ll tag @mywritingnarwhal @random-nerd-lesbian @writerkaitlinm   @literatureandpoetry and anyone else that wants to play is welcome to do so! If you don’t have the time, or don’t want to, no worries

[thegingerbeardman36]

Quote of the day

"Words, in my not so humble opinion, are our most inexhaustible form of magic."

-Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

[thegingerbeardman36]

Question?

At what point do you think influence becomes plagiarism. I'm taking a class that argues that there is no originality. What do you think? Food for thought

[thegingerbeardman36]

Quote of the day

"The seas may be rough, but I am the Captain. No matter how difficult, I will always prevail."

CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow

[thegingerbeardman36]

Quote of the day

"It is a great misfortune to be alone, my friends; and it must be believed that solitude can quickly destroy reason."

Jules Verne, The Mysterious Island