New Project!!!

I just finished reading Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse; a very thought provoking novel about... well.. thoughts. It is a modernist book that reveals the relationships between the characters not by what is said but by what is not said. I'm really excited to be writing a paper about it. To appease the professor I am writing about art in this novel and another (Rebekka West's The Return of the Soldier). The art aspect of Woolf's novel is about perspective, which really ties into the relationships between the characters. I'll be posting updates about this paper.

Literacy Narrative

Literacy Narrative

            Even though my mother always hated reading, she knew the value of it and read to me when I was a child in hopes that she could instill the values in me at a young age and that a love of reading would flow within me throughout my life. Because of this, I realize that even if a student does not like reading, I need to strive to show that student the importance of reading and the impact that it will have on his/her whole life.  I also realize that there may be books that I come across that needs to be taught because it conveys certain themes that my students need to learn, and since I was taught from a woman who knew that what's best for the child may not be something she herself likes, I too know that what is best for my students may not be something that I like; I still need to do it.

            As a beginning reader, my favorite books were Dr. Seuss' Foot Book, Berenstain Bears, and Sesame Street books, but my first book that I read by myself, and my all time favorite was If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. I absolutely loved that book, and because it was my first book that I read alone, I will always cherish it and the memories of accomplishment that it brings. When I was in first grade, I was selected to read to kindergarteners; there were only two people from my class that were selected to read to the younger students, so I felt a sense of duty, I felt respected, and I felt proud of myself. As a youngster, I already wanted to share my own love of books with others; I would sit my sister down in front of the fireplace with me and read to her. It made me feel important because I was keeping my sister entertained while my mother did housework, and now my sister loves to read. I have shared something with her that she will always enjoy.

            As I moved on up to  chapter books, my favorites became Amelia Bedilia, the Ramona books by Beverly Clearly, and the Boxcar Children series. I also started reading Goosebumps and Little House on the Prairie.  The selection of books that I read during my elementary school years was very diverse. A diverse reader is a good aspect of an effective teacher, and I went through comedy, mystery, scary/thriller, and historical pioneer fiction.

            During my Jr. High reading career I also read a wide variety of books. I read a couple of Lurene Mc Daniels romance novels. I read Fade by Robert Cormier, Lowis Duncan's mystery novels, and many others. In High School, I mainly read mystery/suspense novels until finally, during my later High School years, I discovered a love of fantasy fiction. Reading fantasy fiction in High School has brought me to enjoy Medieval literature and heavily influenced my decision to choose Medieval Studies as a minor. So few people enjoy the Medieval texts, and students deserve to have a teacher who enjoys what he/she is teaching. Not only does it make the class more enjoyable for both teacher and student, but the teacher is more likely to know about the specific area of study that he/she enjoys.  

            In High School I did not enjoy reading many of the books that were forced upon me by my English teachers. I liked some, including Frankenstein, Lord of the Flies, The Great Gatsby, and a few others. The teacher can either make or break the book, and my teachers did not make the novels appear interesting. Since I have realized this as a student, as a teacher, I will strive to bring enjoyment to the books by making class discussion about them interesting, and finding ways for the students to connect to the material. Such tools are not only useful in gaining student attention, but also for student motivation and to create lifelong readers of my students.

            In college, I have taken many literature classes and realized that I enjoy certain genres of novels that I never would have recognized on my own. My professors have made books interesting to me, and sparked in me a love for Western (Homer, Virgil, etc.)  Medieval, Victorian, and Modern literature. I have even read books that I did not find interesting, only to delve into class discussion,  and find that I absolutely love the  novel. One example would be Pamela by Samuel Richardson. When I first started reading this novel, I found it uninteresting. After the first day of class discussion, I went straight home, picked up the book, and could not put it down. I hope that I have the ability to help my own students find interest in a book that they do not like, and I think that having experienced this first hand, I have picked up a few skills that will help.

            I have made a long journey starting with picture books, going to chapter books, and now I am not only reading, but analyzing texts. My college English courses have prepared me with the skills that I need to synthesize, interpret, and write about texts. They have also prepared me with the necessary tools to teach others how to read and write about literature. My only hope is that I can create lifelong readers and writers out of my students.

It's kind of like a monster

Writing my outline for My short story satiated some of my soul's need for creativity, but my soul has run dry and needs sustinence. The only thing that will quench it is writing. My soul has it's own desires that I cannot control and I fear that if i cannot do something for my soul it wil overtake me and i will be forced to set everything else aside and let my soul's explosive desire for creativity finally be quenched, although ony for a short time. Then soon it will again bind me and render me unconscious to everything else until i feed it what it needs.

Back on Track

I'm finally caught up with school work, and ahead in a few classes, so now I am able to resume my fantasy writing (for a minute, I have to plan out a Medieval Lit unit soon). I haven't actually sat down and started writing paragraphs and pages yet, instead, I'm taking the advice of a classmate and fellow fantasy writer (thanks joshua) and outlining my work.

When I started collegiate writing I stopped outlining -- it's for kids -- I said... Then when I started taking higher level courses, a professor recommended it to me in a one on one conversation. I put a little more thought into organization, but did not actually outline (I got an A on the paper, so I didn't learn anything either). Another professor demanded an outline and included it in my grade; I was forced to outline. I realized that it IS actually EASIER and my RESULTS are far BETTER when I outline. What did I learn from  this story? OUTLINE. I really didn't think to apply it to writing fictional stories though, I have no idea why. It makes so much sense. I told  my classmate, who had said that he wrote a fantasy novel, that I was working on a short story but having a hard time organizing my ideas. "Outline" was his answer.

If I show you guys what work I've done with the outline, it'll spoil the story, so I won't do that--but keep yourself updated on my blog because you'll be hearing more about Amithistella and Brandstone, whose name I think I'm changing soon, if it happens I'll let you know that it's the same character. Also, I'm changing Prince of Innoruuk too, I'm trying to authenticate my story a little. I think it's okay if I keep the title Prince of Hate, but I'm going to change names. After I've completed and posted the story, I'll post my outline with it, so that if any future writers out there read my blog they can see what I have done.

Internet issues... Grr!!

I have so many ideas for my story and would love to share them with everyone, but i went from sucky internet to almost no internet.. The only way for me to blog is when i'm on campus. I'm trying to fit a time in my busy schedule to head to the library and continue blogging.

Yet Another Character

I've decided to give Zeldar a bigger role in this story than he played in the last. He's a good necromancer, I know you're thinking that is very oxymoronic.. It kind of is, but he is needed and very helpful to he good elves. Because of his knowledge of evil magic, he is better able to aid the good elves in their continuous fight against evil. He's smart and spends a lot of time with ancient elven books. He's trusted by Queen Arosea and Bramdstone, but Amithistella can't find it in her to ever trust a Necromancer. Here is a sneak peak of a scene that Zeldar plays in:

Zeldar had a soft spot for Katrina. He knew that there was good inside her. He could sense the evil with his magic, but he could also sense the good. He knew what it was like to be judged wrongly; Amithistella wouls never let her guard down around him, and he knew that if Katrina stuck around, she would recieve the same treatment.

He finally managed to direct the thorn out of her with magic. As soon as it wa out, innoruuk appeared before them all as a transparent figure. Zeldar readied aball of dark magic between his palms...

Two New Characters

I've finally started formulating more for my story. I've already said a lot about Katrina, but not much about her parents.

Ivy, Katrina's mother, is a mastermind. She's always calculating and coming up with ideas to earn rewards from the Prince of Hate. She is very cocky and self righteous. Ivy won't do anything unless it will aid her in some way. She likes to think of the Prince of Hate as her partner, or employer rather than her master. The Prince of Hate sees this, but lets it go because he knows how easily he can bend her to do his bidding.

Katrina's father, who at this time is nameless (I'm thinking about Melvis, which was a reccomendation from someone else), is cowardly and puny. He's just barely good enough at being a Rogue to keep Innoruuk happy. Eventhough he is a coward, he has a bite to his words (which is probably a defense mechanism that he came up with to deal with all the abuse he recieves from Ivy). He never knows when to shutup and often talks back to Ivy and the Prince of Hate, eventhough he knows the consequeses could be dire.

These two characters will begin to play a decent role in my story as it unfolds. They are Innoruuk's pawns and will help him bring destruction and hate to Norrath. Since the Prince of Hate is a character from Everquest, I'm sticking with their background of his character. He truely believes that the world is a better place when Hate rules in the hearts of everyone. He thinks that those who are kind and loving are ignorant and do not know what they want to achieve in their life and if they do know, then they are too cowardly to go after it. He also believes that Norrath can be destroyed if everyone harbors enough hate.

Update- Vah Shir Story

I said I would keep updating my faithfull readers, and I'm a eoman of my word, so here you go:

I'm exploding with ideas for this story, but I do not have time right now to write and it's almost killing me. I want to relate it back to my other story, The Amulet, (still working on the title for that one-- if you haven't read it yet and would like to, please email me at rphiller@eiu.edu). I'm still working on the ending for "The Amulet" because I can't decide whether I want to end it completely and make this new story (about the Vah Shir) a completely different story, or if I want to give it a cliffhanger ending and keep writing stories. Each will be different, but they will have a continuous plot. If anyone wants to let me know which one they prefer or would like to offer up another idea, feel free to comment; I always welcome comments and constructive criticism.

I could go with either option, however, if I do keep with the same plot as "the Amulet" I've got quite a surprise. I'm struggling to keep it to myself for now because it would really ruin it.

Some ideas that I do have that I can share concerns the trees that make up the Tree City. Throught "The Amulet", I mention that the trees are enchanted and I insinuate that theyso harmonious that they make those around them happy and cheerful. In the vah shir story, I wanted to expand on that and actually show the trees fufilling their role instead of saying that they are capable of such things. When Katrina arrives a the City, the trees actually reach out and grab her. I think I posted that scene already. Im not very experienced with fantasy writing and so far it's still a rough draft, bu I'd like to go back and liven it up some more and give it more detail.

I have plans to add in a scene with Innoruuk and Katrina in conversation. One of the
suggestions that was given to me when I had "the amulet" looked at by my creative writing class was to give innoruuk more character and a reason for being so evil. I think that having a scene where these two characters face each other will not only do just that, but also bring forth Katrina's true nature and her struggle within herself between good and evil.



I would like to add more into this post- i love to share my
Ideas and my writing, but I just don't have time right now.

Point of view

I'm having a bit of a problem with point of view in my story (the vah shir). It comes from an omniscient narrator which is necessary because the reader needs to know things about Katrina that others dont know. I am having a hard time adding in the conflict that Katrina has between good and evil. I know, it should be especially easy with an omniscient narrator, but I just can't figure it out. I'm wondering if it would be too jarring if i switched the narration back and forth between Katrina and this all-knowing narrator. Maybe that would help show how senile she is. I hope I can figure it out soon because this problem is blocking my whole writing process.

the Vah Shir

                The lonely Vah Shir lived in the woods surrounding the Tree City. She, unlike the rest of her distinct race of creatures, lived alone as a hermit. For her own reasons she disowned her family and resided by herself in a cottage away from everyone else. She stayed close enough to the Elves to keep an eye on what was going on, but far enough away so as not to get involved in their affairs. She was aware of the recent battle with Innoruuk and his defeat. She was aware of the strange fires, conjured by Innoruuk’s magicians, which were somehow able to burn down parts of the Tree City. She watched as balls of fire were thrown at all parts of the City, yet only some burned. She assumed that is why the good Elves were frantically looking for willow wisps, but she wasn’t exactly sure.  

She was good at watching people and remaining hidden from the world. An extremely talented Rogue could not stay as hidden as she could: this Vah Shir was amongst the top of the class of Rogues, and only a few people knew it. Her family, for one, knew and also the loathing Prince of Innoruuk. How odd, it must seem, for a Vah Shir to follow such evil ways, to live such an evil lifestyle. Vah Shirs are gentle, kind creatures. The race of Vah Shir lives on the moon and receives their harmonious nature from their great ancestor, Luclin, Goddess of the moon. While Vah Shir remain agnostic, and do not practice idolizing Luclin, they cannot hide genetics and retain the gentile nature which the moon bears upon them. Something unnervingly evil, however, was wrong with this Vah Shir.

Her whole family served Innoruuk for many generations. He trained every member as a rogue, gave them a few magical capabilities and in return, they served him. They hid under his shadow and greedily gave him what information he wanted. They remained in the city of Shar Vahl as good natured Vah Shir, no one found them out for a long time. Katrina ‘s parents were unable to bear children, but the servitude to Innoruuk must remain throughout each generation. The Prince took this opportunity to “help” out the couple and create for himself the most evil, loathing, creature in all of Norrath. Innoruuk casted a spell over the female Vah Shir and thus she was able to bear one child.                

 Luclin, goddess of the Moon was watching that night; saddened by the evil that was lurking about within her own race of people, and the monstrosity that Innoruuk was creating, Luclin dropped one lonely tear that made its way into this Vah Shir’s heart as she lay in the womb. Innoruuk’s powerful magic added with the tear of a mighty Goddess all within one creature: This Vah Shir was destined for evil and greatness all at once.

A New Character

This post references my last post about the rose.

It's crazy how I slowed down on my writing about Amithistella, I just didn't know what to write, and then I'm flipping through an old notebook of stuff that I wrote years ago and find a three sentence 'blurb' about a rose. Somehow from there, I come up with a whole new character for my story... and two hand written pages of just ideas for plot.

I'd like to introduce the Vah Shir.(For those of you who don't know, a vah shir is a cat that can stand up right, they reside on the moon in a city called Shar Vahl.) I haven't come up with a name yet, or even the gender for this character so I will refer to it simply as the Vah Shir or "it".  Generally a Vah Shir is a gentle creature, kind hearted, they rely heavily on community members.

Also I cannot find a class for this character. I've thought about Druid, with some things that I already have in mind, it would work out well but my story already as a lot of focus on the druid and I would like to bring in another class. Vah Shirs are usually beastlords, and I absolutely love beastlords, but they are not usually evil characters. An Assasign or rogue would be fitting to the evil nature of this character, but then I'd have to figure out how this character would become a rogue.. and how the evil nature would have been in "it's" family for centuries because the main point of this character is that "it" is fighting "its" own battle between good and evil.

I havn't worked out too many of the details but over all, the Vah Shir character has been exciled from the Shar Vahl along with her family for commiting some kind of treason. This specific character has an evil taint marked on her soul, but no longer wishes to follow the evil ways of her family. After being exiled, "it" runs away and becomes a hermit, living in the cottage in the forest outside of the Elven Tree City. "It" tries to stay away from people because"its" bloodlust is uncontrollable; however, after the incident with the rose, a trip to the Elven City to speak with the Queen is necessary.

Will this character be able to control the evil inside "it" or will "it" savagely kill the Elves and be forever lost to "its" own evil ways.....

stay tuned to find out more :-D

A beautiful rose

I just wanted to touch that beautiful rose and envelop my life in all of its awe. It was as if the rose was calling out to me. I reached out to grasp the beauty and its protective thorn bit me, staining that beautiful rose with my ugly blood. My icy soul turned that red rose blue and somehow i knew that the world would never be the same.

I finoshed foraging the root i needed for my stew and quickly headed for the cottage. The throbbing in my hand sent an alarming pang into the pit of my stomach. I knew something was wrong and i knew it had something to do with that one lonely rose.

Inspiration

I will let the world inspire my soul as it pours out of my body, through my fingertips, and onto paper. I will write every action, every feeling, every line. I will fill hundreds and thousands of notebooks and my soul will still ache to release itself.

The New "Hello"

I was at work today and a fellow employee walked by me. One of his hands was in his pants, (no, that's not a typo - it really was in his pants, not his pocket, but his pants.) the other slowly rose from his side. He held out two fingers in a peace sign and bobbed his head once. I believe this was some form of greeting, but one cannot be sure. I offered a polite smile and he seemed pleased.

bon voyage again

I've restarted my bon voyage story. I still don't know how I feel about it.

Life is a journey—a journey with choices. You wonder about the choices you don’t make, you think about what could have been. Sometimes you’re faced with choices that you make without thinking: I drink my coffee with sugar. Sometimes you approach choices you have to think a lot about, it may take days: buying a car. Sometimes it’s just hard, but simple: deciding whether to order the cheeseburger, or chicken. I was faced with a decision that had two choices to it. I could choose one, or I could choose the other. The two outcomes had an endless amount of possibilities for my life. I knew after only two seconds of thinking which choice I would make; I know I made the right decision, but not a day goes by that I don’t think about what my life would have been like if I chose differently. My choice has marked a new chapter in my journey, and I’d say it’s been a bon voyage.

Multi-Genre anyone?

The Multi - Genre paper is very interesting -- you combine many genre's of writing, use one theme, concept, idea, etc (you use the same subject throughout), and create a unique paper.

I would really like to use this in my classroom, but first I need to try it myself and since I have plenty of time now, and won't by the time I start teaching, I think now is as good of a time as any to try it out. Who knows, maybe after writing one myself, my views will have changed and I won't think it's such a  good idea after all.

I've never written one myself, but I've done a lot of reading about multi-genre papers and examples of multi-genre papers. Tom Romano wrote a book called "Blending Genre, Altering Style" where he explains the ups and downs of writing such a paper and gives plenty of examples- an interesting read for an English teacher-to be (or an English teacher for that matter).

Why am I so into this?
As a student who has written plenty of papers, I find it boring to write paper after paper in the same format. Block prose, paragraphs, 10 pages of the same genre, it gets monotonous.  Completing one paper but with different genres sounds fun, edgy. Sure it'll take more work - you have to figure out which genres to use, how many, what section should be what genre, how to connect everything, so on and so forth, but challenges are fun.

Why would it be helpful to use this in a classroom?
Some people are better at writing poetry than block paragraphs. Some are better at journal style writing. Students can experiment with different types of writing and the student and the teacher can figure out what the student likes to write best. It includes some of the genres that students hate most without having to focus solely on it. (You could include a mini poetry unit, without having to fail a bunch of kids who just don't understand it.) You can include genres that students should be exposed to but aren't important enough to focus on; like advertisements, news articles, memos, business letters, etc. It'll keep the students interested. It's different, it's versatile, each student can cater it to what they enjoy best within writing. Of course, there are rules, and as a teacher, you can set certain parameters, but it is really flexible.

I have a few projects that I'm working on right now, but hopefully I'll be able to write a multi-genre paper before I graduate college, and hopefully I'll enjoy writing it as much as I enjoy the idea of it.

Movie Review

*if you plan on watching this movie, do not read any further. This review gives away the storyline and the ending*

The movie Diary of a Nymphomaniac isn’t at all what I expected it to be. I expected something more documentary –like, more definitions, more labels. What I saw was a story about a woman who, at the age of 29, found herself. Valerie is an average French woman, trying to live her life to its fullest. She battles herself and by the end of the movie, learns to accept herself.

Her grandmother sees that Valerie is upset about something; she just doesn’t know everything. She suggests that Valerie “jot down [her] thoughts, ideas, problems, on a sheet of paper, but interrogatively so [she] can see them from outside and understand them.” Excellent advice to anyone – writing is definitely a good way to vent and work through problems; but what Valerie’s grandma is suggesting is more psychological.

When Valerie opens up to her grandmother and tells her that she is a nymphomaniac, her grandma responds with: “Nymphomania, a man’s invention to make women feel guilty if they break the rules.” Valerie’s grandmother accepts Valerie for who she is, but Valerie must learn to accept herself before she can fully enjoy her life.

The movie is ended with a statement from Valerie:

                “I’m a promiscuous woman, yes, because I want to use sex as a means to find what everyone is looking for. Recognition, pleasure, self-esteem, and, in short, love and affection. What’s pathological about that? If you want to give me a name, go on. I don’t mind. But you must know I’m really a mermaid, a dryad, simply a nymph.”

As an English major, I have to love how she used a play on words. I can't be completely sure, but I'm going to guess that the word Nymphomania comes from the Greek Nymph. Nymphs are mythological creatures known for their "amorous freedom." When Valerie says the words "mermaid" and "dryad" she is putting herself in the same group as those mythological creatures who enjoy their freedom and are happy with their lives. She says it proudly, where as in the beginning of the movie, when she first tells her grandmother that she is a nymphomaniac, she is embarrassed, she feels guilty, and she doesn’t want to accept it.

Since this movie isn't at all what I expected, and instead of learning about nymphomania as a psychology, I learned something completely different, I don't know where to go next with my research. I don't quite know either what I'm getting at with this whole research project. I wanted to incorporate the women of the victorian era into this because at the time there were so many taboo things. People had (and still do have) a hard time with identity. In Charles Dicken's Hard Times, the main characters undergo the same type of transformation. They realize that life needs to be celebrated, and sometimes logic needs to be thrown out the window, also the realiziation of understanding of identity comes into play. Emily Dickinson's Wuthering Heights portrays the same idea; very much more so with identity. Alot of Victorian paintings show women being in great distress, being locked away, so on and such forth. Women had no identity and there was a lot of effort to portray such problems.

My next step will be to explore Booth Library databases and see what I can find on Victorian Identity, and I bet I'll be able to tie it in with nymphomania rather quickly.

bon voyage

I haven't posted in several days now. I've been completely busy with work (besides that I don't have internet right now, I'm at the library), but I'll get a break soon and for about a week and a half  I'll be able to post. I'm pretending that people actually read my blog posts so that I'll keep up the practice of writing.

I've been having a bad case of writer's block lately too. I open word and can't think of anything. I'm trying to figure out where my fantasy story is leading me, as for now, I don't have any plans for it. I've been working on another story Bon Voyage, which I started  in my Creative Writing class. We were supposed to write a story where someone loses something and finds something. I thought it would be cool if someone lost their life and found another, then people from the past finds that person and he/she has to make a big decision: which life to keep.  I've got two pages down so far, but I don't like the tone and voice of it so far. I don't want to completely wipe out what I've got; but in order to make it sound the way I want it to, I've gotta do it. I would post a small section and hope for comments, but I don't have the story with me.

Hopefully my little writer's block will end soon and I can write some good stuff; I'm so anxious to finish another story.

Dreams

I have dreams that are just crazy and really vivid. Maybe it's just my imagination at work because sometimes I wake up and think "woah, that would make an excellent story." I tried it once, turned a dream into a story. I had to change a few things, and obviously add more since dreams like to just end in random places (don't you hate that? -- then you lay there trying to fall back asleep so you can figure out what happened.)

I had another really vivid and crazy dream last night that I hope to turn into a story. It's much different from my normal style of writing, so it'll be a nice challenge. Keep reading, I just may post some of it up here.

Here's an excerpt from one of my crazy dream stories:

(I don't have a warning on my blog page, so I had to censor some spots. I like the original much better, it's more spicy)

I woke up in a cold dark cell; it was dirty and gross. I could feel dried mud on my arms, legs, and face-- pretty much anything that wasn’t covered by clothes. I had a splitting headache and no idea why I was here.  “Ugh. I could really go for a hot cup of tea right now, and a warm bath,” I said, not even thinking that anyone was around except for the pacing guard who was currently on the other side of the hallway.

“Well you ain’t gettin’ any of that in here sweetheart,”

I could hardly see the man that was in the cell with me, but I could see that he was fat and had chains around his ankles. His voice was rough and cracked like he hadn’t had anything to drink in a while. I wished he would lick his lips or move his tongue around in his mouth to salivate before he had spoken.

“Why would they put a man and a woman in a cell together? I thought there was some kind of law or something about that?”

“Ain’t no laws here honey, they do as they please. Ain’t nothn you can do about it. Afraid I’m gonna hurt ya? Don’t be scared sweetheart. I’m chained down good and tight.”

“Where are we?”

“Mexico’s finest prison,”

“A prison? How did I get here? Man I’ve gotta get out,”

“You ain’t goin nowhere sweetheart; they keep you here on their terms. Ain’t no one broke outta here in a long time,”

“Well today’s your lucky day because I’m getting out of here, and so are you,”

“Ah, that’s sweet of you honey, but why d’ya  rekon’ I’m gettn outta here too?”
“Because, you are going to get the guard’s attention and when he comes to check on you, I’m going to knock him out,”

“Anything for you sweetheart,” he said, half annoyed, “what do I need to do?”

“First of all, don’t get any ideas. After we get out of here, we have to go in separate directions. I’ve got things to do. I was sent here on a mission,”

“They must have hit you hard when they captured you honey cause you don’t make a lick of sense. Sent here on a mission psh who do you think you are?”

“I’m a journalist for a newspaper, but that’s none of your business. Now be on your toes because when that guard comes back you are going to double over, hold your stomach and start groaning. Make as big of a scene as you can,” I took the rest of the water that was in a bowl set out for me to drink and threw it under him. I wasn’t going to drink it anyways, there was barely any there, and it looked gross, “there, it’s dark enough in here that he’ll think its blood. I’ll freak out and tell him something is wrong with you, when he comes in to check I’ll knock him out and we’ll be free.”

“I can’t be on my toes seeing as how I’m chained to the wall darlin’ but I’ll give it a shot.”

“Shh. Here he comes, go.”

“Marrrggggghh”

“Aaah!” I screamed as daintily as possible, “oh my god you’ve got to help him, he’s bleeding all over the place. Please hurry. Oh my god, what’s wrong with him?”

The guard ran to our cell, pulled out a ring of keys, and quickly opened the door. He came in and the fat man was still groaning like an idiot, I couldn’t believe this worked. When the guard took a close look at the fat man, I kicked him in the head. He fell over unconscious.

The rest of the story is action packed and has a bit of fantasy involved, if you'd like to read the rest shoot me an email at rphiller@eiu.edu

Writers Block

I sent a friend a text today, it said "writer's block." She replied with, "nymphomania." At first, I thought she was trying to tell me her secret, when I realized that she meant I should write about it I laughed out loud and thought to myself, why would I want to write about that. Then I got to thinking... Nymphomania is commonly associated with women of the early 19th Century. I did a quick search of the word Nymphomania at OED.com (English Major's gold) and the term originated in the late 18th Century.
I have access to a scholarly database that focuses on that era, and is overflowing with information regarding women and sexual desire, prostitution, brothels, etc.  We'll see where this leads me.

I have a weird interest in 19th Century literature, well anything that's old -- in college I took a class titled Victorian Literature, and another called Pre 1800 Literature (spl topics: Epistolary lit) along with many Medieval classes (I'm a medieval studies minor). I had a professor who is obsessed with the Victorian era, (Roughly 1832-1901) and in his class I learned a bit about the history. See there are many different classifications for studying literature; formalism, psychoanalitic criticism, historicism (old and new), just to name a few. The particular professor that I speak of, liked historicism and that is how he taught. We not only studied literature of the 19th Century, but we studied artwork, philosophy,  and more. We looked closely at people of the time and most particulary, gender matters.

Gender matters in the 19th century covers a lot of what the people of the time were going through. Many works of literature from that time period displays the problems. If I do take on this task, I'll research nymphomania, prostitution, and other issues related with women of the time. If I get real into it, I'll research the sames problems in today's society and compare and contrast.

A part of me sees myself starting this little project only to stick it in a box, throw it in the basement of my life and forget it even existed, on the other hand, I'm excited to have something to write about. It will definitely be interesting and time consuming.

Thanks friend who suggested it

Excerpt from "The Amulet"

Here is a piece from a short story that I've been working on. Right now it's at 21 pages and is kind of taking direction of its own. Enjoy

Any ceremony that the people of the Tree City held was beautiful and harmonious. Elves were the most gracious creatures in existence. They could sing, play music, and dance with the utmost grace and skill. The first part of the funeral would take place on the floor of the forest. Amithistella arrived with her two sisters. Every Elf attended with their family. Since Amithistella was highly regarded and fought on the battlefield, she would stand at the front of the crowd. The Bards, Priests, and Druids formed their circles, and the crowd encircled themselves around these casters who performed the ceremony.

Those who died in battle have already been buried, their bodies uncovered so that they may decompose and become one with earth again. Amithistella watched as the Bards played and Priests danced in circles around the burial plot. When the time came, every Elven voice, royal and common folk, joined in a praise offered to Tunare. After the singing and dancing came to an end, the Druids took their formations. They were going to pull together earthen supplies with magic and create a stone plaque to commemorate the brave soldiers and casters who surrendered their lives to protect the Tree City. Such a spell required over a dozen Druids with the highest casting and concentrating abilities and took a few hours to complete.

The Druids were not alone in this, Bards accompanied the Druid spell with spells of their own that aided in concentration and kept the Druid mana flow at its highest. Before the Druids begin their casting,  the Enchanters stepped  forward and casted spells that also help with the Druids’ concentration and mana flow. Bards and Enchanters are not the only ones who help the Druids cast their spell. Every Elf in the crowd must chant with the Druids, they do not actually cast the spell, for they do not have the powers to do so, but magic lies in every Elven creature. Each individual who chants with the Druids gives a little bit if their will to the spell that the Druids are casting. With magic, each person comes together as one and creates a magical plaque to remember those who died in the battle against Hate, as one the spell will be completed, and the people of the Tree City will go on living harmoniously.

The Enchanters completed their spells and stepped back. They stood in the circle outside the Bards, so they can re cast their spells if need be. The Bards began their chants and their music. Amithistella felt her own mana flow with more liquidity inside her since she was so close. Everyone in the crowd held hands with the Elf standing next to them. The Druids began their spell. They danced in a particular formation and chanted. They chanted the spell once first, and then the crowd began again with them. Amithistella joined in with the others and felt a small portion of the mana within her leave her body as she chanted. Within an hour, she felt fatigued. As a Paladin she used some spells, but her casting endurance was not as high as a caster’s. She wondered if they were beginning to feel the effects of their casting.

Finally, in the middle of the Druid ring, a formation appeared, rocks gathered to form the plaque, they were almost finished. The rocks moved around as the crowd and druids continued to chant and joined together. The plaque was finished, the Eldest Druid stepped forward and casted a spell that inscribed into the rock, it read:

“To save this city, the brave defenders died. Their valor and honor will have eternal remembrance. May their bodies give back to the soil, their souls be with the Gods, and their hearts forever remain with those who love and honor them.”

hrrrm.. what to write

I'm sitting in front of an open, empty posting box wondering what to write and realizing that it's getting me nowhere. The first thing that you have to realize about writing is that you can't just sit and wait for an inspiring moment or action to take place; you have to create your own.
So how do you do such a thing? Think of a prompt (google), or just write and see what happens.

Usually when I just sit and write, Amithistella (pronounced like the gem - amethyst- with stella at the end) is what comes to my mind and flows out onto paper. She is a character of my own, and kind of my alter-ego, although as I write more and more about her, she is becoming quite different from myself. Amithistella is a Fae (fairy, elf) Paladin who lives in a Norrathian Tree City with the other good Elves. She started as a character on a MMO that I used to play, so a lot of places and ideas that I use for my background comes from the game, but the adventures are all my own. So far I've created one complete short story with her and I'm working on another that doesn't seem like it'll end any time soon.

Ever since I was in late Jr. High/ early High School, I've written poetry, but as I've matured (yeah I've matured, but just a little)  I find that fantasy strikes me as most appealing. I thoroughly enjoy sitting down and reading a good fantasy novel. I absolutely love to write fantasy, but I'm trying out other genres as well. Like I said, my early writing was poetry, I tried one short story (about Amithistella) and decided to take a short fiction creative writing class in college. It was there that I found a love for writing short stories. I'm only a few months out of the class, but I've gotten a good start on a lot of stories in that class and can't wait to finish them.

As I write my stories I'll post them here. Mostly, I'll post sections that I'm unsure of - feedback and constructive criticism is most welcome. I'll take all the help I can get, I'm tough, but I'm a writer, and like all writers, I'm sensitive about my own creations. I'm not saying 'be nice' I'm just saying 'don't be mean.'