"Tie-ing" It All Together

It has been a while since my last blog entry. I have meant to make more updates, do more analyses with the Hero's Journey, but time has been limited. For one, I have discovered a new hobby: tie-making. Well, sort of a new hobby. As a middle school teacher, I love to wear unique, geeky neckties. I have several superhero ones, but I have always wanted a Batman one. I quickly found out that they are either difficult to obtain or are too expensive for my budget. So, I decided to act on my plan from several years ago. Using a tie pattern I had bought, I purchased some Batman fabric and made my own. It actually turned out okay, and so I attempted to make a few more. Actually, "a few" would be an understatement. In all, I've made 10 so far, all completely geeky, as you can see below.

Superman, Star Wars Tie Fighters, and Batman

Star Wars Characters, Death Star/AT-AT Blueprints, Star Trek, and Marvel Comic Book Words

Wolverine/Hulk, Classic Comic Covers, and Iron Man/Thor

I would love to make a Doctor Who one, but the fabric is a bit pricey. Even so, I am thinking of selling some on Etsy for fellow geeks.But more than neckties, I've been finishing up my latest novel, tentatively titled Legacy. It's a follow-up to another one I did called Redemption. My students had asked me to do a sequel, but I don't write with sequels in mind. Instead, I wrote a companion novel. The most difficult, yet most fun, part of writing a novel is tying it all together at the end, letting the reader see and understand how all the pieces fit together.

But of course, planning is what makes this possible. For my novels, I have begun to reference them against the Hero's Journey structure and the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet from the popular Save the Cat! screenwriting books. These help me to see where pieces of the plot fit best, as well as help me understand what is missing. Most importantly, it allows me to ensure that there is character transformation, the most pivotal piece of any story.

My books will be available on Amazon.com in both print and Kindle formats, tentatively slated for this summer.