Authors Note addition

Hello! I recently added an Authors Note to my book that explains why I formatted languages the way I did. It also gives shout-outs to a few people who have helped me this far into the process. In addition, it gives a little more detail about what I am doing with the printing presses in the story.

I am editing my book now, after adding the 6th chapter. Due to new information about presses, entire chapters are going to be overhauled. Mainly chapters 4-6. I am reading my entire story first, again, then I am going to edit as I go. When I'm done I'm printing my book again and having my mother edit it.

I don't anticipate this book being complete for a while. But please continue to support by reviewing, sending e-mails, and leaving comments. Also, share with your friends! I want feedback and opinions. I may not use all of them, but I want to be able to try and adjust the book as needed.

I am also planning on making a new group on Facebook to discuss the book. It would be privet. I also have a Tumblr dedicated to my book called WhenTheSkyCaughtFire. Please go follow that.

--
Sam

Culture and Writing

Hello, today I wanted to talk about two major things that I'm studying/doing right now. The first of the two is about Culture.

I've started taking cultural anthropology and studying Deafhood (which dives into the culture of the Deaf). I am not a cultural relativist, I am far from it. Despite my views on it, I am learning a lot of interesting things about language development and other things that develop differently depending on the culture.

With Deafhood I'm having some problems with culture shock. Deaf culture is very different from hearing culture and that's going to be hard for me to overcome. And then you hear them raging against hearing people because of what we've done to them. As a result, I would end up exhausted on my short day. What I'd like in the class is transparency, for example, where are the sources for this information? (Students are required to cite sources, teachers should be held to the same standard) Was there anything that hearing did that was good? (If you constantly push the negative then you have the potential for jaded students.) Why is it bad for hearing people to help? Nurses don't get ragged on for wanting to help, why should interpreters have to put up with it?

With writing, I am close to the end of editing my 3rd chapter in my book. I am hoping to get it up in a couple of months. I am also still working on my prequel (When the roads ran red) and I'm unsure of when the first chapter will be up.

Thanks for reading!
(Questions, comments, advice is encouraged)
Sam

Inauguration, writing, college

Hello!

For the past week I have been doing several things:
1. Editing and writing my book
2. Starting another book (A prequel)
3. Attending college
4. Doing homework
5. And watching the Inauguration.

Let's start with number 1. I almost have enough edited to put up chapter two of my book. I am on page 43 and I told myself that after I doubled the pages I did I would put it up. So, the next 22 pages are almost ready.

Number 2. I have started to write another book called "When the Roads Ran Red" and it is a prequel to When the Sky Caught Fire. It's basically about how it all began. The title is tentative but I'm fairly certain that will be the title.

Number 3. This year I have 7 classes that I'm taking at my college. The majority of them are my ASL classes and 3 of them are general courses. I am hoping to finish my homework tonight and tomorrow so I won't have to worry about it during the week.

Number 4. I have been doing homework for the past few days and expect to finish it tomorrow. Thankfully, since it was the first week, I don't have a lot of homework. If I can learn to keep on top of it now it won't be as hard later in the semester.

Number 5. Friday I watched part of the Inauguration. I must say, I did like Mrs. Obama as a first lady. She was very classy. I do want to see how the Trump presidency will go. I am not optimistic about it but I would like to see if he turns out to be good for the economy.

Thanks for reading!
Sam

Writing Disabilities

Today I am talking about how to write disabilities. I am obviously no expert, but I think some of these things could help other authors with writing. (Published or unpublished)

I have two disabilities I have written before (unpublished/fanfiction) and I think there is always something to be learned about writing it.

1. Blindness.
You need to be very careful with how you depict any person with a disability. It can become very easy to offend people by acting like they are unable to do things. (Driving is a given but even some legally blind people can, technically, drive.)
The first thing you need to do is get educated on the subject. If you aren't informed you will come off the wrong way.
The second thing you should do is get to know the people. Go out of your way to meet blind people. Be transparent about what you're doing. Being honest is the best way to go.
The third thing you should do is read literature (fiction) that focuses on blindness. It will give you a general idea on how to write it.

2. Deafness
Again, you need to be extremely careful with how you depict any group of people. This applies for deafness as well.
The first thing you need to do with this is take some ASL courses and/or a Deaf culture class. This will help you become mildly educated on the subject. I would also suggest reading a variety of books on the subject.
One such book is called: Inside Deaf Culture. This particular book brings you back to the eighteen hundreds and earlier (if I remember right) and details Deaf culture from that point forward. I am currently a little more than halfway through it.
The second thing you should do is go meet some Deaf people. Take an Interpreter with you if you know you won't be able to understand. Be transparent about what you are doing, they will appreciate your honesty.
And the third thing is read literature that focuses on it. I haven't read much literature with Deaf people in it, unfortunately, but there is a Manga called A Silent Voice and is an excellent manga. I am very picky about what type of Manga I will read but that particular one is and always will be one of my favorites. I have read the first three and will soon have more on hold at my Library.

Thanks for reading. This just scratches the tip of the iceberg but I hope it can be of some help.

Sam

College, Postcrossing, and writing

Greetings!  For the past month or so I have not been doing anything with my book. I am a little ashamed by my lack of motivation. But today I'm going to give you an update with what I've been doing.

College:  I have been attending six classes at my local college (18 credits) and my first tests are coming up pretty quickly. I haven't had the foresight nor time to create flashcards and now I'm on crunch time. Maybe on the weekends I can make the flashcards; that way I won't be completely in the dark.

I am also attending three ASL classes this semester. One is ASL 5 (Intermediate) and is more vocabulary and signing skills. There is also quite a bit of turning ASL into English and back again. My second ASL class is Introduction to Interpreting. This class is taught completely in English but I am thankful for that. If it were not taught in English I think it would go over my head.
The third and final ASL class is Linguistics. This is also taught in English but it is mostly self taught. A lot of my classmates seem to really hate this class; but I love it. I grew up learning in a self-taught manner and I have been in my element

My other three classes are Ethics, Intro Sociology, and Math. In the spring I'll be done with math and my focus will be mainly ASL.

For those who do not know what ASL is it is American Sign Language. It is used with the Deaf and the Deaf-Blind. People who can hear also use American Sign Language to communicate and/or interpret.

PostCrossing: For those of you who don't know what this is; it is a place where you can send postcards to anyone in the world. It is randomized. I have gotten one person from Germany and one person from Russia so far; so two American postcards will be being sent.

Writing: I haven't done much writing lately. I was planning on doing some today but I have homework and work stuff to do. I am hoping to get my 5th chapter out by December. Please keep reading my story and please send feedback on it. Until then, here is a quote from the 5th chapter to keep y'all waiting and happy:

"I grabbed the guy’s wrist the next time he came after me and twisted it until I felt it crack. His mouth opened in a silent scream of pain. I’m sure it wasn’t silent, I’m sure it was bone chilling, but my lack of hearing helped with that."

Abe:
"My brother passed out before I could ask how much it hurt. Which was a really stupid question anyways; if your eyes are unfocused as much as his were you wouldn’t have been able to tell what I was signing either."

5th chapter

Hello! My last post was so short, I apologize. I know I have no followers and very few views, but I enjoy pretending like more people look at my stuff. (=

Today I started working more on the 5th chapter which is from Moses's point of view. I'll probably have at least three points of view in this chapter.

"I grabbed the guy's wrist the next time he came after me and twisted it until I felt it crack. His mouth opened in a silent scream of pain. I'm sure it wasn't silent, I'm sure it was bone chilling, but my lack of hearing helped with that."

So, with college starting up it isn't likely that I will get the next chapter out until sometime in September. I hope to be writing a little in my free time after all my schoolwork is done. I also hope to gain a better perspective of Deaf culture so I can effectively write my Deaf character. 

Thanks for reading!
Sam

New Chapter

Hello everyone! I am proud to announce I finally posted my 3rd chapter for my story. Feel free to follow the link and read it. I am now working on my fourth chapter and I don't expect to get it done for a couple weeks.

Here are a couple quotes from the book:

Moses hesitated then wrote, I was still isolated. In a world where you can't hear, can't speak, and can't lip read you have very little opportunity. Besides, you can still hear a little. I literally hear nothing.

"Oh great. The last thing we need is Ross being able to swear at people without them knowing it," Storm covered her face with both her hands, muttering, "What is my life?"

My life and my Writing

Hello, so I thought it might be interesting to give a little background on my life and my writing. I originally started getting the idea to write from my sister. My sister started writing little stories when she was between 8 and 10 years old. I watched her do this and she could write pretty good mystery stories as a kid. I wanted to do it because I was a year younger than her and anything she did was cool. 

So what did I do? I copied her. Gasp, plagiarism right? No, don't worry, neither of us have published a story. Now I get permission to use her characters. Storm? Yeah, she was my sister's. Sometimes she asks me to use certain characters because I write them better. 

The first ones I tried were crappy romances. And mine were really crappy, whenever I find one I throw them away. I also tried Sci-Fi and I was really bad at that. And by Sci-Fi I mean Star Trek and Star Wars type things. Then I tried Fantasy, which I am okay at. I'm trying my hand at it again and I think I've a better idea of what I want to do with it. 

So, I tried a lot of stuff, even non-fiction. I tried to write a book about the life of an Evangelists kid, the life of a Pastor's kid, the life of a Home-schooler. Yeah, I've tried a lot. I love writing Dystopian because everyone has that little What If thing in the back of their minds. "What if ___ happened?"   "What if a Monarchy took over the states?" 

What is happening in my life right now? I'm writing a book (duh), attending college, volunteering at a bookstore, and trying to keep up with my sewing and knitting. I am not attending college for English, I am attending for American Sign Language and plan to transfer so I can become an Interpreter. 

I hope this has been informative! 
Sam