Paul Willis's Blog

Exciting announcement #1

So, I’m moving to a new website. I am aware that some of you will miss ProjectBlankPage, but I assure you I’m still the same guy, the name’s just different.

Important: If you want to keep getting notifications of new posts from me, please subscribe to the new site.

The new website is originally, uniquely, narcissistically, and creatively named Paul-Willis.com. The hyphen is important! Otherwise, you’ll end up with the profile of a smiling guy who happens to be AWS certified, and who lives in the same town as the Pevensies.

Make sure you read the poem at the bottom of the page, then go to the blog page to subscribe. And don’t worry, I transferred all the posts and comments.

Exciting announcement #2

I’m writing a sequel to Crossroads! Go here to read more about Novel Y.

 

 

Mars is not a nice place to live. In fact, it’s so not a nice place to live, nobody lives there… yet.

Developers are looking at all the open land and considering how it could potentially be turned into a tropical deepspace getaway with parrots and bananas. A nice place for your summer home. The new Hawaii.

The infrastructure required would be massive… I mean, creating an artificial magnetosphere the size of a planet, come on!!! Hence, it’s all in the theory stage, and when something is in the theory stage it’s fair game for every critic. A group of people, called ecocentrists, have moved beyond just debating the feasibility of making Mars habitable to the ethics of such a project.

Some scientists think there is a possibility that Mars is home to aliens… or microbes… or microbial aliens. Ecocentrists argue that all forms of life NO MATTER HOW SMALL AND UNAWARE have intrinsic value. They object to the colonization of Mars because they believe it would be ethically wrong to interrupt the native bacterial lives and kill the microbes with a human-supporting atmosphere and other sciency stuff.

Look up the ethical concerns of terraforming Mars, and you’ll find statements, articles, and scholarly papers all about it.

Now I don’t have a personal problem with ecocentrists, and I’m not about to claim that they all support abortion, but my point is as follows. Our culture is up in arms about a microbe’s right to life. We can get science to define microbes as HAVING LIFE, yet in our eyes, a tiny human being DOES NOT HAVE LIFE yet.

If science would clean its sciency goggles for a minute, and actually take a look, it would see that a baby’s life at conception is not just tissue but a very advanced form of LIFE. And if a microbe has intrinsic value, and it would be ethically wrong to kill it, how much more is it wrong to kill a life form containing unique human DNA?

So if an ecocentrist or other sciency person happens to support abortion, why the double standard? Why kill children and save the microbes? Is it because abortion is necessary to control the population and give personal freedom? Or is it because they couldn’t handle the guilt if they were to now admit the 60 million victims were actually living, and they’ve ended their lives?

There is no excuse good enough to justify the continuing cruelty against children. They have intrinsic value too—more value than microbes. It is ethically wrong to kill them, no matter how small and unaware.

Standing up against abortion is unpopular and scary in today’s world, I know this. But the progress the culture worships (desegregation, equal rights, etc.) was won by bold people who were willing to fight for what is right. The heroes of the civil rights movement didn’t let anything stand in the way of defending the rights of all people. Neither should we. Instead of fighting for the rights of defenseless microbes on a far distant planet, it’s time to start by fighting for the rights of defenseless babies here at home.

[image error]TODAY I HAVE MY SISTER, KATE WILLIS, AUTHOR AND INTERNET PERSONALITY, ON HERE TO CHAT ABOUT HER BOOK AND MY BOOK, BECAUSE WE COULDN’T HELP BUT CONNECT THEM AND WE THINK THAT’S COOL.

My voice sounds like this.

Kate’s voice sounds like this.

All of you have heard about my book, Crossroads. Some of you have read it. And I hope you have all heard about my sister’s brand new book Kiera releasing this Friday. It’s about a girl named Kiera. And other people. And things that happen to them, and the things they do. And God. And I shouldn’t write blurbs because they sound SO interesting.

This is why you have me help write them.

Indeed. You have good synapses… I mean synopsises (how do I pluralize this?).

Synopses.

Yes, that. Click here to read the real, exciting description, see the awesome cover, and read some great reviews!

We’re related and so are our books. I wrote a book about a girl, my brother wrote a book about her brother (though he’s a side character). I’m the older sister. He’s the tall brother. Only brother. With seven sisters. Please send sympathy cards to the mental hospital.

We used to be able to share shoes, but around that time she also used to parent me.

Just when you were going to be stung by wasps. I saved my scorn for the boys in Sunday school.

True. I guess I’m sorry about the bike incident then.

I’m sorry about the casserole episode. What were the 90’s thinking??

I still think the floor under our chairs was a good place for it, even if mom was going to find it.

Two problems–we were Bad Kids for doing it. And no cookies.

It still hurts.

Point is, we get along and always share our writing, story ideas, plot, brainstorm, and stuff so we randomly decided to share a world and character(s?).

I had him first.

Well… I PUBLISHED HIM FIRST.

And I rewrote him to fit what you’d written better. I’m not sure I even knew he worked for the government or anything before you adopted him.

Well, that’s understandable because his job was top secret… you weren’t supposed to know.

Ah, yes. I love it when my plot is top secret too. Makes for a WILD ride.

By the way, that (s?) thing up there? It’s almost a spoiler, because not only do our books share Ian, but one more character as well. It’s just a secret to be revealed at a later date. OR if you’re a weirdly smart reader, you’ve probably figured it out.

Keep in mind my book is in the future, and pay attention to backstory… I might say something about it in a sequel to Crossroads…

No promises, so you still might never know.

I like this idea. *evil laugh*

Anyway, Ian was just the name of an older brother in my book Kiera. When Paul needed a random cool “old dude”, we suddenly realized that our timeline worked out so that Ian could be that character in his story. We developed who he was together after that.

And I gave him an extra kid because all his children were too old. I also killed one of the kids as an adult.

High in the sky, in an unescapable craft without parachutes, I sit strapped to something metal and prepare to be interrogated. There are questions I do not want to answer, but t he results of this debriefing will determine my future.

The last debriefing was a year ago! Where have you been?

Um… I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.

You always say that, but you never do. Look, kid, just give us the short version. See if you can even invent an excuse.

College.

What?!

You wanted the short version.

ARRRRRG!! I wanted a reasonable excuse.

Okay, okay… So I, uh, have been busy studying, getting some energy back from a health issue, and also… relaxing when I can.

Lame. You’ve disappeared, and we haven’t been able to trace you at all… not until your sister announced her book did you resurface. It’s time to show your true colors?

Oh! So you think I’m a traitor, huh? Well… I’M NOT! For your information, even college has made me write! Along the lines of written words, I’ve taken English composition and a creative writing class.

And what do you have to show for it?

*wry grin* I can write short stories now.

And I’m supposed to be impressed?

Uh huh.

Well then, no matter how much you’ve enjoyed slacking, it looks like we can no longer use you. We’re going to have to–

Wait!! Search my briefcase if you haven’t already. The secret compartment. No, the other secret compartment. Here, release my arms and I’ll open it for you.

Don’t think I’m stupid, because you can be sure– wait, what’s this?

My questioner thumbs through a messy stack of papers. I hold my breath as he scrutinizes them.

These are in code, aren’t they!

Um, that’s actually just my handwriting but I can interpret. Basically, you’re holding eight thousand words of original writing for a YA sorta historical novella…

Hmph… And what’s this?

THAT! is the next long awaited, long postponed, Greywood Files mystery. It is planned and half written, and being more planned. Currently, it’s afraid it can’t live up to the first and hopes future readers will be merciful to it. I’m telling it to buck up and believe it can be even better than Diamond.

So you’ve done a little work, but what about your main operation?

Um… Novel X was writen and published at a different stage of life, but I’m ready to start the ball rolling on making it series. So yeah, I have the basic outline down for Novel Y, and I’m thinking about Novel Z.

Hmm… You aren’t the most convincing person I’ve dealt with… Hmm… One last question before we’re finished.

*gulp*

What about that newsletter fluke?

Yeah… I was wondering the same thing. How about you tell me? *blinks*

I am so amused, and so patient.

Okay, so of course when I went undercover and puffed out of existence with blogging, the newsletter had to die too. But it’s coming back as well as… as well as [edited for security reasons] which is really cool!!! And hopefully manageable with my busy schedule.

High in the sky, in an unescapable craft without parachutes, I sit strapped to something metal and prepare to be interrogated. There are questions I do not want to answer, but t he results of this debriefing will determine my future.

The last debriefing was a year ago! Where have you been?

Um… I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.

You always say that, but you never do. Look, kid, just give us the short version. See if you can even invent an excuse.

College.

What?!

You wanted the short version.

ARRRRRG!! I wanted a reasonable excuse.

Okay, okay… So I, uh, have been busy studying, getting some energy back from a health issue, and also… relaxing when I can.

Lame. You’ve disappeared, and we haven’t been able to trace you at all… not until your sister announced her book did you resurface. It’s time to show your true colors?

Oh! So you think I’m a traitor, huh? Well… I’M NOT! For your information, even college has made me write! Along the lines of written words, I’ve taken English composition and a creative writing class.

And what do you have to show for it?

*wry grin* I can write short stories now.

And I’m supposed to be impressed?

Uh huh.

Well then, no matter how much you’ve enjoyed slacking, it looks like we can no longer use you. We’re going to have to–

Wait!! Search my briefcase if you haven’t already. The secret compartment. No, the other secret compartment. Here, release my arms and I’ll open it for you.

Don’t think I’m stupid, because you can be sure– wait, what’s this?

My questioner thumbs through a messy stack of papers. I hold my breath as he scrutinizes them.

These are in code, aren’t they!

Um, that’s actually just my handwriting but I can interpret. Basically, you’re holding eight thousand words of original writing for a YA sorta historical novella…

Hmph… And what’s this?

THAT! is the next long awaited, long postponed, Greywood Files mystery. It is planned and half written, and being more planned. Currently, it’s afraid it can’t live up to the first and hopes future readers will be merciful to it. I’m telling it to buck up and believe it can be even better than Diamond.

So you’ve done a little work, but what about your main operation?

Um… Novel X was writen and published at a different stage of life, but I’m ready to start the ball rolling on making it series. So yeah, I have the basic outline down for Novel Y, and I’m thinking about Novel Z.

Hmm… You aren’t the most convincing person I’ve dealt with… Hmm… One last question before we’re finished.

*gulp*

What about that newsletter fluke?

Yeah… I was wondering the same thing. How about you tell me? *blinks*

I am so amused, and so patient.

Okay, so of course when I went undercover and puffed out of existence with blogging, the newsletter had to die too. But it’s coming back as well as… as well as [edited for security reasons] which is really cool!!! And hopefully manageable with my busy schedule.

What news? I’m taking an intensive summer math class… what good news could there be?

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!

If you didn’t hear this elsewhere or even if you did, THERE’S A NEW BOOK BY KATE WILLIS AROUND THE CORNER!!!!

It’s called Kiera (keer-uh?) and that’s because it’s about a girl named Kiera and all the stuff that happens to her, for example…

Kiera is looking forward to her eighteenth birthday. The official end of school, a party with her best friend, and chocolate cake. A sudden military draft, no possible exemptions, had never crossed her mind.

Kiera is terrified! Getting drafted would mean leaving her family, her little friend Jade—life as she knows it.

A surprising offer from Brennan Stewart just might be the answer to her prayers, but an even worse trial leaves her with one question…

If God truly loves her, why did this tragedy happen?

I haven’t read the final version yet, but I was honored to help brainstorm plot and hear about it from the beginning… I also kinda alpha-ed it a while back. It’s Kate’s first novel and while I think her middle-grade stories are really cool, this takes the cake and she did an excellent job writing in a new genre for a new audience. Just awesome.

And for those of you who are scared of preachy, Kiera is not preachy.

But it’s super meaningful.

 

 

I actually came to help reveal the cover

 

So I’m gonna do that

 

If you want to see it

 

And I’ve just been stalling till now

 

But just look at this for a little while and picture it in your hands, on your shelf, or on the coffee table next to your tea.

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Kate classifies it as YA dystopian and has it set to release in June 2018. Add the book to Goodreads here.

Disclaimer: I might be directly related to both the author and cover designer, but while I’m busy drawing unbiased attention to my family’s coolness check out another sister’s new blog which also posted about the cover.

This day will live in infamy! December fifteenth marks the first day you can receive a newsletter from myself, all technical bugs included. Forgive me if there are wrinkles I still need to iron out.

It’s beginning to look like Christmas, everywhere but here… Well, actually it is if millions of lights hung on fire hazards means it looks like Christmas. My block is glowing.

The unfortunate thing about Arizona is that the sand in the desert isn’t white enough for snow. You can’t even roll it into balls for snowmen, and if you throw it at people they don’t get into the same, fun Christmas spirit and throw it back. We don’t have a tree yet. That’s probably what will make the psychological difference for me to “feel” Christmas 100%.

This is always how the Christmas season is for me. It grows, buds, and blooms like a winter flower. There is preparation at the beginning, anticipation at is it progresses, then the most beauty comes at the end. It’s a perfect illustration of waiting expectantly. The excitement increases as the day nears and Christmas never comes by surprise.

My family celebrates Advent on all twenty-five days. We light the four candles and read portions of Scripture nightly starting with the prophets through the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ birth and the surrounding events. Every time I hear the prophecies about Jesus I’m amazed that Israel missed it–missed Him! I can sort of see how some of the leaders and common people could have missed His birth… if the story from the shepherds didn’t get around too far. Still, then He was in Egypt for a while and came back into the country into Nazareth so nobody really knew He was from Bethlehem.

The funny thing is, how did three Gospel writers tell the story? Okay, maybe Luke talked to Mary for some of it, but this stuff wasn’t a secret. It was making disturbances on the political stage with Herod’s personal instability. We must remember that he wasn’t even Jewish, he was a Hasmonean king who by lack of birthright was an imposter to the throne. He was naturally waiting for any threat to himself so he could quash it. He knew the prophecy about the Messiah, he was told by religious leaders exactly where the Messiah would be born, his murderous actions fulfilled prophecy themselves.

The eastern sages (aka. wise men from thataway) came to Herod’s courts. I can imagine the stir among the watching citizens, wondering what the mission of these rare visitors was and why they continued on to Bethlehem. Herod tipped off the religious leaders as to exactly why the camel dudes were there.

No one got it.

Well, two people did. Simeon and Anna. Side note: I ship them. They’re both gonna die soon, but still, two old people who prophesy in the temple? Actually, she might be like twenty years older than he, but when you’re that old, how much does age matter? Side note complete. Anna spoke of Jesus to all those who looked for redemption. Simeon was waiting earnestly for the consolation of Israel, but interestingly, when he holds Jesus in his arms he doesn’t call Him the deliver from oppression. Simeon calls Him God’s salvation. He recognizes, in his own words, that Jesus is “a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles.”

That’s what the rest of the Jews were missing. Over the four hundred years of silence, they had misinterpreted all the passages that spoke of Jesus, creating in their minds a militant leader who would cast out the invaders and reign from Jerusalem. If the Messiah’s plan included the Gentiles it was to make them pay tribute to Him in His capital city.

I think the religious leaders should only get half blame for not interpreting Scripture correctly. The full measure of guilt was earned when they continued to reject Jesus even as more and more prophecy was fulfilled. They had been wrong and God gave them a chance to admit it by showing them the true interpretation of the Scripture, but they wouldn’t listen.

So here we are on the other side of Christmas, on the other side of history, looking back at the time Christ came to buy us out of slavery and pay our debt.

Now I look forward to the fulfillment of ancient prophecies.This is Advent again. The word advent means coming. Christ the Lord is coming. For the last 1,984 years(?) we have been in the advent of Christ’s return and the consummation of history as we know it.

We must not repeat the blunder of Israel. Israel had four hundred silent years without prophets… just waiting for the Messiah. We have had thousands of years, waiting… but it’s just as sure to happen. Wait for the consolation of God’s people.

Hebrews 9:28 says, “Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”

Let’s wait together for His coming and celebrate the anticipation. Happy Advent, Merry Christmas, and ta-tah for now!

Let me explain… No there’s too much. Let me sum up.

The dog didn’t eat my homework, my homework ate me. And I found out I’m not the best at managing my time, I’m a bit of a perfectionist, and full-time college is the leading cause of hobby dropping.

But. The end has not yet come. Am I the only one who finds cool blogs and then cries that the last content was posted in 1960? Wait… *googles internet’s birthday*

Yes, I plan to blog now and then when I have the time, but I’m considering switching formats a little. What would y’all think of a monthly newsletter with similar content + short stories? Let me know in the comments!

Though I have neglected this blog for a bit, I have not forgotten to write!

I have another Greywood story in the works.
I’ve written three short stories that I hope to share with you sometime soon!
I’ve been planning and have slowly begun writing a World War One novella. It’s inspired by the story of a medal of honor recipient. Check out my brand new Facebook page to see the current synopsis.
Last but not least, I’m brainstorming a novel set in the same world as Crossroads . I can’t make promises but it looks like we might get another one sometime…

I’ve also been compiling a list of non-fic topics I’d like to write about. Some of them might find their way on here or in a newsletter.

So, would you like a newsletter?

You might already have Scrivener. You might already love Scrivener. But if you’re like me, you don’t have it and you don’t love it. I don’t need to pay that much for that many features I will never use.

And then I found Amazon is getting into the writer’s world (go figure) and their tools knocked my socks off. I actually wasn’t wearing socks at the moment, so I should say “my jaw dropped”. Of course, it only dropped as much as was physically possible without serious injury, though it might have made me look dumb.

I’m going to share with you two Amazon apps that might just make the difference in your writing routine without making a difference to your wallet. Hold on, enjoy the ride, and please keep all limbs inside the vehicle.

Disclaimer: although both of these are marketed as screenwriting apps, I will illustrate their usefulness in the general field of creative writing.

When I look at Scrivener, one thing stands out and makes my mouth water: the sticky note/corkboard. So cool! Here’s the free alternative.

Amazon Storybuilder

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When you create a corkboard, you’ll be asked to give it a name…

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…and then you’re inside!

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It’s all up to you from here. Collect random notes for your story, then rearrange them into an outline if you wish. If you don’t wish, don’t rearrange them. It’s your corkboard. Make it messy.

The interface is very easy to use; the cards are moved with a simple drag/drop.

Let me tell you 4 impressive reasons why you should give this a try. Those reasons are purely the features.

1. You can insert pictures into your notes

Your corkboard can become an inspiration board. Kinda like a Pinterest board that you can actually organize into story form. Double click on a card and it expands like this.

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Have fun adding pictures and describing how they fit into the story!

Also, notice the “Add a #tag” field under the card title. This is an awesome way to sort your cards.

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2. The handy dandy drawer

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You can store extra or off topic cards (and images) in the drop down drawer. This is one of my favorite features. I can move all the ideas that aren’t quite right out of the way, but hold onto them just in case. (Don’t ask me how I clean up my room. #horder)

If you’ll kindly notice the menu in the top left corner of the drawer, you’ll also kindly notice the word “TEMPLATES”.

3. Templates

If you don’t already study under K. M. Weiland, you should. But if deep story structure seems a bit out of your ballpark or not worth the learning investment, you should go with something simpler. Behold, the amazing Basic Movie Structure template!!!!!

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Each all-important story structure element is broken down on a single card–which means you can use it as a fill in the blank system. I have them all collapsed here so you can see them without scrolling down, but once again I’ll double click to expand the view.

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Take a cue from the card and write a quick sketch of how that happens in your story. These pointers will help ensure your story follows the reader proven three act form. It’s more than just tradition; it’s an expectation.

4. Add contributors (#collab)!

Co-authoring? Sounds fun, I’ve never tried because it probably wouldn’t work. I’m kinda overbearing and opinionated.

If you are co-authoring, or at least want input/brainstorming help, good for you. Amazon Storybuilder allows you to add contributors to your corkboard.

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Pretty cool, huh? Give it a try. It’ll require you have an Amazon account (who doesn’t these days?), and then you’ll use that account to join the studio for free. You can access the corkboard from any device!

If you’re a pantser (you write by the seat of your pants) stop here and stay happy. I don’t want you to chew all your pencils with the stressful thought of overworking your story idea before you get there. Beaver’s chew down whole trees, but their teeth continue to grow so it doesn’t matter if they wear them down. Most of us writers, however, are human; and we can’t afford to chew our pencils–or pens for that matter.

Now, if you’re a screenwriter or if you like to write a detailed outline of your story read on. Amazon has another cool app.

Amazon Storywriter

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This is an app made for writing scripts–movie scripts! Okay, okay, you could just do that with Word or G Docs or any wordprocessor… but get this–IT AUTO FORMATS!

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Is formatting the most daunting thing about writing a script? Of course yes (in my humble-ish opinion). No more.

I played around with it a little, but not being a screenwriter myself, I had almost lost myself along with all other novelists. Then I struck upon the idea of using Storywriter for plotting/outlining/planning.

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However you end up using Amazon Storywriter, you can easily export the finished doc as a PDF! You can also download the app to work offline on a computer. Unlimited cloud storage for your scripts is a free included plus.

There you have it! Amazon’s free contributions to the writer’s toolbox. Please excuse me while I run off to make full use of these awesome tools.