We did manage to get out of the house Saturday morning for a Santa errand and to watch my daughters participate in a small town Christmas parade. They were supposed to be riding in the Fire Truck that is behind us in the picture, but it didn’t work out that way.

They didn’t really care. They had a great time, and that’s all that really matters to me. I love to see them smile, and they were doing plenty of that on Saturday morning. I’m glad I could be a part of it.

Tonight Brianna, my oldest, is singing in her school’s Christmas program, so you can guess where I’ll be tonight. I’m looking forward to it almost as much as she is. She’s excited to be involved which makes me excited for her.

All this Christmasy goodness, is stirring the embers of Christmas spirit in me, and I’m finally starting to look forward to it. What have you done so far this Christmas season? Has it been all shopping and chaos or carols and Christmas trees? I hope it’s been treating you as well as it’s been treating me.

Merry Christmas from me and mine,

Jerry Stewart

I’ve learned some things about my style, grammatical methods, sentence techniques, and plot pace, as well as, some of my personal limitations. I’ve learned that I have to sit quietly for a period of time before I ever start tying and think about the scene I’m going to write and how it affects my characters mentally and emotionally. If I don’t, I go the through the motions of writing and look back to find that the spark of life needed to ignite my story and characters went out before it could burn due to a lack of imaginative oxygen. That may seem a little dramatic, but I mean every word. I want my store breath the oxygen of my imagination and catch fire to burn it’s own paths through forest of blank pages. If it doesn’t then I’ll gather my coals that still radiate some heat, throw some new kindling on top, and blow creativity at it until it burns.

Sure. I might eventually find the story if I hack at the keyboard long enough, and sometimes I have to, but it’s usually easier if I get in the mindset of my characters and put myself in their shoes before I type a single word. Most of the time I can read over a few of the passages from my last session and pick right up where I left off in a matter of minutes, but sometimes it takes longer. Sometimes I sit and stare at the screen for a while or let my eyes drift around my office hoping to find an idea somewhere…anywhere. Those times are rare, but they happen.

I fell like I’m starting to ramble on, so I’m going to wrap this one up with some questions. Did you participate in NaNoWriMo 2009? Did you come out a winner or a loser, like me? Either way, what experiences or lessons did the venture leave you with? Please respond in the comments. I’m interested in other people’s writing experiences, and I would love to hear yours.

Until Next Time,

Jerry W. Stewart

The original goal was to write 1,667 words a day to reach the monumental goal of 50,000 in 30 days.  With only 15 days left and 42,800 more words to go, my daily goals have gone up to 2,854 words a day. That’s 1,187 more words per day than my original goal. It’s going to be a rough count to maintain, but I’m determined to get the end of this month with at least 50,000 words.

I lost 7 days worth of writing at the very beginning of this month, because I was traveling for my job. I found out that it was impossible for me to be creative and focused while being so far from my writing lair. Not to mention that I was in California being trained for a very technical aspect of my job. That made things worse by at least ten fold. It’s hard for me to spend 8 hours of my day trying to absorb very technical ideas and then go back to a hotel room and try to get my creative juices flowing again. I know it’s an excuse, but it’s the best I can offer right now.

Now I’m going to get back to my novel and see if I can bolster the word count some more. Good luck to everyone else in their quest for 50,000 words in 30 days. If you would like to share your Nanowrimo experiences up to this point please do so in the comments.

–Jerry W. Stewart

I’ve also been busy teaching my oldest daughter to read and spell words. She’s in first grade this year, and it is crucial for her to learn to read. I feel like the rest of her education hinges on this year and her ability to read by the end of it. This has taken up tons of time, not due to a lack of effort on her part, but rather the words she is required to spell. She gets 16 words a week that range from 4 to 5 letters long. Every Friday she has a spelling test on the words for that week. The words so far have focused on the combination sound of a consonant + r construction (br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, and tr). She has some difficulties with some of the combinations, but she is willing and ready to learn. We work hard on her words, and she is making some major improvements. It’s still an everyday thing when I have her.

When I do find time to pursue my own interests, I usually spend it trying to fill my manuscript with words. It might sound easy, but there is a lot involved in writing a novel. It takes some serious determination and an adamant refusal to throw in the towel. I will admit that I’ve been tempted to just give it up and say it wasn’t for me. I can’t do it, though. First of all, I love doing it way too much, and second of all, I want to know if my efforts will ever be good enough to find a publisher. So I’m sorry that my writing time has been spent writing fiction and not blogging. I hope to find a balance in the future.

*drags the thread up from the grave*
Live! Liiiiive!
*lightning bolts*
Okay, now that that drama is out of the way, I’m going to unveil my utter geekdom here, and share the reasons you can’t use parkour as a verb.
As stated, parkour is a noun. However, English turns nouns into verbs all the time. The process is called zero-conversion, zero-derivation (in the case of English), or verbification: when a language changes a word from one part of speech into a verb. For example, in English, "weird" is an adjective, but people often use it as a phrasal verb: "That guy totally weirded me out." Or email: "Send me an e-mail" vs. "E-mail me."
All languages engage in zero-conversion to a degree; English is particularly fond of verbification.
Given this, and English’s propensity towards zero-conversion to verbs, why can’t "parkour" be used as a verb?
Because le parkour is a French noun that has been borrowed from French. French does not zero-convert to verbs as readily as English does (although this is not always the case: verbs like "googliser"=to [look up on] Google, and the like crop up in French often enough. Worth noting is that "Google" itself is a borrowing into French, however it is a weak example as it is a proper noun for a product name, like Coca-Cola or Xerox, and is therefore generally unchanged language to language. Parkour is not a proper noun/brand name.)
All languages borrow from other languages as the need arises. "Need" is generally characterized by the introduction of a cultural element from one speech community to another, for which the receiving speech community has no equivalent. For instance, answer this question: What is the English translation for "burrito"?
In the case of parkour, no equivalent for parkour existed in English speech communities, so the name was imported along with the art form. This bond was further solidified by the application of "freerunning" as a possible English translation, and freerunning’s subsequent philosophical/applicational split from parkour proper. The split necessitated a linguistic distinction between the two disciplines, handily already present via the inital borrowing of "parkour" into English.
That "parkour" is a borrowed noun is significant, because English typically doesn’t zero-convert/verbify borrowed words. Support for this notion has already been given in previous posts with the examples "ballet" (also French), and "karate" (Japanese).
In French, the expression would be "faire du parkour"=to do parkour. French applies the verb "faire" (to do) to many, many physical activities. It’s simply a characteristic of the language:
faire du bateau=to go boating
faire de la planche a voile=to windsurf
faire du roller en ligne=to rollerblade
faire du ski=to ski (although skier is also used as a single verb)
faire du cheval/de l’equitation=to go horseback riding/to ride horses
…etc.
So since "parkour" is a noun, verbified in French by means of a "faire construction" ("to do" construction), borrowed into English, which typically resists zero-converting borrowed words, we have no other choice but to say "to do/practice parkour" in English.
It is conceivable that in the future, English will zero-convert parkour into a verb; but in general that will depend much on whether it gains wide acceptance among English speech communities (to me, personally, it just sounds wrong, but that may be because I also speak French).
It is unlikely that French will verbify "parkour" for two reasons: one, because it is already in wide use with a faire construction, and two, because the noun "parkour" itself derived from the French verb "parcourir,"=to run across or through. So the verb "parkourir" is already taken (phonetically); "parkourer" might take root, but it’s unlikely. The root verb is "courir"=to run; part of a specific verb class (-IR verbs like dormir), and although most verbification in French classifies verbs in the -ER verb class (the most common verb class), it is highly irregular/unlikely for a verb to "jump classes" like that.
So there you also have an actual linguistic explanation, and you probably also think I’m a huge nerd… which I am.
B.A., Linguistics, University of Wisconsin, 1998
*bows*

If you would like, you can read the entire forum here.

Bibliography

Alissa J. Bratz. (June 19, 2007). How to use the word parkour. In American Parkour Forums. Retrieved July 31, 2009, from http://www.americanparkour.com/smf/index.php?PHPSESSID=fb7f726327a07b5722893daeffcbbafc&topic=885.msg57802#msg57802.

–Jerry W. Stewart

Artist: Lady Sovereign
Album: Jigsaw
Song: Guitar

Jung Typology Test Results

Your Type is: INTJ

Qualitative analysis of your type formula:

• moderately expressed introvert
• distinctively expressed intuitive personality
• moderately expressed thinking personality
• slightly expressed judging personality

Links:

• INTJ type description by D.Keirsey
• INTJ Identify Your Career with Jung Career Indicator™
• INTJ type description by J. Butt and M.M. Heiss
• Maximizing Your Study Environment from Keirsey
• The above links describe my personality type in greater depth and provide some interesting tidbits. I’m going to share with you some of the ones that stuck out most to me.

• Here’s an Excerpt of Keirsey’s Analysis of a Mastermind:

• “Masterminds are rare, comprising no more than, say, one percent of the population, and they are rarely encountered outside their office, factory, school, or laboratory. Although they are highly capable leaders, Masterminds are not at all eager to take command, preferring to stay in the background until others demonstrate their inability to lead. Once they take charge, however, they are thoroughgoing pragmatists. Masterminds are certain that efficiency is indispensable in a well-run organization, and if they encounter inefficiency-any waste of human and material resources-they are quick to realign operations and reassign personnel. Masterminds do not feel bound by established rules and procedures, and traditional authority does not impress them, nor do slogans or catchwords. Only ideas that make sense to them are adopted; those that don’t, aren’t, no matter who thought of them. Remember, their aim is always maximum efficiency.”

An Excerpt From Keirsey’s Suggestions on Maximizing My Study Area:

“Masterminds (INTJ) care a bit more about their environment than Architects do, but once they are deep in a project, they can be even more concentrated and focused. The main thing a Mastermind wants is lots of uninterrupted time. They will skip meals, classes, even dates as they pursue the completion of a project.”

An Excerpt From Keirsey’s Finding Your Passion:

“The Mastermind (INTJ) is very focused as well, but more on an internal vision. They are good at solving problems and like to work on tough intellectual puzzles. They are often led into technical positions such as scientific researcher, design engineer, environmental planner. The developing field of genetics benefits from their intensity as does the field of medicine. In education they are most often found at the college and university level. In the professions, they may be a lawyer, a business analyst, or strategic planner. Some have a strong artistic/creative bent and may become an artist, inventor, or designer. Whatever they do, they do it with intensity. Says Kim, “I am constantly teaching myself something new in order to solve the problems that I encounter. My husband leaves me alone when he sees that I am caught in what he calls my “Thinking Time.” I’m unwinding knots even in my sleep.”

My decent into narcissism is drawing to a close. I hope you’ve enjoyed my results. I’m interested in yours. Go take the test here and post your results in the comments.

–Jerry W. Stewart

Manuscript 1 has an All-American hero for protagonist and the other has a darker anti-hero. One is more of your typical vampire/werewolf story and the other has a lot of religious overtones in it. The good boy is harder for me to write, while the anti-hero seems to flow more naturally. The first is being told in the first person perspective from the hero’s POV, and the other is being told in the third person perspective by an omniscient narrator. With the books being so much different from each other, I can switch back and forth depending on what mood I’m in at the time. I used to think it was a bad idea to divide my attention this way, but the more I thought about it, I realized that in my imagination my attention is already divided by these two ideas. I find myself day dreaming about both of them, so I don’t think it is going to hurt either story to write about them congruently.

What are your thoughts on working on multiple projects at the same time? Do you find it harder to focus, or is this your preferred way to work? I’m interested in other peoples writing habits, and I would love to hear about yours.

–Jerry Stewart

Artist: Soundgarden
Album: Superunknown
Song: Black Hole Sun

I finally got my iPhone a little while back, and like any other new gadget I get, I had to hack it and figure out how it all worked. It held my attention for about a week. During that time I didn’t written anything, which includes blogging. I’ve been pretty much glued to my phone. Thank God, my wife is very understanding and tolerant of my obsession with new toys. She is very patient with me during these times of distraction in my life. She let’s me know, occasionally, how bad I’m getting, but patient enough to give me the time to come back around to the real world. I’m finally back and ready to write and blog again. I have another smaller excuse to tell you about and then I’ll talk about my current writing.

My family just got back from a vacation in Branson, MO. The kids had a great time riding the rides at Silver Dollar City and so did I. I had to do the fatherly thing and accompany my youngest daughter, Alexis, on some of the rides that I wouldn’t have chose to ride by myself. But I did get to ride the biggest roller coaster they had just before we left for home. Wildfire was awesome—all 30 seconds of it. On the first drop I thought my stomach was going to push my eyeballs out of my head, and as soon as you recover from that you start the loops. I love roller coasters and that one was great. I wish we would have had more time for me to ride it over and over again, but we didn’t.

I talked my oldest daughter, Brianna, into riding Thunderation with me. That was her first adult roller coaster experience. She handled it well, but the look on her face was priceless. She was completely shell shocked while we were on the coaster, but assured me that she had fun when we got off the ride. I asked if she wanted to ride it again, and without any hesitation got a resounding NO in response.

We also got to take the kids to the Dickerson Zoo in Springfield, MO. they had a blast feeding the carp, goats, and giraffes. I got a few videos of the excursion that you can find on my Facebook page and later, when I get around to it, on my Youtube channel. We also got to eat at my favorite restaurant, Joe’s Crab Shack. Brianna wanted to be just like me, so she had snow crab from the kids menu. I had Alaskan King Crab. Yum!

Now, a little about my writing. I’ve been working on a story for a little over a month, now. I spent almost six months with the story in my mind before I sat down to write anything. Even with all of that planning, I’ve been struggling to finish the first chapter. The hero is just too All-American for me; I think. I’ve had another idea floating around in my head for a few months that is more my style. I like the anti-heroes and unlikely heroes. The main character in this new idea is a mixture of both. The story is a little darker with some religious overtones. I’ve decided to abandon the first idea (for now), and work on the new one. I think the story will flow from me easier than the one I’ve been working on, and as a bonus, it is a more original idea. I’m looking forward to getting started writing out character notes and plot developments. Bring on the writing.

I want to leave you with two questions:

• How are your manuscripts coming along?
• Do you think it’s ok to abandon an idea if it’s not going anywhere? or Should you keep trudging through the story until you make it work?

–Jerry Stewart

I’ve got a quick announcement before I get into my current project. Drum roll, please. I will be meeting with my critique partner, Casey, for the first time this evening to discuss our manuscripts and plans and poke holes in each other’s work. This will hopefully be both a trying and rewarding experience.

Now, let’s talk about what I’m working on. I started playing with the idea for my current work about six months ago. It’s taken me that long to get started on it, because I was busy building my writing lair, and honestly, I have been a little timid about taking up writing again. It’s been a rough start so far and I’ve only got about 1,700 words. I actually wrote 1,200 words the first attempt and decided to throw out those first 1,200 and rewrite. The first attempt just wasn’t something I was proud of, but it was necessary crap that needed to get out so I could get to the good stuff.

I’ve struggled a little bit to find the time to write, and I’ve also struggled with staying focused on the project when I do find the time. I’m hoping the added pressure of having to show some one else my work every week will help me stay focused on my goal. I’m not pushing myself too hard on this first novel, because I’m still developing the process as I’m writing the rough draft. I’m using a different program to write this novel than I did my previous two and there is a bit more of a learning curve. It can be an easy program to use, but it has a lot of extra features in it that I would like to be able to use, too. I wish the folks who make Scrivener would make a Windows or Linux version and share the love with those of us not quite willing to pay for a Mac, yet.

I’ve been reading a lot of Adult and Young Adult Urban Fantasy and Paranormal stuff. I always have. I used to read more Sci-Fi, but at the same time I was reading anything I could find with a vampire, werewolf, or dragon in it. So, naturally, my WIP is a Young Adult Urban Fantasy. It’s about a 15 year old boy that moves around a lot because of his dad’s military career. He gets settled somewhere and everything is not as it seems. I don’t want to get too detailed about the actual characters or plot, but I will talk about the different parts of the story (just not the details). If you want to know, then hopefully it will be published and you will get a chance to read for yourself.

That’s all for this Manuscript Monday. Oh, and a quick side note. I got my iPhone 3Gs order today. Yay, for me!

–Jerry W Stewart

I’m very excited that I’ve found another writer in my local area that just so happens to work with my wife, Holly. Casey is a terrific friend to both my wife and I, and like me, she is interested in being a published author someday. We’ve decided to meet once a week to talk about our current WIP’s and critique each others work. This is perfect for me, because I work much better under pressure. Having some one to keep me accountable and create a deadline of sorts, keeps me motivated and focused on my writing. I would like to thank Casey for being that person and Holly for introducing us and putting up with my creative needs. I’m sure Holly won’t mind me having some one else to talk to about writing, because I know she has to be getting sick of hearing about it from me.

If you can’t tell by now, I’m a big fan of peer groups. I’m not so big on collaboration, because I don’t like people to be involved in my process while I’m hashing out a result. This is the same for my creative work and my day job as a systems administrator. I like to do the work alone without some one looking over my shoulder. I don’t mind telling some one how I got my results, but I get self-conscious about my process knowing that some one is watching. Critique or peer review groups are different. When I know that I have to show my work to some one when it’s finished, I work with a sense of urgency and purpose that I don’t get if I’m left to my own devices. If you don’t have a peer group, I recommend that you find one. See if it works for you like it does for me.

I’m off now to get to that WIP before I meet up with Casey for a critique on Monday. By the way, Casey has started a blog, too, and I encourage you to check her out here.

–Jerry W Stewart