C. S. Thurman

From now on my posts are going to do 3 things in each one.

1. I am going to look back at an accomplishment from the previous year.
2. Talk about activities that I am currently working on, if possible, unrelated to my own writing projects.
3. Update Muldrix story if I haven’t already and give updates into other current Works in Progress (WIPs) that I am writing.

I’m hoping that by giving myself a structure to follow it will allow me to accomplish more in my writing, both with the blog and my stories.

Accomplishments

So, working off from the previous post, another accomplishment that I achieved last year was that my wife and I had baby number 4! Most of what this entails is that (as some of you may have read last year) my wife was on bedrest for most of that pregnancy from May to October. I felt so bad because for our kids this ended up being most of their summer with her unable to go places and unable to spend a lot of time away from home. This also meant that a lot of the chores fell on my shoulders as I strived to keep up on everything with my wife doing the bare minimum to avoid going into labor. Fortunately, we had lot’s (and I mean lot’s) of help from family as we pushed through.

This accomplishment lies more with my wife since she had to both carry the baby and take care of our home while I went to work. I can never express the love and affection that I have for her and all that she does for our family. She is so strong and has such a spirit that I strive to emulate. When she sees something that she wants she works to achieve that goal with everything she’s got, especially when it comes to Disney trips. Last year was hard, but it was well worth it all once our new baby girl was born.

Hobbies and Stuff

I have started a new hobby. For a long time now I have watched the TV show “Forged In Fire” and have loved the idea of making my own swords and knives. This hasn’t been a recent idea I’ve had either. Ever since I read the book “Brisingr” by Christopher Paolini I have imagined what it would’ve been like to make my own weapon. Off and on for the next 15 years from that point, I would toy with the idea of starting up bladesmithing as a hobby but never go anywhere with it. It wasn’t until a few years ago, while watching the History Channel’s “Forged In Fire” TV show that I really began to feel serious about wanting to get into blacksmithing.

Eventually, my loving wife bought me a certificate/gift card to go and take a class at a local Blacksmith shop. I went with my father-in-law and we had a great time learning how to beat the snot out of metal. Do not judge me on my choice of clothes. I forgot I’d be dealing with hot metal and didn’t think about my poor legs until during the experience.

Me hammering my small piece of metal.

Oooh, bright fire.

It was a neat experience and one that I would willing do again, if I had the funds to keep going back for it. Fortunately, I got lucky and both my brother-in-law and father-in-law got into the show “Forged in Fire” which led to them buying a forge of their own. I have only worked in the forge once, and am on my way to making my own blade. I picked a bigger and heavier piece of steel to work with, but hopefully I can beat it down enough that it will get easier as time goes on. Pictures on my forging skills to follow next month.

Writing

The Muldrix story moves along. I’m sorry, I know that I keep saying that but until I can get my life in order that’s the answer I’m giving. Trying to be creative and write is hard when your the parent of 4 kids, one of which is a baby that let’s you get 4-5 hours of sleep each night and has a tendency to steal all of my attention when I am in the same room as her. Coincidentally, my other kids will try this too, even when I do tell them that I’m writing. Suffice it to say I have made more progress on the story and I’m hoping to get more done as time rolls on. If I can get back into the flow then maybe I might be able to get faster.

My son’s book is still in progress. After reading it to my wife back in December she helped me realize that there’s more to it that I can add, so I have since put it on hold until I can finish it. For now, I’m hoping that I can finish it before July 31, which would be awesome since it is the anniversary of his baptism and Harry Potter’s birthday to which my son has asked to hold a Harry Potter party that day for it.

“The March of the Necromancer” is starting to move along. This one I have decided to devote my lunch breaks to reading/self-editing it as I try to work out all the kinks. I’m hoping that if I can push myself, then I can finish it quickly and start getting it out to Publishers and Agents. Again, I know I have been talking about it for a while, but life has been crazy and I have been back and forth about submitting it to an editor to get it professionally done before sending it off. Editors cost lots of money, and of that I have very little.

If you are new, feel free to explore my stories on the Stories page. I have recently updated the page so that everyone can have access to the latest stories that I have shared and if your looking for easier access to the Muldrix chapters, click here to view what’s new. Some of those chapters have been revised and updated since I last shared them.

Happy late Valentine’s Day