This video meanders around some general considerations in how sometimes the scope of a book grows beyond what you initial thought it might. I touch upon lightly the book that I’ve tentatively called “The Masquerade,” and how that book has grown beyond the scope that I initially envisioned for it. Even so, I will not cap the growth of the book just because I originally envisioned one story and its grown with time. I will remain fluid in how I proceed, but the point is that with most of the books I published this year, the scope grew either slightly, or extensively, and its something that should be considered by neophyte writers since many times you believe a book will take you X amount of time to finish, when it actually could be much longer than that.
“The Journey of a thousand miles begins with a
single step.”
– Lao Tzu
“Believe in your dreams. They were given
to you for a reason.”
– Katrina Mayer
“Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.”
– Les Brown
It has been a while since I have done a blog update, and the reason for that is because I needed to set myself up for some future projects, get organized for writing, as well as work. As such, I wasn’t going to have too much additional time to do all that, while still actively writing for the blog. Even so, I don’t see myself taking no extensive break any time soon, which is good because I’m ready to begin sharing a lot of different things.
There is another crucial component why I kept myself away from most social media, and it’s because once I get sucked into “The Vortex”, I get stuck in there and begin draining countless hours, many of which are not doing anything productive. And being someone that values time to a great extent, it hits me hard that I could allow myself to let lack of mindfulness siphon so much time away. Because of all that, I had to detach to a considerable extent and do what’s best for me to make sure I was in an optimal place for the future.
Now, I wanted to give a quick update on my latest project, my book Amor Vincit Omnia – Love Conquers All, which is written under my Zy Marquiez pen name. I just ordered what I am hopping is my ‘last’ proof copy, and if there are no formatting errors then the books a go. Thankfully, none of the previous proof copies had any, but I did delay the release because the book grew to a considerable extent, much more so than I thought it would. That said, I’m excited to have that done and out the door so I can move on to other things.
Speaking of other things, I wanted to speak at brevity about the Logo. As mentioned in a previous post, the reason I designed the Logo that I did was because I wanted to create something for myself. If someone else likes it, great, but that wasn’t the reason I chose to make it. Not unlike when I write, I write and create as an expression of myself, first and foremost for me. The Logo follows the same mindset.
I was seeking to create something that not only resonates deeply with me, but also follows some of tenets I value, such as a no–nonsense very straight forward approach, simple and yet complex simultaneously, something that operates on multiple tiers, not unlike how life does physically and metaphysically, and something that included initials for both of my pen names. All four letters of each of my pen names are integrated into it, with three Zs (two seen primarily as Ns and one small one), one large M, four Ns, and two Bs.
Along
the same lines, I have filed for trademarks for both the Noctis Blackburn pen
name, and the Logo I designed. Given
that intellectual property theft is a an issue, I thought it prudent to do
that. Moreover, given that slander is
also something to be seriously concerned about with the way social media
operates and in general as well, I was urged by my attorney to follow that
particular approach.
Shifting
gears, the Blackburn Memoirs Facebook page is now being run (and has been run)
by one of my best friends from college that I’ve known for exactly 20 years, that
goes by Pandora. I met her at ASU and once
I ran the idea by her she was thrilled to do so. That said, I did start another FB page under
my Z.M. pen name, which was unplanned, but a few people thought it a good idea
given that the content from each of the pen names, although similar in nature,
is going to start to diverge in significantly different directions with
time. I will handle that page myself for
a few weeks tops as I get it off the ground, and will either let Pandora take
over if she wants, or someone else perhaps.
Still uncertain of that however.
Now onto other randomness, did you know YouTube’s still a thing? Apparently. In any case, I have a YouTube channel to hopefully help other writers not make the same mistakes I’ve made while writing, publishing, etc. That is the main baseline for the channel, hopefully serving others in a way that it can help them hone their craft and save time, given how precious time is. There’s at least a dozen videos there or so, covering writing from a variety of angles, so if you’re interested in that, it’s there.
I will be uploading videos regularly on things that directly or indirectly couple with writing, at times taking an outside of the box approach to explore a kaleidoscope of concepts in hopefully intriguing ways, at times coupling it to poker given how many commonalities writing and poker have, which I find very intriguing.
Besides
that, there’s one final announcement that I’m thrilled to tell you all about. Months ago I thought about an idea that I’ve
slowly been getting off the ground, and it’s actually quite fun and different,
definitely nothing I’ve ever done before.
I’m working on a book along the lines of a masquerade, so for now, let’s call
it “The Masquerade,” although the actual title was already chosen months
ago. Thank you for those handful of you
that have known and kept my trust. Now,
I wanted to work on this book a lot more the last 2 months, but given how
complex Amor Vincit Omnia turned out to be, I just decided to put The
Masquerade on hold.
Just like A.V.O., this book kind of took a life of its own. At first, I wanted to make it based around a
Love story, and that’s certainly one component
of it, but the book’s grown much larger in scope than that. I’m really chomping at the bit to tell you
all more, but I just can’t. It’s not the
time. That said, I am super excited for
it, although there is no tentative release date at the moment since it still
needs lots of work.
Why a masquerade? Because I’ve always loved the idea of a masquerade. There is something about it that is not only
intriguing, but very mysterious. It’s
like a blank canvas within the nascent stages of the evening, something that
holds endless possibilities for a night to truly remember. I have never had the pleasure to attend one,
but one day in the future I will. I
really do think it would be amazing experience subjectively speaking, and
something that when the time is right, I will definitely knock off my bucket
list.
That is also why I have often used a mask not unlike the one seen in the
Phantom Of The Opera. Not only that, but
when I was younger, my Mom had nigh two dozen Venetian–style carnival masks on
the wall, which were a constant reminder of the idea of a masquerade. This idea has resonated with me since I was a
young teenager, and although I never planned on writing a book on a masquerade
ever, now that I’m here, I’m going to go with it wherever it may lead and let
the chips fall where they may.
I really hope you all are doing amazing, and I’m glad that I’m going to be posting regularly again since I have missed doing so, interacting with you all and learning from you as well. It has definitely been a minute. You all take care of yourselves and I appreciate you taking the time to read. Make sure to have a wonderful day and keep on keeping on.
“Life is too important to be taken seriously” – Oscar Wilde
“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
NoctisBlackburn.com September 5, 2019
Life is experienced in a full kaleidoscope of circumstances
that show the endless ways that it can be experienced. How we choose to experience those
circumstances will ultimately dictate what we get out of them, and how much
meaning and depth will be had.
One of the vanguard reasons I love writing is because it allows for the
exploration of life through the written medium, which showcases countless
writing styles, but also because it allows you to examine meaningful
circumstances at length, but more importantly, to record them as a time capsule
of sorts for yourself, or for others.
Additionally, the wisdom garnered from many of the most astute
individuals in the past still lives on, all due to their choice to pen their
thoughts in timeless fashion.
This merger of an individual’s experience and creative process, brought about
through writing, still resonates today.
Such instances not only allows individuals to learn from the past in
myriad ways, but ultimately also aids individuals to live a better life, a
wiser life, a more fulfilling life, all because those individuals took pen to
paper and seared their voices into the pages of history after imprinting the
insights they learned through the trials and tribulations they faced.
That is incredible power, not only because words have the influence
to change people’s lives as well as history in significant ways through their
inherent resonance, but words add depth to life that at times can be looked
upon time and again for those with appreciation of it, as is the baseline for
these thoughts.
Don’t ever underestimate the power of writing, whether it is
blogs, paper notes, letters, creative writing, poetry, fiction, short stories,
and so on, to add depth to your life and those of others. For just like a mindful and deep breath brings
a moment of clarity, no matter how fleeting it may be, the act of writing can also
bring clarity that can allow not only for the recording of meaningful
circumstances that took place in an individual’s life, but this also allows for
more incisive examination of meaning within the very fibers of life, the untold
depths that often go unexplored not only in the moment, but later on.
Such circumstances while possibly seemingly insignificant at the time, might just echo through the end of time.
Noctis Blackburn is an author, bibliophile, writer,
poet, dreamer, star gazer, autodidact, logician, researcher, lover of
life, Carmel Macchiatto addict, and more.
NoctisBlackburn.com Noctis Blackburn | Zy Marquiez August 16, 2019
This is my formal announcement for a book that I’ve been working on for nigh two months. Given Zy Marquiez is my other pen name besides Noctis blackburn, I am choosing to make an announcement here because of how much it means to me and because of how genuinely excited to I am to share this book.
As the above picture shows, the books name is Amor Vincit Omnia – Love Conquers All, which is a poetry book that I’ve put a lot of work and thought into for myriad reasons.
Now, the first point of the book is why I chose a color that’s mostly blue, with highlights of purple and so on, rather than something red? That’s a fantastic question that those that have known about the cover and have given me feedback have asked. One of the reasons for this is because this book is about Love Conquering All through all circumstances, and not just matters between two lovers. More importantly, though Love is usually ascribed the color red for obvious reasons, Love truly knows no boundaries, no colors.
As such, I thought it
fitting to go with a more bluish/purple color scheme, rather than a
reddish/purple/pink. Concurrently with
that, red as Love is emblematic of Valentine’s Day, couples, romance, and
such. And while Love between lovers is a part of this book, it’s not the only part
of the book. I thought if I wrote the
book from only that direction, it
would leave a lot to be desired since Love affects all of us, no matter who we
are, no matter whether we are in relationships or not, and so on. That said, nigh all the poems take a two
person structure since I find it easier to write from that aspect, and I find
it more beautiful as well. In
conjunction with that, this book features the most amount of notations following
well more than half the poems go extend the notion in many directions since
human emotion is embedded deep within everyone and just leaving some poems
without adding notations from them felt also incomplete since a romantic couple
that seeks to do the right thing (or one person even) can still serve as a
metaphor for a much more extensive view on Love.
Because of this, I opted to keep this color
scheme because I like it a lot and everyone did as well, though they certainly
wondered why bluish-purple rather than red/purple/pink and so on. Now, another vanguard consideration in this
color scheme which is just as important as anything else is because a follow up
to this book is already in the works, and given that that book is about love in
the traditional sense with couples, romance, and so on, it’s going to follow a
traditional Valentine’s Day-type color scheme, though I still have no
conceptualized the cover or anything.
Likewise, I didn’t want
to publish two books on Love with very similar color schemes because although
Love is traditionally seen in red, as mentioned before, Love truly knows no
boundaries nor colors. I would also like
to make this part of a Trilogy, given that the first two books are covering
important topics, although I believe the first one’s a lot more ‘objective’,
while the second one is more ‘subjective’, I would still like to make it three
books, although honestly I’m uncertain if I will be able to figure that out any
time soon, so no promise there.
The final key
consideration I want to discuss is why I chose the cover for this book. If you look at it carefully, you can see that
the background is a heart that’s creation an explosion of resonance out of
Love, which is essentially the reverse of a blackhole. Whereas a blackhole absorbs everything in
sight leaving nothing left essentially, unconditional love is unconditional
because it never stops, which I thought an incisive antithesis to something
like a black-hole, which could mirror things that stem out of fear, hatred, and
so on, which are important topics in the book.
I put a lot of thought into all aspects of this book, and am still
continuing to make sure to add some tidbits, but on the whole, the book is nigh
complete and it’s almost ready to go.
That said, it’s going to be around 2-3 weeks before it’s available to
the public since I want to make sure that the book’s hardcover versions come
out okay given that Lulu has some serious glitches when you uploading files
With everything
previously discussed in mind, I would like to leave all of you with one final
thought.
No matter where you are, who you are, what you do, and what you are going through, don’t ever forget that Love creates resonance, incredible resonance, and ultimately helps create the world you and all of us live in. The world truly becomes what we collectively create it to be and the power to do that should never be underestimated because each of us has way more power to change things than we often realize.
I could go on and on, but that’s the gist of it. I appreciate all of you taking time out of your day and reading this far.
Hope you all have a fantastic evening, and a phenomenal weekend! Much Love to you all. Take care of yourselves and be safe. Talk to you soon.
Noctis Blackburn
___________________________________________________________________________ P.S. I’m currently at my friend’s house as we just had dinner and she’s being insistent on us going to celebrate which is why I’ve transferred most of the above from my phone onto her PC since it’s easier, and honestly, I’m being lazy at the moment since I don’t want to be doing any additional work. The point is, make sure you enjoy the little things, ALL of them; when life is great, celebrate it; however you want to, and with whomever you want too. Those little moments are what often mean the most.
Speaking of little things, genuine happiness for a friend or another is one of those little things. This is why having friend ask me out to dinner and so on to celebrate was a pleasant synchronicity that took me breath away considering it turned my whole day around as I told her. She became the direct antithesis to everything negative today and I appreciate her wholeheartedly for that. To be honest, going out on a Friday night’s not something that I do often except for writing, but given than I’m always open-minded I’m not going to say no, especially since she’s even more thrilled about this book coming than I seem to be in a weird way. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I wasn’t thrilled. More importantly, don’t ever be afraid of following your dreams, no matter how big or small those may be. Make sure to go after them with everything that you are, no matter who wishes you ill-will, no matter who judges you without ever truly making a shred of effort in trying, no matter what hatters appear in your on your path, because ultimately how they act is a reflection of how they are underneath, and those that act the darkest often have serious problems if they seek to hurt you in any way whatsoever, especially in a true moment of happiness. Let those people be, no matter who they are, no matter what your connection to them is, because if those people refuse to be supportive or happy for you, even if you’ve wished them the world and continue to try and shower them with positivity, even if they’ve often thrown you under the bus, ultimately, toxic people will always be toxic by the very nature that they employ, by their actions, and they will always be their own demise, nobody else. Someone who is positive and genuinely happy with life will never seek to make you an emotional dumping ground for all of their problems. Stick to those that lift you up, stick with those that care for you, stick with those that don’t use the word Love as a weapon against you because they refuse to face their fears and keep acting out of well of hatred that they hold within. Stick to your people, whoever they are. It’s that simple. Much Love to you all.
“Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.” – E.L. Doctorow
“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” – Louis L’Amour
NoctisBlackburn.com Noctis Blackburn August 9, 2019
Writing is an extremely time intensive process.
It is easy to spend dozens of hours a week working on your
craft, drafts, editing, and so on, without it even being a job for you. This is why it’s paramount to keep your
energy levels up (physically and mentally) and your inspiration topped off as
much as possible, for it allows for seamless creation of content whether you do
fiction, non-fiction, poetry, book reviews, or anything else.
The aforementioned was stated because I’ve often been asked
how is it that I’ve written quite a few poetry books so quickly, and my main
answer when asked has always been that I make sure that my inspiration is
always there. I am always exposing
myself to things that inspire me, whether it is music, movies, words, passages,
moments, people, interactions, meaningful memories, previous write-ups, diary entries,
letters, notes, emails, you name it, all
of that inspires me to the core. It
keeps the embers of inspiration lit to such an extent that I’ve actually come
up with a term named “Writer’s Flood”, which will be discussed at length in a
future blog.
To sum it up now though, the term ‘Writer’s Flood’ is the opposite of the term ‘Writer’s Block. Where in traditional ‘Writer’s Block’ you
couldn’t write if your life depended on it, ‘Writer’s Flood’ means that you’re
so inspired writing basically takes care of itself, it’s almost like you’re tapped the well of inspiration and it costs
you no energy and your output at such a time is incredible and nigh effortless.
The vanguard thing I do now is that, whenever I feel this inspired, or significantly inspired, I end up
writing, whereas before I would have specific time slots to write. Well, the latter idea, though great on paper,
almost never works that efficiently for me.
If it works for you, fantastic, it just doesn’t serve me that well. As such, it matters not whether I’m at the
coffee shop, a friend’s house, playing pool by myself, at the gym, at Barns
& Noble, maybe a restaurant, you name it, I plop down my notebook, or write
on a book, or use the phone, and begin writing.
And it’s not uncommon during the most inspiring moments to knock out 50 or
way more poems fairly quickly. This isn’t
always the case, but it happens probably once or twice a week, with several
other times, sometimes multiples a day, me writing a lot of poems at varying
times, as well as many other passages and so on.
I say all this because this isn’t some special talent, or
anything that’s inherent to only me. I
know one person that’s beginning to do it considerably, and another two that
are taking this approach and its working well for all of them.
So what exactly do I do?
Simple, as mentioned in the introductory paragraph, I do things that
infuse me and/or increase my energy levels coupled with things that inspire me,
whatever that may be. Certainly, what may inspire me, may certainly
not be what inspires you, but each of us can be hit by inspiration, or actively
seek it. And once we infusing ourselves with
tsunamis of energy, writing doesn’t become a choir, but an adventure.
I fittingly chose to write this on a Friday Night, because I’m
between hanging out with friends, and I’m about to head out by myself to my
favorite spot. This place is the place
where I draw a lot of inspiration from, and I’ve written hundreds of poems, countless
journal entries and blogs, and everything in between here. Because of this, I try to go there on Friday
nights as much as possible, because it works for me, though I know this wouldn’t
work for everyone.
Bottom line: do whatever works for
you. Seek inspiration however you
can. If you’re always being
energized when in the company of others, or while having conversations with others, this should tell you all you need to
know about what works in inspiring you. Or
if something else inspires you, do that.
Do whatever it is that brings
joy to your soul. And hopefully, once you
create these circumstances for yourself, it’ll be a long time before you
experience Writer’s Block again, because hey, if you can circumvent ever having
Writer’s Block, why not do it?
NoctisBlackburn.com Noctis Blackburn July 23, 2019
When it comes to writing, it is an arduous task, and there’s no need to make it more complicated than it already is. Even so, whether you already write for a living or you are doing it as a hobby, there are seemingly small and yet significant tips that when kept in mind make writing simpler and enjoyable.
With that canvas set, we will proceed into discussing the 3 biggest mistakes that I used to do constantly, and still struggle with from time to time. Some of these may already be known to you, especially given that some teachers do teach this in school, but not all do. Given that, I will proceed showing the breath of my mistakes in hopes that these help others avoid them so they can save time and learn how to hone their craft that much quicker.
#1 – Overusing Commas
I still do this a lot myself, but not as much as I did months ago. I am uncertain how many people struggle with this concept, but I know that I tend to overuse commas at least twice as much as I should. It might be because I attempt to streamline my thoughts in sequential fashion and I am afraid of that logical chain might not be understood.
Irrespective of that though, make sure that you do not overuse commas. The simplest way to learn how to use these is by reading sentences out loud and seeing how they flow. While this method isn’t perfect by any means, it sure goes a long way to helping writers realize where commas do not go, and where others might.
#2 – Overusing Semicolons
This problem is something I struggled with considerably about two months ago or so, but thankfully it’s not that hard to overcome. The way I overcame this was keeping in mind that unless what follows the semicolon was downright imperative to the aforementioned and needed to be organized as such, it was probably better to break up the thoughts that follow the semicolon and create a separate sentence.
#3 – Be More Specific
This one is something that many (or most) probably have heard by now, but it is something that everyone struggles with, myself included.
Poetry is one way in which I am learning how to be incredibly precise, nigh like a surgeon when I attempt to pick words, because it helps convey in salient fashion what you wish to impart. There is no shame in taking care of how you choose words and how you employ them, for writing is a craft and the only way to get better at the craft is by practicing it. Being more specific is the tip of that spear.
There are additional mistakes that could be discussed, but in the interest of time and efficiency I will stop this right here.
If any of you have any additional suggestions I would love to hear them below.
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About Me:
Noctis Blackburn is an reader, writer, poet, dreamer, star gazer, autodidact, logician, researcher, lover of life, Carmel Macchiatto addict, and more.
