The Magic of Mammoth Caves

Got my two story ideas down and stored in my new WriteItNow software.  It's really easy to use.  I tried to get to grips with Scrivner several times without success, despite many friends of my swearing by it.  But enough about which writing software is best.  This blog is dedicated to whether writing your goals down enables you to achieve.

Two days into the new year challenge there should be no surprises that I'm still on target and feeling pretty motivated.  The only difference with this new method is I'm not struggling to get everything done.

Writing things down in conjunction with journaling is certainly helping to keep me in a positive mindset and when it came to planning my first new story idea, I had no problem structuring the plot start to finish.  So why the picture from Mammoth Caves?

Well, Mammoth Caves is the inspiration for the Alchemyne Series I'm working on, which is about a society that lives by the alchemy philosophy and lives underground, in the gothic splendour.

As I've already shared with you, I began to think back to Write It Down Make it Happen when I realised visiting Mammoth Caves was on my original wish list, and considering it's not an easy place to get to from Hong Kong, it's pretty amazing I ever made it there.  It was everything I could have ever wished for and more. The guides, in fact everyone at Mammoth National Park were incredibly knowledgably had helpful and all the caves were breathtaking.

You've never known the true meaning of darkness until you turn off the lights in a cave, and you've never seen beauty like it when they turn the lights back on.  Caves have souls, there's something definitely spiritual being inside the.  Some caves even have their own flowers!  They are made of gypsum and the slight breeze or touch could destroy them unfortunately.

I could write about the caves all day, but you'll have to wait to see what my caves in Alchemyne look like when I finish my novel.

Good luck with all your New Year's resolutions and thank you for checking out my blog.

See you tomorrow
Alex Dunn

Write it Down, Make it Happen.

Can it really be that easy?  By writing down or your wishes and dreams an you really make them come true?

Henriette Anne Klauser seems to think so, and I very much hoped it would work for me. Three years ago, I read her book to keep me company on a long flight home.  Some of the exercises I treated with scepticism.  Others resonated with me, so much so, I dedicated weeks of my life to trying them out.  The result: some of the many things I did write down in my journal are now reality.  However, the one thing I really wanted, to be a successful author was still a dream.

I thought about this book again when holidaying in the amazing Kentucky National Park, having flown all the way from Hong Kong to see Mammoth Caves. Seeing Mammoth Caves was on my original wish list, and so I decided to read the book again, and do every exercise this time in the hope I could achieve becoming a successful author.

This is what this blog is all about. My journey through the exercises and whether I make it.  This isn’t a walkthrough of the book.  You should read it yourself. It’s a very good read with lots of inspiring stories.  What I’m going to cover, is my progress, honest feedback and some of the ideas that come to mind when I do the exercises.  So, what are my writing goals for 2019?

1.       Complete StoryStorm

2.       Take part in PitchWars

3.       Take part in PitDark

4.       Complete NaNoWriMo

5.       Complete 3-Day Novel Writing Contest

6.       Attend a Writing Retreat

7.       Complete my Samael Novel

8.       Get a good Agent

9.       Publish Samael

10.   Complete my 1^st instalment of Alchemyne (My new fantasy series)

11.   Finish reading The Mastery of Self by don Miguel Ruiz Jr

12.   Finish reading Known by Mark W Schaefer

13.   Gain a bigger web presence

14.   Be an active participant in the Hong Kong Young Readers’ Festival

15.   Learn WriteITNow Creative Writing Software

16.   Get some great graphics together for my Alchemyne Novel

17.   Visit a volcano

18.   Visit an ice cave

19.   Write to Henriette Anne Klauser and tell her about my challenge

20.   Get my blog off the ground!

As you can see, I’m quite goal oriented and love entering challenges and competitions.  Luckily for me I’m highly organised, which helps immensely when you’re working full-time and trying to achieve the objectives of a full-time author at the same time.

StoryStorm starts on 1st January, as does my Blog, Please feel free to comment and wish me luck.  More about me and StoryStorm to follow.