Looking at posting chapters for review

I am thinking of posting some chapters of my book online for people to read and comment on. I'll watermark the chapters, but I'd like to hear from people what they think and any changes that they'd recommend. I'd welcome some comments if you think this is a good idea.

Changing around the order of chapters

After some talking with my brother about hooks to draw a person into reading a story, I decided to make some changes to my first book's chapter order. The Mad Hatter's statement to Alice in Through the Looking Glass of "start at the beginning, and when you've reached the end, stop" doesn't really work well for storytelling. In story telling, you typically start in the middle and then fill in the back story. This provides the "hook" for the story by baiting it with all of the action transpiring in the first chapter.
I've thought about it for some time now, recalled several stories that I've read in the past and how they began their tales and I have to agree: most of my favorite stories began in the middle and filled in the back story as they went along. For someone that is just starting writing stories, I think it best to follow the rules before I decide to break them.

Truth in fiction...

Recently, there have been a number of letters to the editor in my local paper regarding Ann Rice's refusal to become a Christian because Christianity speaks against the practice of homosexuality, abortion, and other things she supports. Many of the letters have been from people professing to be Christians, but at the same time affirming many of the practices the bible explicitly condemns! Their reasoning, if it can even be called reason, is based in social acceptability and rhetoric rather than propositional truth.
I am amazed at how so many people that claim to be Christians reject the concept of propositional truth. Religion used to be a system of propositions regarding reality, but now people treat whether something is true based on emotions or feelings rather than propositions.
Let me first define some terms before I get any further. A Proposition is a statement or claim. The proposition may be true or it may be false, but it makes a claim. Truth by definition is exclusive and conforms to reality. If something is true, then necessarily all other claims that contradict it are false. If a proposition is made and a contradiction exists, then either the proposition is false or the evidence of the contradiction is false. Two claims that are contradictory cannot be true in the same relationship at the same time.

So now on to my claim: Any religion that claims to be all inclusive must by definition be false!
A person that claims to be a Christian (ie. a system of propositions regarding beliefs) and at the same time denies those propositions (ie. anyone is acceptable, regardless of your beliefs) is holding to a contradiction. Therefore, the person's claim that they are a Christian is false. So what about a religion that isn't Christianity? Okay, let's say religion X welcomes all beliefs as true. Religion Y comes along and states that all beliefs are not true. In order for X to be true, then it must state that Y is false, but if it does that then it is affirming Y at the same time it is denouncing it. Therefore, religion X cannot be true. Now, this doesn't mean that religion Y is true, just that all beliefs CANNOT be equally true.

I am sorry that Ann Rice did not convert to Christianity, but as long as she refuses to accept its propositions, she did the logically correct thing in refusing. Those that believe that they can call themselves Christians and at the same time reject the propositions that the bible gives are deceiving themselves and are no more Christian than Ann Rice.

Back to the story

I wasn't able to get as much work on the stories done as I would have liked. So many things interfering, necessary things, but interfering nonetheless. Truck breaking down halfway from the university to home, clearing items from a credit report that didn't belong to me, filling out paperwork for a security clearance, looking for another vehicle, trying to find some temp work while waiting for the processing of said security clearance. So in other words, life happens.

I hope to get some more time to write. In book 3, I hope to address issues such as the purpose of music in worship, God's (the Author) sovereignty in times of disappointment regarding love, temptations and consequences of using the enemy's means even if the ends are considered "good."

That is a lot of ground to cover, I know. Each topic could cover a book in itself, and I think I will only be able to touch on many of them. But perhaps this will become a springboard from which to spur conversation and give a basic foundational understanding to start building on.

The power of the story to affect reality

I recently read this article by Carl Kirby, a former air traffic controller for the Chicago O'Hare International Airport. The article addresses how science fiction stories made him question God's existence and also God's goodness. We often stay "but it is just entertainment, it isn't real." While that is true in its strictest sense, we often do interpret reality through the fiction that we read and see.

However, if the story can be used to make people doubt God, it may be able to do the reverse and present a strong case for God and the Bible. I had already thought about writing a science fiction story and this article may prove to be a catalyst to help me get going on it. I'll set up another blog to follow the progress on that story so that this blog and focus more on the Will of the Author series.

Update: I've created a new blog to outline and follow the creation of my science fiction story.
http://thealiensfromearth.blogspot.com/

Starting Book 3 and revising Book 1 and Book 2

Well, I've just started work on Book 3. For the next few weeks, I plan on writing the draft for the book while I am also re-reading books 1 and 2 to revise, edit, and make other various alterations, additions, and some deletions. Overall, I have been pleased with the works. It is fascinating to read a story that I wrote and feel like it is someone else's book, yet at the same time know that it is my own.

Some additional artwork

It has been a while since I last posted, but here is some additional artwork that I was sent regarding concept sketches. One is a layout sketch for Teran's first encounter with Axile, the immensely strong and friendly Syntar.

The other is an inked version of Teran's encounter with Dothar along the road. I was actually sent two inked versions of the meeting on the road, but I felt that the first one on the right was the better of the two. Here is a copy of the other one for your comment.