Month: September 2025

Falling Flat

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By: A.B. Timothy

Sometimes when we launch out on our brand new wings, we fall flat. That is what happened to me. This is also a common trope in fiction where the hero fails in their heroic quest. In life, and in writing, sometimes we won’t achieve the goals we set for ourselves, and through no fault of our own. My latest “Failure to Launch,” as it were, was due to the landlady having a family emergency and needing the space to be available to take care of her family. This is not her fault, and it is not my fault. Life happened in such a way as to prevent my launch at this time.

Have you ever failed to launch something? From your career to your life? I know of several books that have failed to launch. I could name at least a dozen author friends of mine who have written and written for years of their lives with nothing to show for it, not even a blog! But they still love it, and that’s okay. Sometimes when we fail to launch, we need to look at it with a positive angle and thank God anyway. Maybe you have yet to learn something; maybe if you had launched at that moment, things would have gone disastrously.

Keep your head up and look for the next favorable wind! Maybe next time you try to launch, you will go faster and further than you could have possibly imagined.

Tell me about a time you fell on your face, literally or figuratively. I want to hear from you! Type me a comment below, or @ me on X with the icon below!

Moving On

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By: A.B. Timothy

In life, there are doors, crossroads, pathways, and many other metaphors for progression/traveling as your life passes you by. One of those major events, or metaphors, is often a child leaving the home to live on their own. This can happen multiple times, even once when they go off to college, and then again once they finally use that degree and land a job that pays them well enough to get out from under their parents’ roof. In most stories, however, it happens once (because that makes for better drama). In my new book, The Shards of Arthur’s Shield, the hero, Thomas, is on track to leave his parents’ house at sixteen when he is to be betrothed to their local lord’s daughter. This will allow him to save his mother, who has been sick constantly since Thomas was a boy. He is sacrificing what he desires to do (find a real connection) for the betterment of his parents. This was common in those days; children served their parents. I have no qualms with this mentality, as back then, people would have lots of children to help bear the load their parents would otherwise have to bear by themselves. Thomas is given the opportunity, however, to pursue his dream and run off to the big city and compete in a betrothal tournament for the king’s daughter. This is representative of the chance that few children have to go away and make it big, either through college or an artistic endeavor. Perhaps if they fail, as Thomas promises to do, they will come back home and do what was originally expected of him. If they make it, however, they can potentially bring their whole family up with them.

We, as authors, use themes like these in our stories all the time to talk about human problems and human realities. We tell stories, oftentimes, that are thinly veiled representations of real-life struggles we, or someone we know, has gone through. Those can make the best stories sometimes because, as they say, you gotta write what you know.

Why is this on my mind? Well, I am taking one of those big steps in my life. I am moving out from underneath my mother’s roof and into my own living space. I love my mother dearly and want to give her the world, but I also want and need freedom to prove to myself that I can be the man that my future wife will need me to be.

What’s your story like? When did you take that big step or have you had children take that big step away from you already? Let me know in the comments below or by tagging me in a post on X at the link below. Happy writing!

Coffee Shop Compatriots

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By: A.B. Timothy

Have you hung out at a coffee shop recently? Well, let me tell you, these are some of the best places to find like-minded writers and students who are sometimes looking for a social connection. Some are writers like you and me, others are students who are looking to hang out with the world while they get school work done, and others still are people watchers. I have been all three of these things at various coffee shops in my life.

In my hometown, there is a shop called “Cartel Coffee Co.” If you live in the Southwest (SoCal, Arizona area), you may have one in or near your city. They, along with any local coffee shop, honestly, are great places to hang out and write, or be creative, while not being so secluded. A few weeks ago, for example, my laptop blew up while I was writing at the shop, and before the day was done, I had two separate fellow patrons offer me free laptops to replace the one I lost while I saved money for my own new laptop. WOW.

Today, I’ve been at the shop for the last couple of hours working on the outline for my new book, “The Shards of Arthur’s Shield,” and I met two new friends, Adam and Arabella. Arabella is an author like me, and she has given me an immense amount of insight as to what it’s like to indie-publish in our little town. If you are looking for a Romance book or a Fantasy book, go check out her website here.

The moral of today’s story is, get out there and meet people! The business side of this hobby, however, unfortunately, is a social game. Networking is huge!

Most importantly, keep writing! Never give up, and keep the beacon lit!

Would you like to network with me? Great! Send me an email at AlfredTBenedito@gmail.com!

Or follow me on X at the icon below!

Who’s On Your Team?

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By: A.B. Timothy

When you are writing, do you do it all by yourself in total isolation, hoping that no one ever reads your work? No? Me neither! Oh, you do? Well, keep on keeping on, I suppose. If you are like me, however, you get excited about new ideas, new plots, and new characters! So excited that you have to tell somebody about it, otherwise you might explode. Here’s what I do:

Who’s in your corner?

Find people who already like you, your friends, family, social circle, church community, etc., and get them involved. When I first needed beta readers for my historical fiction novel, Cornelius: The Son of Peter, where did I go? I went to my friends and my church family. They were very excited for me and offered to read my work.

What’s going on around you?

Find local writer communities, check with your local libraries, and meet new people at coffee shops! I know this is a big step outside our comfort zone as reclusive writers, but I also know that this can be very good for you as a writer. This is called Networking, and it is very important to the business side of writing.

Hop out of your pond!

Find Conventions or conferences near you or maybe in a nearby state and take a leap! Go to these conventions, sit in on writing panels, and make new friends!

You’ve got this, and you’ve got great ideas that are worth being shared, I’m sure! Go find your people. Hey, maybe I’m one of your people! Feel free to chat with me here in the comments or over on X @ABTimothyAuthor, which is linked below! Or DM me on Instagram, also linked below!

Editing’s a Bore, Yo

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By: A.B. Timothy

The annoying process after…

Have you ever fought in an epic Nerf war? Maybe it was at a friend’s house or at your church for a youth night activity, tons of fun, right? Well, it is a blast (only a tiny pun intended), right up until the fight is over. The thousands of bullets have been shot, and many brave children have been riddled with the tickles of Nerf darts. Then starts the boring part. See, nobody can afford to throw away all those darts and go buy new ones, right? So, what happens? Well, you remember, you spend the next twenty minutes on your hands and knees recollecting all of those stinkers.

“But, A.B.!” I hear you cry, “We’re here to read about writing, not for you to relive your childhood.” And alright, here it is. Editing, a vital part of that writing process, is like those last twenty minutes of a Nerf war. You get on your mental hands and knees and start picking through the battlefield (pages of prose) and start cleaning (proofreading). What can you do to improve this? Well, you can study English deeper, go by a grammar textbook and maybe a book on storytelling, or two, and work on the pregame. This is like working on your aim; the less you miss, the less there is to clean up. Another option is to utilize a tool, like spell check or Grammarly, to help you proofread. I have found Grammarly to be extra useful as it will catch things that I had no idea about.

Commas…

I have an arch rivalry with the comma. I will forever be a step behind its dastardly designs. I will look at my document and mouse over a red error from Grammarly, only to see that it is pointing out a comma mistake. I have improved ever so slightly every time I have had to correct one of these mistakes, but every time I think I have figured it out, Grammarly will adjust its glasses, raise a finger, and say, “Umm, actually.” It has done so many times in this article alone!

How about you?

Tell me about your proofreading/editing misadventures in the comments below! Follow me on X @ABTimothyAuthor, follow me on Instagram (Both linked below), and subscribe to this page for daily blog posts!

The Long Walk: Movie Review

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This afternoon I went and saw the movie “The Long Walk” which is based on a book of the same name by Stephen King.

The movie takes place in a dystopian alternate America where a war took place, and the country is rebuilding. As part of the rebuilding efforts and in an attempt to get the populace back to work, the government offers its people the chance to put themselves, if they are under a certain age and male, into a lottery to join a death game called “The Long Walk.” In this year’s Long Walk, a group of four young men form a deep friendship and survive the walk together until the end. Will they best the treacherous asphalt, or will they all fall to the Major’s bullets?

This movie follows Cooper Hoffman as Raymond Garraty from the moment he is dropped off by his mother at the starting line until the end of the game. He is pushed to his limits and beyond by the 300+ mile trek he makes alongside a band of other contestants who call themselves the Musketeers. This group includes Peter Jonsson as Peter McVries, Ben Wang as Hank Olsen, and Tut Nyuot as Arthur Baker. These four young men, joined by 46 other boys, one from each of the states around the country, are tasked with walking until there is only one of them left. They do just that. There is horror, suspense, thrill, and adventure as the walk unfolds across the 108-minute runtime.

The Mastermind of the game, “The Major”, is played very menacingly by Mark Hamill, of Star Wars and DC fame. The Major has had a run-in with two of the boys’ families in the past, namely, our main character, Raymond’s father, was shot and killed by the Major himself when Raymond was just a boy. This lends to the main character’s motivation of Raymond.

The Long Walk, in the universe of the movie, has been going on for many years and is seen as mundane and even entertaining by many of the residents of this dystopian America. Each year when the last boy is found standing, he is given one wish and a massive cash prize. It is with this wish that Raymond hopes do something that will lead to the downfall of this Major’s regime and stop the games for good, despite it being clearly stated in the rules that the wish cannot be used to directly change any of the State’s standing legal policy.

How many of the musketeers make it to the end? What is Raymond’s wish? Who will go the furthest and last the longest? Find out in “The Long Walk.”

I would definitely recommend this movie for any Stephen King fan or fans of good, thrilling action movies. There is a lot of language, and so if that bothers you, maybe stay away. If it had not been for the language, this movie would have been given a higher score, but as it stands now, this movie is a:

8.5/10

Late September Update!

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Goals!

Based on the goals I set for myself in this post. Here are the progress bars so far!

Blog Goals

Blog Articles
70%
Short Stories
32%
Subscribers
40%

Book Goals

Great Mage Book #1 10k words
28%
Sci-Fi Outline
0%
TSoAS Outline
75%

Subscribe

Subscribe here on my blog with a word press account or follow me over on X to follow the development of my next book!

Love in Literature: Xenia

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According to Wikipedia, there are 6 words for love in the Greek language. Each of them deserves to be looked at as we, that being western authors, often find our perceptions of love colored by the different categories outlined by these six words.

Part 6: Xenia

This kind of love is the love of strangers. Talked about in the Old Testament, maybe not by name but by implication, this is the love you show strangers journeying through your lands. This is the kind of love that you show when a tourist asks you to take their photo in front of a national landmark. Its true purpose is to show a kind of love and loyalty for your own nation. You, in that moment, are a representative of your people. When people claim that Europeans, for example, are rude, likely this is because the individuals they met, while in Europe, who implicitly represent their fellow countrymen, were rude.

Have you ever heard of the term “Southern Hospitality”? Well, this would be a good example of Xenia. I can’t honestly think of any examples of this in literature, but maybe a counterexample. In the Wiki article ,the writer mentions the suitors of Penelope in the Odyssey. They were cruel to the king when he returned from his voyage, and some say that their subsequent demise is a result of their lack of Xenia.

How might you show Xenia, or write a story about someone showing Xenia? Let me know in the comments below, or @ mention me in a post on X @ABTimothyAuthor

Love in Literature: Philautia

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According to Wikipedia, there are 6 words for love in the Greek language. Each of them deserves to be looked at as we, that being western authors, often find our perceptions of love colored by the different categories outlined by these six words.

Part 5: Philautia

This kind of love is discussed very rarely, from what I can tell, in modern fiction. Usually modern fiction is all about the hero versus the world and the loves that come from that, i.e. Agape, Eros, or Philia. However, just like the very scarcely discussed “Storge” we looked at yesterday, Philautia is a vital component of love.

“GET ON WITH IT.” I here you crying, alright, I will. Philautia is self-love. Mental health is a parallel you could draw to modern fiction. Much fiction today has their characters struggle with their mental health but it is rarely viewed as a form of love. Vin in Mistborn, is an example of a modern character who struggles with her self-image and mental health. Over the course of the series this is a roadblock, but it is also an eventual moment of triumph for the character. In the Bible we are taught that too much love of the self is a bad thing. In fact any love of the flesh is sin, according to the Bible, however we are also reminded that we are children of the Father who creates us with dignity, love, and respect, and it’s through Him we can learn to love the right parts of ourselves.

How does your character struggle with mental health, do they? Or is that part of their character? Maybe your character is so well put together mentally their mission in life is to help others figure out how to love themselves. Lets talk about it in the comments below or mention me with a post over on X @ABTimothyAuthor

Love in Literature: Storge

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According to Wikipedia, there are 6 words for love in the Greek language. Each of them deserves to be looked at as we, that being western authors, often find our perceptions of love colored by the different categories outlined by these six words.

Part 4: Storge

This kind of love, Storge, while rarely used in the ancient texts we have a pretty good understanding of what it means. This is a love or affection for someone usually the love shared between parents and their children. It can be used in other ways, ironically by referring to a “loving” tyrant, or even to describe the affection someone has for their favorite sports team.

This kind of love is an interesting one and we see it a lot in coming of age stories. The way it is showcased, however, is not always positive. In Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, the first book The Lightning Thief has a scene where Percy’s mother is killed by the Minotaur after she distracts it for enough time for Percy and his friend to escape to the safety of the mystical Camp Half-Blood. This is, in some ways, representative of Agape love, sure, but it is also Stoge, this is the love a mother has for her son, which is different than the sacrificial love of a friend.

God has this kind of love toward us, His creation too. We are the children of God and in many ways God has to act as our loving Father. This love is not always positive, puppies, and rainbows, however much we might want it to be. Sometimes it is sending us away when we reject Him. What is more loving? A: You lock your son in his room where he has a veritable paradise but hates you and doesn’t want to live with you? Or B: You know your son is going to fail but you choose to let them choose to walk away from you. Most of us would say B, right? That is the love of a parent.

Who loves your hero as a parent might love their child? Does your hero have adopted parents perhaps, like Superman? Or does he maybe have parents that are misguided but love him in their misguided way, like in my fantasy world? Let me know in the comments below, or by mentioning me in a post on X @ABTimothyAuthor