J.P.'s Exemplary Stories

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels Writer’s block. That horror of horrors, that hideous beast writers live in terror of… Despite numerous people insisting there is no such thing, the truth is that sometimes, we writers get a little stuck on ideas.  Like… Really stuck.  Like, bang-head-on-wall-twenty-times stuck.  Yeah, writer’s block isn’t pretty, and can lead to insanity, staring at the screen (or typewriter, or blank sheet of paper, or napkin) for hours on end, excessive social media usage, researching random things on the internet, procrastination, or even wanting to give up writing altogether.  If you experience any of the above symptoms, please consult the below headline for a brain recharge. Try a brainstorm “Yeah, yeah,” you say. “I’ve tried that. Goodbye, J.P.. I’m off to find a better blog!”  Okay, fair enough. That title is rather vague. What I meant to say was,  Try a successful brainstorm “What?” You...

Photo by Shawn Renza from Pexels Hi there, and welcome to J.P.'s Exemplary Stories, where we review stories that may just become your next great find! Book cover from Goodreads.com Today's review is of Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. You can buy it in paperback on Amazon here On Kindle here Apple Books here And on Google Books here . General information One-sentence summary: A seventeen-year-old girl is cursed by a wicked witch to become an old woman, and must find a way to break the curse on herself by conspiring with a cranky fire demon. Genre: Fantasy romance Chapters:  Twenty-one Movie: Yes, an anime by Studio Ghibli. You can find it on Amazon here . To my knowledge, the movie is not on iTunes. Lead (point-of-view) character: Sophie, a seventeen-year-old girl cursed by the Wicked Witch of the Waste to look like, act like, and feel like an old woman. My thoughts What I liked:  I loved all the many character...

Photo by Ylanite Koppens from Pexels With November just around the corner, writers around the world are scrambling to prep themselves for the beast known as NaNoWriMo. Maybe you're one of those crazy-yet-admirable people. In that case, here's a guide to preparing yourself for NaNoWriMo. (For those of you short on time, there's an infographic at the bottom of the page that summarizes the post.) Plan I think I hear a bunch of pantsers groaning in the back. Not to fear--when I say plan, I don't just mean your novel. I mean everything . Okay, maybe you can fear a little. Nonetheless, plan everything if you're able. Exercise, meals, doctor's appointments--whatever can be planned for that month, plan. Try, if you're able, to plan in time blocks as well. For instance, if you think that your weekly family game night takes about two hours, then schedule that in your planner. Every bit of time counts during NaNoWRiMo, and even half an hour can mak...

Welcome, one and all! Photo by Maria Tyutina from Pexels This is a new blog; one blog to rule them all, one blog to find them, one blog to bring them all, and in the darkness, bind them... No, wait, I'm thinking about something else.  Well, now that I've done my tired old joke, I suppose that I'll finally tell you this blog's purpose in the Internet. Its purpose is... To find and post about amazing stories that touch people's lives. They don't have to be novels. Hey, they don't even have to be films or video games. The stories that I write about can be anything from a high-speed fantasy series to a single-line poem.   The stories on here won't necessarily be current or well-received by modern audiences. You, reader, might even find some grade-school favorites on here. What matters is how well the story is written. When considering a story for this blog, things looked at will be: Is the story engaging? Does it fulfill ...