Writing Exercise Based on Minecraft

I’ve become a bit of a fan of Minecraft, thanks to my daughter. I enjoy the creative aspect of it, and have challenged myself to build multiple towns and even cities. Not only do I play the game, I record myself doing so. If you want to see my successes and failures, you can check out my channel. It’s called Dad Plays Minecraft for obvious reasons. I play Minecraft, my daughter is not involved.

So, I’m an adult who plays Minecraft. Aren’t I too old for a game like this? Well, I wrote an article on gamers.media (part of vocal.media) about this, and I’d like you to tell me what you think about it in the comments below. That will explain why I play it, and why I think it’s perfectly fine for adults to play it.

But the purpose of this post is to talk about writing. Yes, that’s right, I’m talking about writing for the first time in a long time on this blog. Sounds like I’m reviving it, doesn’t it? I had this idea for a while now, and I’ve found that I keep thinking about a background story and lore for my Minecraft world. It’s a fantasy story, and I’ve been thinking about writing a series on this blog in a diary/journal style related to each episode of my video series. Not only can you watch the video, but you can read what the character is writing in a journal about his journey and adventures. In a way, it reminds me of Myst.

I’d like to know what you think of this idea, as I’d love to see it get off the ground and turn into an interesting first person account of his life in a strange, wonderful world. Let me know in the comments section below what you think of this idea.

What Is Going On?

So, it’s been a while. I’ve just been quite busy with so many things. And yes, I do plan on getting back into this blog. But one thing that has been interesting to see is how much the blog has been viewed recently.

Since November 12, 2018, the number of views has dramatically increased. Why? Because of a single blog post, one I wrote about citrus fruit and how most of them are hybrids. Kind of an unusual thing for a writing blog to have go viral. In November, there were nearly 5,000 views, which is higher than any other month ever on this blog. Since then, it’s been averaging more than 2,500 views per month, a level not seen since 2016, when I was posting daily. Very interesting to see how things have been going while I haven’t been posting.

But I intend to be back, though the next month or two are quite hectic for me, as I’m working far more than usual.

Other than that, I have been doing some online things, particularly on YouTube. One of the things I’ve been doing is an ESL channel, which I just started. Only one lesson is up so far, but more will be coming. And because I’ve been quite busy, I needed an outlet for something a bit more fun, so I’ve been playing Minecraft and uploading my gameplay to YouTube. This actually requires minimal editing, and is quite easy to do. You can check out that channel and see what I’m doing there. I’ll have a post shortly about that channel, as well.

What have you been up to? Let me know in the comments!

What’s Happening? A Lot!

My current mood: motivated!

What exactly does this mean? Well, I do have a lot of plans, and I’m actually getting them figured out. You may be wondering what the plans are. And do they have anything to do with this blog?

Short answer: Yes. And No.

I’m sure you want the long answer, don’t you? Well, let’s go through everything.

This Blog

Blog posting is returning. There’s been a severe lack of posts after a long time of posting daily. My focus on this blog is books and writing, and I will be getting back into that. I intend on writing a bit at a time in my works-in-progress, but also on this blog. What’s returning soon is Read the World, which is also connected to my YouTube channel. I will also be working on more world building. Book reviews will come, but I’ve been reading unbelievably slowly lately. I don’t take the bus to work anymore. I drive. I can’t read while driving.

You may be wondering about Authors Answer, as well. I’d like to get back into it, but probably not until the New Year. And I have three questions that I still haven’t posted yet. I really should do that!

Another thing that will continue is the Star Trek Project, where I review and nitpick every episode of Star Trek. I’d been doing video versions, as well, but I think I will discontinue that and focus on blog posts only. But that leads me to…

Booktube

My main self-named YouTube channel is a booktube channel, where I talk about books. I haven’t been uploading many videos there recently, either. But I’m getting back into it, and I will be recording regularly again. I’m also just two subscribers shy of 800. What’s coming soon on that channel is the continuation of Read the World, more reviews, more Authors Answer, more discussions, and more live streams. Live streams are difficult to plan, unfortunately, but I’ll do them when I can.

But this isn’t the only YouTube channel I have. I have two others at the moment, and one has had some recent uploads. But I’m going to be adding a fourth channel soon! Let’s take a look at them.

Tommy and Dad

This is my vlog/adventure/fun channel I share with my six year old daughter. She loves being in front of the camera, and absolutely loves YouTube. She wants to be a YouTube star. I won’t tell her that she will be, as she understands that it’s extremely unlikely. But we have fun with the channel, anyway. We’ve been visiting some places recently, and I’ve been putting together some videos about our experiences. In the future, we’ll be doing toy reviews, and when I eventually get a new computer that’s capable of playing some decent games, we’ll have some Minecraft Let’s Play videos. Some will be mine, some hers. She’ll probably want to play some Roblox, too.

Science: Not Just a Theory

I also have a science channel I haven’t been updating recently. But that’s going to change. Every second week, I’ll be uploading a new video on that channel. I will be focusing a lot on space and astronomy, but also on other science topics. I have a series in planning stages about the future of space exploration on each planet. I also have a Patreon page that has been underutilized, but I will be putting up some worthwhile perks for anyone who wants to be a Patron. No link right now, as I’d like to revamp the entire thing.

English Lessons on YouTube

And finally, the new channel. This channel will relate a lot to my job, as I am an English teacher (again!). The channel exists, but nothing is on it yet. I will be uploading English lessons every two weeks focusing on anything from grammar to vocabulary and for levels from beginner to advanced. I will also be starting a Patreon page for this where I will offer pdf downloads for the lessons, including worksheets. I will also be offering one on one lessons via Skype for those who contribute more. Eventually, there will be an eBook available for purchase, though Patrons will get a significant discount.

Does it sound like I’ll be busy? Sure, but the number of videos produced per week will be less than what I was making a year ago. I’ll be spending more time on the editing aspects of videos, though my booktube videos don’t require much in the way of fancy effects.

Is there anything you’re looking forward to? Let me know in the comments!

So Much Happening!

I am not dead! But I feel like I’ve mostly disappeared from a lot of social media, though I do talk on Twitter and Facebook regularly. I have news, though. And this is something I’ve been hoping for since returning to Canada from Japan.

I won’t be mysterious about this. I’ve returned to teaching English! I taught English for 11 years in Japan, and now I’m starting again in Canada. The focus is on business people this time, and I’ll have to help develop a lot of the curriculum, so it’s going to be an interesting challenge.

Due to the hours of this job, I have less opportunity to record videos, unfortunately. And since I got a new car last month, my commute isn’t a one hour bus ride. Unfortunately, I get less time for reading, because I often read on my commute. I’ll figure out ways to get reading in, and I might do it during lunch breaks.

I still have so much I want to do: write, read, make videos. I’ll find the time for them all. And this blog, too. When I was living in Japan, this was my big project. This was my baby (other than my daughter). I devoted a lot of time on this blog, and there is absolutely no way I would let it die. While I’m settling into my new job, I’ll probably be busy with preparations, but once everything is routine, I’ll have time to get back to everything I enjoy doing. I know I’ve said I’d be back to blogging earlier this year, but I found I was getting tired and unmotivated about so many things. Now, I feel energy again. I’m definitely back, and soon!

Writing and Editing Services on Fiverr

Has anyone ever used Fiverr for anything? It’s a great way to find cheap and quick services for just about anything, from creating logos to getting voiceovers to editing services. Well, I’ve joined Fiverr.

I’m now offering a couple of services. One is blog and article writing. With my experience in blogging and writing articles, if you’d like my services, then please check out my gig on writing.

The other service is proofreading and editing. I will track edits, correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and smooth out those awkward sentences. I will not change content or tone, though. I’ve had plenty of experience editing and proofreading in my time as an English teacher, as we offered those services. I have edited a book (and parts of other books), magazine articles, and even scientific papers. My offers are for 1000, 2000, or 5000 word documents, though it can be customized. And since I’m familiar with both American and British spelling, I can adapt to either one. So, if you’re interested in my proofreading and editing services, check out that gig.

I’m dedicated to doing these jobs accurately and with a quick turnaround time.

The Problem With Social Media

I have a very specific problem with social media. And it has a lot to do with why I stopped doing VEDA. I was so motivated about posting a video every day in April, but then one of social media’s most irritating problems interfered.

In recent months, YouTube has been tweaking things in their search algorithms, as well as how they push out videos to people. It’s the latter issue I have problems with. You see, they changed how subscribers see videos of channels they subscribe to. When you click on the subscribe button for a channel, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll see each and every video of theirs as they’re published on the subscription feed.  This has been verified by several of my subscribers, saying that they saw only a few of my videos or even none of my VEDA videos in their subscription feed. I talk about it in this video:

And you know what? I checked for myself if I’m receiving all videos of people I subscribe to, and I’m not. There are some very popular channels I subscribe to that I’m not seeing in my subscription feed, either.

But you know, YouTube isn’t the only place I have problems with their feeds. On Facebook, it defaults to Top Stories, which are often stories I’ve already read, and I never see posts from the majority of people I’m friends with. The option to see most recent posts is still there, but it never defaults to it. I want to see most recent.

On Instagram, it has some algorithm that shows what Instagram thinks I want to see. It used to show the most recent, but now there isn’t even an option for that. I miss most of the pictures of people I follow.

On Twitter, they all seem quite random, rather than showing most recent.

Social media, can you please just let us see all posts in chronological order? Please?

E Is for Environment Minister

Silly days of the week. They go sequentially don’t they? I missed a day yesterday, and posted The Doctor just before this post. But this one is on time!

For the A to Z Challenge, we move on to the letter E, and while there is an engineer in this story, it focuses more on the Environment Minister. But the engineer is a recurring character while the Environment Minister is not. And this is where things start to heat up! So, let’s find out what happened and you can also see what was going on in my head when I wrote this part:

If you want to keep up with the story on my YouTube channel, then please consider subscribing! And let me know what you thought about this part of the story.

D Is for Doctor

The alphabet is easy. The fourth letter is D. And it’s pretty easy to figure out a job that starts with D.

Last time, our carpenter had a mishap, and so he had to have someone check over his injury. Here is the Doctor! No, not from Doctor Who, but an actual medical doctor.

So, we continue the A to Z Challenge with the letter D and The Doctor. Check out the video of me reading my story, and then I talk a bit about some of the background.

If you’re interested in keeping up with the story as I release it, then please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel! I talk a lot about books, reading, writing, and even some science fiction. And let me know what you think in the comments below.

C Is for Carpenter

Part 3 is here for my reading of Ariadne! The letter C stands for Carpenter.

If you remember from my previous posts, I participated in the A to Z Challenge three years ago, and I wrote a flash fiction series based on the letters of the alphabet, each part representing a different profession. For the letter C, I chose carpenter.

On my YouTube channel, I decided to read the stories out and then discuss various aspects on what was going through my mind while I was writing. Who are the characters? What’s revealed about the world and my inspiration? Well, find out in the video!

If you have any comments, then please let me know down below.

B Is for Botanist

Oops! I missed a day. But here it is, this is part 2 of the Ariadne flash fiction series I did three years ago for the A to Z Challenge! You can see the full list of stories here.

In this part, I read the story, “The Botanist.” I also discuss the main character, Malika Said, and a bit more about the tree. Find out what I have to say about my writing thought process in the video:

If you’d like to keep up with the videos on my YouTube channel, then please consider subscribing.

And let me know what you thought about this part!