Jeffrey Alexander Martin

Relaxing and refreshing, that's how I would characterize the Left to Write writers' group. It's a good way for me to pull myself out of my own head and reconnect with the world. Here was the prompt this week: - - - - - - - Take the following words and construct a story plot around them. Use them in any order. Describe a short plot summary. Try to add something: Characters, locations, subplots, details, twists. The more you add, the more colorful your story will become. The only rule is that you must use all of the words. Slashes mean you can pick between words. Suitcase – traffic jam – star – contract–stairs/piano/autograph– apple - - - - - - - Oh boy! I was a bit scared. My plotting is the process of stumbling forward. I try to console myself that walking is the process of falling without hitting your face. You do this by leaning forward and then catching yourself with your feet. When you run, you lean more. It sounds good to say I do the same thing wit

I've had more opportunities than most. I've let many slip through my hands. Nevertheless, I create more. I remember the first time that I realized creating your own opportunities was unusual. I wanted to get a glimpse into the world of real estate when I was in high school. I was going to the Muskegon Area Career Technical Center for marketing and accounting. I went to the office and inquired into doing a real estate internship, how that would work, and if they could help me with it. This was not a normal inquiry and the woman was quite excited about it. I suspect that her normal job was boring and she was happy to break up the monotony with something new and interesting. I did the real estate internship in the summer between my junior and senior year of high school. I still remember one of my classmates, Aaron, asking how I was able to arrange unique things like that, because it wasn't my first unique activity. I'm not sure I even answered him, I'm sure tha

What should we work on first? There are three main options: the first scene, bringing the two other main characters into the story, or working on the whole plot. Exactly how the whole plot will come together hasn't been worked out yet. I think I have some good ideas for introducing Brute and the girl. Our two main characters will need to travel through something that they don't want to because it would be dangerous, like a dark forest. They find a way around this, an airship/zeppelin/dirigible balloon/aerostat, whatever you want to call it. Chuck wants one included because his company is Aership Interactive. The problem is that this airship is parked on top of a castle. This isn't horrible because the castle doesn't have too many guards. But, there is one - Brute. There is a whole history that goes with him and his race, and an absent king. That's for another time. Somehow they are able to recruit Brute to their side, they steal the airship and take off. But,

Today we have a band that is quickly gaining popularity. Lucky for us they were helpful enough to give me some insight into their inspiration for a specific song. Collision of Innocence was formed at the beginning of 2018. Bill from 88.9 Hey Radio messaged me and wanted me to take a look at their song "The Void". It's an excellent song, but I wasn't able to find the lyrics anywhere. So, I messaged the band on Facebook. Not only did they send me the lyrics, they also told me that the inspiration for the song had come from a message by Billy Graham. I have all of that for you, then I'll dive into the song myself and see what I pull out of it. You can listen to the song on Youtube here:  https://youtu.be/QlRBXG5ZYwc And, here is their Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/collisionofinnocence/ Ever wonder about the secrets of making connections like these? Here's how I do it, in a straightforward manner. No matter what happens there won't be comp

I'm writing a comic book. Here's how it happened. I was at a 5X5 meeting in Muskegon, Michigan, that's a uniquely structured venture capital seed fund. It's fun to go watch the presentations. I saw a few people that I know: a guy that I used to work with at Muskegon Community College who I found out was an original founder of the Muskegon Inventors Network, a guy that I went to a political training course with in Grand Rapids a few years ago, and Michelle. I know Michelle through Toastmasters. She thought it was funny that I was an English teacher and writer and that I would write the shortest notes when I gave feedback on speeches. She was a judge at the venture capital fund meeting and asked me how my writing was going. I told her about the stories I'm editing for "Horror Without Borders", the weekly article I'm writing for 88.9 Hey Radio, the speeches I'm writing for the Potter in the Park festival, and a few more things I'm working o

I'll be giving speeches at Potter in the Park this year. That's a Harry Potter festival held in Sparta, Michigan. I'm the Professor of Muggle Studies. It's awesome! (Muggles are non-magical people.) How did I get this position? I wrote a couple of articles on Harry Potter, which is an interest of mine. One of them was noticed by Rebecca, the woman that organizes the event. She contacted me and asked me if I wanted to be involved. Of course I said yes! Then we had to figure out how I would be involved. There were really only two good options, I could either do writing or public speaking. She had been wanting to have a Professor of Muggle Studies for a few years anyway. It worked out perfectly. We worked out that I'll be speaking from the main stage. I've stood in that audience before and it's possible that it gets into the hundreds of viewers at a single time. Presenters on things like owls who have participated in previous years will have priority, so