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The Bibliotheca

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When Opportunity Knocks . . .

Posted by The Novelist Called Nuile , Aug 26 2012 · 78 views

You make lemonade.

Opportunities are funny things; they call them chances because, indeed, opportunity relies a little upon chance. At times they'll come when you least want them, at others they won't come when you do. And they always say when an opportunity presents itself, seize it; I say, present yourself to an opportunity and let it seize you.

As an example, the other night I was toying with a dismembered Phantoka Makuta body and observed non-sequitur to my brother, "Has it ever happened to you that someone opened their chest to eat you?"

"No, to be honest, I don't think it's an occurrence I have ever encountered."

"Do you think you ever will?"

"No, I don't."

So then and there I seized each breast of my shirt, tore it open, and with the open chest consumed his head.

Take this illustration under advisement, and glean what lessons you can. Opportunity is not to be overlooked, but one should never just wait around for chance to strike, either.

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

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Riddle Me This, BZP

Posted by The Novelist Called Nuile , Aug 21 2012 · 129 views

Today, all the cars on the road were disco dancing.

How . . . and why?

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

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The Wisdom of the Humble Spider

Posted by The Novelist Called Nuile , Aug 19 2012 · 138 views

For the past few weeks, cradled gently in the center of a modest web, an arachnid has hung in my writing window. I have watched him, day after day, week after week, setting upon the prey that flies unwittingly into his net, or rocking in the breeze. I have seen the dew drops hang from each glistening strand in the growing sunlight. I have watched the great care with which he tends his home, strengthening and expanding it diurnally with fresh threads of silk, or carefully cutting loose fallen leaves that drifted to his front door.

But I have also witnessed the hardships which he endures for his precious homestead. I have seen it torn apart by wind, only to be reconstructed and reinforced. I have seen him repairing the damages made by globules of rain. Perhaps most impressive was the rainstorm that hit us last night. The rain was torrential, and when I went to bed there was neither sign of silk nor spider, and I was afraid the poor fellow had finally given up the ghost. I did not expect to see him again.

But when I looked late night morn, there he was, nestled with great pride at the center of his largest, strongest and most ornate web yet, each strand glimmering majestically in the sunlight. I think there's a lot to be said for this little crawly who might not, after all, be quite so creepy. And I think he says it all himself through his valor and perseverence.

Though difficult his task be; yet he does it anyway. Though it will all have to be done again; yet he does it anyway. Though delicate his dwelling be, though perilous his life be; yet he never desponds and he never gives up. He just keeps on working with great personal esteem for what he does. And after each job well done, he revels in the simple glories of the sunrise and sunset, the simple joys of each meal when the wait for it is over. To him his web is not a bane, but a pleasure; a source of great happiness. It may be the life allotted to him, it may be the only life he knows; but does that not mean, consequentially, that it is the only life he loves and enjoys?

I think from the conduct of this small creature there is a great lesson to be learned in many ways. And I think that, when next we roll up that newspaper or brandish that fly swatter, we might all do well to pause and reconsider the action we are about to take. How much more magnanimous it would be to fetch a glass and slip of paper, and to carefully relocate the creature to the outdoors, where he will be out of our hair, and we out of its. After all: if we cannot be kind in the small things . . . how can we be in the big?

Postscript. The most ironic twist of fate has just been played on me to further ingrain in me this lesson. After writing this whole entry, with a few mistaken clicks I deleted in its entirety, along with quite a bit more work that I had done. At first I was very frustrated, but as soon as I realized the hypocrite I was being, I could not help but laugh at myself. And you know what? It was my pleasure to write it all the first time, and it was to do so again. That--that is the wisdom of the humble spider.

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

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The Opening of the Book

Posted by The Novelist Called Nuile , Aug 14 2012 · 94 views

As the cover lifts off the precious pages, among the first things you see in any book are the various credits. It is only fair, therefore, as a first order of business to give credit where it is due. For my Premier Membership I owe my thanks entirely to GSR and his giveaway. The drawing ended, as GSR explained to me, with my name in the fourth slot, and there were only three prizes. However, after over two weeks of inactivity and failure to claim his prize, one of the winners was disqualified, and I found it my deferred fortune to be the recipient of one single-year Premier Membership.

We can all, I think, bring our hands together to applaud GSR's munificence. Thank you, sir!

Without, then, any further ado, allow me to introduce to you myself: Nuile, the Lunatic Wordsmith. First and foremost, I write. That's my passion, my life. The opportunity to breathe the worlds of my imagination onto paper, to venture to faraway places both real and fantastic, and to fraternize with the studies that inhabit them; that's what I live for. Though most people think of reading as an escape, I think of it as a window: a looking-glass that, by taking you through worlds non-existent, reveals the true world beneath the superficial one. For so many reasons, in so many ways, I love to write.

That being of greatest import, I imagine you have read one or the other or both of my profiles, which leaves but little to be said. I can only hope that over the ensuing twelve months that you will stay with me, as it is my humble belief that you may just find yourself entertained by the ravings of this wordsmith.

Until next time,

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

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Dramatis Personae

Nuile

A young man with his feet on the ground and his head in the sky, and an inclination to implement the occasional headstand.

Nuile, Wordsmith

Penman of a number of BIONICLE and Neopets short stories, as well as three epics, based respectively on the aforementiond and Avatar: The Last Airbender. This writer has also penned a full-length mystery novel, a work in progress pending final revisions and publication.

More than that, the BZPower League of Authors was his brainchild, which he has developed into the Ambage with the help of Velox, Cederak and 55555. This refuge and practice arena for writers is open to all with a penchant for the literary arts.

Nuile, Bibliophile

For him to select a favorite book, or a favorite writer, would be impossible. But of the latter, he most admires Dame Agatha Christie, Wilkie Collins, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Harper Lee, C.S. Lewis, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Sinclair Lewis. Favorite books he includes in this chart:

To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)

The Moonstone (Collins)

Murder on the Orient Express, Death in the Clouds, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, The Clocks (Christie)

The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Lost World (Doyle)

Out of the Silent Planet (C.S. Lewis)

Free Air (Sinclair Lewis)

The Bat (Hopwood and Rinehart)

The Nine Tailors (Sayers)

Nuile, Cinéaste

This fellow thinks the world begins and ends with Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Before its birth, however, he confesses that Sam Raimi and David Koepp's Spider-Man, Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer's Batman Begins, the Indiana Jones series, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Mary Poppins were films more than worthy of watching.

Nuile, Television Viewer

The Dick Van Dyke Show by far surpasses any television show produced prior or hence. Father Knows Best, Leave it to Beaver and The Andy Griffith Show are excellent series from a similar time frame. MacGyver is hard to beat. Diagnosis Murder, Monk and Murder, She Wrote are his favorite mystery series. In animation he most enjoys Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequel; Batman: The Animated Series alongside Batman Beyond and The Batman; Phineas and Ferb, one of the most creatively funny cartoons he has ever seen.

Nuile, Cuisinier

Asian and Italian foods may be his enthusiasms, but he's not above a juicy burger or a spicy taco. As far as his own cooking, he oft gets more adventurous than his family appreciates, though when he behaves he can conjure a reason for your taste buds to celebrate. By far his favorite meal: Thanksgiving 2011, consisting of Paula Dean's Indian Succotash, Grean Bean Casserole, Orange Corn Bread, Bacon Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Coconut Biscuits, and Mashed Cauliflower and Potatoes.

Nuile, Musicologist

He pleads guilty to sheer ignorance, unworthy even of being called an amateur in this department. But dramatic scores and profound lyrics top his charts. The Impossible Dream from The Man of La Mancha and I Can Go the Distance as performed by Michael Bolton are cited as his two favorite songs, amidst much of Celtic Thunder's work.

Nuile, Gamer

Disney's Epic Mickey, the Kingdom Hearts series, and the Pokémon series are the only video games he considers worthy of notation.

Nuile, Sportsman

As fast on his feet as he is between the ears, he enjoys games of muscle and of strategy. Physically, he likes most to play football; but nothing beats a game of chess in his book.

The Art of Writing

It is my belief that a writer should be above human emotions, desires, vices, flaws; a writer should be almost superhuman, something like a monk. However, like monks, this is not an attribute that comes naturally, rather an ability that must be worked at.

More tangibly, one of the most important characteristics a writer can possess is tenacity. An artist's life is never an easy one. An artist presents themself to the world, and ineluctably there will be critics alongside the fans. But anyone who knows real love won't let it be quelled by what others think. Never give up, never despond. So maybe nobody's perfect; I'm not, and I never will be. But an artist, like a monk, is one who always strives to improve her- or himself, who never ceases to reach for the unreachable. Every amelioration is an achievement. And every day a writer achieves something merely by writing, for every word written is a word toward amelioration. If you are good, you can always be better; if you are great, you can always be greater.

What matters most for writers is that they take pride in their own own work. Ultimately your biggest fan and your biggest critic is yourself, and that's who you have to please the most. No artist truly passionate about their art does what they do for someone's approval or just to get paid. At the heart of every artist is a person who does what they do because they love to do it. I'm an artist; I'm a writer. I don't stop trying to get better, I don't stop striving for perfection--but I enjoy every step of the amelioration process, I appreciate every improvement, and I am always happy with where I am, yet always be eager about where I'm going. Writing is a journey with no destination. Writing is a quest without end. Writing is spiritual nomadism.

And it's not easy. It's frought with difficulty, trouble, disappointment, and grief--but a journey without end gives its reward not in the destination but in every step of the path.

Yet I have not even touched upon just what a writer is; which is because a writer, simply put, is everything. A writer is an artist, but also a psychologist, and a logician, a philosopher, a scientist, an adventurer, an inventor, a politician, a magician, and multitudinous others. A writer is everything because they write about everything. "Write what you know"; that's not the rule I live by. "Know what you write," that's my creed. Writers know a little about everything, and everything about a little. And when they don't know . . . they read!

That's a writer's life. It's the kind of life I love. It's a wonderful gift. A writer's life is the kind of life I live and always will live. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

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Quotations

"The problem with putting two and two together, is that sometimes you get four, and sometimes you get twenty-two." - Sam Spade, The Maltese Falcon (Dashiell Hammett)

"Virtue is the truest nobility." - Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote

"Our greatest foes, and whom we must chiefly combat, are within." - Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote

"We derive our vitality from our store of madness." - E. M. Ciran

"Cultivate a superiority to reason and see how you pare the claws of all the sensible people when they try to scratch you for your own good!" - Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone

"Though knowledge and logic may not always steer you right, faith and wisdom will never fail." - Me, Stellar Quest

"I'm like an old golf ball--I've had all the white paint knocked off me long ago. Life can whack me about now and it can't leave a mark. But a sportin' risk, young fellah, that's the salt of existence. Then it's worth livin' again. We're all gettin' a deal too soft and dull and comfy. Give me the great wastelands and the wide spaces, with a gun in my fist and somethin' to look for that's worth findin'." - Lord John Roxton, The Lost World, (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"Why does man create? Is it man's purpose on earth to express himself, to bring form to thought, and to discover meaning in experience? . . . Or is it just something to do when he's bored?" - Calvin, Calvin and Hobbes

"Sometimes I think books are the only friends worth having." - Susie Derkins, Calvin and Hobbes

"Mother Nature never shocks me." - Melvin Coolie
"It sure must've shocked your father and mother!" - Buddy Sorrell, The Dick Van Dyke Show

"Hey, I know what that is! That's one of those old creamation urns, they put the ashes inside." - Rob Petrie
"Ugh! I wouldn't be caught dead in one of those." - Buddy Sorrell, The Dick Van Dyke Show

"I wish I was one of those Danish doctors." - Rob Petrie
"How would that help?" - Laura Petrie
"Well, it wouldn't, except I'd be in Denmark instead of here." Rob Petrie, The Dick Van Dyke Show

"What's the big deal? Lots of people have insomnia, and you don't see them losing any sleep over it!" - Grandpa, The Munsters

"Anyone who sees a psychiatrist ought to have their head examined!" - Darrin Stevens, Bewitched

[9:26:46 PM] Aimee: it is so adorable how authors have favorite authors
[9:27:25 PM] Andrew P: You're an author. You have favorite authors. =P
[9:27:39 PM] Aimee: yes and i get to talk to them on skype all day
- A Geste of the Ambage Chat

Awards

Posted Image

Some random air-head decided to be pompous and condescending and "honor" me with his approbation. I guess there's a pride of some sort in being recognized by the mentally unsound. It makes me feel special--or weird, one of those two. Thanks, Tekulo!

The Bibliotheca

When Opportunity Knocks . . .

Riddle Me This, BZP

The Wisdom of the Humble Spider