A Bit of Everything

Today I’m going to give you a bit of everything – personals, writing stuff, faith, etc. Mainly, it’s because a lot has been happening. So here goes.

This has been a long weekend.

Like, a very long weekend. And not too much fun. I was writing for most of it, but that’s not why it was not fun. It was not fun because, throughout the whole weekend, I was tired and stressed. And at first, I thought it was situational stuff that was dragging me down. Turns out that was not the case at all. Turns out I just needed to start hitting the hay before midnight. For some reason, it did not occur to me to be getting extra sleep for a job I have to wake up at six o’clock for. Don’t ask me why, I don’t know. So this is a public service announcement via Gabriel Penn: sleep is good! Even in summer!

In other news, this is what happened in that writing expedition. Forty pages got either written or edited over my weekend. Forty. That’s a lot, and it’s pushing us way closer to getting publishing possibilities way faster than I ever dreamed. It’s such a dream come true, you have no idea. I get emotional just thinking about it – to imagine that maybe someday soon someone’s going to love my characters and world as much as I do. I think that’s pretty awesome.

Lastly with faith – started Pilgrim’s Progress, as some of you know. What a book! It was incredibly intense, even from the get-go, and it just doesn’t stop. As for whether I’ll finish it by the end of the month, maybe not. But it is awesome, and I would suggest it to anyone and everyone. I don’t know if it’s just my version of the book, but it may be hard for some people to get used to the verses that scatter the story. Read them and don’t skip! It’s hard to get used to at first, but they make the scenes so much more intense. Seriously.

A concluding thought! We (the illustrator and I) are doing some model choosing for the novel’s drawings / photos. She doesn’t have as big of a reach for that as I do, though. We are welcoming people of all ethnic backgrounds for this one, as there are many different ethnic groups in the series. I don’t have much money to give because I’m in college, so please don’t expect any extravagant wealth if you decide to do this. Please contact me at officialgabrielpenn@gmail.com if you’re interested at all!

Please like us on Facebook (Novel and Blog) and follow on Twitter! And have a fantastic week!

Another Midnight Post

Alright, it’s time for another one of my midnight post. This one is less about book stuff and a lot more about just regular life. I realize I haven’t done one of these in a very long time. A lot of things happen in one summer. And I mean, a lot of things. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to make it this summer, but I was able to get a job. It’s not a bad one; I actually really enjoy it. I’m something of a tattoo artist for cars. It’s a sweet gig.

My parents let me stay at home and I don’t even have to pay rent.  that is the sweetest gig of all. Best yet, they have an empty desk in the basement. I can have all my references in one spot and it’s huge. Not that I really have any references that aren’t on my computer, but if I did I would have room for them. That is probably a huge problem. Probably. Will I do anything about it? Absolutely not.

I like to say that there some kind luxurious life of being a writer while at home and having nothing to do. But let’s face it, I’m a college student. If I have any free time I’m just going to watch Netflix and eating pasta. Maybe work out a little. Maybe. That’s actually probably going to be a thing this summer. Biking is cool. I’ve basically been biking four miles four times a week. It does get you some leg muscles and abs. I’ll be the only man who’s never skipped leg day.

NEVER.

But I will probably also never have an epic beach body and I don’t plan to. Making tone and defined muscle, it just takes so much time. I don’t desire to use that time regularly for such a purpose. Christian bodybuilders say things like “your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit”, so I should treat it like one. But what’s wrong with a temple with a little extra insulation? That’s my opinion on this silliness.

In other news, I’m probably going to have a semi-social life this summer. Weird, I know, since I just got off saying how I use all my free time for Netflix and eating pasta. It’s not totally true. I do the uncle thing with my nephews and nieces. That’s a wonderful and excellent opportunity. But also in recent news, a friend decided they were in need of a date because, well, she wanted to have one. And she’s cool. So I’m totes up for it.

I don’t really have anything more to add to this whole thing. So I’m going to rant a bit to finish it up and get it up to 500 words. I don’t know why I have such a crazy problem involving the need to make certain word counts. I just do. But to be honest, that little bit of crazy has made me who I am today.