So it turns out that Gilmore Girls is great to watch when I need to focus and get some serious work done. I should have known, it's what I used to do in college when I had a paper to write or an exam to study for. No idea why it works so well, but hey. So I'm back to making some serious progress on the book...I'm almost done with the history portion and get to move on the chemistry portion soon, followed by the pop culture portion and the theories and whatnot. I'm excited to get to those...not so much the chemistry because I kind of hate chemistry, but I can't wait to introduce you guys to the ways alchemy has been mentioned in pop culture that you would never guess at...
I do think that I need someone to write the forward to my book. I'm hoping I can get someone that will lend some credibility to the book in general, give it more of a fighting chance. I WISH I could get Deborah Harkness to do it, even though she's a fiction writer. Her book Discover of Witches gave me the original inspiration for the book, and the sequel that just came out sustained me and got me back on track. But even if I asked, it's probably a long shot. Anyone have any better ideas?
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Happy 4th (belated)
Well I hope everyone had a good fourth of July...in case you didn't know, those fireworks you enjoyed were originally invented by Chinese alchemists in their experimentation with chemicals and minerals to create the elixir of life. That's right...they are basically a by-product of someone trying to live forever.
I'm starting to get really excited about all the traffic the facebook page is getting (for those of you who haven't bothered looking yet, its https://www.facebook.com/AlchemyHistoryOfTheGreatSecret)! I thought I would feel the pressure of getting the book done and remembering to update my pages, but sometimes I have more fun updating then I would expect. It's kind of nice to know that even on the days I can't get motivated and I have writer's block, there are people speaking at least 10 different languages that like my page and are potentially anticipating more news about my book. I hope that's the case because I don't know about you, but I hardly ever pay attention to the little ads on the side of facebook...it takes something I'm really seriously interested in to get my attention. Not to mention, the stats say that people do return to look at the status updates and whatnot.
Well, no matter what facebook says, the truly dedicated people are the ones who bother to read my blog, which I'm sure gets tedious and annoying, and I promise the book is much better composed. The point is, if you bother reading this, thanks. You've earned a reward. A better preview of chapter four than I bothered putting on facebook or tumblr or twitter:
Unfortunately, the 14th century saw trouble for alchemists in Europe. Author’s like Dante Alighieri and Geoffrey Chaucer both depicted alchemists as liars and charlatans. In Dante’s Inferno, part of his larger work, The Divine Comedy, alchemy is mentioned by Griffolino and Capocchio as a way to define themselves.
“’I was a man of Arezzo,’” one replied,‘and Albert of Siena had me burned;But I am not here for the deed for which I died.It is true that jokingly I said to him once:‘I know how to raise myself and fly through air’;And he – with all the eagerness of a dunce –Wanted to learn. Because I could not makeA Daedalus of him – for no other reason –He had his father burn me at the stake.But Minos, the infallible, had me hurledHere to the final bolgia of the tenFor the alchemy I practiced in the world.’And I to the poet: ‘Was there ever a raceMore vain than the Sienese? Even the French,Compared to them, seem full of modest grace.’And the other leper answered mockingly:‘Excepting Stricca, who by careful planningManaged to live and spend so moderately;An Niccolo, who in his time aboveWas first of all the shoots in that rank gardenTo discover the costly uses of the clove;And excepting the brilliant company of talentsIn which Caccia squandered his vinyards and his woods,And Abbagliato displayed his intelligence.But if you wish to know who joins your cryAgainst the Sienese, study in my faceWith care and let it make its own reply.So you will see I am the suffering shadowof Caoocchio, who, by practicing alchemy,Falsified the metals, and you must know,Unless my mortal recollection straysHow good an ape I was of Nature’s ways.’”[i]
Both shades above mention alchemy directly, and the second mentions the falsification of metals – for which there were recipes in the Leyden Papyrus X, as referenced in chapter 1.
[i] This excerpt is from John Ciardi’s translation of Dante’s Inferno. It is Canto XXIX, lines 109-140.
I'm starting to get really excited about all the traffic the facebook page is getting (for those of you who haven't bothered looking yet, its https://www.facebook.com/AlchemyHistoryOfTheGreatSecret)! I thought I would feel the pressure of getting the book done and remembering to update my pages, but sometimes I have more fun updating then I would expect. It's kind of nice to know that even on the days I can't get motivated and I have writer's block, there are people speaking at least 10 different languages that like my page and are potentially anticipating more news about my book. I hope that's the case because I don't know about you, but I hardly ever pay attention to the little ads on the side of facebook...it takes something I'm really seriously interested in to get my attention. Not to mention, the stats say that people do return to look at the status updates and whatnot.
Well, no matter what facebook says, the truly dedicated people are the ones who bother to read my blog, which I'm sure gets tedious and annoying, and I promise the book is much better composed. The point is, if you bother reading this, thanks. You've earned a reward. A better preview of chapter four than I bothered putting on facebook or tumblr or twitter:
Unfortunately, the 14th century saw trouble for alchemists in Europe. Author’s like Dante Alighieri and Geoffrey Chaucer both depicted alchemists as liars and charlatans. In Dante’s Inferno, part of his larger work, The Divine Comedy, alchemy is mentioned by Griffolino and Capocchio as a way to define themselves.
“’I was a man of Arezzo,’” one replied,‘and Albert of Siena had me burned;But I am not here for the deed for which I died.It is true that jokingly I said to him once:‘I know how to raise myself and fly through air’;And he – with all the eagerness of a dunce –Wanted to learn. Because I could not makeA Daedalus of him – for no other reason –He had his father burn me at the stake.But Minos, the infallible, had me hurledHere to the final bolgia of the tenFor the alchemy I practiced in the world.’And I to the poet: ‘Was there ever a raceMore vain than the Sienese? Even the French,Compared to them, seem full of modest grace.’And the other leper answered mockingly:‘Excepting Stricca, who by careful planningManaged to live and spend so moderately;An Niccolo, who in his time aboveWas first of all the shoots in that rank gardenTo discover the costly uses of the clove;And excepting the brilliant company of talentsIn which Caccia squandered his vinyards and his woods,And Abbagliato displayed his intelligence.But if you wish to know who joins your cryAgainst the Sienese, study in my faceWith care and let it make its own reply.So you will see I am the suffering shadowof Caoocchio, who, by practicing alchemy,Falsified the metals, and you must know,Unless my mortal recollection straysHow good an ape I was of Nature’s ways.’”[i]
Both shades above mention alchemy directly, and the second mentions the falsification of metals – for which there were recipes in the Leyden Papyrus X, as referenced in chapter 1.
[i] This excerpt is from John Ciardi’s translation of Dante’s Inferno. It is Canto XXIX, lines 109-140.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Damn Research
Well, last night I finished chapter four and sent it off to Chris for editing.
EXCEPT...I was starting on chapter five today, and went back through the notes I made when I originally had the brain-child of my book...and found the name of a man that I had meant to look up, since his was a very interesting story. I was REALLY excited to have that much info to put in chapter five right of the bat, and then I saw the dates for his lifetime. Turns out, he belongs in chapter four. *facepalm*
So now here I am, reading back through my well-organized and completed chapter four, trying to figure out where to put him so that it makes sense chronologically and still sounds good. There is going to be some re-writing involved in this. UGH! One goofy looking dude from the 1300's and my plans for the night are screwed. At least there's plenty of information on him, so my chapter will be a tad bit longer.
In other news, I had another brain child. I seperated the first two chapters by country, and the third was about a very small geographic area. I know Europe is small...but I was thinking that instead of just doing an overview in two chapters I might divide the information into mini-chapters, and give one for each country that played a major role in the history of alchemy. This might take a lot more in-depth research though (and my research is already pretty in-depth and thorough), and might get kind of complicated. All the learned men who studied and/or practiced alchemy traveled around, so then what? Do I put them in the chapter for the country in which they were born or the one in which they died? Or the one in which they lived and did most of their life's work? Do I even want to consider this chapter re-organization considering the extra work I already had to do today?
No matter what I decide about that, I won't be going back and doing that way until the rest of the book is done and off for editing. That way, if I do it and don't like how it sounds or looks I can just revert and it's not like I'll still have a whole bunch of work ahead of me.
Thoughts? Anyone?
EXCEPT...I was starting on chapter five today, and went back through the notes I made when I originally had the brain-child of my book...and found the name of a man that I had meant to look up, since his was a very interesting story. I was REALLY excited to have that much info to put in chapter five right of the bat, and then I saw the dates for his lifetime. Turns out, he belongs in chapter four. *facepalm*
So now here I am, reading back through my well-organized and completed chapter four, trying to figure out where to put him so that it makes sense chronologically and still sounds good. There is going to be some re-writing involved in this. UGH! One goofy looking dude from the 1300's and my plans for the night are screwed. At least there's plenty of information on him, so my chapter will be a tad bit longer.
In other news, I had another brain child. I seperated the first two chapters by country, and the third was about a very small geographic area. I know Europe is small...but I was thinking that instead of just doing an overview in two chapters I might divide the information into mini-chapters, and give one for each country that played a major role in the history of alchemy. This might take a lot more in-depth research though (and my research is already pretty in-depth and thorough), and might get kind of complicated. All the learned men who studied and/or practiced alchemy traveled around, so then what? Do I put them in the chapter for the country in which they were born or the one in which they died? Or the one in which they lived and did most of their life's work? Do I even want to consider this chapter re-organization considering the extra work I already had to do today?
No matter what I decide about that, I won't be going back and doing that way until the rest of the book is done and off for editing. That way, if I do it and don't like how it sounds or looks I can just revert and it's not like I'll still have a whole bunch of work ahead of me.
Thoughts? Anyone?
Monday, July 2, 2012
Chapter Four
So tonight I finished draft one of chapter four and sent it off for editing. I'm just so happy to be done with it and moving forward again, and that I've managed to avoid the burnout that occurred when I finished chapter three. I DID decide that the information about alchemy in Europe should be split into two chapters, so I ended chapter four at the end of the 15th century...chapter five will focus on the Renaissance ^_^ That is the chapter I imagine will gain the most attention on my blog, twitter, tumblr, facebook. Everyone seems to be SO interested in the Renaissance period, so here's hoping.
I also invested in a Facebook ad...apparently just having the page wasn't enough. Even though a fair few of my friends liked it, no one really comments on my stuff except my dad, and its sort of his job as my dad to do that. So I spent 98 cents per click on my ad to get some more traffic. It worked within ten minutes. I put a budget of 10 dollars a day....so even if it stops people clicking at that point per day...if I get a bunch of people every day between now and when the book comes out I could have a huge following by then ^_^
I'm HOPING to have the book done by the end of August...it would be a really good birthday present to myself and a really big accomplishment. That way, with the cover art all done and all that's left is the writing and editing, I could be ready to publish print and e-books in september. I know that's late for everyone's summer reading, but at least I'm not tooting about a book I don't anticipate spending enough time on and you'll have to wait a year for. Argh I hate those authors. I get so impatient for books I get excited about. I really hope people are getting excited about mine.
I also invested in a Facebook ad...apparently just having the page wasn't enough. Even though a fair few of my friends liked it, no one really comments on my stuff except my dad, and its sort of his job as my dad to do that. So I spent 98 cents per click on my ad to get some more traffic. It worked within ten minutes. I put a budget of 10 dollars a day....so even if it stops people clicking at that point per day...if I get a bunch of people every day between now and when the book comes out I could have a huge following by then ^_^
I'm HOPING to have the book done by the end of August...it would be a really good birthday present to myself and a really big accomplishment. That way, with the cover art all done and all that's left is the writing and editing, I could be ready to publish print and e-books in september. I know that's late for everyone's summer reading, but at least I'm not tooting about a book I don't anticipate spending enough time on and you'll have to wait a year for. Argh I hate those authors. I get so impatient for books I get excited about. I really hope people are getting excited about mine.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
BLOCK
So I've never before had a problem with writer's block...
Then I churned out three chapters in under a week. Now I've gone an entire week without doing anything truly productive. I got halfway through chapter four, and book cover was finished (YAY!). But that is really about it. It sort of makes me feel like crap...I'm still really into it and really excited about the book, but it's like I just tried to cram too much stuff into my brain the first week, with the actual writing and all the research (seriously, my bibliography is like five pages long already), then the pages I've made for it that I have to try and maintain (i DID lose a few followers on my twitter feed...I guess it's not okay to not update for a few days. Okay, a week. Anyhow...now I just feel discouraged. Plus some jerk posted on a forum for MY LITTLE PONY (of all the places to diss something) and said in a rather uppity way that they didn't think my book was very promising because it's not a how-to guide for alchemy.
But this...this is my dream. I've been writing since I was a kid. Maybe it's not what I want to do for a career, but I've always dreamed of having something published. Something more immortal than a news article or this blog. So screw the nay-sayers who somehow think that they are experts because they've done a LITTLE bit of research about a LITTLE part of alchemical history. My book is going to be ROCKING.
Then I churned out three chapters in under a week. Now I've gone an entire week without doing anything truly productive. I got halfway through chapter four, and book cover was finished (YAY!). But that is really about it. It sort of makes me feel like crap...I'm still really into it and really excited about the book, but it's like I just tried to cram too much stuff into my brain the first week, with the actual writing and all the research (seriously, my bibliography is like five pages long already), then the pages I've made for it that I have to try and maintain (i DID lose a few followers on my twitter feed...I guess it's not okay to not update for a few days. Okay, a week. Anyhow...now I just feel discouraged. Plus some jerk posted on a forum for MY LITTLE PONY (of all the places to diss something) and said in a rather uppity way that they didn't think my book was very promising because it's not a how-to guide for alchemy.
But this...this is my dream. I've been writing since I was a kid. Maybe it's not what I want to do for a career, but I've always dreamed of having something published. Something more immortal than a news article or this blog. So screw the nay-sayers who somehow think that they are experts because they've done a LITTLE bit of research about a LITTLE part of alchemical history. My book is going to be ROCKING.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Cover Arty
So apparently, even though the artist said that she was really excited about the cover art project, she doesn't want to touch it. She hasn't responded to me, and hasn't shown me anything even though she said she would a week ago. It doesn't have to be done anytime REALLY soon, but since she is AWOL to me...the project is now up for grabs. I have no desire to deal with someone who can't at least respond with an update even if it's just to tell me to shut up and be patient. Especially if that person is going to post all over tumblr about their new projects...clearly if you're on tumblr you have been on the internet. And probably checked your email and ask box. So I know you've seen my email and ask box comment. I'm not stupid.
So anyway....that's a pickle. I need a new artist who will actually take it seriously.
So anyway....that's a pickle. I need a new artist who will actually take it seriously.
My Editor
So, im pretty sure that my editor was sleep deprived when he edited chapter two....
Lot's of places, he changed my wording, and then later said that it was awkwardly worded. Well, it was only awkwardly worded AFTER he changed it. And he tried to re-word direct quotes!!! I'm afraid to look at chapter three...
On the one hand, this means that I have a lot less to change about chapter two than it appears. Less stress right? WRONG!!! Now I'm worried that in his sleep deprivation, he missed things that needed editing while editing things that were perfectly fine!
I know, a lot of people will say, "then edit your own stuff!" Except that normally he does a wonderful editing job and I don't have any complaints.
GET SOME SLEEP CHRIS!!!!
Lot's of places, he changed my wording, and then later said that it was awkwardly worded. Well, it was only awkwardly worded AFTER he changed it. And he tried to re-word direct quotes!!! I'm afraid to look at chapter three...
On the one hand, this means that I have a lot less to change about chapter two than it appears. Less stress right? WRONG!!! Now I'm worried that in his sleep deprivation, he missed things that needed editing while editing things that were perfectly fine!
I know, a lot of people will say, "then edit your own stuff!" Except that normally he does a wonderful editing job and I don't have any complaints.
GET SOME SLEEP CHRIS!!!!
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Chapter Three Preview - detailed
"According to the historian Romila Thapar, the Sanskrit used to write the
Rigveda is closer in comparison to Avesta, the language of East Iran in which
the Zoroastrian text named for the language is written. This suggests that the
Rigveda is much younger than the archaic Hittite-Mittani treaty, a treaty
between the Suppiluliuma and Shattiwaza people between 1425-1275 BCE.
Unfortunately, historians David Frawley and Georg Fuerstein pointed out that
the Rigveda mentions the Saraswati – a river that dried before 1900 BCE. Satellite
studies have shown that the Saraswati river actually dried up completely by
1750 BCE, but at that time there was already a desert in that region of
Afghanistan. The Rigveda does not mention a desert – in fact one is not
mentioned until the Brahmana books 500-1000 years later – so the date for the
Rigveda must be before 1750 BCE. Despite the various arguments, the generally
accepted date is 1900 BCE. "
CHAPTER 3 PREVIEW
CHAPTER 3 PREVIEW
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Google Translate Saves My Ass
So...today Google translate and screenshot both saved my butt. Once, i found a translation of a hymn from a Veda...but i wanted to include the original Sanskrit as well. You know what I found out really fast? Microsoft word doesn't recognize most of the characters in the Sanskrit language (spelled phonetically, not the symbols that resemble Hindi). So I had to go to the website I found it on, zoom my browser in, take a screenshot, open it in Photoshop, crop it down to just the Sanskrit, and include it in the book as an image.
THEN...i was writing about a historical figure and his contributions, and when I clicked a link for the text of one of his works i found the page was completely in french. Fortunately, Google offered to automatically translate it for me, so not only was I able to include the french, but also the English for the sake of the readers. I don't know about you, but I don't speak your moonman language.
THEN...i was writing about a historical figure and his contributions, and when I clicked a link for the text of one of his works i found the page was completely in french. Fortunately, Google offered to automatically translate it for me, so not only was I able to include the french, but also the English for the sake of the readers. I don't know about you, but I don't speak your moonman language.
Vedic history
So...on page two of chapter three. There must not be that many people in the world interested in the middle eastern alchemical traditions, or perhaps too many...for some reason its a lot harder to nail down dates than it was for china and egypt. Why do you think that is?
In any case, the journey has taken me back to the days of the Vedas, to study their contents (interestingly comparable to Chinese alchemical traditions...). Endlessly mystifying and interesting, but SO HARD to get through and record in an organized way.
In any case, the journey has taken me back to the days of the Vedas, to study their contents (interestingly comparable to Chinese alchemical traditions...). Endlessly mystifying and interesting, but SO HARD to get through and record in an organized way.
Today, I began work on chapter three. Having finished the first two chapters with relative ease, I expected this chapter to be just as simple. Unfortunately, I seem to have reached a region of the world where the history of alchemy is complicated and all tied up in religion, and no one can be sure where exactly the traditions originally stemmed from.
To my future readers: a teaser for chapter three - This complicated region of the world is the Middle East!
There is just so much to learn about alchemy...I didn't realize how much I would be learning about the world in general. But it seems I will come out of this experience with much more knowledge about the eastern cultures than I ever thought to have! Good thing its more fun than studying for exams in a class on the subject....
To my future readers: a teaser for chapter three - This complicated region of the world is the Middle East!
There is just so much to learn about alchemy...I didn't realize how much I would be learning about the world in general. But it seems I will come out of this experience with much more knowledge about the eastern cultures than I ever thought to have! Good thing its more fun than studying for exams in a class on the subject....
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