Vlogging

Hey, all! I have decided to embark on a new sort of journey as I roam the internet. I have decided to take up vlogging.

"What the heck is that?" I can sense you say through the computer screen.

"Well, you awesome human being," I begin, "Vlogging is a mixture of the words 'video,' and 'blogging' (or logging, if you prefer). It is blogging, but, instead of posts like the one you are currently reading, it would be a video instead."

"Ah, that makes sense," You think. Or maybe you already knew that. Or maybe you're still confused.

Anyway, I have done two different "vlogs" already. (Three if you count my Questions and Answers video).

They are posted on my YouTube channel. You should totally subscribe and like my videos. I can see every time someone does that and it truly makes me happy when people do! Can you help make me happy? Please...?

However, for your ease, I have considerately posted my two vlogs so far below for your enjoyment, entertainment, and laughing-at-somebody needs. I try my best to be funny in these videos. I have gotten reports of people crying, so go on at your own discretion.Oh--crying of laughter, that is. Carry on. Enjoy!

This first video also happens to be my first vlog. It is entitled "On Writing," where I talk more about my own WIPs, and general writing tips. It gets funny towards the end, trust me.

This last one is where I unsuccessfully try to attempt to persuade people to purchase and read my books. It basically ends up turning into one of the strangest comedy routines you'll ever watch. Maybe. Kind of.

I hope to only vlog at most once a week. (The difficulty and stressfulness of uploading a YouTube video from my iPad can get infuriating!) From now on, I will post a separate blog post on here for every new vlog I post on YouTube. So you don't need to subscribe, you would just have to check here every once in a while. But if you do subscribe, you don't need to check here. You'll get a little notification whenever I upload something when you check YouTube. Easy as that. Plus, I'll give you doughnuts. 

Psych, the box is empty! (Like my soul).

Soullessly yours,

Oliver Dahl

"Lies" Cover Progress

I am very proud of the book covers for The Dreamers and The Nightmarers. With my upcoming book, Lies, I want to have a cover that I can be equally proud of. From my original cover idea to the current cover, it has come a long way. (And for the better, I would hopefully add!)

Here's an album of pictures complete with descriptions that takes you through my different cover drafts. I'd love to hear what you think! Advice, suggestions, and critiques are welcome! Here's your chance to get your feedback published in an actual book! Your tips can help make "Lies" better.

Imagination

Imagination is something that is essential to creative writing. The above picture is a photomanipulation I made a few years ago by merging several images into one. By doing so, I combined several elements of various pictures into one unique image that I can look at for quite a while and still find new things about it to inspire me. A lot of the time, that's what creativity is! It isn't very often--if ever at all--that we come up with something truly unique, and original. While some ideas may unquestionably be our own, we often, whether intentionally or accidentally, use elements from other stories. Stories that have been told for dozens or hundreds or thousands of years. 

In my English class, one of my favorite things that I've learned has been this principle. (If you can call it a principle, I guess, haha) Many elements of famous stories like The Odyssey are used more frequently than we might think. What is The Lion King but Shakespeare's story of Hamlet told with animals? 

However, it is the ways that we combine these elements of stories that we have read, seen, or experienced, to create something new. If we had never done anything in our lives, never read a book, watched a movie, or heard a story, would we be able to create one of our own? Kinda fun to think about. 

* * *

I recently posted a quotation by Albert Einstein that I found on Tumblr. It has quickly become one of my favorites. 

Originally, I was planning on writing a post dedicated to this quotation, but I guess I got carried away with literary philosophy. :) I guess from here, I can continue the philosophical approach. Why not, right?

So... If creativity is intelligence having fun, and creativity is also the way we combine elements of the stories of our lives, then would you say that being intelligent denotes creativity? What about creativity requiring intelligence? 

And my favorite question: do the stories of our lives make us more intelligent? I like to think so. 

What do you guys think? I REALLY want to hear what you guys have to say! Take the extra minute or two to comment. What else do you have to do? :) I'd love to have this post explode into an Internet forum full of heated digital debates about creativity and intelligence via literature. I don't know about you, and maybe it's my own nerdiness, but that just sounds awesome! 8D

Dream on!

Oliver Dahl