In the past, I have at least made two attempts to create a list of all the hobbies and things that interest me. Fear not, I am not going to rehash any of them right now, but I have to reach back to where I began with this blog…

Welcome to The Roaring 20s. A decade where sociological change is all the rage, consumerism is how you make your money, technology is growing rapidly, and all we want to do is de-escalate tension around the world. Let’s not fool ourselves, I am not talking about the 1920s, but the comparison is interesting…

What you feel is relatively simple until it becomes anything but. For the most part, emotions are well-defined, but when it comes to the complicated blend of them, how someone feels or reacts is the backbone of a story…

I see myself as an author, a person who runs through the gantlet of possibilities, adds flourishes for continuity or dramatic effect, and expresses the importance of the words I put out there. In short, I think that I can tell a story…

Some things never change, and that puzzles me. After all, the human mind and body are built to change and adapt to what comes our way, but for the most part, people are in a cycle that more often than not prevents the changes that matter…

Why does everybody tend to look for a place where they belong? I ask this question simply because it is poignant. We work so hard to be ourselves, only to find that other things compel us to edit our state of being so that we can be accepted. This little fact of reality can be harsh, it is socially accepted, and in some forms, must stay a part of our lives.

At some point in time, I am not sure when, I became aware of all the different ways a person can be manipulated, and it makes me wonder if there is any part of our lives that is not affected by some form of manipulation.

I owe a lot of who I am to the things I have learned over my lifetime. As obvious as that statement might be, sometimes you honestly have to look back at the choices you made that have shaped who you are so that you can confidently move forward.

I cannot say that anything beyond this first paragraph is relatable to everyone but me. I do not mind if people do not understand everything I wrote here, but if you can relate or feel strongly about it, do not hesitate to comment.

I often wonder what inspires people. I tell myself that my mind presents this question to me from time to time so that I can understand different ways to motivate the characters I write about, but when I put this into practice, it does not end up happening the way I plan it. Instead, I find myself reaching for the things that inspired me to write in the first place.

Alright, so I have this thing where I tend to look up stuff that I am thinking about, and one of those thoughts was a search for any real details regarding success. Maybe I was not looking properly or I typed my questions wrong. I did not find any statistics or studies, but I did find something interesting.

I find myself talking about my work-in-progress novel a lot more than I am accustomed to. While having conversations about my story, I try not to give too many details, but in doing so I have found myself falling in the habit of using tropes or comparisons from modern storytelling that do not entirely represent what I am writing.

I am the type of person who likes to think, plot, plan, and even scheme. Most of those thematic synonyms are devoted to storytelling, but the first one on my list is geared primarily toward myself. I often silently sit or stand and think about all sorts of things, but if anyone asks me what I am doing or thinking, I respond with, "Nothing."

I think that sharing one’s beliefs is not inherently bad, but you should always consider the cause and effect to the best of your ability before doing so. That being said, I am going to do it anyway.

Let me start by saying that nothing here is any kind of justification for anyone’s actions. This is simply a representation of a thought process that I use while writing to create those characters that people love to hate.

We live in a world where terrible things can and do happen. Take a good look at the events of the 20th century for example: World War I, World War II, The Korean War, The Vietnam War, The Cold War, and The Gulf War are all events that brought about destruction in one way or another.

This post marks the start of my second year of Ex Tenebris, I mention this because when I take the time to look back at my life, I see plenty of things that make me ask myself plenty of questions, and those questions are just 1/3 of why this blog exists.

Given the title, you might think that this post is about something that I have come to realize about the world, or maybe I have an idea that I think has to be true in my mind if not anyone else’s.

The truth is that Ex Tenebris is all about the thoughts, ideas, and experiences that have shaped my life. This blog is what it is, and the reason for this particular post is for me to insist that there is a difference between truth and reality.

At some point during your life, if it has not happened already, you will experience the darkest moments of your existence, and you might not even recognize it for what it is until that point in time has passed.

I am not sure when I figured it all out, but it had to be sometime when I was younger. Like nearly everyone, there are things you learn in the first few years of your life that once you are older you cannot truly pinpoint where that little bit of information has come from. But somewhere in my childhood, I learned that there two types of dreams.