Born in Silver Spring, MD, and the ripe young age of 3 to his parents Tim and Terri, Timothy Keeley immediately began his journey to be the world's greatest gladiator. Well, not quite, but it was pretty close. Actually, he was born a red head and since then has been cursed as the only member on both sides of his family with the hair colour. After almost three years of being in the "Roach Apartment" (as it was affectionately called), the family moved to Rossiter, PA (long, fancy name for hick-ville, outside Pittsburgh PA). This lasted another two years, and as I began elementary school, my dad got a full-time ministerial position in Byron Center, MI and caused yet another massive family move.
I turned 6 on my 6th birthday, and it was here I received my first boon from society, a LEGO set. Creativity ensued, and I promptly became the coolest kid in school, church, and the neighborhood. The collection grew, and with it the potential to be the greatest architect at Freedom Elementary! After the elementary school gig died out, I moved (yet again) from the lower side of Grand Rapids to the middle-of-nowhere Hopkins, where I finished my junior high years and almost finished my high school years. In the second semester of my junior year, we moved [yet again] to small-own Boyertown, PA, which essentially is Philadelphia but with less crime and a whole lot more racism.
Upon completion of my high school degree, I proceeded to a University to try my hand at extended education. Much to my dismay, a bachelors degree was a whole lot more involved than I expected. I entered the biology education program in anticipation that one day, I might fill the shoes of a great biology professor! Well, the whole education outfit didn't work to well, and in my sophomore year I dropped the education part and simply kept the biology. I have currently completed 2.5 years of college training in biology, one day hoping that I might finish that training and receive the highly anticipated B.S. (I think those letters suit it nicely) I've been working for. No thanks to the government and education systems that I am as far behind as I am. I graduated high school third in my class, my parents combined earn less than 55k in a year, and I still didn't get the Pell Grant? That's a combination of both the left and the right sides of politics making ridiculous rules based on stupid criteria for the worst of students, I not being one of those.
So here I am, trying my hand in the writing field (without that B.S., mind you!). I write for pleasure, for the simple joy hat it brings to my heart. Not really, but something close to that I think...I feel pretty accomplished after finishing Creative Writing as a sophomore on top of the class. Some comments from the instructor were similar to "Tim is such a deep writer, I always look forward to reading his material!" Not to brag, but some of those assignments were fun and my results were pretty darn good, considering!
As a person, my hobbies include music [an avid fan], art, writing, running, martial arts, science [duh!], religion & philosophy, some psychology, and a little political science. I have had many experiences shape my personality, and I personally don't feel that we as people remain the same. Experiences and environment shape our being and make us who we are to become, be it positive or negative in result.
As for my writing in particular, I have a few major convictions. The first being "what defines a novel?" A novel is a short story with a bunch of fluff added in to make it go from 100 pages to 500. This characterizes 90% of fantasy writing out there. I wholeheartedly despise that writing, and have attempted to separate myself from it at all costs. Secondly, "what is fluff?" 'Fluff' is taking a chapter of 30 pages that sounds great and making it 55 pages that sounds mediocre and has a few paragraphs that you're left scratching your head over. Thirdly, look at the concept of 'trilogy.' My "Legend of Corrent" trilogy is in fact more of a 'duology.' It's three books, the first two being much of the same story. The first two books combine for about 300 pages of material, and covers a lot of space and time in a fashion that doesn't bore you or leave you out of the loop. Lastly, what defines fantasy?
Fantasy, folks, is very simple in structure. You have major cliche movements in each story's frame: a hero from a nobody, a dangerous quest, an evil overlord, and victory vs. defeat (usually at the expense of all life's happiness). My book has these elements, but with some minor twists. First, the world is pretty much separated so much that the nations within it have no clue what lives outside their borders. Next, the hero is far from heroic on his own, and must rely on a weapon to make the battle result in victory. Also, he is required to fulfill points in the ancient legends that he reads of in the great library of Triburn. All this said, he then must make battle with just about everyone in order to make the quest successful!
Writing is an art form that begins from the early years. Hindering that development is a dangerous action. Not everyone can actually write well, although many feel they can. To truly be creative is a gift.
Upon completion of my high school degree, I proceeded to a University to try my hand at extended education. Much to my dismay, a bachelors degree was a whole lot more involved than I expected. I entered the biology education program in anticipation that one day, I might fill the shoes of a great biology professor! Well, the whole education outfit didn't work to well, and in my sophomore year I dropped the education part and simply kept the biology. I have currently completed 2.5 years of college training in biology, one day hoping that I might finish that training and receive the highly anticipated B.S. (I think those letters suit it nicely) I've been working for. No thanks to the government and education systems that I am as far behind as I am. I graduated high school third in my class, my parents combined earn less than 55k in a year, and I still didn't get the Pell Grant? That's a combination of both the left and the right sides of politics making ridiculous rules based on stupid criteria for the worst of students, I not being one of those.
So here I am, trying my hand in the writing field (without that B.S., mind you!). I write for pleasure, for the simple joy hat it brings to my heart. Not really, but something close to that I think...I feel pretty accomplished after finishing Creative Writing as a sophomore on top of the class. Some comments from the instructor were similar to "Tim is such a deep writer, I always look forward to reading his material!" Not to brag, but some of those assignments were fun and my results were pretty darn good, considering!
As a person, my hobbies include music [an avid fan], art, writing, running, martial arts, science [duh!], religion & philosophy, some psychology, and a little political science. I have had many experiences shape my personality, and I personally don't feel that we as people remain the same. Experiences and environment shape our being and make us who we are to become, be it positive or negative in result.
As for my writing in particular, I have a few major convictions. The first being "what defines a novel?" A novel is a short story with a bunch of fluff added in to make it go from 100 pages to 500. This characterizes 90% of fantasy writing out there. I wholeheartedly despise that writing, and have attempted to separate myself from it at all costs. Secondly, "what is fluff?" 'Fluff' is taking a chapter of 30 pages that sounds great and making it 55 pages that sounds mediocre and has a few paragraphs that you're left scratching your head over. Thirdly, look at the concept of 'trilogy.' My "Legend of Corrent" trilogy is in fact more of a 'duology.' It's three books, the first two being much of the same story. The first two books combine for about 300 pages of material, and covers a lot of space and time in a fashion that doesn't bore you or leave you out of the loop. Lastly, what defines fantasy?
Fantasy, folks, is very simple in structure. You have major cliche movements in each story's frame: a hero from a nobody, a dangerous quest, an evil overlord, and victory vs. defeat (usually at the expense of all life's happiness). My book has these elements, but with some minor twists. First, the world is pretty much separated so much that the nations within it have no clue what lives outside their borders. Next, the hero is far from heroic on his own, and must rely on a weapon to make the battle result in victory. Also, he is required to fulfill points in the ancient legends that he reads of in the great library of Triburn. All this said, he then must make battle with just about everyone in order to make the quest successful!
Writing is an art form that begins from the early years. Hindering that development is a dangerous action. Not everyone can actually write well, although many feel they can. To truly be creative is a gift.
The song to the left is what I do in my "extra" time. Music is a vital part of my lifestream and is essential to my inner happiness. I express myself thru music in ways most people really can't. I hope the music I write and perform is good enough to allow people to travel within their minds to new and unseen places. |
