In my mind I like to call him Papa Jordan. He's the reason I wanted to become a writer. Writing has always been something I've enjoyed, but it wasn't something I wanted to dedicate my life to until I picked up a copy of The Eye of the World.
Eye begins pretty ordinarily. It brings back memories of the Shire. And then you get a swift kick in the face from a Trolloc, and the book becomes something else entirely. There is no other fantasy series like The Wheel of Time. Its scope is far reaching. Its story lines are endless. Its characters are are inspiring. Its world is crowned by imagination. Its marked with tragedy. Jordan wasn't able to finish his epic. He died before he was able to pen the final book - the most important of them all. Rand would finally meet the Dark One on the battlefield of Tarmon Gaidon. Thanks to Harriet McDougal, Jordan's widow, the series will be finished. The torch has been passed on to Brandon Sanderson. Who is, in his own right, a fantasy heavyweight. His Mistborn trilogy sits high atop my To-Read list. I drool with anticipation to one day read this series.
In truth, there's really no reason Bob Dylan should be a rock 'n roll legend. He can't sing. He's all but a decent musician. His music can be aimless. But no one can put ink to paper like Dylan. I believe he's the greatest wordsmith of modern times. I have to be careful when I put Bob Dylan's music on. My day will very easily become a Bob Dylan day, and I'll have forgotten all the other music I wanted to listen to. No one takes up more room on my iPod than Dylan. I love him that much.
I like to think that if Shakespeare were alive today that even he would be awed by Robert Zimmerman's words.
Christianity is the most right yet most abused religion on the face of God's green earth. Turn on the television and you'll be swamped with a plethora of funny, weird, and wrong doctrines. Sadly, I'm a pessimist when it comes to the "Church". The only shinning beacon I've found is the ministry of Dr. Richards, Impact Ministries. He help me to learn to follow my heart. He encourages me to fulfill my dream of becoming a writer. In fact, he had as much to do with my desire to be printed as Robert Jordan. His book Grace: The Power to Change revolutionized my life. I don't try to please God with my own works. It's all about the finished work of Christ. He's a man that one day I hope to just sit and converse with.
These 3 individuals make my creative juices pump. I can turn to anyone of them when I feel uninspired, and I walk away vigorous ready to conquer the page with pen.
***You can click on their names and go to their individual sites. They're worth check out.
****The link for Robert Jordan will take you to Dragonmount. It is a Wheel of Time fan community. However, the fine people over at the site also hosted Robert Jordan's blog. If you take some time to shift through the blogs you'll find treasures of WoT info, writing advice, and odd facts that Jordan decided to share.
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