Showing posts with label hero's journey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hero's journey. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 27, 2023

Ancient Nautical Folklore is at the Heart of The Jonah Collector

Remember Jonah from the Bible? Jonah in the New Testament was sent on a mission by his god, but he is hesitant. As a result, Jonah was swallowed by a large whale (sea creature), but then spat out. After his journey into the belly of the beast (Hero's Journey), he returned to his original calling, to deliver god's judgement to an ancient city.

This narrative correlates to the Hero's Journey. When the hero entered the unknown world, he was undergoing a transformation from who he was to who he will be. He is tested. Once he was victorious over his foe, or circumstances, the hero could bring the life-saving elixir to the world.

Over time, the symbol of Jonah morphed into meaning the weakest link and bad luck to a sailing crew. This switch to a dark definition of Jonah was emphasized on the paranormal show, The Holzer Files: Phantom Crew of Season 1, Episode 5. 

The team investigates the ghost ship USS Constellation and tries to find the source of its endless spirit sightings over the centuries. They may have gotten more than they bargained for when one investigator realises he's been bitten out of nowhere.
Here's a snippet of that case:

The paranormal team soon learned that the entire non-living crew targets a living person as a weak person to be labeled their Jonah. That gave the ghosts the right to push anyone off the USS Constellation as they so choose.

The Jonah Collector is much more than literary, lyrical prose, but a chance to see the real life drama of sailors in an easily digestible form. Instead of using an evil captain and crew, this paranormal-nautical story surrounds a dark mermaid, who collects the souls of sailors, namely Jonahs. The rhyme scheme of the prose pieces adds intensity to the drama.

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About The Jonah Collector

In this epic tale, we discover that in his youth, Captain Christopher Houston was once a Jonah. The weakest link on a ship endangers the entire crew. As such, he was tossed into the Locker, then saved by a mermaid. She wants revenge on him for annulling the contract. She went after his son. Now, Houston has a choice: save his son or himself. Will he be the next victim of The Jonah Collector?

Life is tough when you are the weakest link.







Friday, June 2, 2023

Become a Saint in Summer Time 2023

Welcome to the Initiation part of the Hero's Journey. In this cycle of storytelling, we learn about testing our hero/ines with allies and enemies, crossing the threshold to adventure, and discovering their mentors and helpers. 

On Undawnted, we find the hero within by using our imaginations. The Saint trilogy follows Eavanlee and Girard on the journey to become their own heroes to themselves, each other, and the residents of Communion, Louisiana. 

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The Saint book series is a great way to pass the time by the pool. With three romance-driven, drama-induced, and action-packed installments published, these stories will leave you hungry for more and satisfied at the end. 

It's easy to purchase Saint through Lulu.com: 

 

Soon this trilogy will be available through Book2Read and other fine retailers!

Sign up for A Novelist Idea Newsletter for Early Access to news and updates, as well as Release Parties and more! 

Learn. Grow. Master... with Undawnted.

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A writer at heart, Undawnted's own creative spark, DL Mullan, began writing short stories and poetry before adolescence. Over the years, Ms. Mullan has showcased her literary talents by self-publishing several collections of her poetry. She also writes novels, designs apparel, and creates digital art. Ms. Mullan‘s creative writing is available in digital and print collections, from academia to commercial anthologies. As an independent publisher, she produces her own book cover designs as well as maintains her own websites. She is an award-winning digital artist and poet.

DL Mullan has begun sharing her knowledge via A Novelist Idea Newsletter. If you too want to become a Fearless Phile, then subscribe to her newsletter on Substack

Her innovative style teaches writers how to reach their creative potential, and write more effectively.

Learn. Grow. Master… with Undawnted.


 

 

 

Sunday, May 28, 2023

Spring Dreams: Did You Hear the Call to Adventure?

With Spring Dreams Seasonal Reads program, Undawnted answered the call to action. 

From March 1st to May 31st, we began an adventure in our exclusive Legacy Universe. We read the adventures of Roben Hode, in Hode: The Legend Lives Again, a modern day Robin Hood. Next, we learned that you cannot cross the gods in The Story of Vigdis and Adalbrandir. Then, Fearless Files discovered other dimensions in The Reality Hackers

Undawnted's Creative Tribe honored the Hero's Journey. We became the characters. We were our own heroes. With both those themes in hand, we brought the stories to life! 

During it all, we delved deep into mystical magical, and mysterious poetry of Galactic Ride and Eclipse.

Our next seasonal reads will begin on June 1st. 

We cannot wait for our next adventure... can you? 

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This year's program is the: Hint of the Divine, in which participants learn the archetypes found in human culture, and storytelling.

Bring depth to your writing.

Join our Creative Tribe

Learn. Grow. Master... with Undawnted. 



Friday, January 27, 2023

I Guess Rejection Means: More for Me... in 2023!

From time to time, I help other authors and publishers with ideas. Some of those brainstorming sessions yield a visual creative piece for application. As Undawnted grows, the missed opportunities of others become integrated in-house. 

For instance: Bent out of Love was a cover design that I formulated to help a struggling writer put his thoughts into a cohesive vision. After waiting a year, I made Bent Love into an upcoming Long Form poem.
Bent Love is the opposite of the Black Hearts Club. The Long Form poem is about a man down on his luck, but desperate to save his relationship with the woman he loves.

What would you do for love? 

After writing the Black Hearts Club poem, I wanted to have a counterbalance to the "gave up on love" mantra. People change, and so do their feelings. One year, Valentine's Day is the worst day of their life. The next year, it may be their happiest. It's best to be prepared. 

As well, to put a decade of Long Form Poetry into one publication, I am using the year-old Visions anthology cover design mockup I did. The artwork was not used for the anthology, and was sitting around on the computer gathering dust. So, now it will have a new purpose: Visionary.

I have two different collections of my poetry. Oracle will have the culmination of my Chapbook poetry; Visionary will house the compendium for the Long Form poems.

I will be adding and revising other poems to fit within these two forms as the year goes on. I wanted my poetry to be individualized. Readers can then take what they want: separate or encyclopedic. 

Other additions that have been made are: Samhain, and Shamiscient. I have a horror chapbook that is under reconstruction thanks to a Lulu technical mishap, but I wanted to delve into the spiritual side of the Hero's Journey into the Unknown, as well as just write spiritual/shamanistic poetry. The Long Form poem: Galactic Ride, touched on this subject with much critical acclaim from readers. Therefore, I want to expand on this intriguing subject. 

And, to the guy on Twitter a few months ago who made a spectacle out of himself because he hates my cover design work: stuff it. I don't like sexcapades on my book covers. My writing is good, and doesn't need hormones or fluff. If you don't like my covers, then you probably won't like my writing... so, you've saved both of us a trial by fire by walking down another isle in the bookstore.

However, I think my cover designs are innovative, fresh, and have motif-driven visual arts components that enhance my website as well as my writing. I have spent years honing my digital arts craft and until the world ends, I am going to do as much in-house creating as possible. 

That is what a gifted polymath does. 

2023 looks like a buffet of visual, symbolic, and rhyming delights. I hope you will join me this year as I bring more of my imagination into the realm of the unpredictable, insatiable, and undeniably... unleashed.

Thank you for visiting Undawnted.


Monday, July 5, 2021

The Hero's Journey: The Threshold to Adventure

It's summer time. 

The Threshold to Adventure is right before you. What will you choose? A vacation to a destination you have never been before? To serve your country? Take a position at another company? Or, to begin college for the first time?

Humanity is on a constant quest in the hero's journey of our lives. Each step is as personal and unique as the last. Since the individual is the ultimate minority, we face our challenges in this life as a species as interlocking singular modules connecting into the next one and future generations. 

So what is your Call to Adventure? What Threshold to do you stand before? 

It's summer... take that first step.

 

 

Monday, June 21, 2021

The Hero's Journey: First Day of Summer (Solstice) is Your Call to Adventure

Today is the longest day of the calendar year (14 hours and 22 minutes in the Sonoran Desert) and on the cyclical hero's journey, the Summer Solstice is the threshold into a wider world.  

Summer is about energy and movement. We are energized by the sun's power, heat, and majesty- our mere mortal's Supernatural Aid. We are thrust into action: pool activities, sports, and whatever we can do to soak up all that Vitamin D. 

We go from the Known World into an Unknown World. Summer is where our adventures lie away from work and school with vacations and hiking. Summer Solstice on June 21st this year is the day our new Call to Adventure begins. 

The human condition is about achieving our own personal goals in the Hero's Journey of the story of our lives. What tests, trials, and temptations have you overcome? Are still overcoming? 

That is your story. The story of the individual. The individual is the ultimate minority. No one else has a story like yours.

So we honor this cycle in our oral traditions and written histories. We also write about the Hero's Journey in our poetry and novels. Creative writing has become the vehicle for which we celebrate our growth as a person from childhood to adulthood.

Join Undawnted this season: Summer Time in our Special Engagements as well as Seasonal Reads program to explore the initiation into the Hero's Journey.

Have a great and wonderful journey.
 

 

 

Friday, December 25, 2020

Welcome Sun Gods/Goddesses to Your New Life on the Hero's Journey

Today was the astrotheological day of resurrection. 

The day of the Winter Solstice the Earth begins its trek back to Spring. In ancient times, the sun looked like it stalled in the sky for three days. So that is where our mythologies (and religions) get the idea of dying and being resurrected on the third day. The narrative is prevalent in the stories of ole.

For instance, December 21st is the solstice. December 22nd, 23rd, 24th are the sun's immobile days (death). December 25th, the sun moves upward in the sky again and thus the sun (son) is resurrected. 

Every winter we go through our own personal hero mythology. This year, we again have been resurrected into our hero journey. We come out the other side and begin a new year. At this time, we make our resolutions, a blueprint, for the coming 365 days. 

So take some time and ponder the possibilities. You are on a hero's journey. You died, defeated death, and was resurrected. Your reward is a new year. You are living mythology. You are the hero. You are the god/goddess.

As an enlightened entity, what wisdom do you want to impart on the world? What are your goals? What is important to you? 

That is the mindset of a fiction writer creating their next protagonist, threshold to adventure, and positive story. 

Have a great and wonderful day. 

 

 

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Lectures for Writer's Workshops: The Power of Myth- Hero's Journey

Spring Dreams Lecture Series I
This seasons lectures are based on learning the foundation of literary works through myth-ology, the hero journey, and how ancient civil-izations used the art of storytelling.

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Where do our myths and legends come from?

"Well, there are two types of deed. One is the physical deed; the hero who has performed a war act or a physical act of heroism ñ saving a life, that’s a hero act. Giving himself, sacrificing himself to another. And the other kind is the spiritual hero, who has learned or found a mode of experiencing the supernormal range of human spiritual life, and then come back and communicated it. It’s a cycle, it’s a going and a return, that the hero cycle represents. 

But then this can be seen also in the simple initiation ritual, where a child has to give up his childhood and become an adult, has to die, you might say, to his infantile personality and psyche and come back as a self-responsible adult. It’s a fundamental experience that everyone has to undergo, where in our childhood for at least 14 years, and then to get out of that posture of dependency, psychological dependency, into one of psychological self-responsibility, requires a death and resurrection, and that is the basic motif of the hero journey, Leaving one condition, finding the source of life to bring you forth in a richer or more mature or other condition."

~Joseph Campbell, author of the Power of Myth 



Join Undawnted for her Special Engagements series of lectures, poetry, and writing workshops. 

Engage in your intellect...

Do we have that power? Can we create our own hero's journey? Be our own hero?

This writer's workshop will help you define the hero's journey through myth and creative exploration. Define your center and define yourself. 


Have a great and wonderful day.

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*Update: all workshops and special engagements have now been concluded, and new projects are now under Undawnted's Substack.

A writer at heart, Undawnted's own creative spark, DL Mullan, began writing short stories and poetry before adolescence. Over the years, Ms. Mullan has showcased her literary talents by self-publishing several collections of her poetry. She also writes novels, designs apparel, and creates digital art. Ms. Mullan‘s creative writing is available in digital and print collections, from academia to commercial anthologies. As an independent publisher, she produces her own book cover designs as well as maintains her own websites. She is an award-winning digital artist and poet. This year, DL Mullan has begun sharing her knowledge via A Novelist Idea Newsletter. If you too want to become a Fearless Phile, then subscribe to her newsletter on Substack.

Her innovative style teaches writers how to reach their creative potential, and write more effectively.

Learn. Grow. Master… with Undawnted.





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