J. Timothy King’s Blog

Does God Get Angry? Or Does He Love Us?

Here’s one of those blog comments I started to write, and then I discovered I was getting so deeply into it, I had to write a blog post. Ben Arment on his trés kewl blog, History in the Making, posted a couple links to a theological controversy that’s been making the Internet. It’s one of these stupid theological controversies that really gets my goat, because both sides are acting like immature little children. And in the process, they miss the most important part of who God is and–more importantly–what that means to you and me.

Here’s the gist: One side says God is angry at us, because God is holy but we are all sinners, and that “the phrase ‘God hates the sin but loves the sinner’ was invented by a Hindu.” The other side says, on the contrary, that God is not angry at us and has never been angry with us, because he loves us.

OK. I’m officially confused. God is angry at sinners; therefore, he hates us?

I get angry at my kids when they disobey me and do stupid, self-destructive things, but I still love them. In fact, it’s when I’m the angriest with them that I do the most to remind them that I love them. None of this even touches on what scripture says God is like. And it completely ignores how important this is to our personal character. (Read more…)

Reason #217 Why Google AdWords Makes Me Laugh

A quick one: Ran into this recently on a client’s AdWords campaign. At first, it really confused me. The ads weren’t showing? Why not?! Because they aren’t allowed? Why not? On the “details and recommendations” page, Google provided a link to explain why not…

I clicked on the link and discovered it was just their terms of service. Huh? I re-reviewed the terms of service for the zillionth time and… there’s nothing wrong with the campaign, and there’s nothing wrong with the keywords, and there’s nothing wrong with the ads. And it wasn’t even a human being who “disallowed” these ads, because I had just then added them.

I was just about to dig out the contact info for Google AdWords support, when I discovered that the ads were in fact running. But the UI still said they were disallowed. Maybe, I thought, it’s because I just now added this ad group, and it’s going to take a little while for the correct information to percolate through Google’s system.

Well, here’s a screenshot from a little while later, after all the latest status has clearly bubbled to the UI.

(Read more…)

Happy Thanksgiving Wishes

I want to wish everyone in the U.S. a happy Thanksgiving. I myself will be spending the day with family. And I hope that wherever you are, you’ll find love and happiness there.

You’ve probably noticed I’m posting much more on this blog of late. That’s because I’m actually writing again… seriously writing. That is, I’m pursuing it professionally. That’s why BeTheStory.com has a new graphical theme, because I’ve made that site and this parts of a larger group of sites. I talked about this earlier, “Changes: Fading Out of the Software Business.”

I’ve linked 4 sites together as part of this strategy:

• www.JTimothyKing.com - The central hub. It contains links to all my sites, contact information, a selection of stories and articles I’ve written, and links to featured online offers.

• blog.JTimothyKing.com - This site, my personal blog, previously at www.JTSE.com/blog. Here, I used to talk about business, professionalism, and software development. I’ still talk about these things, but I also talk about writing, personal experiences, stories I’ve written, and religion and politics.

• BeTheStory.com - My writing site. All about how to write a story, and how to become a better writer. And since becoming a better writer involves analyzing others’ stories, I’ll continue to post reviews and analysis of books, film, and TV. And video games, if I get around to it. Expect my future reviews to be less general and more about the properties of the storytelling. Be the Story uses the same software as this blog, and you can subscribe to new posts via RSS or email.

• shop.JTimothyKing.com - My online store, not yet active. Right now, it redirects to 1001 Character Quirks, which is being distributed through ClickBank. But I have plans to make it a full online store, directly distributing both electronic and physical products. That is, as soon as I work the kinks out of the e-commerce software.

Most of my time of late has been spent paying the bills (i.e., doing work for paying clients) and writing The Conscience of Abe’s Turn and other fiction. But this shift in focus, or rather a clarification in focus, also means I’m writing more for Be the Story and for my blog. So expect much more content.

-TimK

Here’s Talking about Religion and Politics

Here’s something I rarely do on this blog, but since this blog has become more about what makes me unique, and less exclusively about software development and entrepreneurship… Here’s a topic I’m very passionate about, but I rarely have time to write about anymore. Two topics, actually: Religion and politics.

If you might become offended, tune out now. Don’t say you weren’t warned. (Read more…)

Trying Twitter…

I don’t want to become a Twitter junkie. But I figured it’s time I try it. The only problem is, I don’t have anyone to Twitter with! So if you want to follow me on Twitter, here’s my profile:

http://twitter.com/jtimothyking

-TimK (Read more…)

Yesterday I Went Swimming in the Jury Pool

I didn’t mean to. I didn’t want to. I got pushed in, as it were. That’s one of the things I hate about swimming in the jury pool; no one ever does so by choice. The other thing I hate is that it’s filled with shark-infested water. In this age of big-brother paranoia, there are two places I avoid if I can: government facilities and airports. But today’s jury pool experience was different than others I’ve experienced before. It seems, the Massachusetts court system has discovered the value of a good story. (Read more…)

Friday Snippet: The Widow’s Granddaughter (2)

Here’s the second part of “The Widow’s Granddaughter.” This story uses a character, Jeffrey Tanner, I developed as an example for 1001 Character Quirks for Writing Fiction. I also developed the other characters using the same process I describe in that ebook, but Jeffrey is the only character I use as an example.

-TimK

P.S. WRT the Character Quirks book, I owe Holly Lisle thanks for her advice, freely given, in helping me to make it useful. All mistakes or inadequacies, of course, are my fault and mine alone.

WARNING: This story contains strong language and adult situations (but no graphic sex).

(continued from part 1)

Mrs. Kramer sat for several seconds before she struggled to her feet and without a word hobbled out of the office and into the parking lot. From his office, Jeffrey watched her through the window.

Then he marched out of the building and into the parking lot. A young woman was helping Mrs. Kramer into the passenger side of the car. This woman epitomized youth and beauty, Jeffrey thought. Blonde hair flowed down around soft cheeks to just past her shoulders. She wore a smart, brown, corduroy jacket and blue jeans, with sleek, brown shoes on her feet. It was an outfit that accentuated her curves just enough, but not too much, and made her look tall and sexy. (Read more…)

What It’s Like to Finally Finish My First eBook

It sounds like such a simple thing. A list of 1001 character quirks for writing fiction. This is a tool I use as part of my own character-building process, because having a list of raw ideas makes it much easier to come up with the right idea at the right time.

You might think that coming up with a large list of character ideas might be the challenge in a work like this. But compiling a list of 1001 of my best character quirks was by far the easiest part of the project. Actually, the concept started as a printed booklet, and that sounded simple, too. But there were innumerable little details.

• Since a book like this is far and away most often purchased by beginning writers, it must contain concrete examples and simple advice that the user can take to the bank immediately. My initial draft skimped on the advice, because I was afraid of having too many pages, because I was trying to keep production costs down. Holly Lisle generously advised me to flesh out this part of the book, which I did, adding a complete soup-to-nuts character and numerous concrete examples.

(Read more…)

Friday Snippet: The Widow’s Granddaughter

Here’s the beginning of a story I’ve been working on for a very special project, which I will be announcing soon (I hope).

I’m not yet firm on the title, but I’m really liking “The Widow’s Granddaughter.”

-TimK

P.S. Please leave a comment telling me how you like it.

WARNING: This story contains strong language and adult situations (but no graphic sex).

She was just another job to Jeffrey Tanner, just another loan someone defaulted on, just another automobile someone couldn’t afford to pay for, until she limped into his office.

She was not someone you would expect to make a difference in anyone’s life. She was neither rich nor powerful. She was not vivacious, not young, not beautiful. She was neither a mover nor a shaker. She hobbled along, a quad cane in one hand, dragging her withered frame behind her, arthritis-infested joints creaking with each lumbering step. She reeked of old perfume; a small, black toque sat atop her thinning, black hair, probably dyed; and when she opened her mouth, from her shriveled face screeched a voice like that of the Evil Witch of the West.

“I’m Mrs. Mildred Kramer.”

Jeffrey knew the name. He had handled the account personally. For a fleeting moment, he thought of offering her a seat. But then he thought the better of it. (Read more…)