A Beginning,Middle and End

As writers we all know in a story format we have a beginning and an end, but what goes in between, you might ask? If you ask a writer they might say ‘a middle’, some would retort, ‘story’, and some might even say, ‘a knock ‘em sock ‘em dragged up and down the halls of word sensory driven story!’ Okay, they won’t say that but I would.

What I’m saying is, you start from the very first words to pull your reader in. Without the punch, you may lose the reader. You need to hook your reader in the first few sentences or they stop reading. I try to give a book I’m reading a few pages before I give up. I’m generous, what can I say.

If they have not piqued my interest in a few pages I’m almost certain that they are not going to be suddenly inspired to have me excited in the middle only to let me down with a bad ending.

No, a writer knows, if you’ve got the reader hooked in the first few pages they will more than likely read the middle and end. So you give them a story they can sink their teeth into and you can be proud to call your own.

I like imagery; I’m a poet. When I read a novel I sometimes look at the technique in which a writer chose to write their story. Often times I’m a learner and not a reader, shame on me. BUT, if there is enough meat in the story to keep me reading right along, I won’t be sidetracked by the writer in me trying to decipher, “Why did they write THAT?”

I love picking apart the story arc where the writer hooked me, gave me some structure with the dialogue, back story, the heightening of the conflict and the descent as we come down the mountain to a conclusion.

Here’s what you might look for as a writer and reader:

 

1.     A hook! To keep the reader reading.

2.  A line. All the right lines actually full of sensory that the reader is drooling and anticipating juicier meant!
3. A sinker. This is where you’ve reeled your reader into the enjoyment of your tale, you’ve strung them along and have them hanging on every word, then you have a grand finale.
4. You’ll want believable dialogue, not hard to read cryptic verbiage. Dialogue as YOU would speak.
5. A strong plot, not one that has been done a hundred times over, you want a uniqueness to your story.                                       

 

We’ll work on all of these over the coming weeks, if you don’t mind.

Book Bites on Writing:

The Right to Write – Julie Cameron

Take time to Breathe

I have a life after all!

So you’re a writer are you? Do you have a life? I know from experience that in my pursuit of my dream, somewhere along the misty shaded path a rich aroma came crawling up and it was the scent of burnt toast.

The odor awakened me to all I was missing as I spent hour upon crippling hour on the computer. My mind was enveloped in a story, or aiding and abetting the writer in their journey, so much so I lost sight of the world around me, my reality.

You too will find that your world will be absorbed like a slow step into quicksand, you find yourself slowly being sucked down and even down further into a place of unknown origin.

Your family is annoyed, husbands are neglected, children have become distant and the family meal is no longer a group gathering, it is a T.V dinner tossed in the microwave and you leave everyone to fend for themselves.

Who ARE these people and why are they hindering your pursuit of the writing dream? Well my friends, they are your reality. Those people are the very reason you continue to pursue your dream. Those people are the ones who came to depend on your consistency before the computer became your new family. Arms and legs pained by the excessive amount of time that keeps you from even standing and looking out the window at the gorgeous sky and land that surrounds you.

You find that your ‘new family’ is more understanding of your pursuits. You find that chatting with them actually gives your life new meaning and as you dive into the shallow water, you find you’re swimming with a new set of sharks and have left the shore of playful loving dolphins behind.

Many people have jobs outside the computer that gives them time to drink in the reality of their lives. They glimpse all the beauty throughout the day, inhale the fragrance of the seasons, grasp the leaves and soil that is a part of Earth, shudders at the tremulous noise awakening your senses to new heights. You feel as if you’ve lost something and know there will come a time when you wake up to the realization that while you were being selfish, you lost something that you had cherished, your family.

Prioritizing your writing life is essential to a well-balanced soul. As you seek out the writer within never forget those surrounding you in your home. Neglecting them is like allowing years to pass without calling your mother who lives on the other end of the country. Would you do that? For writing? When we can overlook what is most important to our lives, we neglect to find the true meaning to life and happiness.

This past year, a lot of soul searching has gone on in my life. While I love writing, I love going all out to help the new writer, so much so it used to absorb my day until I forgot who I was! As I tried to jump back in I realized, you know what, the writing life went on without me and is managing just fine, I think I like my reality more than a keyboard that gives no hug; a monitor that glows until my eyes bleed; Reading unending words that flow and flow like a perpetual chimney of smoke.

There is more to life than a hum of a computer. There are sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touching to be had. Use life the way it was intended.

White Space

As opposed to white noise, white space is a necessary in the writing world. I too often see assignments of crammed together words, appearing as one paragraph. I am totally lost as to what a person thinks, when as a writer, they would think that this would bode well in the writing world.

White noise is defined as:

1 a : a heterogeneous mixture of sound waves extending over a wide frequency range

   b : a constant background noise; especially : one that drowns out other sounds

2    : meaningless or distracting commotion, hubbub, or chatter

Now think of White Space as # 2’s definition: meaningless distracting commotion. Is that what you want your readers to walk away with; the feeling of reading meaningless chatter? Of course not. You want not only your words to be appealing but also the display of your words to be attractive to where the person isn’t pulling their hair out just trying to get to the finish line.

I know some people are from other countries, and might not understand the proper way to portray their work to the American public. They read what others have written, and see how it is done, so why not try and display the work in an appropriate fashion?

Eager writers new to the playing field just want to write and get that piece posted as quick as possible, but in all sincerity, when I open a piece that is all jumbled together like that, not one bit of white space, just one lengthy paragraph? I have to skip over it and not read it at all. I’m sure that is not what they intended to do, to turn people off from their writing, so I say this, before hitting that submit button, read your work out loud. If it sounds appealing it just might have that same affect on your reader.

Now look at your work. Is it the proper wordcount? Is it broken into proper paragraphs, where the reader can visually take note of what they are going to read and the amount of time it is going to take to read?

Remember these five rules before submitting work to ANY place, whether a magazine or an online class. Rules are rules. Guidelines are there not only for the reader, but also for the editor to choose from. If you submit jumbled words, it gets tossed in the trash by the editor, or not read by your fellow classmates.

1. Always double space after a paragraph making WHITE-SPACE visual to the reader.
2. Always proofread your work. At an online workshop you’ll get feedback and critique, and they’ll also point out the many grammatical errors you’ve made.
3. Always read your story out loud! A lot of folk find this weird, sitting alone in a house, reading out loud. But this does help you HEAR what you might have missed in the correct structuring of the sentence.
4. Always check the word count. If it calls for 500 words, make it 500 words. Editors will toss out work for being ONE WORD over the limit. Get into practice at your online course.
5. Always take the critique with a grain of salt. Not everyone gets a glowing critique and not all critiques are right in their assessing of your work. You are the creator, the artists. Critiques are to guide you, not to demean your work.

I got a nibble on a book that people are reading about writing! I’m going to try and offer a book to read with my posts, labeled Book Bites. Nifty, eh?

Book Bites on Writing:

 "WIRED FOR STORY," by Lisa Cron

Must Read Books...for Writer's

Must read books…on WRITING!

As you journey into the writing world, there isn’t one among us who isn’t seeking to further our knowledge on writing and how to write. There are techniques and skills required. One doesn’t just sit down and write in hopes they’ve written something readers want to read.

Here’s a list of some of the books that other writers are reading that they feel is essential in their journey.

1. Stephen King – On Writing (personally I don’t feel this one is essential but it is a good read)

2.William Zinsser – On Writing Well

3.Creating Short Fiction -- Damon Knight

4.The Elements of Style, -- William Strunk Jr. & E.B. White

5.Building Believable Characters -- by Marc McCutcheon

6.The Writer's Guide to Character Traits -- Linda N. Edelstein, Ph.D.

7. Manuscript Submission -- Scott Edelstein

8.Writing the Breakout Novel -- Donald Maass

9. Grammatically Correct -- Anne Stilman

10. The Magic and the Mundane – P.J. Diehl (a plug for my friend)

So there you have it, a list of books and most have links to amazon where you can purchase the books. Keep in mind I am in no way affiliated with amazon, they just have some really great prices. I personally like to buy the used ones, because I know another writer has read it and I can write in it without the guilt of damaging a good book.

Yes, writers need to educate themselves on so many levels. Tapping keys is not good enough in the competitive world of writing. You need to have an edge, and education definitely gives you that edge.

I have an awesome arsenal of links to the side here that might help too. I know with the economy, not everyone can afford to buy a book, even if it is $2.50, that might be a dozen of eggs for the family. So use the links and keep checking back with me to see what new knowledge I can impart to you!

Poetry Sunday ~ My Love

My Love

***

The stars they tiptoe across the sky

emitting light for you and I

A twinkle here, a shimmer there

a pirouette without a care.

A bold ballet in the expanse

friction of light; nothing to chance.

How we met and came to be

was nothing short of destiny.

Our souls collided with light fair ease

a wayward laugh lost in the breeze.

Never knowing where we’d be led,

with years behind and many ahead.

Our love will dance just like the stars

within the cosmos across to Mars.

On the horizon and into the plains

springtime showers, the summers rains.

From here on out our love will grow

display a gorgeous wondrous show.

No need for eyes to dearly impart

all the warmth lain in my heart.

All the years we’ve shared together

through the wind and stormy weather.

For years to come our love will soar

Eternity lasts forever more.

On this day I duly declare

all my love beyond compare.

As rays of light have no end,

All my love, to you I send!
***

Ps. 9:1-2  I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.

 I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.

God blessed us both!

Quotation Saturday

FEARS

“The moment we begin to fear the opinions of others and hesitate to tell the truth that is in us, and from motives of policy are silent when we should speak, the divine floods of light and life no longer flow into our souls.”
~ Elizabeth Cady Stanton

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
~ Marianne Williamson, Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles"

“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.”
~ John Lennon

LIFE LESSONS

“And then I felt sad because I realized that once people are broken in certain ways, they can't ever be fixed, and this is something nobody ever tells you when you are young and it never fails to surprise you as you grow older as you see the people in your life break one by one. You wonder when your turn is going to be, or if it's already happened.”
~ Douglas Coupland

“It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else's life with perfection.”
~ Anonymous, The Bhagavad Gita

“And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.”
~ Haruki Murakami

“Pain is a pesky part of being human, I've learned it feels like a stab wound to the heart, something I wish we could all do without, in our lives here. Pain is a sudden hurt that can't be escaped. But then I have also learned that because of pain, I can feel the beauty, tenderness, and freedom of healing. Pain feels like a fast stab wound to the heart. But then healing feels like the wind against your face when you are spreading your wings and flying through the air! We may not have wings growing out of our backs, but healing is the closest thing that will give us that wind against our faces.”
~ C. JoyBell C.

DREAMS

“Yes: I am a dreamer. For a dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.”
~ Oscar Wilde, The Critic as Artist

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
~ Eleanor Roosevelt

“Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.”
~ Edgar Allan Poe

Dreams come alive when you rise and face a new day, breathe in the crisp morning air, and take action in making your dream a reality.

~ Joni Zipp

Character

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.”

~ Abraham Lincoln

***

So you want to build a character? A great exercise in the journey of building a character is having your character describe YOU. When you put on your characters personality in introducing you to the world, something happens, you learn more about your character(s) in their voice, actions, and their readability.

A lot of the times you find out things about your characters that you never knew.

1) Are they antagonist or protagonist?

2) Does their voice sound flat?

3) Do they need to be redefined in your eyes?

4) Can this (these) characters carry a fifty-thousand word novel? A short story?

5) Are you ready to hear from your character what they dislike about you the most?

Keep in mind your characters take on a life of their own. They think for themselves, dress for themselves and are everything they need to get by. When you, the nosey writer, pokes and prods, you create things that maybe really are not in character for him or her.

This character exchange exercise really gives you a window to look through at your character to see how THEY see YOU! And they’ll be real vocal about it too. Once you begin writing you just can’t stop. You didn’t realize Rapunzel (my character) could be so vocal!

Maybe I should do my exercise here, for you all to see a writer and character at work! Well that’s a cool idea. I see too many people do this exercise allowing the ego-tripping character to go on and on about THEM, when that is not the point AT ALL in the exercise. WE, the reader, want to hear about YOU, the writer, from your characters perspective!

Introducing (drum roll please) Rapunzel

My name’s Rapunzel and my Drama Queen of a writer, Joni, wants me to tell you about her. Sure she’s going to stir my story up like stew but it is her story that I can’t wait to tell YOU about.

She went and shifted gears in the mentoring stage and is now going to be teaching you, the gracious readers of her blog. She thinks the writing sites are full of fluff and has put them in the closet, but her blog, now that is her own and where she can be free to write whatever she wants to write.

Freedom, that is what she likes and I sure hope she likes it enough to give me a taste of it too! Funny thing is, she has long flowing blond hair, like me, often feels imprisoned, like me, and she tries to be a light at the end of the tunnel, like I am for some.

I’m thinking she chose to write about me because we’re so much alike. Will she be able to pull off a story of say 1500 words about a fictional character and keep herself out of it or will we merge together. Hey, I don’t want to be a writer, after some of the things I’ve witnessed her go through, no thanks!

Freedom will be the goal for both of us and I’ll watch as she soars, now if only I could too.

A Bit of Drama

“She had no tolerance for scenes which were not of her own making.”

~ Edith Wharton

Can you imagine watching a television show that had no drama? Can you imagine reading an entire book that had no drama? Can you imagine going through life without ever having any drama? How about writing? Do you think you can write a best seller, without an ounce of drama?

What makes you so high and mighty that you’re above the world of drama? I hear the whisperings, “I just don’t like all the drama.” Really? So next time a car crashes into a tree down the street, nearly wiping out kids playing in the front yard and the car bursting into flames, you’re going to just sit in your recliner, ignore all the police cars and ambulances outside because you ‘don’t like all the drama’?

Isn’t a homeless man, sign around his neck, sitting on the sidewalk begging for food or a meal too dramatic for you to view? How about a paper bag on the side of the road where you see a puppy’s head sticking out, too dramatic?

Do you think the world was formed in a non-dramatic way? God yawned, seemed bored, formed man and woman. Well that’s a boring way to create the entire universe, I should think. I like to think of it in a more dramatic way. An unleashing of a Big BANG with His breath and constellations and planets formed, Earth full of vapors from his breath was the place He chose for life to be sustained throughout all of time! Well that’ll make scientist mad who have been looking for the dramatics via atoms!

Yes siree, no matter how you say it or write it, explain it or try to debunk things, life is full of drama no matter where you go. Writing, as writers, are no different. When you ask someone, “How are you?” and someone goes into the dramatics of how they really are, are you above getting a real reply and walk away, stating under your breath, “I really didn’t need all that info/drama.”

When I ask someone how they are doing, I WANT all the details, maybe because I’m a caring and compassionate person who really does CARE how they are doing. I watch as people sit at their computer all day on their behinds, barely leaving for a bite to eat. Running around with a façade of caring, but then when someone who is ailing or in dire straits cries out seeking compassion or a friendly ear, they run to the bathroom to get some cotton balls for their ears, only to realize they need blinders on, like the kind that horses wear? They forget that on a computer, cotton balls don’t work in the ears!

In this wide world of internet, it is hard to look straight ahead and ignore the drama going on around you. Instead of falling into your rose colored glasses, instead of wearing the feathered Mardis gras mask, instead of browbeating someone for being dramatic, politely say to yourself, “She/he must be a writer.”

Because no matter how you try to avoid it, a writer’s life is full of drama and we’re only too glad to tell you, or have you read about it, or use it for a character in a novel we’re writing!

Embrace the drama in life. Without it you will certainly become a rotted out piece of cardboard with very little character, which people will NOT respect!

People don't want their lives fixed. Nobody wants their problems solved. Their dramas. their distractions. Their stories resolved. Their messes cleaned up. Because what would they have left? Just the big scary unknown.”

~ Chuck Palahniuk, Survivor

An exercise

We have the potential to affect others through all of our actions during our day, whether we are aware of it or not. ~ Madisyn Taylor

***

An exercise came flying into my window that, if you know me, I just had to try.

It went something like this: Most of us all know the tune of “Yesterday” by the Beatles? Change the words but use the tune to guide you beat by beat, rhythm for rhythm, see what you come up with. This is my rendition, I’m no McCartney or Lennon, keep that in mind. This still might need some work, but this is what I came up with. Enjoy…

***

Suns not for me

***

Suddenly, sunshine’s not the very same to me
It’s just an orb that I can hardly see
It had to flee away from me.

Yesterday, all the vipers’ claws came after me
They just had to steal my souls debris,
They gnawed on me, so suddenly.


Why sun had to run I don’t know, He wouldn’t say
I got down on my knees and I prayed for sunny days

Suddenly, all the darkness swept right over me
Now I need a place my soul can be
oh suddenly, suns not for me

Why sun had to run I don’t know He wouldn’t say
I got down on my knees and I prayed for sunny days

Suddenly, all the shadows washed right over me
There was no place left that I could see,
They came for me, oh let me be.

Why sun had to run I don’t know He wouldn’t say
I got down on my knees and I prayed for sunny days

Suddenly, all the glory sprayed all over me,
the joy in life swept right on through me,
oh I believe, my souls’ now free.

Hmm hmm hmm my souls’ now free

Poetry Sunday ~ Giving Thanks

Praise Him

For all we are and all we do

we give our thanks each day.

We live, grow, change and mend

I give my thanks and pray.

I thank my mother and father

for all the things they gave.

Within their hand they held my life

but only One could save.

I led the life He wanted for me

although the road was rough.

I never look back with any regret,

the unpaved journey was tough.

The path was laid before we were born

the forks were all in place.

Which we chose was a cosmic bend

that altered time and space.

I found a cross in my walk

as I wandered through each year.

Whimsical times and frenzied mind

He made it all come clear.

The crystal shell lay in shards

glass was torn to pieces.

He put them all together again

My love for Him never ceases!

I thank the Lord for carrying me

through life’s most daunting days.

I’m mended now because of Him,

A path of new-found ways.

Quotation Saturday

FREEDOM

 

Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi

 

Lock up your libraries if you like, but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.”
~ Virginia Woolf, A Room Of One's Own

 

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.”
~ Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

 

V V V V V – full quote

 

Rochester: "Jane, be still; don't struggle so like a wild, frantic bird, that is rending its own plumage in its desperation."

Jane: "I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being, with an independent will; which I now exert to leave you.”

Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

 

“Better to die fighting for freedom then be a prisoner all the days of your life.”
~ Bob Marley

 

I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.”
~ Robert A. Heinlein

 

HAPPINESS

 

People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”
~ Mother Teresa

 

“Promise Yourself

To be so strong that nothing
can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity
to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel
that there is something in them
To look at the sunny side of everything
and make your optimism come true.

To think only the best, to work only for the best,
and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others
as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past
and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times
and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself
that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear,
and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world,
not in loud words but great deeds.
To live in faith that the whole world is on your side
so long as you are true to the best that is in you.”
~ Christian D. Larson, Your Forces and How to Use Them

 

Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination.”
~ Mark Twain

 

“Life without drama, is no life at all.”

~ Joni Zipp

 

PEOPLE

 

I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life. I've learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as making a "life." I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one. I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. I've learned that I still have a lot to learn. I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
~ Maya Angelou

 

Never love anyone who treats you like you're ordinary.”
~ Oscar Wilde

 

The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.”
~ Albert Einstein

We're here to Learn

Plano, Texas Balloon Festival

I don’t know about you, but my take on life is this, we’re ALL here to learn. I don’t mean scholastically, I mean also mentally, physically, and spiritually.

You cannot move forward, be it writing or whatever endeavor you’re on, if you don’t learn anything from what the experience taught you. You can not go twelve years of school and come out not knowing your ABC’s or what one plus one equals.

From infancy, we're like little robots that are programmed to absorb knowledge and move forward in the life we’ve been blessed with. I say blessed, because from birth we are blessed just by breathing the air. People will always have something negative to say, “Me? I’m not blessed. I’m ______ (poor, crippled, angst filled, mentally challenged, etc etc.) Think about it, everyone has something to say about the hardships in their lives, instead of seeing each individual opportunity as a chance to grow and gain from the hand they’ve been dealt.

As I take off my student cap, toss aside the mentor hat, I embrace what I am, a writer, a blogger, a teacher of one and all, not just a select few of my choosing. How arrogant to spread oneself so thin.

When your ego steps up to bat, and you control who it is you will teach; be choosey in what you will share, be banned for being you, then you have to take the reins and move into a position where you and you alone maintain control of ANY given situation.

Sure there will be little drama freaks who cry out, “Woe, woe. Woe is me. And there will be the control freaks, patting of the head saying, “There, There, it is all under my control.” Save it for the character in the book you're writing, but when I look at you, I don’t want to see a shallow image of a broken feather, I’d much rather see a pillar of strength that I can look up to in this world.

I look around today and see very little in the way of nurtured and in- control souls. I see chaos, whether in the Middle East, or right here at home. Every person is seeking power over someone else, but does little to maintain his or her own habitat of humanity. My friends, power, control or dictatorship is not the route to go.

In writing, you are the master and creator of a character. You breathe life into the character with words, not much different is life. Your character is built by the choice of words you use, or power you wield on other individuals.

Does a dull lifeless character who has really no point in the story sell books? Of course they don’t. When building a character, give them zest, zing, zeal. A lively personality that affects each person he or she comes into contact with throughout the story.

Allow me to share some sage words of advice from a respected writer. (names changed to protect the innocent)

“First, a word picture: our little Toby Dog has a mission every night once darkness falls.  His goal is to get outside to capture a little lizard, to play with it until there is no life left in its tiny body.  There is no reason for his action other than it's simply his nature. He has no need for it for food since his bowl is seldom empty and he is frequently offered treats, so he has pleasantries in his life. He just loves the thrill of the chase, capture, and perhaps the feeling of being in control/ powerful? 
    Are you getting the simile here? It seems there are individuals who have chosen to hone their skills similar to those nightly lizard hunts, only zeroing in on you/me instead. There's no reasonable excuse for their action other than it’s simply become their nature.  They have no need to do it since they have their own gifts of writing ability, and their time and effort could be far better spent uplifting others.  It appears they just love the thrill of browbeating, mistreating, and wreaking all manner of evil allowable within the confines of man's law, for what? Power? Control? Success? (Have any of them brought in any lizards, a.k.a. "successes" lately?)”

Wow! This person is someone I look up to, admire and respect. Great character!

How is your soul and character doing? Learn something here from this life. Build character that people admire and respect, and actually will WANT to read about.

Writing a Story

“The biggest disease this day and age is that of people feeling unloved.” ~Princess Diana

***

I’m working on a new story. The idea stemmed from a prompt on a writing site, a few years back, that went something like this: Take a familiar fairytale and rewrite it. I had already rewritten the Cinderella story. Not with the familiar waif falls for prince, slipper type story. No, it was definitely a new age tale, and poor Cindy was a victim of child abuse by her wicked stepmother! Maybe I’ll share it with you sometime. If I can find it among the mess I keep of my stories.

This new tale of mine will be – Rapunzel. I love that name so I’ll keep it. And just as I was looking up the origin of that beautiful name, a slap of inspiration hit me. I’d like to redo another fairytale if not this one, in poetry form. Since poetry seems to have lost its zest in these past years, there needs to be a revival.

Rapunzel is a German fairytale first published by the Brothers Grimm in 1812, as a collection of Children’s and Household tales. The Grimms' adaptation was from Persinette, written in 1698 by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force. Wow, that’s a mouthful for a name. Most recently, Disney took its hand at the spinning of the tale with Tangled. I’ve not seen the movie, but I’m sure my story will be wrought with the angst of a woman relinquished to a prison tower.

The idea stemmed from recent current events, but then again, much of my life IS like a fairytale, I just haven’t had the chance to taste the ‘Happily ever After’ that fairytales keep repeating. But wait, that’s not true. I have repeatedly tasted the happily ever after in many ways, shapes and forms, and as a writer, I wish to give you some of the most delicious tasting lemonade that has ever touched your lips!

I need to be mindful of taking some precautionary steps as I write this story, and my advice is that all writer’s might take these steps too as they begin a story.

1. Don’t edit until the story is complete and down on paper (or screen) This is a writer’s enemy!

2. Use your thesaurus so as not to overuse or repeat words with the same meaning. A thesaurus is a writer’s friend!

3. Write smooth imagery and senses. Let the story flow like a babbling brook.

4. Show, don’t TELL the story. Readers, whether children or adults, seek imagery and you need to use it as fluently as #3- imagery; senses

5. Have dialogue that is believable to the story. Readers will pick up on ragged dialogue. Scarcely use the he said, she said tags. (know how and when to use them)

There you have it. Now I need to go work on my story, alone in my tower. Thank you and I hope you return for the unveiling!

The Love of Compromise

A convent in Concordia, Kansas

***

Ah don’t you love being a writer? I sure do. My giddiness over my love of writing has resurfaced and you all know, that as a writer, there will be times of compromise. Sometimes you understand where the compromise comes from and sometimes it hits you upside the face, like an iron skillet kissing your cheek at full force.

One definition of compromise is this:

a settlement of differences by mutual concessions; an agreement reached by adjustment of conflicting or opposing claims, principles, etc., by reciprocal modification of demands.

This is what I mean. As a writer you will be forced to make a compromise or many compromises as you write. What? Take for example, me. I’m a Christian and for the life of me I cannot stand witch stories or vampire stories and I’d be hard pressed to write of those things or to read a novel with such things.

I have written a Spiritual novel, and it is more about the spirits of the past meeting the present and guiding my characters into the future. I can relate to the spirit world, sometimes more than my own world. Can’t say too much more about my novel, but I did find myself compromising my beliefs when my character, a carpenter got in an argument and said a few choice words. As I got into my character, I could not see him saying, “Well FUDGE, you piece of refuse.” Well that just doesn’t sound in character.

I made a compromise. He was a real man and I myself, growing up with four brothers, and living in a city environment, I heard many choice words and many years ago wasn’t excluded from using a few of my own colorful words. Even today, as sinner, one or two might slip when I bash my toe. But here I am a Christian woman, writer and needed to sell my character to my reader. I compromised. He cussed. In character, he used a foul word. Didn’t change the character, made him real to the reader. It’s not like I use it through the entire book but I felt this character had it in him to cuss. What can I say.

I wonder if Stephenie Meyer, of Twilight fame, really likes vampires? Maybe deep down she despises them predatory bloodsuckers and just, for the love of compromise and writing, she wrote a best selling novel! Went against all she believed, but wrote it, because she IS a writer!

Maybe J.K Rowling really knew nothing about witchery and Witchcraft, but she too wrote best selling novels. A compromise? Quite possibly. Well I myself wouldn’t compromise myself THAT far, for witches and vampires. I’ve never read the aforementioned books but I hear they were good, to some people, many who compromised their very beliefs just to read them.

I can compromise on some things like words, they’re just words, but compromise my beliefs, for the love of money? Not for a million dollar best selling contract!  There comes a time when a person needs to decide if the compromise is worth the pain and heartache to their soul; their very essence of whom they are.

My soul is worth more than all the money or friends on God’s green earth. My soul has worked hard at becoming whole and moving forward, instead of holding on to the past and all the darkness that had its grip on me and going backwards. There are some things a writer has to stand firm on and never compromise! I’m a writer, with a soul.

What is your soul worth?

A New Beginning

EmBARKing on something new...

Well tomorrow starts a new leg of MY journey. It’s kind of ironic being on this side of the fence, a student? Wow, I forgot about all the excitement and anxiety I felt before the first day of class. This is a new beginning for me and I’m off to a good start.

I’m still on the assistance end of the fence too. One leg hanging over the assistants’ side, one leg dangling over the newcomers side as a student. Can one be split in two and carry both, walking the fine line of student, assistant? Can I straddle the fence for the duration of the course? I know me, all to well. I am a mentor at heart so will I cross the line and help when I’m supposed to be a student in the learning mode?

I’m looking forward to the class with new expectancy. I won’t be sidetracked with the others immature behavior, I’d like to stay on track and be the professional that I’ve become over the years. The NEW site actually has THREE tabs to click, HOME, WORK, PLAY. Just as the tabs say, one is HOME, where info, rules and guidelines are. WORK, is where the classrooms are, FAQ’s and a Café! And PLAY is where you can play on a facebook style social wall.

As with EVERY session, people enter the site, never read the FAQ’s, and ask, “Where is my classroom?” I do understand that newcomers are new to the site and many times new to the writing world, but it seems to me, you’d look around and read all the pertinent information FIRST. It is where you’d find out 1) classrooms are not open yet and will be assigned when the course begins. 2) Where the profile pages are and how to go about getting an avatar. (google images) 3) That just by registering for the site, registers you for the course!

F2k has two sites. The old ugly brown beige looking one (on my screen), and the NEW site which is a light gray, clean-shaven looking page! People are sent an invite weeks before hand with a link to the new course beginning, and still people enter the OLD site, asking where the classrooms are and when do they begin. On that social wall, there is the link, over and over, to register for the new site, and yes it automatically registers you for the class. But you still get, on the new site, “where are the classrooms.”

A funny lot, inquisitive writers are. It’s as if they jump, without looking to see if there is a safe landing spot beneath them first. Jump into the water, without the curiosity of possible sharks wandering around? Really? Jump in, I say, the water is nice and warm, read first all you can, THEN ask a question that might not have been covered.

As I embark on this new phase, I have harpooned the sharks. I have made new friends and have met up with some dear old ones, that are true. I’ve learned an awful lot this year that has flew by and one thing I will never forget is that, you can always begin again. It’s like Tolkien said, There and Back again. But you knew that, right? Because you read Lord of the Rings? READ before jumping. Begin a new phase, not with blinders on, but with WINGS wide open!!!

On the WRITE path...

Birds of a Feather...

Well I decided to ‘get back in the saddle’ again and that means writing. So to start, I went back to the very beginning where my writing took on new life, my first online course in the writing world, f2k. As I’ve watched my writing grow over the years, I’ve learned many tips and tricks of the trade.


I’ve been writing all my life, at a very young age actually, and almost every writer says the same thing; “I’ve always wanted to write, it was in my blood.” My life took a whirlwind of unexpected twists, leaving my hometown and starting anew in a strange new place. Writing was my comfort zone as all things around me were in turmoil; writing as usual became a safe haven. I turned to taking writing more serious and dove into The Christian Writer’s Guild two-year correspondence course. Certificate of Completion in hand, I moved forward.

I learned journalistic material and as the course neared the end, I signed up to a Free Creative writing course online called f2k. Fiction 2000 is what f2k stood for (how many times have I had to repeat that over the years?) This is where there were strict rules and guidelines and you were hard pressed to see students running through the halls entering other classrooms. It was a very organized platform to get the writing bug to nip me in the butt. The mentor I was assigned to was not the best so I took it upon myself to help students throughout the six weeks, basically mentoring them AND taking the course as well.

After I completed the course I was asked to mentor the next session for a woman who became a very dear friend, Joan McNulty Pulver. I mentored and felt extremely good helping other writers begin their dream as I too was fulfilling mine, writing and submitting my work. For seven continuous years, 3 times a year, I mentored the course with other mentors from Writers Village University. I had signed up to WVU for a year, but by years end I miraculously had a lifetime membership and was asked to assist at WVU.

Over the years the site has transformed into smiley bearing posts, pictures and videos being allowed to share and many more new changes. Site crashes, change in formats all made WVU and f2k what it is today. Embrace the changes they say. These are the very people who bicker and bite because Facebook changes, but embrace these new changes being thrown in your face at the writing site? A little hypocritical if you ask me.

I embraced all the changes over the years, but last year there was another change, an Ezine! (pronounced: ezeen) I asked to enforce a 500 word limit, a possible intern for mentors, the powers listened, as they did to many of my suggestions that will probably remain in place for years to come. Your welcome writers! Why a 500 word limit? Well let me tell you, when you have fifteen-twenty students in your class, and you need to read each and every one, each and every week, the word count works for the volunteers manning the course. The interns are mentors in training but really they are a blessing to an overworked mentor.

As I begin this next leg of my journey, I thought it fitting to go back to where it all began, as a student with f2k. Mentors, a few that I trained are in place, a mentor that was there when I first began is still there (june) and life is about to change again in a whirlwind of unexpected expectancy. Things will be a lot different. I’ll make new friends while trying to remain friends with some of the old ones, but what I know for certain is, I’m writing again and can now relax. I am what I am, a writer!

Poetry Sunday~ Tree of Life

 Tree of Life

***

In the vision of my eyes,

I see the world in a disguise

playing with the human emotion

like a child without a notion.

I scan the open field of dreams

everything clearer than it seems.

Wandering round in an enlightened state,

hoping my words don’t come to late.

Can you feel the life of you

within the world of confusion too?

Upon the doorway of mystical bliss

there is a lot I feel I miss.

The trees they prosper with each season,

some are wounded with good reason.

Getting stronger from each storm

within each branch about to form.

Life it takes us for a spin;

seasons strengthen us to win.

This world is one we all must commune

lets play our lives in an angelic tune.

Sin will compromise our feat

sacrifice is our only mete.

When we serve the One who is True,

the tree of life will flow through you.