LUCKY NO. 7

I started today's post with a quote that I found on Facebook, that I think is quite apt for the story I am about to share with you. The name of the story is Lucky No. 7. I wrote it for a supernatural literature class I did last year.

The guidelines for the story were that it must be set locally and have one of the following tropes/elements of the weird/supernatural genre; The Ghost, The Bad Place/Haunted House or Locale, The Vampire, The Doppelganger, Cosmic Horror, The Zombie.The terror in the story could either be internal or external.

My story is set in Port Of Spain, around the Savannah. The tropes/elements of the weird/supernatural present in my story are The Bad Place/Haunted House or Locale and the idea of the doppelganger. The terror in Lucky No. 7 is internal.

  A doppelganger — also written "doppelgaenger" or "doubleganger" — is quite simply a double. It can be a ghost or physical apparition, but it is usually a source of psychological anxiety for the person who sees it. The word comes from the German Doppelgänger, literally meaning "double-goer," and has found widespread use in popular culture. (wisegeek.com)

Earlier I stated that Lucky No. 7 contains the idea of the doppelganger, I used the word idea because it is not exactly what a doppelganger is although it is a source for psychological anxiety in the person, namely the mother, who sees it.

The link below will take you to the story.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B_eKOq9mvv-GdXJMX3Yxa19iMFE

 

RANDOM BUT INTERESTING TWITTER...ISH...WRITER'S EDITION

This installment of random but interesting twitter-ish...writer's edition focuses mainly on tools that can help make the writing process easier. These tools are not only useful for aspiring authors like myself or established authors but can also benefit anyone who has a project, assignment or any task for that matter that    requires them to get from point A to point B. Some of you maybe wondering what manner of sorcery is this, no sorcery or magic, just logic or rather logistics; it helps you plot the things needed from start to finish of your given task. Without further ado, the first tweet up....

Tools for novel writing and short story writing was tweeted by one of the authors I follow Thea Harrison. I have not read any of Thea's work as yet but her books are on my Amazon wishlist...just a little detour because I can't help myself, love talking books and authors...back to the topic at hand. This first tweet is about the aforementioned tools that can make the writing process easier. I wish I had known about these earlier in my journey because they could have been incorporated into my tools of the writing trade posts as well as in my story. Luckily, I'm not that far into the story (thanks to other assignments) so they can be integrated into the story and besides it is never too late to use knowledge. There are a number tools highlighted on the blog All Write but I just chose a few to spotlight in this post. The link to the blog will be posted below so that those interested can check out the entire list.

The planning tools for novel and short story writing are as follows:

Mind Maps

Mind Maps "...are useful for brainstorming your initial ideas"

Wikipedia defines Mind Maps as

a diagram used to visually outline information. A mind map is often created around a single word or text, placed in the center, to which associated ideas, words and concepts are added. Major categories radiate from a central node, and lesser categories are sub-branches of larger branches.^[1] Categories can represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items related to a central key word or idea.

Timelines

Timelines "are a useful tool for anything that needs a chronological order."

 Wikipedia defines timelines as

a way of displaying a list of events in chronological order, sometimes described as a project artifact. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labeled with dates alongside itself and (usually) events labeled on points where they would have happened.

Storyboarding

Storyboarding is a drawing "...of key scenes that sometimes pop into [the author's ] head."

 According to Wikipedia

Storyboards are graphic organizers in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence.

The storyboarding process, in the form it is known today, was developed at the Walt Disney Studio during the early 1930s, after several years of similar processes being in use at Walt Disney and other animation studios.

Storyboards are also used in music videos and advertising as well as in writing. When used in writing it helps the author visualize "important scenes or character conflicts."

Storyboards, mind maps and timelines can either be drawn by hand or they can be done in a word document or  as a power point. I chose that particular mind map, timeline and storyboard to show that anyone can use mind maps not only writers. If you want to see what a writer's mind map and timeline look like as well as find out more about the other writing tools click on the link below.

http://allwritefictionadvice.blogspot.com/2011/01/tools-for-short-story-and-novel-writing.html

Next tweet up is another Thea Harrison tweet, this one is about writing with rhythm. This is another set of tools I wish I had known about earlier in my journey. There are five tips for writing with rhythm, alternating sentence length, relocating words and phrases, embracing sentence fragments, matching mood to rhythm, and applying tension and release. For this post I am highlighting only three of the five tips.

Alternating sentence lengths can be done by varying the number of words or by

introduc[ing] a comical character with a statement that resembles a clumsy person stumbling down a stairway — then bring the headlong descent to a sudden stop with a concise comment. Describe a tortuous bureaucratic procedure with a run-on-and-on sentence, and then figuratively snap your fingers at it with a brusque reaction.

Embracing sentence fragments is one that I have seen many authors I love embrace. I was looking for an excerpt to post but that is taking too long because I'm getting sidetracked by reading so instead I'll use two lines from the the article 5 Tips About Writing with Rhythm, one of which is a sentence fragment so you get an idea of how it's done.

As a matter of fact, there never was such a regulation, except in the hidebound handbooks of grim grammarians. No kidding.

When matching rhythm to moods one should

 Let the length and rhythm of a sentence match the mood you wish to impart. A description of a beautiful landscape or an account of a rapturous experience should cascade like a rippling waterfall or undulate with the peaks of valleys of sensual imagery. Longer sentences punctuated with alliteration and assonance and laced with metaphors evoking physical sensations will help readers immerse themselves in the places and events you describe.

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/5-tips-about-writing-with-rhythm/

The last tweet to be highlighted today is my favorite of all three because it answers the all important question, at what point can you call yourself a write? Most persons unless they are writers never really get what it means to be an author or when you become an author for that matter. The article At What Point Can You Call Yourself A Writer eloquently describes it so I'm ending this post with an excerpt from it, hope you all enjoy!  

...it’s not the published book that makes you a writer. You’re a writer because of the things you notice in the world, and the joy you feel stringing the right words together so they sound like music. You’re a writer because you can imagine something in such detail that it comes to life. You’re a writer because you’re obsessed with making your ideas clearer, tighter, fiercer. You’re a writer because you have every reason to stop (it takes too much time, pays too little, and the rejection hurts too terribly), but you can’t do it. It’s not that you love to write so much as you need to write.

You’re a writer because you’re weird in the ways you want to continue being weird. And because even as you’re pretending to listen to the conversation that’s now wound its way back to lawn fertilizer and Little League, you’re digging in your purse for a pen (okay, a lipstick will do) so you can jot down the way your neighbor’s mouth sags on one side. And as you try to find just the right words, you realize it’s this quality—this human frailty—that finally allows you to connect.

http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/at-what-point-can-you-call-yourself-a-writer

  

CONFESSIONS OF A *GASP* BOOKAHOLIC

It is said, that the first step to overcoming an addiction is admitting you have a problem. While I freely confess, that yes I am a "bookaholic" who owns over one thousand books in multiple formats and on multiple devices,  I in no way want to overcome my addiction, instead I want to embrace and celebrate it.

This post does that, it charts how my addiction started, why I NEVER want it to end and those who enable it. My enablers are two-fold; those who supply me with books and those who write the "book crack" I am addicted to.

I have been reading ever since I can remember, been addicted to books pretty much since then too. There are so many things I love about books.

I love the knowledge I gain from them, being sucked into a story, being transported to different worlds, visiting different countries just with the flip of a page, being so lost within their depths that I am oblivious to everything and everyone around me, having my imagination engaged by them, being at the edge of my seat can't wait to find out what happens next, being able to escape within their confines when I need to escape, falling in and out of love with the characters, experiencing every emotion under the sun while reading them and the hours/days of entertainment and enjoyment they bring me. BUT what I love the most, what has bewitched me so is the fact that words, not just any words but the right combination of words creates a vivid mental picture in my mind, that is what has cast a spell on me and holds me firmly within its silken web. That is also what fired my passion for writing at a very young age.

One of my dreams is to be able to create mental pictures, engage the mind and emotions of my readers, have them on the edge of their seat, not able to bear parting with my books for even a second, fall in love with my heroes and get goosebumps when they read my stories. I'm not on that level as yet but I WILL get there, in the meantime I want to share some of the authors who engender these feelings within me.

But first, I should let you know that

I really do love them and I am PROUD and UNAPOLOGETIC about that love. I love romance novels in all forms, be it paranormal, suspense, historical, contemporary or urban fantasy. My love affair with romance can be traced all the way back to my childhood and my obsession with fairy-tales. Back then the enabler of my addiction was my mother. She didn't always have money to buy me brand new books but she had a library card that she used, to get me "new" books.

Fast forward a few years, my sister joins a book-club and starts bringing me books, she becomes my enabler. Fast forward, a year later this time, I become my own enabler as I begin going to the book-club. Pretty soon borrowing books is not enough for me because there are certain books that I just could not bear to part with, so I began buying books and the rest as they say is history. Some of the authors I am about to share with you, were introduced to me through the aforementioned book-club.

First author up is Emma Holly, she is a USA Today bestselling author of over thirty books. The first book I ever read by her was Personal Assets. I borrowed this book from the book-club. It was not on any of the shelves in the store mind you, it was behind the cashier's counter. On numerous occasions, while in the store I would see other women get books from behind that counter and I would wonder what the difference was between those on the shelves and the ones behind the counter. I soon found out the difference when one of the girls who worked there pulled Personal Assets from under the counter as I came up to cash and said "you should try this, I think you'll like it." Like pales in comparison to what I felt during and after reading that book, I absolutely LOVED it, until that point I wasn't aware there were books like that available. Personal Assets was a definite eye opener and mind blower for me. Of course I've read many books since then that will make it look tame in comparison, but it will always have a special place in my heart because it was my first. I became an instant Emma Holly fan after reading it, I am still and will always be a fan of her writing. Just a for your information announcement, Emma was a traditionally published author who has now become an indie/self published author. If you want to know more about Emma Holly and her books visit her website, her twitter and/or her Facebook page.

http://www.emmaholly.com/

https://twitter.com/EMMAHOLLY1

http://www.facebook.com/EmmaHolly.author?ref=ts

Being a fan of Emma Holly introduced me to the next author, Lora Leigh. How? I bought an anthology that featured an Emma Holly story, Lora Leigh was also one of the authors featured in that book. After reading The Breed Next Door I fell in love with Lora's writing. She has a way of writing heroes that makes you wish they would fall out of the pages of fantasy into reality. Tarek Jordan the hero from A Breed Next Door is one such hero so to is Reno Chavez, Clint McIntyre, Kell Kreiger (all are from her Tempting Seals series) as well as Nathan Malone, Micah Sloane (both are from her Elite Ops series) Dawg McKay and Alex Jansen (Nauti series).  She is also a bestselling author, a number one New York Times bestselling author to be exact. I have all, except ten of her books. She has written a lot of books so my missing ten says a lot. If you want to know more about Lora and various series' follow the links below.

http://www.loraleigh.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=56

http://www.facebook.com/loraleighauthor

http://loraleighmusings.blogspot.com/

Next author up is Lorelei James. I was introduced to her books by a member of the Lora Leigh Chatters (a yahoo group for Lora Leigh fans) who recommended her. Lorelei James, like Lora Leigh is also a NYT bestselling author but where Lora writes paranormal and suspense stories, Lorelei writes contemporary western stories. She made cowboys and bull riders sexy before her books my only knowledge of cowboys came from westerns that starred the likes of John Wayne *snickering at the abuse he used to mete out to his penis with those gun belts...nobody else wore them like that..too funny* and Clint Eastwood (love him, he starred in my favorite western The Good, The Bad and The Ugly) neither of whom I find sexy in the least. Lorelei also has that ability, to write heroes that you wish would jump into your reality, Cord McKay is one such cowboy. I could tell you all about him but you should really experience him for yourself so go read Cowgirl Up and Ride! To learn more about Lorelei's scrumptious heroes visit her website, blog, twitter and Facebook pages. Oh I almost forgot to mention that she writes mysteries under another name, Lori Armstrong. She is also a multi-award winning author under this name.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lorelei-James/290172309459?fref=ts

http://www.loreleijames.com/home.php

http://loreleijames.com/blog/

https://twitter.com/loreleijames

https://twitter.com/LoriGArmstrong

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lori-Armstrong/420276695091?fref=ts

The last but not least author I will share with you today is Karen Marie Moning. I was introduced to KMM in the book-club I mentioned earlier. Like Lora Leigh she is also a #1 New Times Bestselling author. Karen Marie Moning was the first author that took me to Scotland, with her RITA award winning Highlander series. Since then I have traipsed through the highlands many times over but none of those stories compares to my favorite books by the incomparable Karen Marie Moning. I love the entire series but these four books are my favorite, Highlander's Touch (Circenn's story), Kiss of the Highlander (Drustan's story), Dark Highlander (Drustan's twin Dageus' story) and last but most certainly not least Spell of the Highlander (Cian's story)...if I had sons these would be their names. I was sad to see this series end but then she wrote my newest obsession/addiction, her Fever series which introduced me to Urban Fantasy. Urban Fantasy wasn't all it introduced me to, it also introduced me to JERICHO BARRONS *dreamy sigh* now that is a man or rather a beast, to be honest I'm not really sure what he is but I can tell you this he is HOT! Follow the links below to find out more about Karen Marie Moning and her addicting series'.

http://www.karenmoning.com/kmm/

http://www.facebook.com/KarenMarieMoningfan?fref=ts

https://twitter.com/KarenMMoning

This concludes today's post, I hope you enjoyed reading it!

NOTE: I could have shared more about these authors and their works but I did not want to offend any delicate sensibilities since all authors write erotic scenes. The above list of authors are just some of my favorites there are  MANY other authors whose books I also enjoy reading. The same goes for books, there are MANY that are on my favorites list.

I'll leave you all with a song whose title aptly describes my response to books, I can never have enough, so just "gimme me, gimme me more..."

   

RANDOM BUT INTERESTING TWITTER...ISH

Random but interesting twitter ish is a lot different to anything else I have posted thus far. It still focuses on things that pertain to writing but it also focuses on stuff that we did in class and also things that are just too darn cool not to mention.

Everything in this post was tweeted or retweeted by authors I follow and all of today's screen shots are courtesy of the screen grabber app on my phone. Now that, that's out of the way, on to the topic at hand.

First tweet up has to do with writing, well writers actually as it focuses on the fact that they are two times more likely to commit suicide than non-writers. Naturally, my eyes bugged out while reading this, I mean what the hell, this is so not what I signed up for when I decided to be an author, back in primary school.

Now don't get me wrong, I knew there were writer's who had killed themselves but I wasn't aware that being a writer actually put one at risk of being two times more likely to commit suicide.

Armed with this new knowledge, I couldn't help but think that writing needed to come with some sort of warning label (giving voice to those stories in your head can lead you to take your own life) so that potential authors knew upfront the hazards of the trade. Just an aside, it would not have changed my path then or now knowing what I know now but for arguments sake let's roll with this train of thought.

Some of you all may be wondering why put a warning label on a career? My response, they do it for cigarettes and technically for the protective services so why not do it for writing too? Everyone knows that smoking can kill, just like they know that joining any one of the protective services can lead to death as well but how many know that writing, something that keeps you for the most part indoors, behind a desk and in front of a computer, supposedly out of harm's way, also has the potential to kill? Honestly, how many people would believe that? I rest my case.

Yes, I am aware that I am being a tad melodramatic and yes, I know that not every writer will be affected by this but it had me wondering why an author would take his or her own life in the first place?  I want to say writing is a double edged sword but it isn't really that, it is more of a Harvey Two-Face, meaning it has a good side and a bad/messed up side to it just like most everything in this world.

Most persons put pen to paper to exorcise "demons," I must admit I have used writing as a form of therapy and I must say it is quite an effective catharsis. However writing is in no way, shape or form a substitute for professional help because there are some demons that writing just cannot exorcise no matter how many times or ways you write it. As Nathan Branford said in his blog, " If you feel yourself struggling, please, find the help you need,"  and I will add to this, leaving it untreated will lead to depression and eventually suicide.

Depression from a writer's stand point in my opinion stems from two things, one of which is "demons" that the individual carries with him/her from past experiences, be it from childhood, or adulthood; the second one stems from not having your work recognized or received the way you thought it would and not having your career take off like you envisioned it would.

Depression and suicide are not to be taken lightly, if you or anyone you know are having these feelings or thoughts please get help and remember that admitting you have a problem is not a weakness, trying to cover up said problem is when weakness steps in.

Note: I am not a mental health or any other type of health care professional, these are just my thoughts and opinions. Below is the link to Nathan Bransford's blog, for those interested in reading it.  

http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2012/11/writers-and-suicide.html

On a lighter note, from the too darn cool not to mention tweets, is an unmanned library located in the Tokyo subway. Seriously how cool is it that this library does not have a librarian or a library assistant yet is fully functional? How does it work, well there are bookcases that look like "an old fashioned metro train filled with books. When commuters use the subway they can browse the bookshelves for a book they would like to read, then they borrow the book and return it to the shelves when they are finished. It is truly amazing to me that they understand and respect the way a library should work, meaning they understand that library books are for everyone to read and enjoy not like what happens here in Trinidad and Tobago where you borrow a book, love it and steal it thus robbing everyone else of enjoying that book as well.

A library like this would be a nice addition to City Gate but sadly Trinbagonians would not appreciate it and use it the way it should be used. I am pretty sure that within ten minutes of the library being set up all the books would be gone never to be seen again...tells us a lot about ourselves doesn't it?

http://popupcity.net/2012/11/a-free-library-in-the-tokyo-subway/

After Barack Obama was re-elected to office some teens posted hate tweets as well as put up hate statuses on Facebook. I had seen references to these tweets but it was only when Lauren Dane retweeted an @Jezebel tweet that I actually saw what everyone was tweeting about..

I knew after seeing the "N" word in this tweet that I should not click on the link but my curiosity got the better of me. You know that curiosity that does not heed warnings even when there are clear indicators (like the "N" word in this case) that tell you, you will be disgusted, angry, annoyed and sad if you watch this, kind of like watching a gory accident you know it is going to gross you out and upset you but you watch it anyway, yes that was me. Even though I knew it would disgust, anger and annoy me, plus make me sad, I still clicked on the link, I could not help myself.

The things that really got to me the most, besides the obvious was the fact that they could not spell and also that they were quoting their parents. Why oh why are they still preaching hate five hundred or so years after slavery was abolished? I will never as long as I live understand it.

I contemplated tweeting a response to them but in the end I realized it was not worth it and besides that I could only see things getting worse and it did get worse. I saw this tweet a few days later

This tweet brings us to one of the topics we discussed in class, cyber-bullying. While I would not exactly call what happened so far cyber-bulling since it is nowhere near what was done to the guy who abused the leather-back turtles, I think it has the potential to get to that level.

After reading the article I am of two minds, I believe there should be some sort of consequence for their actions but I am not sure that making fun of the fact that they cannot spell or that reporting them to the schools they attend is the right type of punishment. Then I think maybe reporting them to the schools is the right thing to do because their parents probably won't discipline them since they are spewing the hate they hear at home, plus the fact that they used their real Twitter and Facebook accounts to post shows that they believe there is nothing wrong with their behaviour, so maybe being thrown off the football etc though I doubt it, might actually make them realize that they did something wrong. What do you think?             

http://jezebel.com/5958490/twitter-racists-react-to-that-nigger-getting-reelected/gallery/1?utm_campaign=socialflow_jezebel_twitter&utm_source=jezebel_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

http://gigaom.com/2012/11/09/when-does-shaming-racist-kids-turn-into-online-bullying/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

I am ending this post on a high note, with something that I think is innovative and sheer brilliance and a bit gross too. This is from the too cool not to mention tweets, what is it? It is a urine powered generator. It was invented by four teenage girls from Africa, the oldest is just fifteen years old.

Anytime I hear about Africa it is always about Aids, or malnutrition, or poverty, or drought, the list goes on and on. When I came across this tweet I knew I had to mention it in a post, I knew I had to salute these four girls for creating something that has the potential to help millions all over the world. They took something  that is seen as waste, that is flushed down a toilet and made it into power, that deserves an award of some kind in my opinion. Since I don't have any have those to give out I dedicate this post to their brilliance...Well done ladies, well done indeed!!!

http://io9.com/5958887/oh-this-just-some-teenage-girls-from-africa-who-invented-a-urine+powered-generator?utm_campaign=socialflow_io9_twitter&utm_source=io9_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow  

FINALLY! THE JOURNEY BEGINS...THE WRITING PROCESS

The writing process is easier said than done, I of course found that out when I sat down to be begin writing my short story, The BoogeyMan. Even though I knew the story inside and out, from beginning, to middle, to end having had it in my mind for months I had some issues putting my ideas to" paper" so to speak.

I had been writing this story for most of the weekend and I did not like any of the drafts I had so far so I sat down a little while ago and I wrote from scratch. I must say I like this draft a whole lot better than the others so this is the one I am putting up on Google docs and sharing with you all.

I know I will write and re-write the beginning of this story until I think it is right because I'm just anal like that, I always have several drafts of any and everything I write, anyway this is The BoogeyMan so far, I hope you all enjoy the first 363 words.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rvJkfi7_F2WWvM8UGWhw77QsevHGwwl8gJS7CI1RC3M/edit

THE UNVEILING...RIPPING AWAY THE BAND-AID

Today I am ripping the band-aid off, taking the plunge and putting my work out there.  Yes folks I am unveiling a story I wrote last year entitled, The Prefect. To help with the unveiling I am enlisting the help of Google Docs. I have uploaded the story and will share the link later on in the post.

First I want to tell you all a bit about the story. There are no spoilers in this post, I promise. I wrote The Prefect specifically for a creative writing course that I took last year with Earl Lovelace. I read it in class and was given the following advice, the beginning was too wordy so I changed it from, "This is how it all began. I bet you thought I was gonna say something maudlin like this is how I died, yeah, no, before you jump to conclusions, let me assure you this is not that type of story. But what does happen is that become so corrupt you may mistake me for a Politician, but I am not. Although, it is strange how this one little change in my life turned me a once innocent and pure individual into a dark villainous character." To  "In the recounting of this tale you may mistake me for a Politician on account of how corrupt I become, but I am not! Although, it is strange..."

I was also told that each word should count and I must admit that was some pretty sound advice. All authors have to abide by certain word limits based on whatever piece of writing they are working on, be it a short story, a novel etc. Even the contest I am entering has a word limit on it, the story must be between 2000 and 5000 words.I think this might be a bit of a challenge for me but it's one I will meet head-on. Anyway without further ado here is the link to The Prefect. I hope you all enjoy it!

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B_eKOq9mvv-GaEtqdTlicG9fa28

 

TOOLS OF THE TRADE PART 5

Today marks the end of the tools of the writing trade posts. It's kind of sad and also nerve-wracking too because it heralds the beginning of the writing process, where I actually sit and write The BoogeyMan. Anyway this last post focuses on one of the most important aspects of writing a story, character. There are several different  types of characters; flat, round, stock, protagonist and antagonist.

Flat Characters are minor characters in a work of fiction who do not undergo any substantial change or growth during the course of the story. Flat Characters are also known as two-dimensional characters or static characters. They play a supporting role to the main character. Examples of static characters are Cinderella's wicked stepmother and Mr Collins from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

On the other hand, Round Characters encounter conflict and are irrevocably changed by it. They tend to be more developed than flat characters. Round Characters are also known as main characters, major characters and dynamic characters. Example of round character is Dark Vader.

Meanwhile Stock Characters are easily recognized and accepted by the reader and requires no development by the writer. Stock Characters are so easily recognized and accepted because their characteristics and mannerisms  are drawn from widely known cultural types. Examples of stock characters are the mad scientist and the dumb blonde.

The Protagonist also known as the main character or hero is the character the reader empathizes with.

The antagonist however opposes the hero and is not very well liked but usually provides conflict whenever he/she is present.  

There are different methods of developing characters, Wikipedia lists them and defines them as

• Appearance explains or describes the character's outward appearance so the readers can picture them, and identify them relative to other characters.

• Dialogue is what characters say and how they say it.

• Action is what characters do and how they do it.

• Reaction of others is how other characters see and treat a main character.

To round up this last post I leave you with a YouTube video that focuses on  static characters, round characters and foils.

  

TOOLS OF THE TRADE PART 4

For this latest installment of tools of the writing trade I am going to do something different I think its apt since I am dealing with the elements of a story theme and most importantly language which is directly linked to what I am currently doing have you figured it out yet I am doing a post with no punctuation whatsoever I came across the idea on YouTube while looking through videos that pertain to elements of a story so I thought I would give it a test run to see if I like it enough to do my story in this style I have to say that I am not loving it so far it is an annoyance to my eyes and brain but one must sacrifice for ones craft right anyway enough of that time to get on with the topic at hand

Theme which according to Wikipedia is

the central idea or insight serving as a unifying element, creating cohesion and is an answer to the question, 'What did you learn from the piece of fiction?

Most people when asked what the theme of a book or movie is simply reply love or betrayal etc I have also been guilty of this on occasion but there is more to theme than that I was watching this video that a teacher posted on YouTube on theme in it he said that theme is the idea the writer expresses on that particular subject for example love is blind or love leads to heartache and pain etc

One of the themes of The Boogeyman is never give up no matter how hard or painful life is keep going because there is light at the end of that very painful and long tunnel check out the video it gives interesting insight on theme

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4qME64SkxM

The video was not coming up in the insert video tab so I posted the link instead

Now on to the other half of this post language to me is a beautiful thing it allows the writer to create vivid pictures in the readers mind it can also help to attract and keep the readers attention there are many literary figures of speech that help to achieve these goals I will just highlight two of my favourites in this post metaphor according to Wikipedia is

 a literary figure of speech that describes a subject by asserting that it is, on some point of comparison, the same as another otherwise unrelated object. Metaphor is a type of analogy and is closely related to other rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via association, comparison or resemblance including allegory, hyperbole, and simile.

An example of a metaphor is all men are dogs the video below is a rap on different types of figurative language

Next up is simile which is

 a figure of speech that directly compares two different things, usually by employing the words "like" or "as". It is different from a metaphor, which compares two unlike things by saying that the one thing is the other thing, unlike the simile that uses word like or as

For an example of a simile just look at the title of the song below

 

  

WE INTERRUPT YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMME TOOLS...WRITER'S BLOCK

Last week I started three posts that I could not seem to finish writing no matter how hard I tried. It seemed the harder I tried the worse it got. I went from sluggishly typing a word every now and then to a complete stop. I stared at a mostly blank screen for hours, hands poised over the keyboard and nada, not a word, or a sentence, or even a thought for that matter would spring forth.

What made it worse was the house was very noisy; my nephew was crying, televisions were blaring loudly, people were also talking loudly everything was just so LOUD and I needed complete silence because I was having difficulty writing, but silence I knew was not happening anytime soon *big deep sigh* because people need to talk, toddlers need to cry and movies sound better in surround sound. What was a girl to do in a situation like this?

I stared at the computer screen some more hoping that inspiration would pop out of its back-lighted depths but no such luck was forthcoming. What did happen though was this thought, Timi girl like you experiencing writer's block or something, quickly followed by this thought, I could do a post on writer's block; writing about not being able to write just might get me out of this writing funk, writer's block or whatever it was I was experiencing at the time.

So I checked Wikipedia to see what they had to say on the topic, it was along the lines of what I thought it was except for the part about it lasting for years, that part kind of freaked me out a little. 

 Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing as a profession, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work. The condition varies widely in intensity. It can be trivial, a temporary difficulty in dealing with the task at hand. At the other extreme, some "blocked" writers have been unable to work for years on end, and some have even abandoned their careers.

I also checked YouTube, so I'd have the option to use either one or the other but I ended up choosing to use both because the video I found on YouTube paints a different and I have to say scarier picture to me at least.  The woman in the video uses the words FEAR, EMOTIONAL ISSUES, PARALYSIS...but what I think scares me most about this video is that some of the things she said are so true of me, it had me wondering whether writer's block was in my future.

Honestly I cannot imagine not being able to write for years possibly even never and yes I know there was a time when I actually stopped/chose not to write. I used to write stories accompanied by drawings in primary school, then I got sick and was hospitalized and I stopped writing...then I was too afraid to write but none of that is the same as or compares to NOT BEING ABLE to write.

The video is posted below please take a look at it, do not be afraid to watch it because of what I said, it scared me because I saw me in certain things she said but that does not mean that you should not watch it, it really is an interesting video and definitely an interesting and different take on writer's block.  

P.S. I finished the three posts later that night, into the wee hours of the next morning and published them.  

TOOLS OF THE TRADE PART 3

This installlment of tools of the writing trade focuses on the element of a story, conflict. Conflict, according to Wikipedia.com can be

 internal or external—that is, it may occur within a character's mind or between a character and exterior forces. Conflict is most visible between two or more characters, usually a protagonist and an antagonist, but can occur in many different forms.

There are five types of conflict; man vs self, man vs man, man vs society, man vs nature and last but not least man vs machine.

Man vs Self (Internal)

With this type of conflict the character struggles against his/her own will, fears, emotional issues, confusion and or mental issues. What is important to note is that even though the conflict takes place internally, external forces can still influence the character.

In the picture above Edward Norton's character's conflict is mental, as he battles his alter-ego/doppelganger who is bent on mayhem and destruction. To find out which personality emerged the victor  in this battle you need to watch the film, Fight Club.

Conflict with self is one of the types of conflict present in my story, The BoogeyMan. The heroine/main character (protagonist) of my story finds herself in a moral dilemma due to a situation beyond her control, she struggles with the decision she made to get out of the situation as it goes against everything she was brought up to believe but she sees no other way out for her.

Man vs Man (External)

     
This type of conflict usually pits the protagonist (hero) against the antagonist (anti-hero/villian) as the antagonist acts as a foil  ("a character who contrasts with another character (usually the protagonist) in order to highlight particular qualities of the other character" (Wikipedia, 2012), this helps to drive the plot along. This type of conflict can either be a mental battle of the wills or it can be physical, in order words it can break out into fisticuffs (combat with fists) as seen in the picture above from the movie The Dark Knight.

Batman stands up for what is right whereas Joker is the opposite, he stands for evil and as a result of this they will always be at loggerheads with each other, there will always be conflict between them.

The BoogeyMan also contains an element of man vs man conflict in it as the protagonist and antagonist go at it but it is a one-sided battle because one is physically stronger than the other.


Man vs Society (External)

The protagonist usually battles against an unjust government as seen in the movie V for Vendetta where the main character, V was vehemently against the government and all it stood for. This type of conflict may also be against a culture, or an institution like the church.

The BoogeyMan also contains this type of conflict but it is battle between man, culture and  government with a bit of religion.


Man vs Nature (External) 

This type of conflict sees man going up against the forces of nature for his very survival.

In the movie Castaway Tom Hanks' character experiences this very struggle when the plane he was travelling in crashes, leaving him stranded on a deserted island where he is now forced to fend for himself against the forces of nature. Nature acts as foil to his wanting to get back to civilization by throwing obstacles in his path, to keep him trapped in the middle of nowhere.

This particular conflict is not applicable to the BoogeyMan as it does not contain a man vs nature element.


Man vs Machine (External)

Man versus Machine places the protagonist against a being with artificial intelligence. An example of this type of conflict can be seen in the movie Thor, where Thor fights the Destroyer.

To end this post I'll leave you with two Youtube videos that reiterate what I've said. The first one uses different books to portray the different types of conflict and the second video uses movies. I hope you all enjoy!

TOOLS OF THE TRADE PART 2

Tools of the writing trade part two focuses on two more elements of a story namely, point of view and setting.

Point of view  is the way the author allows you to "see" and "hear" what is going on. There are three kinds of point of view; first person narrative, second person narrative and third person narrative. Third person narrative consists of; third person omniscient, third person limited and third person objective. I won't go into defining the various points of view because I found a video on Youtube that explains it with examples, so I don't want to rehash what you'll see in the video.

What I will say though, is that The Boogeyman is told from a first person point of view. Reason being, the protagonist's story is a very personal story so it would be best if it is told from her point of view, otherwise it won't be believable. It is also a way of getting readers to put themselves in her shoes, to feel like part of  the story, to feel like her experiences are their experiences, to feel like her goals and her hopes and dreams are theirs too.

The setting of a story is simply the time in which the story takes place and also the place. The Boogeyman is set in 2012 and it takes place in central Trinidad, Chaguanas to be exact, to be even more accurate it takes place in Edinburgh 500 and Lange Park. Why does it take place in two different parts of Chaguanas? I wanted to have a contrast, not a big contrast mind you between where the protagonist is from and where the antagonist is from.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE PART 1

Some of you all maybe thinking, just from the name of this post that it is about paper, pens, pencils, computer, tablet etc but it's not. While they are all tools of the writing trade this post is about something more essential to writing than that, it's something that every writer uses. What am I referring to? The elements of a story: plot, character, setting, theme...etc

Part one of this series will focus on plot. According to Wikipedia a plot is;

a literary term defined as the events that make up a story, particularly as they relate to one another in a pattern, in a sequence, through cause and effect, how the reader views the story, or simply by coincidence. One is generally interested in how well this pattern of events accomplishes some artistic or emotional effect.

According to Wikipedia there are two types of plot; chronological and flashbacks. Chronological order is where all the events that occur in the story are written in the same order in which they happened. Flashbacks on the other hand...

convey information about events that occurred earlier. It permits authors to begin the story in the midst of the action but later fill in the background for full understanding of the present events. Flashbacks can occur more than once and in different parts of a story. (Study Of Literature, 2012)

The plot of  my story which is entitled The Boogeyman by the way, is flashback. The beginning of the story is actually the end of the story. I like starting at the end of the story because I think it intrigues readers more, I know it certainly intrigues me more when an author or filmmaker does that.

Quentin Tarantino's movie Pulp Fiction  is the first movie I ever saw that had flashbacks in it, it definitely stuck with me. The idea of not telling a story in the"traditional" way a.k.a. chronologically fascinates me because it has me wondering why the person would make that kind of decision, it also has me anticipating what comes next and always keeps me guessing. That is the kind of reaction I want my readers to have. I want them to start thinking about the story and be fully engrossed in the characters before they've really gotten into the meat of the story so to speak. I want to grab their attention from the get and keep it till the end of the story, to me flashbacks do that. 

I found a video on Youtube that descibes plot through song. I thought it would be fitting to add to this post because it deals with Freytag's pyramid or in other words his idea of a plot; exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution.

   

FREUD WOULD HAVE A FIELD DAY WITH THIS...

Why would Freud have a field day with this? Because I'm interviewing myself in this post. I know it's weird but it's necessary for this particular part of the journey.

What type of author am I?
At present I am a West Indian author who writesWest Indian Literature. I describe my stories as reality mixed with a dose of my imagination and they are usually dark in nature.

However it's not the only type of story I want to write, I'd like to branch out into writing romance; paranormal, suspense, contemporary, historical, you name it I want to write it. There isn't any subgenre of romance I don't want to write. Who knows I might even try my hand at mystery...the sky is the limit.

Do I listen to music when I write? 
Yes! I love listening to music while I write. I even weave some of my favourite songs into my stories. Music is a very integral part of who I am. With that being said, I should warn you all that my singing voice will not win me any awards or get me a multi-million dollar record contract but that's okay because I'm cool with my lack of singing prowess. It never stops me from belting out some high-pitched notes (think Mariah Carey) when I'm in the mood.

 I'm always listening to music be it on my ipod, or laptop via Youtube or through what I like to call my "internal deejay" which is simply me just singing random songs or mixing several songs together in my head. 

There's a saying that says eyes are the windows to the soul, while I believe that I also believe that if you listen to a persons playlist or watch their favourites on Youtube you'll get a glimpse into their soul. I believe music speaks to the soul, it doesn't care about colour, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, none of that matters when it comes to music. I'm going to share a bit of my soul with you through Youtube.

The first video I wanted to share was Lead The Way by Mariah Carey but I'm having some issues with getting it uploaded. The comment I wanted to make under that post was that most everyone agrees that the movie Glitter sucked but there was a gem on the soundtrack, this song which I love. Lead The Way is not the only Mariah Carey song I love, I love all her songs from the 90's.

Next up is Aaliyah's If Your Girl Only Knew, it goes without saying that I love this song. Aaliyah is my all time favourite singer, there isn't any song of hers that I don't love. I chose to share this video because this was the first music video of hers I ever saw, before that I had only heard her on the radio.

Karyn White's Can I Stay, what can I say except sit back and ENJOY!

I'm a HUGE rap fan and DMX is one of my favourite rappers, so I had to choose one of his videos as my last video to share. For all those who don't like expletives in their music, have no fear it's PG13 meaning all the curse words have been cut out.  

TECHNOLOGY...the coolest thing EVER invented!

When I first saw this I squealed, a squeal that rivaled all fangirl squeals EVER uttered! I don't even know the author but just the thought of what she was doing had me all atwitter because it gave birth to just a smidgen of possibility that one of my favourite author's would do something like this, hopefully in the very near future.

What has me all atwitter and google-eyed? A tweet, by @goodreads that I retweeted on September 18th, 2012.

Just a little on what goodreads is, its a site where readers can keep track of the books they have read, the books they want to read and also the books they're currently reading. Of course it does more than that but those are the things I essentially use it for.

Now to the topic at hand, what was the tweet about? Check out the screen shot below.

Ok so the tweet is about an author, Silvia Hartmann who is writing and editing a book in real time online. What bit of sorcery is she using to perform this feat? A public Google Document, I wasn't aware something like that even existed but now that I am, I've filed it away for future use. I think this is one of the best technological advancements Ever! I also think it's pretty darn cool too! Yes, yes I am quite nerdy when it comes to anything to do with books, or games, or movies for that matter. But I digress, back to the topic at hand...

I had never heard of Silivia Hartmann before, so I used  Wikipedia.com to find out about her. What do you know they had a page on her. I copied and pasted an excerpt of her biography below.

Silvia Anne Hartmann (born August 23, 1959) is a United Kingdom based author and lecturer on energy psychology^[1] and personal development. She is best known as the primary developer of Energy EFT and EmoTrance (ET)^[2][3] which has been criticised as unscientific by two senior academics.^[4] She is also known for her books on Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) as well as her fiction titles under the nom de plume Nick StarFields.^[5]Hartmann co-founded The Association for Meridian & Energy Therapies in 1998 with Chrissie Hardisty^[6] and is presently the chairperson.

Silvia Hartmann's books are not my cup of tea but I love her choice of name for the project, "The Naked Writer Project." Wikipedia explains the concept of the project well, so I added it below.

The Naked Writer Project
In September 2012, Hartmann began a project to write a fiction title using Google Docs so that readers could see the writing & editing process in real-time through their web browser^[8]. The author also used crowdsourcing to allow readers to suggest a name for the new novel^[9], and to also decide on the level of sex that it should contain.

Now that, that's out of the way I have to say that my second reaction after the squeal, was to reminsce about author/fan relations in the past. I have been a reader for a very long time, ever since I learned to. I remember when the most interaction a reader and a writer had, was through the author biography at the back of the book. For those who were lucky enough to live in countries/areas where authors had book signings and reader/writer conventions got to interact with them face to face.

Then something changed, at  the back of the book under the biography, a website appeared. From the author's website you got the link to their Yahoogroup. Yahoogroups are a way of meeting like minded readers and also a way to interact with authors as they peek in ever so often to chat. After Yahoogroups came, Myspace, Facebook, Twitter etc. 

Blogs appeared in between but I singled it out because it brought something else to the author/reader dynamic, blog tours. Blog tours gave international readers, like myself  a chance to follow a book tour albeit virtually. Other ways international readers got to interface with authors was through virtual book signings and online reader conventions. The latter one I found out about this year.

Although I love all the ways I've listed where a reader and writer can interact, my favourite is the public Google Document because you actually get experience a personal journey with the author from start to finish. I REALLY hope some of my favourite authors begin to use this document soon.

Below I've added two links. The first is the one that was in the tweet, it's an article about what the author is doing and the second is the actual document of the story.

 http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/18/watch-this-author-use-a-google-document-to-write-and-edit-a-book-in-real-time/

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AwxZlO1uVnFFKh_NWAlZ78oK2c5gxzvVCfrYbe7EOE8/edit?pli=1

 

KNOWING WHEN TO QUELL YOUR PROTECTIVE MOTHER HEN INSTINCTS

Every author, aspiring or published should know when and where to quell their protective instincts; where their work is concerned. They should also know when and where to let their inner mother hen run amok in regards to protecting said work from harm.

On September 14th, 2012, New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Lauren Dane (@laurendane) tweeted about an agent who was assaulted by a writer whose work she rejected for whatever reason. Lauren of course had advice for the author which I found quite valid...see screen shot below.

Now we get to my thoughts on the subject. I'll try not be long-winded but I make absolutely no promises on that front.

In my introductory post I spoke about feeling like my work was my baby because it is a product of me. This appears to be what the author was suffering at the time of the assault. While I understand that feeling I in no way agree with what she did. She had to have known going into the meeting that there was a 50/50 chance of rejection and as such act accordingly, that is, prepare herself  for either response to her work, be it positive or negative.

Once you make the decision to share your work with others you HAVE to be open to criticism, as long as it's constructive of course. If it's not constructive then you can unleash your protective instincts by defending your work till you're blue in the face if that's what it takes. However, if the criticism is constructive then  that feedback can be used to perfect your work so when next you submit it they'll have a devil of a time rejecting it. Besides, there is no law stating that you can't re-work and re-submit a story to the same publisher who earlier rejected it.

I guess the author was too caught up in her emotions to consider the fact that she could have used that feedback to her advantage.Or the fact that there were other avenues open to her. Or the fact that, that rejection was one person's opinion and it does not mean everyone else will react to the book the same way.

She had the option to shop her book elsewhere. She could have also chosen to self publish with Amazon.com. I know of several authors who self publish through Amazon and are quite successful. Also she could have sent the book to various blogs for review and ask them to post their review on their site and Amazon's simultaneously, thus earning her some publicity and readers, provided the review was favourable.

Traditional avenues of publishing are losing ground each day as more and more authors are choosing to self publish.Who wouldn't? The perks of self publishing are you, the writer have the freedom to write the stories you want to, you also get 70% of the royalties as well as get to set the price of your books, this is with Amazon I'm not sure about the other sites that also allow you to self publish.

The downfall is, it's a lot more work as you now have to wear different hats besides that of author. You are now charged with the responsibility of editing your books, marketing them and a host of other things that I am not even aware of that goes into publishing a book.

This is where networking and social media play key roles in getting your books into the hands of your current and potential readers/fans. Because you are not contracted to one of those big publishing houses you don't have access to editors but what you do have are friends, family, possibly fans and even other authors who can read your work, give you feedback as to what works, what doesn't work, they can even edit too.

Now to the marketing side of things. Similarly you don't have access to big bucks to market your book but you really don't need it, with the advent of social media all you need is that network of family, friends etc. You can get one of them to make a trailer for the book and post on Youtube, you can post the video on your Facebook page, do a Blog tour get your name out there, build a website and Tweet about your book. 

I have to say it again I guess she was too caught up in her protective mother hen instincts to see the other routes she could have taken to get what she wanted. Had she been thinking clearly she would also have taken into consideration the fact that her actions could have far reaching consequences.If the agent she assaulted is vindictive enough to call other publishers and tell them about her, her career could be at an end before it even has a chance to take off; which if it does happen is very sad indeed.