The Latest Happenings
▣ How do I define the soul of a writer?
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On September 9th I'll be speaking at Bristol Village in Waverly Ohio on the subject of: The Soul of a Writer. I'm deciding what to say on that subject. Of course each writer's soul is different and unique and people have many different reasons and goals in mind for their writing. What do most of us have in common?
Ideas clammoring to be expressed.
An active imagination and inner life.
Sometimes a desire to be heard by others, sometimes a desire to express self to self for better understanding.
A desire to entertain self and others by telling stories, creating an alternate world.
A desire to imform or help others with self help types of books.
▣ Bits and pieces of writing/ Moments in time
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I'm looking back at things written in the past and deciding whether to preserve them or not. I have hundreds of things written on scraps of paper, things that might or might not be worth keeping. They are brief thoughts or ideas that I had at a moment in time. Below is one:
Cliches
Speaking, of relationship problems
her friend said,
"Well he's not perfect, but you have him
For better or worse."
"No", she said, "I've not made that vow,
His choice,not mine.
It's for better,
or not at all!"
▣ Write what you know
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Do most sucessful writers write what they know?
I write what I know plus about things I must research. So I write what I know and what I can find out.
At a writing group we were told to write what we know about a quadratic equasion. I wrote:
I know that the word or prefix quad usually means foru and know that equasion may refer to something that is equal to something else. I believe but am not certain that this a mathematical equasion.
I believe I shouldn't be writing about it since I know nothing.
Write what you know, but you might not know it all going in.
▣ Dream Writing
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Not a dream piece of writing but writing from a dream.
I wriote the following from a dream I had.
For Memoirs writers: Write about a memorable dream that you've had.
▣ Lines from songs
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I have a writing assignment for a group I attend. The assignment is to choose a line from a song and use it as a prompt. This will be my random thoughts on that subject:
I’m never gonna dance again, guilty feet have got no rhythm
Frank stumbled in panic, his guilt found out. He’d paid someone to disable his figure skating competitor and now, here he was, unable to perform himself. The pain that must have screamed through Joe’s leg, now screamed in echo in Frank’s own muscles.
“You’re ok,”
He tried to calm himself with words, knowing that the pain he felt, the stumbling and clumsiness that he didn’t seem able to control, was all psychological in origin. Into the arena he sped on skates that seemed too slippery and to have a mind of their own. He performed the first half of his routine with little grace but he hoped the judges wouldn’t notice now that they didn’t have Joe to compare him with.
Zip, zip, over the ice he sped and then started his signature spin. This time the spin went on and on and he thought it was a good thing until it spun him into a dizzy unconsciousness.
He woke to whispered voices and downcast eyes.
“What’s wrong,” he shouted in a voice that sounded like a shovel grating on ice.
“I’m sorry,” a white coated man said. I saved your leg, but you twisted it so badly, you won’t ever be able to dance again.
The words of that song pounded in Frank’s head, pounded also in his feet and legs as he remembered, Guilty feet have got no rhythm. His guilty feet throbbed in agreement.
You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em, know when to walk away, know when to run
If only he’d remembered that song when he was in the midst of the heist, Jonathan thought, he’d have folded up and run away. As it was now, he was nursing two arms that had required extensive surgery followed by skin grafts and a lot of pain.
On that bright sunny day his friends Bobby and Austin had been at the beach in an isolated spot with him, just hitting the waves and catching the rays, when
“I’ll bet there’s some beer in there,” he told the others. “Let’s get it.”
No one had objected and so all three of them had headed for the cooler. Bobby was the first to open the lid. Inside was an array of beer and sandwich makings. The beer was what attracted the boys, however.
“Let’s take the whole thing. There’s nobody here to stop us,” Bobby said.
Jonathan grabbed on side of the cooler and Bobby the other.
“I can’t wait for a nice cold beer. Nice of that guy to leave it for us, wasn’t it?”
Crack, crack, bullets whooshed across the sand and Jonathan dropped his end of the cooler, staring in shock at his mangled wrists. The bullet had gone across the handle of the cooler hitting both his wrists. He screamed and fell to the ground as more bullets spun toward them and Bobby was hit in the shoulder.
Pain and fear caused Jonathan to faint he guessed, because he was awakened by the paramedics who’d been called. The nightmare that followed, having to explain to his parents that he was a thief, as well as the police, the pain, the doctors, surgeries, and all left a scar inside him as well as on his arms which he’d never be able to use normally.
“Yes,” he reflected, “If I’d only known when to fold them, to tell my friends ‘I’m outta the game’ and walk away early I’d have avoided all this. Now I have a permanent reminder for life.”
▣ Whispers/ Poetry's Motion
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Zip Collins is hearing whispers in the trees, the wind and in the waves of the water at Rocky Fork lake. My new venture is going pretty well with 10,000 words last week to start it.
I'm waiting for input to finish my final rewrite of Shattered Hart.
Have been reviewing some poems constructed from poetry in motion. For those who don't know there are about forty words in a hodgepodge of letters. You take each of those words and move them to construct a poem. You can only use what's available, can't add a word. Below are some writings thus constructed.
▣ Melungeons
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- Tags:
- Melungeon, Bible
- winning
I've been studying the Melungoen people for about a year now. I started looking into this when I considered setting a novel at Carmel, Ohio. In Carmel there were a group of people called the Carmel Indians or later Melungeons. Mulengeon is a term for people who are said to be tri-racial isolates usually mixed blood of Indian, White and Negro. A remnant of Shawnee indians stayed in the Carmel area and a group of Melungeons from Magoffin county, Ky came to live and work in the area around the time of the Civil War.
I wanted to add info about this history into the background of my novel. However, before I wrote the novel I had in mind, I did another, Shattered Hart, set in West Union, Ohio and Morgantown, West Va. I put some background info about the Melungeon people in that book as well. I'm now working on Whispers set in Hillsboro, Ohio and it will use more of the information from my Melungeon research. I lived in the area when I was a child and knew these people who I didn't see as any different from myself.
▣ Winning
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What does it mean to win? I explore this question in the piece below. I remember an old poem that explored the question also. This must be an important question for me since I keep coming back to it.
For Memoirs Writers: What have you won in your life? Did you try hard to win it or was it easy? Did it make your life better?
▣ Whispers is coming on the wind
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I have started Whispers now. It is set in Hillsboro and is a sequel to The Smelly Man. I started on Saturday and I'm on Chapter four now. So far, moving right along. It had to make way for other things I'm doing and now it's to the front of the line. I have until the end of the year to finish it. I've been a little worried because I've been so late getting started.
For any of my readers who liked Zip Collins from The Smelly Man, as I did, he's back. This time he's trying to solve the murder for which his son Boyd ahd been imprisoned.
Meanwhile, Shattered Hart is being read by my readers. When they are finished I'll do my final re-write.
For any memoirs writers: Write about someone or something that has kept re-occurring in your life. A person who keeps turning up like a bad (or good) penny. A situation that has repeated itself.
▣ Shattered Hart is coming
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My new book set in West Union will be coming soon. It's out to my readers now and I have to wait for their feedback but will have that soon.
Meanwhile I'm getting ready for Whispers set in Hillsboro. I should have started it but havent' yet. Will have to write fast to finish it in five months.
The story below was written from the prompt Pay Heed...what else. Hope you enjoy it.
▣ Back again after much procrastination
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I've been working on re-writes to Shattered Hart. I did three re-writes and have now put the manuscript to my readers. Meanwhile, I wrote some in my memoirs which I do in between novels. Today I started to create the characters for Whispers in the Mind which will be a sequel to The Smelly Man and which will be set in Hillsboro, Ohio.
I know it's been a while since I've posted anything but hopefully I'll do better now.
For Memoirs Writers: What have you procrastinated about? Is there something you put off that had dire consequences? Is this a major problem for you? What delay caused unforseen results?
▣ Short Story for a writing group prompt
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This is a story writen for David Bells group but never read to the group as far as I can remember.
▣ Using Ohio cities for character names
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We were told to use city names for characters and write a short story. This is mine in the space below.
Meanwhile, the book Dream Buster set in Chillicothe is now available at Amazon.com.
The book Shattered Hart set in West Union is in the re-write stage.
I'm working on my memoirs since I'm at an in-between stage.
▣ Children's Stories
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Our writing group had a speaker last week who talked about writing children's stories. I wasnt' there but was to write a story about two children in conflict who resolve the problem on their own. I'm including the writing I did for this weeks assignment. havent' written anythng for children in a long time.
For Memoirs Writiers: Write about a conflict between yourself and another child when you were 8 to 10 years old.
▣ Updating my Readers
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I forgot how to update my website but I can tell you here that Dream Buster is finally out and available at Amaxon.com. The book is set in Chillicothe,Ohio and is my first about a serial killer. I've been trying something new with each book. I'm currently re-writing Shattered Hart set in West Union. It was my first book that had historical significance. Still I did it in the present with my protagonist investigating the past. Sometime soon I need to do a book that is set in the past.
The book prior to Dream Buster was Bite of the Serpent. With that book I did my first sequel (Tempest Rider) and also my first and only who dunnit.
I'm thinking that the next book will be another sequel. This time the sequel will be to The Smelly Man set at Bainbridge but the new book, probably called Whispers will be set at Hillsboro.
▣ Dream Buster out finally!
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Finally after months of problems of one type or another, Dream Buster is finally available at Amazon.com. it went live two days ago and I still need to find a way to add it to my website. My computer hard drive crashed during this time and then another part of the computer caused it to be in the shop for a bit among other things. Meanwhile, I've written the first draft of Shattered Hart and I'm ready to start to do the re-writes of that soon. Monday, I think.
For today's post I will add something I've written in the past and hope to get back in sync soon. Waht you will read below is a fictionalized version of something I remember from childhood. The first part is true, the second part used to show how memories can be used to make decisions today.
▣ Learning new things.
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I'm looking at different ways to set up websites now and how to do so and maintain them the least expensively. All this technology is a learning curve that I've been neglecting to round but finally I decided I must do what I must do.
I love to learn new things but when I'm busy I hate to stop what I'm doing to learn something. I want to do it all simultaneously. That is why I don't have a laptop comuter. I've never used one and not sure how to write on it and then transfer the writing to my main document. I'd have to stop writing to learn how to do that. Maybe for my birthday I'll buy myself one...that's July.
For memoirs writers: What new thing did you resist learning? What happened? Did you learn it, did it work out for the best?
▣ Writing to a formula
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For our next writing assignment we are to write to a formula.
In the center is the story problem. Mine is a woman is scared when a burglar breaks into the house.
We are to list the following and work it into our story:
Intuition
Feeling
thinking
All five senses
A decision, a saying, an action
Who, what, where , when, and why/how
See my story below:
▣ Last Weeks Writing Assignment
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We had created a character in class and were to develop a story around the character. In my case I had a picture of two people who looked as if they might be homeless and so that's the crux of my story.
Memoirs Writers: Have ever known a homeless person? What stories can you tell about that situation?
▣ Writing Prompts keep your skills honed
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I value writing prompts so much that I give them to myself if I'm not in a group where someone else gives them to me.I think it keeps my skills at their highest peak and helps me to bring out ideas that lurk unnoticed in my mind, things I'd normally never realize were there. below is something I wrote based on the line This is your last chance.
For Memoirs writers: Did you ever have a last chance at something? Did you accept it or do it? Why or why not? Was your decision a good one?
▣ Mother's Day
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- Tags:
- Mothers Day,blind
We all have a mother. Mothers come in all types, shapes and sizes; they are good bad or mediocre. No matter what kind of mother we have she has a profound effect on us and who we turn out to be.
My Mother was blind and when I was little I assumed all Mothers were since I grew up isolated. It amazed me one day to realize that another girl had a Mother who could see and I had to refocus my thoughts on the matter. That shows that what a child grows up with as normal seems normal to the child until they have something else to compare it with. My Grandfather was also blind but I didn't think much about Grandfathers.
For Memoirs writers: What is your most striking memory of your Mother.
▣ How does your garden grow?
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How does your garden grow? I just planted some white phlox that my neighbor gave me and I still have some pepper plants and those blueberry plants to put out. I hope to do that today and also to get the yard mowed as its supposed to rain tomorrow. Have you ever had gooseberries? Some one gave me some a couple of years ago and found a recipe on the internet for them that was great. Then last year, she gave me plants and I have them in my yard now. Don’t know if they’ll produce this year or not. My problem is my yard is very shady and plants don’t get much sun.
For Memoirs writers: Write about a garden expirence you had during your life. Did you work in this garden? Did your parents or spouse? Do you like gardening? Was it flower or vegetable?
▣ Elements of Fiction that grabs you and won't let go.
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Voice of the person telling the story is important. Is it a meek, haughty, happy or angry voice?
The strangeness of the plot: What is different than anything you've read before? What is the un-exoected sub plot?
Death or a great loss is a real possibiliy: There is a lot at stake for the protagonist. The loss could be of a loved one, a career, a fortune or what ever.
Main Character: Need to learn more about him, what time he lives in, how he lives ect.
Doorway of no return: There's a point where the protagonist can't go back. He's made a decision and must live or die with it.
For Memoirs Writers: What is your favorite book and why is it your favorite? What made it special to you? Include fairy tales. Some psychologists think that we unconsciously act out our favorite fairy tales.
▣ Writing Tips
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As I think about the things I've learned or think I've learned decided to jot some thoughts down today.
For Memoirs Writers. What will the title of you memoir be? I have one in the works called
Life Happened, I Became.
▣ Birds and Birdhouses
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I always wonder if I should keep this blog strictly about writing of can I go astray as my mind often does. As an on line journal, I decided it doesn't have to stay strictly about writing and so since the birds are on my mind, I thought I'd write about them.
This time of year is special to me and one major reason is the birdsong I hear every morning. It sounds so happy to me. The birds flit about making their nests, feeding their babies and they sing so much more it seems at this time of year. I have two birdhouses in my yard and I love to watch them flying to and fro with their bits of hay or string to make the nest and then later to feed their babies.
In my yard I have one birdhouse that is unique in that it has a little porch on it. One rainy day I watched as the occupant stuck his head out and sat there watching the rain but not getting wet. He did this for quite a while before flying away then returning shortly with something for the nest.
For Memoirs Writers: Did birds or birdhouses fit into any of your memories? Do you like birds? Did you shoot them with BB guns? Did you have a bird? Do you know any bird stories that were told in the family?
▣ Suppose/Secrets
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Suppose a man starts killing mothers of small children, then selling the children. Suppose his first sale is now 18 years old, finds out she's adopted and that her parents bought her. Suppose she goes on a search to find her real parents so she can confront them for having sold her.
Do the above and you have the plot to Dream Buster my latest novel. It' s the first one with a serial killer.
For Memoirs Writers: Suppose you had made a different choice at some critical point in your life. Example: you chose a different mate, a different place to live or to travel in Europe. How would your life be different now? What did you almost choose that could have drastically altered your life?
▣ What is the mystery?
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This past weekend I had a booth at the Dogwood Festival in Piketon, Ohio. I'd been there the two previous years but I found things had changed a lot since last year. One they raised the price to set up so fewer people did which didn't help the Festival. Two, there were fewer people attending. In previous years many had attended from all around the state...not so this time. Also people were actively stating that they had cash flow problems and in some cases they wanted to barter something for books. Now at book fairs other writers often want to trade books and a person once traded me a CD for one of my books, however, I'd never heard this at a festival before.
I go to the festivals in some counties where there are no bookstores if I have a book set in that county.This also helps to advertise. I'll be going to Adams county to the library for a reading and book signing on May 15th.
▣ Preparing for a Festival
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The Dogwood Festival will be at Piketon this weekend. I think it may be the first of the season. Since I have books set in the area, I have a booth at the festival. I hope to see my friends there. Since Pike, Adams, PIckaway, and Fayette have not bookstores, I have a problem promoting books in the areas where they are set. This is one way I do it.
Festivals provide a free source of entertainment and a soclal outlet especially during times of economic downturn. You can visit your neighbors, find out what's going on, enjoy fair type food and watch the parades or whatever else is going on. They serve a good purpose, especially in Rural areas.
For Memoirs Writers: What memories do you have of county fairs or festivals? Were you in 4H? Did you exhibit something or did your family? Did you have an animal or perhaps you made something to display as a 4H project. Write about it.
▣ Back from the Country
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On the weekend I toured Adams county ohio and saw the place where John Wayne,( Marion Morrison) came from. At least his ancestors did. I'm not clear about John himself. It was a fun tour sponsored by the Adams county Historical Society. Today I'm thinking about the past and about living in the country.
For Memoirs writers: What was the most memorable gift you ever recieved? It can be for a birthday, Christmas, or just because.What made it memorable, the actual gift, the person who gave it, sentimental reasons, or was it an heirloom?
▣ Today's Writing
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In writing group our assignment was to do an in class writing...ten minutes time. We were to use the following sentences and connect them somehow.
Blue. Dan was hungry. Corn-dogs and french fries became favorite foods. he used to be thin and could recall always walking . "What are you doing?" Doctors are not Gods. Pets are often like their owners.
Cold. Scared.
Shadows of the past cross the threashold of reality. The old wooden house sat among many and didn't stand out but was somehow the same as many others.
Chills. Diets are a waste of time. Many experts say this. Good Luck.
For Memoirs Writers: Write about a moment to remember
▣ Media and Cultural Diversity
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Times change and the media expressions do the same. For example:
In the past legs were considered to be offensive while now we seem to show them off as much as possible. That's why they put skirts on tables to hide the legs.
Old style painters chose to paint full figured women but now we have Oprah, perhaps the richest woman in the world who is hungry all the time. You can now buy a camera that slims you. It' s called HP photosmart camera.
There are now reality shows focused on self improvement and you can watch plastic surgery being performed.
Memoirs Writers: How have times changed during your life. ..especilly attitudes people have about things.
▣ Design your paradise
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- Tags:
- design paradise
A long itme ago I was in a memoirs class and we were told to design our paradise. I just found this piece of writing and thought I'd post it.
For Memoirs writers: Try creating your own paradise
▣ How people used to talk continued
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People had more imagination in the days of my childhood. Perhaps that was because they didn't have ready entertainment to offer that to them with no effort on their part. Children invented their own toys and games. Parents had a lot of time to think as they went about the drudgery of a day's work.
Memoirs Writers: What toy or game did you invent when you were a child? how did you play with it?
▣ Dialogue and how people talk
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People have some colorful speech and I like to find unusual sayings that work into my novels sometimes. Because I enjoy the picture the saying evokes, I hope others will as well.
Memoirs Writers:
What unusual things did your parents say? Do you recall an incident when someone failed to understand a local saying? Write about how people talked when you were growing up.
▣ Advice from a professional in publishing field
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Today I'm listening to a speech by a publisher as to what he recommends. he says:
Don't design your own book cover and layout. It does best with professional design. He also recommends a professional editor so that the book is clean and the words disappear and only the story remains. He recommends print on demand so as to decrease the risks to the author or the publisher. He says the book being returnable is also a must.
You should focus on big authors in your genre, and look at blogs in the field to increase your marketing skills. No matter how you publish you must promote your own work.
He lists starting your own publishing company as an option if you have the money and the time.
A platform is recommended. You must know who your audience is. For me it's mystery lovers, women since I have more women protagonists than men, and its for residents of southern Ohio. I think they are also for people who like history and genealogy. I also hope that young readers will like books that are set in their area and I hope such books will inspire those who don't read much to start.
▣ The coming of Spring and Summer
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I've been busy today with a ton of things. Some writing related, some not. There was cleaning, bedmaking, clothes washing, rabbitt feeding and all that non related stuff. Then there was a third of a chapter of Shatterred Hart. After that there was errand running re: taxes, gas, and a trip to the library. Now it's 11:15 and I'm home again. Earlier I started to do a re-write of Dream Buster and now I go back to that starting at chapter 5 as soon as I finish here.
The day is beautiful and I'm torn between wanting to go to a park and take a walk and doing my work here as I should. I really want to get the editing done to Dream Buster since I've been a while working on that. I'll be sure to do some more work before I let myself play.
For Memoirs writers: What does a day in your life look like? Do you journal or keep a diary? What does the structure of your day show about who you are?
It's spring and the birds are singing, rooster crow and there's no more snow. (we hope)
▣ Book Fairs and my travels to promote books
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Seems I do a lot of travel over the year to promote my books and to learn more about the field of writing, a field that is quite complicated. Too bad that I can't just write and let the rest take care of itself but it doesn't work that way. This was my second book fair. It was called the Almost Famous Book Faire and it seems that it is the second year for it. It was held in Clarksville, Indiana about 239 miles from my home.
They had a block of rooms at Hampton Inn and I stayed there one night and drove back the next night. That was a rough trip through the heart of Cincinnati and Louisville, Ky. at least it wasn't raining. Just before I left there was a huge accident in Louisville. A cousin told me about it and that it killed 10 people. It was fairly well cleared when I got there.
Home again, I just waded through 125 new e-mails and other things before getting to this posting. A few days away and oh boy...I do need a laptop!
For Memoirs writers: Write about a trip you took either as a child or adult...something that is unusual or memorable.
▣ Live in the Day
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I mean live for today but plan for the future. The past is good for reference purposes but it is over now.
It's a dull rainy day in Ohio today but I'm hoping to get myself back on schedule with my writing and other endeavors. I have to prepare for a trip to Indiana on Friday going to a book fair in Clarksville, Indiana. It's called the Almost Famous Book Faire and it's the second one. I guess they had a successful one last year in another location.
I'm trying to plan an Easter dinner for my large family and just figuring out when to do it is a problem as there are two firemen who work on holidays. That will be a part of todays plans, as well as a return to my manuscript, Shattered Hart and perhaps I'll write something for my next writing group assignment.
For Memoirs Writers: Write about something that came up blocking your efforts to move forward with your plans or dreams at some point in your life. How did you over come it or did you?
▣ Ever want to throw manuscript into air,let wind settle it?
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Believe it or not, this was a suggestion made by a speaker at a conference I went to. I've also heard that you dod index cards with scenes and then mix up the scenes. That wouldn't work for me. Not my style at all. I like order although I don't plot out my novels. Sometimes I plot ahead a chapter or two though.
Is the plot driven by the characters or by the plotting? For me it's characters mostl, although plot is highly important for mysteries, especially who dunnits. A misconception about mysteries is that there must be a murder thus we speak of murder mysteries. To be a mystery there doesn't have to be a murder though there needs to be a bad thing. For me plotting is too formulaeic. I don't like that as I see it as too predictable.
For Memoirs writers: When, why, how did you decide to write or at least to write your story or family stories.
▣ Opportunity comes disquised as hard work
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Few of us achieve sucess without hard work. However, some of us work hard and still don't achieve sucess. What's up with that?
If you are working as hard as you can but not achieveing what you want, then you need to find a way to work smarter.
Still most things are do able if you pay your dues,
Look for the clues,
so you can improve.
Study your craft so you write better or if it's another goal you pursue, improve your skill with that. With writing it's not all the craft of writing but its the marketing of your work too in a difficult economy. You need to improve your knowledge of hte industry, learn where publishers are going, Find out about e-books for example.
In order to write you need to read and pay attention to the type of book you choose to write. Keep trying to improve until you get it right. Find a mentor or locate a person who'll give you honest crtiques. Be persistant in your endeavors.
▣ Marriage
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The story below was devised as a project for my wriing group. We were told first to write down three life events such as birth of a child, marriage, starting school or whatever.
Second we wrote a short paragraph about that event. I chose marriage and wrote my paragraph.
Third we were all given eight index cards and told to write four names on one, two places on the next etc.
Fourth, we switched cards with other people. L
I ended up with my paragraph about marriage and the following things to work into my piece of writing: Remember these were given to me by someone else.
Names: Stephen, Kristin, Roy, Bill
Colors: Purple, red
Places: At home in kitchen, Florida at beach
Emotions: happy, uncomfortable
Subconflict: Lost keys
Two conversations: For this I was given the words "I'm sorry" and "You're late"
For a pet I got lab dog
Weather: Sunny day of spring
Below is my writing.:
▣ Challenge to keep moving forward
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I'm reviewing notes from a workshop where the presenter said the biggest challenge is to stay published once you are. He sail usualling a publisher offers only a one book deal. That seems right to me. He also said diversification is the key and recommends Facebook, twitter, and myspace. However, he says to be careful of blogs. I don't get why.
He advises that we work harder and smarter and I agree with that. He also mentions that writing is expensive since no one will pay to put you on the road any more.
He advised that you should write what you have a passion for and not nescessarily what you know which is opposite of what many say. I say that if you have a passion for it, you probably know a lot about it too.
He says to build a platform with short stories that are 3,500 to 4,000 words. Agents will troll and find these. He discourages e-books especially for mysteries, and mentions that libraries have no money.
In his mind, the trend is to character driven books, not plot driven and the book should be between 60,000 and 100,000 words (Mine range from 71,000 to 87,000, so I'm in that ball park.
For Memoirs writers: What is your passion...or what was your passion. Is it a person, place, thing or what?
▣ Scream
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- Tags:
- scream, boring
For writing group my assignment was to rewrite last assignment but I was bored with the subject so I looked in a magazine for a word or phrase to act as a writing prompt for me.
I saw the word Scream so that's my title.
For Memoirs writers: What was the most boring thing you ever had to do?
▣ Scream
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Yesterday I gave myself the word scream as a prompt for writing. I do this frequently to keep my mind fluid and productive and to keep myself honed for writing fast. See result below...even though not edited I did this in about 20 minutes. The more I do this the faster I can write.
For Memoirs writers: Tell about something that scared you, caused you to scream
▣ How to autograph a book
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- Tags:
- autographs, lines, books
Today I'm thinking about how to autograph a book... I always freeze up and don't know what to write other than to so and so as the buyer dictates. I'd thought I'd pre- invent some lines and see how they would look, using different ones as the occassion demanded.
For Memoirs writers: Have you ever collected autographs? Of whom and why?
▣ How to create a hero
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In a recent writing workshop I was told that in order to create a character who was a hero I should think of the answer to some questions of my own such as who I think is a hero and why.
For Memoirs writers: Write about a person who was or is a hero to you.
▣ Books in a series
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Today I'm thinking about books in a series. Most of the big well known mystery writers today are creating a character and then taking that character through 10 to 20 novels. Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels are an example. The public gets hooked on the character and roots for him through all his ups and downs. It does create a following for the author.
So far I haven't done that although I did do a sequel to Tempest Rider since some of my fans seem to think that I should do a sequel. Bite of the Serpent is a stand alone who dunnit as well as being a continuation of the story of Slate and Silver Morgan. I thought I'd hate doing a sequel using the same characters because I like creating new characters. I thought it would be boring.
Memoirs writers: What's the most boring thing you ever had to do?
▣ More Poetry
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As I said in my last posting, I believe that poetry is a fast and efficient way to record a thought before it is lost forever. If you have only a little time you can teach yourself to use this method to preserve your thoughts, dreams, and ideas.
For Memoirs writers: If you wrote before using a rhymed poem, write again using an unrhymed structure, but choose a different topic. Write about a memory from your school days.
▣ Poetry
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In the past I wrote a lot of poetry feeling that I didn't have time to write anything longer but wanting to get a thought or idea down before I forgot it. In the last few years I haven't written much poetry but it is a fast and valid way to catch a moment in time, a thought before it is lost, or to paint a word picture of a scene.
For Memoirs writers: Remember a scene from your childhood and try to paint a concise word picture of it using a poem, rhymed or unrhymed. It's amazing what can be pictured in such a few words.
▣ Back in the Saddle Again
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After having my computer gone, my hard drive crashing and much material lost, I am back in the saddle again I hope. Now I'll be able to post regularly again if things go well. I did lose a lot and have to re-do everything for the new harddrive.
For Memoirs Writers: What major obstacles have you had to overcome in order to get to the place you want to be. How did you do it. Were you depressed? How did you overcome it?
▣ Moon Landing
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- Tags:
- moon landing, hale bop
unable to post with last posting but now I can.
▣ Assignment: A dome has been built on moon; I'll live there.
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I was given the above assignment two weeks ago and today I read it in the group. Others who read had great new takes on this assignement> This is one I had to do research for actually.
Memoirs writers: What have you been told about the moon? Made of green cheese, man in the moon, that it makes people crazy during a rull moon, or any other story. Write about it.
▣ What's Up
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I'm trying to remember if I mentioned the reading at Thompson library at OSU. It will be from 3:00 to 4:00 on February 18th. I hope some of you can make it.
I'm in the planning stages of what to read but I'm thinking of doing some of my short stories, maybe a poem or two and reading from my book in progress which is called Shattered Hart...appropriate at Valentines Day...maybe not. Whatever I need to do to fill up an hour is what I'll do. Sometime before then I need to get some new cards made.
For Memoirs writers: In your business did you have business cards to hand out? What type of business or job did you do? What did your spouse do. Did you like it? What was the best and worst thing about it and how long did you stay with it?
▣ February is coming
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Events in February include a reading at the Thompson library at OSU on the 18th from 3:00 to 4:00. This will be the first time I've done this.
I'm also planning a trip to Morgantown, West Va to do research for Shattered Hart my latest book and a marketing tour in southern Ohio.
I'll be looking to buy a laptop this coming month as well. I've never used one and that will involve a new learning cycle.
Memoirs writers: What event have you given or participated in that proved memorable?
▣ Do you dream what you write?
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The leader of one of the writing groups I go to says that he dreams allmost all of the things that he writes. I've been thinking about that and about the dreams that I have. I could use the dreams as a writing prompt, I think and go on from there but in practice I never do. I'm wondering how many other writers dream the content of their short stories or novels.
Memoirs writers: Think about a memorable dream that you have had and write something using that dream.
▣ Writing is my passion
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Today, David Bell and I gave a workshop at Franklinton library. He talked about building blocks of a story and I talked about characters and backstory, as well as voice. We discussed the writer's voice vs the characters voice and how those were the same and how they were different.
For memoirs writers: Write about a character you've known. It could be a family member or it could be a friend or the man down the street. What was different about this person? How did he look, act, and speak?
▣ Old Writings
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I found something written a long time ago and thought I'd post it. Here goes.
With all the wonders of the electronic age
It's solid state, it's micro this and micro that
some precious elements are lost in you and time.
The you and me
the intimacy of time standing still,
the delicious luxury of sharing the who and what
and where and why of you,
before the tick of time begins again
and speed you off into the whriling world.
For memoirs writers: Look for old writings that you may have done sometime in the past and update them.
▣ Future legalization of theft
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- Tags:
- future, steal,legal
Asignment: It's a time in the future and theft is now legal. Write about this time.
Memoirs writers: Did you ever do anything illegal? Did a friend or family member?
▣ Changes to my website
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I finally figured out how to make changes to my website which was badly in need of updating this morning. It now reflects where I am on my writing journey, at least as regards my novels. It doesn't mention other things I'm doing in the writing field however. One of those things is a workshop I'm giving with David Bell on the 25th of January at Franklinton library. It will be from 3:00 to 6:00 and I'll be talking about characters and how they affect voice and how their backstory affects them.
For my memoirs writers: It's snowing outside and although it's not a blizzard, it could become one, I guess. Where were you during the blizzard of...what was it? 1976... What happened? Were you able to get to work, school. How did it affect your family?
▣ Marketing, the bane of my existance
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I am not a salesman in any way. Therefore I don't like the marketing part of being an author. I wish it were enough to just create the book and the marketing would take care of itself, but unfortunately that doesn't happen. Today I'm addressing myself to some marketing issues. I just sent a press release out as part of that. The weather is not so good, snowy and cold and I am not anxious to go out to market so I'm using my computer as a marketing tool today.
For Memoirs writers: Has there been a time in your life when you've needed to sell something? Were you good at it? Was it a lemonade stand when you were a kid or was it selling magazines to help with college? Perhaps you ended up making a living by selling something. Tell us about it.
▣ Re- Write is a fright...
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I hate re-writing but with practice over ten novels it has gotten easier, thank goodness. Now doing re-writes to Dream Buster.
Since I'm now in between books, I should be able to take a vacation but instead I'm researching the next book and re-writing the old one. Below I've told you how to take a weeks vacation while working a full time job however, just in case someone wants a vacation but doesn't have the time to do it.
For memoirs writers: What is your most hated tasks in life and how do you motivate yourself to do them?
▣ First draft o Dream Buster is finished !
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With much sweat and hard work, I finished the first draf to Dream Buster yesterday. Today I don't seem to know what to do with myself, but trying to catch up on other things like housework.
for Memoirs Writers: Are you familiar with old traditions that say what you do on New Years you'll do all year? Did that ever come true for you? How about New Years resolutions? Have any of them worked out in a way to totally change your direction or have they all been short lived?
▣ Obsessed with writing?
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Someone said :
"If the doctor said I only had six minutes to live, I'd write a little faster."
Some of us seem obsessed with self expression. As for me, I've always wanted to write since I was seven years old and had learned about the magic of books. Books take you to another place and time and it's a fabulous journey most of the time. When I told my mother that I intended to be a writer when I grew up she said,
" Then you'd better do short stories because you don't have the patience to do long ones!"
I've proven her wrong since I'm now almost finished with my tenth novel.
For my memoirs writers: Write about the books you enjoyed as a child or throughout your life and how those affected you.
▣ Workshop
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Free
Writing Workshop
January 25, 2010, 3:00PM to 6:00PM
Franklinton Library,
This Free workshop will be of interest to fledgling writers or to literature students who may wish to become writers in the future. It should also be beneficial to those who are currently writing memoirs, or if writing creative fiction or short stories, as well at all those who love to read.
Saundra Crum Akers, Columbus author of nine mystery suspense novels, all but one of which are set in small towns in Southern Ohio, will discuss character creation and how back story influences the actions the character will take. She will also discuss character motivation in her presentation. To learn more about her work, check out http://saundracrumakers.com.
David Bell,
▣ What's up with your characters
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Upcoming events: not too many of these right now; I'm taking a Christmas break but do have a free writing workshop set up for January 25,2010 at the Franklinton library on Town street from 3:00 to 6:00. I'm also planning to attend a workshop on January 23rd. For now, I'm trying to concentrate on finishing Dream Buster and getting on Facebook...things like that.
For Memoirs writers: What training, workshop, or other eductional event have you attended and how did it work out? Was there anything fun or funny, sad or difficult about it. Looking back, was it a good or a bad expirence. What did you learn?
▣ Workshop on character development and building blocks of a story
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I gave a workshop last night with David Bell . This was at the Hilltop library.
For Memoirs group: Did you ever tell a story...a fib, as a child? Write about that and what happened as a result.
▣ Coming in the Future
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Assignment: Write about a future time when stealing, robbing, and burglarly are legal.
Memoirs group:
Write about an illegal thing that happened to you or a loved one, like burglary, rape, murder or something.
▣ Holiday Melancholia
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- Tags:
- Christmas melancholy,money, lonely, ways to cope
- songs,cry, why, when,where, what, who
- synopsis,how to,surprize,ending, Agents,Editors
- Thanksgiving, thankful, recipe. friends
- threat, worry, protagonist, tension, micro tension
- tour, Columbus, Chillicothe, Bainbridge, Sinking spring,ancestors, genealogy, family stories, Crum,cemetary
- What\'s up,shoes, applacian,nature, drama,mystery, suspense, shoes
- writer\'s block,woodcarving, character sheets,review of character,breaking the logjam
- writer\'s voice, Mary Higgan\'s Clark,be yourself,unique, Bite of the Serpent
- writing romance, the watcher,Boucheran, writing conference, hike in snow
Everyone seems to become more sensitive during the holidays and if something is wrong, it feels much more wrong at that time than at any other time. Depression looms large when you've no one to share your life with and if you don't have much money it's easy to think there is nothing you can do to brighten your holidays.
That isn't True!
I like the idea of lonely people banding together to share the season like a family would. It may not be ideal but it can be special. Some recreation centers and senior centers have parties ect and are cheap to join but for those who this won't work for, there are still options. A friend of mine recently lamented that he had no car, no money, and his family wasn't even getting together this year for a celebration because they couldn't afford it. I made some of the following suggestions to him as well as some other ideas more personal to his situation.
Christmas is magic...don't forget it but let the magic reach out to and envelope you. Santa Clause is a spirit if not a man.
▣ New Book Coming Soon
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My book Bite of the Serpent should be out soon and will be added to my website. I am in the last stages of writing Dream Buster set in Chillicothe.
▣ More about writing from workshop notes
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- Tags:
- pain,material,poem,liquid grief
- pesky,poem, challenge,serendipity,joy, hate,unfair
- poem, Bookworld,time, phone, alone
- poetry, soul, different designs, the veil,respite, me, me, me
- reminder, blog, mysteries of southern ohio
- scribes, house of scribes, new world, peace pipe, natives
- short story,burglar, post, shotgun
- SIC,crime,goals, book signings,Chillicothe,Bite of the Serpent, mysteries of southern Ohio, google
- smile, laughter, funny, antagonist, world view,stereotype, reverse
- songs,cry, why, when,where, what, who
- synopsis,how to,surprize,ending, Agents,Editors
- Thanksgiving, thankful, recipe. friends
- threat, worry, protagonist, tension, micro tension
- tour, Columbus, Chillicothe, Bainbridge, Sinking spring,ancestors, genealogy, family stories, Crum,cemetary
- What\'s up,shoes, applacian,nature, drama,mystery, suspense, shoes
- writer\'s block,woodcarving, character sheets,review of character,breaking the logjam
- writer\'s voice, Mary Higgan\'s Clark,be yourself,unique, Bite of the Serpent
- writing romance, the watcher,Boucheran, writing conference, hike in snow
For my memoirs followers: Write about a special Thanksgiving. Who was there, was it good, was it bad. Why? What was happy, and what was sad about it.
▣ What I'm thankful for
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Slow Cooker Mac and cheese
1pg. 16 oz elbow macaroni
½ cup melted butter
2 beaten eggs
1 12oz can evaporated milk
1 ten/ ¾ oz can cheddar cheese soup
1 cup milk
4 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/8 tsp. paprika for color
Cook macaroni according to pkg directions. Drain and put in 5 quart slow cooker. Add butter. In separate bowl, combine eggs, evaporated milk, soup, milk, 3 cups of the cheese. Pour mixture over macaroni, stir to combine, cover and cook on low for four hours. Then sprinkle with remaining cup of cheese, cook for 15 more min. or until cheese melted. Sprinkle with paprika. Yield 10 servings.
Beefy Au Gratin potatoes
1 package au gratin/ or cheddar and bacon potatoes
1 can whole kernel corn drained
1 can condensed cream of potato soup, undiluted
1 cup of water
1 4 oz can of chopped green chilli’s, drained.
1 4 oz can of mushroom stems and pieces drained.
1 4 oz jar diced pimento drained.
1lb ground beef
1 medium onion chopped
Put sauce mix aside ( from package.) Put pot in slow cooker, add corn, in a bowl combine soup, water, chillis, mushrooms, pimentos and reserved sauce mix. Mix well. Pour 1/3 over corn. In skillet brown beef and onion, med heat until meat no longer pink. Drain grease. Put in slow cooker. Top with remaining sauce mixture. Do not stir. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or until potatoes are tender.
For Memoirs Writers: Write about your comfort foods.
▣ Protagonist Development
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More from my notes from Bouchercon with person input and expirence added.
Memoirs writers Prompt: Have you ever attended a conference, concert or other event that was important to you? Write about it
What does your Protagonist want?
Each scene you write is about something your protagonist and other characters want.
In the book I’m currently writing, my protagonist wants to know who her real parents are or were. What three things indicate that she’ll get what she wants or that she won’t?
- People involved have too much to lose if she finds out
- Because of A they will disclaim all knowledge
- She has no proof of her suspicions
Things change when:
- Antagonist realizes her intent. His awareness changes.
How do you know how long it will be before this will happen?
- Ask your protagonist who are you and get a description .Did she say I’m frustrated, keep running into dead ends. What did she propose to do about it? Can anyone help her?
Add dialogue to show how she feels as well as action and internal dialogue.
Keep the micro tension going and going and going so it builds for your protagonist and thus for your reader. Sometimes tighter words and shorter sentences increase tension.
Add threat or worry to the mix. Emotions should be conflicting and contradictory as in real life. What is the dominant emotion? What is it’s opposite?
▣ Changes to previous blog
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I added another upcoming event to the last blog entry, just now. Things change and fluctuate from day to day and I thought that was better than redoing the entire piece.
For Memoirs writers: What shortcuts have you taken in life?
▣ Upcoming events
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These are some of the things I have in the works for the next few weeks.
Memoirs writers: Write about a special event that you attended.
▣ Plot, how to develop and expand it
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The plot revolves around the protagonist and how h/she reacts to the situation, also around the antagonist and how h/she reacts to everything. Deepining either of these characters and making them more complex helps the plot along.
For Memoirs writers: Can you recall a plot in real life? It should be something like a practical joke plotted by a family member or friend, a plot for revenge, a plot to surprize someone for their birthday...something like that. This is today's prompt.
▣ Writing assignment for next week
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This is my writing assignment for Franklinton writers. The situation is;
Man falls off roof.
For memoirs writers, your prompt would be to write about an accident you had or that someone else close to you had.
▣ Protagonist and Antagonist
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At Bouchercon we talked a lot about the way to give these characters depth. That is what I'll be discussing in this post, some of what I learned.
For memoirs writers: Write about your most intriging family character.
▣ Writing a Synopsis
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This seems to be a mystery to most writers and I've wondered what to do myself. Having done some research I'm putting together what I've learned here for the writers who follow this blog.
For the memoirs writers, I suggest this prompt: Write about a childhood pet, cat, dog or other. Tell a story about it and how it fed into your life and memories of your childhood.
▣ laughter might get you through the day
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Things Laughter will do for You
1. Improve immune functions
2. Vibrating muscles give an internal massage
3. Good cardio-vascular effects
4. Relieves stress, discharges physical and emotional tension
5. People who laugh together work, live and play better together
Five Things Humor will do for You
1. Release negative emotions such as anger & guilt
2. Improve enthusiasm for life
3. Reduce inhibitions & increase self-confidence
4. Humorous people face life's problems better
5. Sense of humor is the number one romantically attractive trait
For the memoirs writers: What funny and humerous story can you relate about childhood years?
▣ Characters, how to make their lives miserable
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At Bouchercon, we learned that not only do we have to give our characters trouble but we have to keep laying it on and making it worse. Taht is the way to increase the tension. There was also discussion about how to make the character have more depth and I'm trying to pass on this invaluable information to you.
Also, for those who are following this blog to look for prompts for their memoirs; Write about money. How did it impact you over your life, who told you what about it, what are your current beliefs about it? Are you a risk taker or conservative? What are you thinking about the current situation where the government is printing money so fast it's causing our dollar to fall and probably eventually fail? Is money important to you or do you consider it of lesser importance than other things?
▣ Expanding your Character
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- Tags:
- anthrax, warning,talcum powder, congressman,
- birthday,today,gift, book signing
- birthdays, growth, yardstick,
- Bouchercon mystery writers, expanding characters, Donald Mass, literary agent,first five pages
- cat, ship, Devil, writing assignment, Caught, bargain
- dreams, past, friends, memories, happy times
- early memories, memoirs, prompts,buggy,rides, mother, brother
- hands, what are they doing?, tedious, spaces and lines
- Hillbilly band, Tom T. Hall, music, berries, party, sing, dance
- hobo, party,country,fun,can,recipe
- Lake Erie, trip,water,coffee, shore
- Lancaster, Wilmington, Chillicothe, next book, bite of serpent, signings
- lyrics, lines, thief,iceskating,guilty, feet,rhythm
- mottos to live by, appearances, children ,observers, persistant, ethical code
- natural disaster,what happened, what did you do, how did it change you, do you have flashbacks
- pain,material,poem,liquid grief
- pesky,poem, challenge,serendipity,joy, hate,unfair
- poem, Bookworld,time, phone, alone
- poetry, soul, different designs, the veil,respite, me, me, me
- reminder, blog, mysteries of southern ohio
- scribes, house of scribes, new world, peace pipe, natives
- short story,burglar, post, shotgun
- SIC,crime,goals, book signings,Chillicothe,Bite of the Serpent, mysteries of southern Ohio, google
- songs,cry, why, when,where, what, who
- tour, Columbus, Chillicothe, Bainbridge, Sinking spring,ancestors, genealogy, family stories, Crum,cemetary
- What\'s up,shoes, applacian,nature, drama,mystery, suspense, shoes
- writer\'s block,woodcarving, character sheets,review of character,breaking the logjam
- writer\'s voice, Mary Higgan\'s Clark,be yourself,unique, Bite of the Serpent
- writing romance, the watcher,Boucheran, writing conference, hike in snow
In this writing I'm fresh back from a writing convention with a lot of new ideas. I hope they will help others as well.
▣ Natural Disaster
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All of us have lived through some kind of disaster. It may not have been natural. for example, 9/11 wasn't natural but it was a disaster. As a memoir, it would be good if we each wrote about these things we've lived through for future generations to understand what happened. Below you'll find some questions to ask yourself if you live through a disaster and want to write about it.
▣ A short piece, maybe a novel's beginning????
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This is a short piece that I did once as a five minute writing. At the time I had the idea of it being a beginning to a story or a novel. I don't have much time to write this time due to the fact that I'm going to the Boucheran conference in Indianapolis leaving tomorrow. I'll write when I get back and hopefully I'll have some interesting things to share. Michael Connelly is the keynote speaker for this conference. I'm going to another conference the following week end and I actually pitched a romance story line to an editor there. I haven't wanted to do romance but I do want to explore all the areas of writing that are available...so I guess I might eventually end up writing a romance.
▣ A pesky writing assignment
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We were given two lists of random words and told to write from the list as you'll see below. This was difficult and my writing not very good but it does stretch you a bit. The words from the list are in Bold so you'll know where they come in.
▣ Poems composed different ways
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In the first poem I started with someone else's line and added to it. In the others we had different instructions.
Poetry sooths the soul if we will but let it.
▣ Mottos to live by
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A writing assignment recently w as to write down our own mottos...not use someone elses. This was interesting but it didn't resonate with me at the time. Never the less I did come up with a little something. See it below. Our assignment for next time is to choose one of these and write a story based on it. Oh Boy!
▣ My Earliest Memories
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I've been thinking how this blog could help some people I know who are writing their memoirs. I'll try to incorporate more things on here that could be used as writing prompts for anyone who needs one.
▣ Writing about a common thing like hands
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▣ House of Scribes writing assignment
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The first assignment for a new group of writers meeting that I plan to attend for the first time tomorrow.
▣ A Writer's Voice
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It has been mentioned that my personality is coming through in my books and these are my comments regarding that.
▣ What's Up?
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On my blog at http://mysteriesofsouthernohio.com I just posted my thoughts about writer's conferences. I'm scheduled to go to two in October and one in November. For todays entry I've considered giving myself a five minute writing prompt and posting whatever comes up.
For anyone interested please check out my book display at http://Badgleypublishingcompany.com Click on the center of the picture and turn up your volume. Music and additional pictures have been added.
Today I'm attending a Sister's in Crime workshop in Hilliard. This is a group of mystery writers who have banded together to share information and promote the genre of mystery suspense.
▣ Caught by the Devil
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My writing group jointly created two characters, a setting etc and we were to write based on this.
▣ Writer's Block
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Comments on this plague of writers and what to do about it.
▣ Music and lyrics
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Commenting today on how a line from a song can act as a story prompt. In this case I used the line but you wouldn't have to do so.
▣ What I notice about lines from songs
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I notice that song titles and some lines from songs often ask the same questions that we are told we should answer in our writing, such as who, what, when, where, and why. Therefore we get songs that say things like the following:
Why does my heart keep on beating, why do the stars still shine?
Who put the ram in the ramma damma ding dong...who was that man, I'd like to shake his hand.
Where have all the flowers gone?
What in the world's come over you?
Why, why, why baby, why, you make me crybaby, crybaby, crybaby cry?
When will I be loved?
Does the fact that we ask these questions in song mean that we are all struggling all the time to learn why things are as they are?
▣ Material for Writing
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Everything gives you material for writing, even heart ache and heart break...even tradgedy. The poem below written long ago illustrates my point. The poem is probably better for the pain that inspired it.
▣ Hobo Party
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MY HOBO PARTY
Some time ago a friend of mine needed help to research the great depression and hobos. He was writing a book and one of the main characters was a hobo named Pigeon George.
I did a good bit of research and found some interesting things. For example, there were soldiers who, after the Civil War ended, found themselves far from home and jumped on freight trains to get back to their part of the county. These may have been the first hobos. Also, during the great depression entire families sometimes traveled the rails going usually from the East coast to the West looking for jobs. Mostly this occurred during the nineteen thirties. I also found out that there are still hobo gatherings that happen every year.
The internet showed me some samples of hobo art and one of the things that the modern day hobos make is a hobo cup. I decided to make a hobo cup.
Many years ago I attended a hobo party which was a church event. We were instructed to bring our tin cans and a spoon and to partake of bean soup and corn bread. We sat around a camp fire and told hard luck stories because the country was in a recession at the time. It was a lot of fun. We even had talented people who did a musical version of ‘If I was a rich man’ from Fiddler on the Roof.
Now, reminded of that, thinking of the tin cans we used, I was interested in the cups that were depicted on that website.
To make a hobo cup you need a tin can. It should have a ridge around both the top and the bottom of the can. Be sure there are no sharp edges to cut yourself on. You will need copper wire and a stick about six or seven inches long. You will need wire cutters and an electric drill as well.
You take the wire, which should be around three feet long, and secure it around the op of the can and twist it tightly so it will hold fast. The long end of the wire will be used next to make the handle.
The stick has to have a hole drilled through it. You may need to drill from the top first and then from the bottom so that the holes meet.
Once you have the holes drilled in the wood, you need to bend and thread the extra wire down the hole of the handle. You will then bend the wire at the lower end of the stick and bring it to the ridge around the bottom of the can. Wrap it around the can and secure it. Cut away any excess.
I did this with about eight cans. I wanted to do at least twelve because I have twelve grandchildren, but I did not get that accomplished. That is because I had planned the party for October 15th and I needed to do other things as well; there wasn’t enough time.
I made a large pot of chilli and cornbread to go with it. I bought cider, milk, soda pop and other drinks as well as the traditional hotdogs and marshmallows to toast on the fire. We also had other picnic food to round out the meal.
We met at my place in the county. I had just purchased this land and it was quite rough. It had a house trailer on it but that was also on the rough side. However, I don’t think anyone minded and we had a lot of fun.
My son in law brought a quad runner and the kids and some adults had fun with that.
The adults carried stone and built a nice stone fire pit. We all raked leaves and the children became interested in digging with a shovel. I told them they could help me to dig a garden next spring.
Some of the men put a rope up into a large tree so the kids could swing on it. Others built a bench to overlook the fire. To do that we only need to have two four by fours that were four or five feet long. The four by fours were set into holes in the ground like posts.
Then a long board was nailed in place across them. This made a nice bench on one side of the fire pit. I didn’t have materials to make a bench on the other side but I will do that soon. It will look better balanced. I still need to treat the board that made the bench with water treatment since it was an untreated board.
We went on hikes up the mountain and my son in law helped the kids to shoot at targets with their BB gun. All of these things were well supervised.
During the hike by three year old granddaughter, Morgan, kept chanting “We’re going on a bear hunt, we’re gonna get a big one,” over and over. I think this must have come from a book that had been read to her.
To accompany this event I made a notebook with pictures that I gleaned from the internet regarding the hobo way of life. I am told:
A hobo is someone who travels and works
A tramp is someone who travels and doesn’t work
A bum neither travels nor works
I also found examples of signs that the hobos would use to denote how receptive the people in a house might be to someone coming to their door. They had a lot of unique signs that they would leave some where near the house where they had just been to alert the next person coming through.
I also came across a time line for the great depression on the internet and printed that as well. I placed all these pictures and signs into a notebook and made it available for the kids. It included a picture of a hobo cup.
We used the hobo cups to drink things or to eat our chilli from. It worked pretty well.
We also had some hobo recipes, courtesy of the internet, but stayed so busy that we didn’t have time to try them this time. I have saved them for later.
If you have a fun loving family or a bunch of happy go lucky friends a hobo party might be just the thing to get everyone into the spirit. I’m sure you can come up with many more fun things to do. Even if you don’t, I believe it will be rewarding. It doesn’t take a lot to have fun, just good people and a creative spirit.
▣ Dreams of the Past
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I dreamed of an old friend last night. My old friend is dead.
▣ Lake Erie with an old friend
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I just returned after a two day visit with an old friend who now lives on a bay of Lake Erie. I hadn't seen her in many years and was delighted with the invitation to visit her for a couple of days. The bay is only about ten feet from her house and we had coffee each morning as we sat and looked out over the water.
Why does the sound of water lapping the shore sound so peaceful. Why does it settle a troubled mind and render more creative a mind that is tired?
I didn't take a laptop and I did no writing for the couple of days I was there. I did visit a bookstore and will be doing a signing there on September 5th. Otherwise, it was just rest, relaxation, and rejuvination.
▣ Next Events/Next Book
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I had a great booksigning in Chillicothe at Bookworld this past Saturday. I met some very nice people and thank everyone who dropped by to see me. I will be there again on August 8th 4:00 to 7:00.
August 20th I'll be at Bowen House in Logan.
Today I'm thinking about my next book. No, I don't mean Bite of the Serpent which is 2/3 completed but the one after that which will be called Dream Buster, I believe. I'm not sure where that book will be set yet but Wilmington, Chillicothe, and Lancaster are in the running.You may wonder why I'm thinking of the next book when I'm not even finished with the one i'm working on. That does seem strange but I find I do this almost every time. At this point I start a file for ideas I have on the next book while I'm continuing with the one I'm working on. It would upset me if I had ideas but refused to think of them because I was working on something else, but by letting the ideas come through and recording them in a seperate folder, I feel safe that I haven't lost anything and then I can go back to my current novel with a clear mind.
Meanwhile, I will be taking a mini vacation starting tomorrow and lasting until Thursday or Friday.
▣ Book Signing at Bookworld Chillicothe, Ohio
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I'll be at Bookworld from 2:00 until 6:00 today. If you get a chance stop by and see me. I don't think i'll be reading, just sitting at a table and greeting everyone, although I'd like to read as well. Right now I'm wrapping everything up here getting ready to go. I'm also communicationg with a fellow writer who may want to link his website with mine. Things are moving fast. This is my birthday month and since I tend to measure sucess from year to year by that yardstick, I guess I'm in a hurry to have accomplished as much as possible before the 21st.
Thinking of birthdays reminds me of a co worker who had a unique way of looking at birthdays. She said "I always buy my mother a gift for my birthday. After all I wouldn't be here excepting for her."
That's my thought for today.
▣ Waiting by the phone, and other poems
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Waiting by the phone
Waiting by the phone
tethered all alone
Listening for the ring
that little jing a ling
That special someone's voice
I love without a choice
Time trickles by
Indifferent to my sigh
I know he doesn't care
if I am here or there
Then suddenly I rise
decision in my eyes
I walk on out the door
For I will wait no more!
Actually, I don't think I'll include other poems this time . My mind is on the million other things I must do this afternoon, one of which is to prepare for my booksigning at Bookworld in Chillicothe tomorrow.
I've written hundreds of poems and will share more at a later date.
▣ Reminder of my other blog
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This new blog is getting most of my attention right now but I have also been posting at mysteriesofsouthernohio.com as well.
▣ Tour of sites where my ancestors lived and books are set
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Hello,
My name is Saundra Crum Akers and I’m taking you on a tour of the places where my ancestors lived and where they are buried. We will leave
Going this direction we will pass through Bainbridge, home of the Paint Valley Jamboree. The country music program has been going on every Saturday night for many, many years. On New Years Eve each year, there is a show with a potluck between halves. The show lasts until
We leave Bainbridge on route 50 but shortly out of town we take route 41 in a southwesterly direction. This is the area of
Continuing onward we come to an intersection with Bell Hollow road to the left and route 753 to the right. Turning left we head into an area once described as the “wilds of Bell Hollow” in a newspaper article. The article recalled a sheriff’s comment that a criminal has disappeared into the wilds of Belle Hollow.
My mother’s sister Thelma Lucille Stultz Carter is buried in
Aunt Lucille’s children say that her husband Ralph and the oldest son sat beside her grave all night the night she was buried, keeping vigil, their grief howling down the hollow like that of a banshee. However, my mother hated Ralph so much that I feared him as an ogre, not knowing he had died before I was born.
After visiting this cemetery, we continue on to Sinking Springs. This is the hub from which most of my ancestors of all lines migrated outward. I went to school here part of second, third, fourth and fifth grade. The school has burned down but the auditorium is still standing and used for community functions. This town has approximately three main streets with a few connecting ones. The town was laid out by a man named Heisted who was a brother to my GGG Grandmother Katherine Heisted Amens. Katherine Amens husband, Daniel and my GG Grandfather Jacob Wickerham, his son in law were very active in the Underground Railroad. Daniel’s brother worked with Rev. Rankin in Ripley, sending the fugitives northward. They kept them overnight and sent them onward when it was safe.One branch of my family believes that Katherine Heisted Amens might have been Jewish but this information has been lost.
I have family buried in both cemeteries in the town. One cemetery lies to the right of route 41, and one is on the other side. We pass an unusual octagon shaped building, which was the first schoolhouse, as we go to the William Byrd cemetery on the right, Daniel and Katherine Amens are buried there along with some of their children. My GG Grandparents, Jacob Wickerham and Eve Amens Wickerham and some of their children are buried there too, and also My GG Grandparents, Lewis Crum and Sarah Eagle Crum.
Returning to route 41, we take a road toward the other side of town and the other cemetery which is secluded and set on a hill at the edge of town. If you miss the street, you will not be able to find it as the cemetery sits in a highly wooded area. There is a large “Crum” section in that cemetery and my Grandmother and most of her children are buried there, although my Grandfather Lewis is not and my father is not. My Grandfather is buried in
Heading on down 41 toward Locust Grove and Peebles, we come to a cemetery on a hill to the right. Within sight of the cemetery is the old Wickerham Inn which is still standing and is on the register of historic places. Peter Wickerham and his wife Maria Platter Wickerham are buried in that cemetery overlooking the inn that they built and ran for many years. They are my GGG Grandparents.
Peter’s father George Adam Wickerham built an inn in
Moving on down route 41 we come to Peebles, another place where I went to school and also where the book Tempest Rider is set. My mother, who was blind recounts that the first time she was in Peebles, she entered on a horse which for some reason fell flat in the street embarrassing her greatly!
Continuing through Peebles toward
At this point we start to make a circle and we continue west/north west on route 136.
We pass through Cherry Fork and head toward
G Grandparents, Martin Van Buren and Sarah Rhoades, are buried in the cemetery in
Last year, in 2008,
Leaving
If we stay on route 62 we can continue north through Washington CH and back to
We leave the town, staying on route 62 North which will take us back to
I hope you have enjoyed the journey.
▣ The Burglar, a Short Story
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Assignment: Write an upside down story. Begin with the end.
The Burglar
David sighed as he looked at the mess in his house. He’d just entered by the side door and already he could see that the place had been tossed, again. Cushions were drug out of the couch, the DVD player was gone from the TV, and the rubber tree plant in the living room was lying on its side.
He was about to go to the phone to call the police one more time when he heard a sound in the small bedroom off the living room. That was his son John’s room but John wasn’t supposed to be here. Carefully he sidled around the dividing wall and was in time to see a shoe and pants leg going over the window sill of John’s only window.
Rushing to his bedroom, David found that the shotgun his oldest son, Forrest had given him, was missing. Apparently the burglar had taken it with him. No telling what else was gone but had David been a little earlier, he might have had to face his own weapon. There had been no shells in the shotgun. Those had been hidden nearby, but how would he have known whether the burglar had found them or not?
Four years ago, when he’d moved into this house, David had thought it was a lovely little place for him and John to live in. It was small but there were only two of them so they didn’t need much room. The first burglary had taken David completely by surprise.
He’d come home to find that everything was gone; he hadn’t had much of value to start with. The answering machine, the vacuum cleaner, the microwave, and the VCR were all missing. Drawers had been pulled out and dumped. Everything was trashed or missing.
David called the police. This was the first time anything like this had ever happened to him and he felt scared and vulnerable. The officer who responded told him that they have about eighty burglaries in
A few months later the same thing happened. This time they carried a console TV up from the basement and out the door without arousing any response from neighbors. The vacuum cleaner, answering machine and VCR were taken again along with other items. A full box of papers that included the deed to the house and other valuable items was missing. That box also held some savings bonds. After a nightmare interval, David was able to work the problem out with the government and was issued new bonds.
By the time he was burglarized a fifth time, David was starting to wonder, “Why me?”
He was having a lot of problems with his son John who had become involved in drug use and was not doing well. John had dropped out of school and was working at a pizza joint but David worried about him constantly. He lay awake at night and wondered if his son would come home or if he was lying somewhere overdosed or murdered by a drug dealer.
Eventually he started to wonder if the burglaries were really being done at random or if John was staging them in order to take things from the home to sell; he always needed money for drugs. Maybe he thought he could stage a burglary and remain above suspicion. It hurt him to believe this but things with John had become extremely tense. He no longer knew his son.
Two years of problems had accumulated; unspoken words of accusation had formed between David and John. They were strangers living in the same space but as far apart as they could get. As David stood there he found himself angrier than he’d ever been in his life. How dare John to treat him like this.
Rushing to the window he stuck his head out it, fearing that he’s see John running away from the house. Down the street he could see a man racing toward the cross street. He couldn’t tell who it was, but he leaped out the window and ran after him. Surely John wouldn’t shoot him, even if he did have the shells for the gun. David had forgotten to look to see if the shells were still hidden.
Emotion caused his feet to fly faster than they had in thirty years. He saw the man jump a fence and head down an alley. David chased after him. It was time for John to face up to what he’d been doing. No more silent dismay. He was going to confront his son right now. Taking a short cut, he arrived at the corner of a building just as the running figure did. He grabbed the shotgun and spun the man around to face him.
“I’ve had it,” David said.
And then he looked into the red rimmed eyes of a stranger. This was a man he’d never seen before in his life. The man let go the shotgun and started to run again.
“Keep it if you want it that bad,” the man wheezed as he darted around the corner building.
David stood there in the alley holding the shotgun; he was in shock. For most of the past two years he’d been sure that his son had stolen from him He’d never confronted John, nor had he gone to the police. Instead he’d nursed his hurt and shame. If John had fallen this low, he believed, the fault had to be that of the father who’d raised him.
It took all his energy to make it back to the house. Inside he sat on the couch for hours staring at a blank TV screen.
John is innocent. Your son didn’t steal from you. It really was a stranger.
The words echoed in his mind along with the knowledge that now he had to have a heart to heart with his son. He had to admit what he’d been thinking all this time. He had to clear the air so they could breathe again. It wasn’t going to be easy, John would be furious and indignant at what his father had believed him capable of, but now David knew that they’d eventually be able to be a family again. He cried in sorrow, pain and with relief.
An imagined Hell is the worst kind.
▣ My First Blog Entry on this Website
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This Blog will be a forum for my day to day thoughts as well as a place to list upcoming book signings and other literary events. Over time you will see that my mind wanders quite a bit going from rural and outdoor events to questions of ethics and morality. In fact there is just no way to tell which direction it might take on a given day. Where ever it goes, I hope you will go with me.