tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58663953977979032932024-02-07T07:47:46.561-05:00The Unknown Author: Writing tips by author, T.K. MillinAfter spending years experiencing the great writing material called life, T.K. Millin sets out to share with other writers and aspiring writers tips and advice they learned along the way to publication.Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5866395397797903293.post-78828601977668371932012-10-04T14:37:00.001-04:002012-10-04T16:50:30.632-04:00In the Silence: One Author's Venture into the Universe of Self-Publishing<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg8dMKEPJ2Ztyy9GzE-Dikt4A1aaQSA5VZf9BaBZjdNza0PjIRygVAQ8QAmGlxC4fizzWpwOqHvUrXhKFnbwRXcWgy70j2tuKNxwHehQNp5vyzticUlh4pYiP7dIPEBhL0EZCxARsNac9h/s1600/ShellsForHunterCopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg8dMKEPJ2Ztyy9GzE-Dikt4A1aaQSA5VZf9BaBZjdNza0PjIRygVAQ8QAmGlxC4fizzWpwOqHvUrXhKFnbwRXcWgy70j2tuKNxwHehQNp5vyzticUlh4pYiP7dIPEBhL0EZCxARsNac9h/s320/ShellsForHunterCopy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Image property of Efi Loo Publishing</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">
</div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">After publishing my last post on June 26, (<a href="http://www.tkmillin.blogspot.com/2012/06/blog-that-time-did-not-forget-three.html"><span style="color: red;"><b>click here</b></span></a>), where we explored what I learned by taking a blogcation, I had an epiphany. I needed to take my own advice! So, I made a conscious decision to become silent . . . online that is.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">They say silence is golden. In my opinion, whoever “they” are failed to mention that the golden part comes with a price. A three-step price. Step one; a splash of self-determination, step two; a smidgen of self-doubt, and step three; a dousing of frustration. But, in the end, every price has its payday.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Let’s explore:</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">For some of you, venturing into the universe of self-publishing is nothing new. Perhaps, you entered it many moons ago and have been flourishing in its frontier of possibilities ever since. However, for others, perhaps like me, you want to board the ship, but in a small way hope the engines never fire up for fear of them exploding before you ever leave the ground. </span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">In May, I wrote a short story for my Nephew’s second birthday titled, Shells For Hunter. Being my first venture into self-publishing, I felt the story was the perfect size to use as my “test” subject, and besides, it is a darling little story. </span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Having a completed story, I set off to self-publish my first book! How hard could it be? I had written the story in four days, what, with another four days of re-writing, a little self-editing, create an Amazon account, download my cover art and story, and boom, my book would be up and published in no time, ready to be read to children all over the world!</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; font-size: 13px; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; font-size: 33px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Screech! </b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; font-size: 13px; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; font-size: 13px; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Enter step one: A splash of self-determination. After spending two weeks making sure every adjective, sentence, and punctuation was the best I could make it, Shells For Hunter was ready to rock and roll! </span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Enter step two: A smidgen of self-doubt. Wait, if Shells For Hunter were being published by another publisher, wouldn’t they send it through their editorial department to be proofed by a highly trained and skilled professional? After reading through the draft for the umpteenth time, perhaps I did have a misplaced comma here or a misused semi-colon there. If I’m going to put my name on something, it is going to be done right! </span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thanks to my inner-connections of networking through the internet, I had recently befriended a wonderful editor in Australia, <a href="http://dionnelisterwriter.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: red;"><b>Dionne Lister</b></span></a>. She had recently edited a book I find to be an absolutely hilarious take on becoming a writer, (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Squirrel-that-Dreamt-Madness-ebook/dp/B005JU92GO/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349374858&sr=1-1&keywords=Craig+Stone"><span style="color: red;"><b>The Squirrel That Dreamt of Madness</b></span></a>), and so we agreed to do business together. I am so thankful for Dionne’s services. She was quick to respond, always willing to address questions and even met with me face to face via Skype! Glad we did, she has a really cool accent! </span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Finally, after having Shells For Hunter professionally edited, it was time to really get things rocking and rolling!</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Enter step three: A dousing of frustration. I spent many years in the corporate world transitioning from typing on an IBM select typewriter to whizzing my fingers across the keyboard of a word-processor and beyond and from creating ad-hoc reports to creating Excel spreadsheets, so I’m no stranger to technology. I knew about converting my manuscript into an EPub file before downloading to Amazon. No big deal, piece of cake. </span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">For the love of Pete! </span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">After spending another month researching and learning to reformat my manuscript, (you see, I work on a Mac), I knew the rocking had to be over and it was time to start rolling.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; font-size: 13px; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; font-size: 25px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Double Screech! </b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; font-size: 25px; min-height: 29px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Lucky for me, I have a business partner that is a highly trained professional, my husband! In comes one last step to the silence is golden price....oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Needless to say, Shells For Hunter was finally ready to rock and roll and no matter its future, I’m glad those engines fired up and propelled me into the universe of self-publishing. </span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">My advice? If you are toying with the idea of venturing into the self-publishing world, go for it! But, be prepared to pay the price and, hopefully, you have people or business acquaintances that will be there to assist you in your journey. </span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">What lesson did I learn? That silence is golden and its path is worth the price. </span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Would I do it again? Only the future will tell. </span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Until next time,</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Keep on thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTZGNV5O-7XES9It2k1c6OSqjyJmpMZ4mjLijLxau9uY4kz2XoWdPoTDdfZ8hCjrgoQphRy_TsLIHm3nUdVZjXZFqmE5NM1YbXFO6TfDCM-Y8vib_6AfCyQcDuAwgOsuZZbFlXjSSmJhvG/s1600/unknown+author+signature+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTZGNV5O-7XES9It2k1c6OSqjyJmpMZ4mjLijLxau9uY4kz2XoWdPoTDdfZ8hCjrgoQphRy_TsLIHm3nUdVZjXZFqmE5NM1YbXFO6TfDCM-Y8vib_6AfCyQcDuAwgOsuZZbFlXjSSmJhvG/s200/unknown+author+signature+photo.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">T.K. Millin</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<br />Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5866395397797903293.post-6229964758684053922012-06-26T18:19:00.000-04:002012-10-03T17:06:30.492-04:00The Blog That Time Did Not Forget: Three tips from a writer's blogcation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlPgg7LDc2xjpdEZiZMofe5lJMYQYE1CeUcrO8T1FS0CnG7A4E4Nv0T7_ijdWtDCzbeaFNNZL1i91pzJ8AIjWRg2c17U19jVfHZEUf2l0TQZwKTuM7IZR-7LkpRiQ1KKsu1slVhdBpzUF1/s1600/The+Blog+That+Time+Forgot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlPgg7LDc2xjpdEZiZMofe5lJMYQYE1CeUcrO8T1FS0CnG7A4E4Nv0T7_ijdWtDCzbeaFNNZL1i91pzJ8AIjWRg2c17U19jVfHZEUf2l0TQZwKTuM7IZR-7LkpRiQ1KKsu1slVhdBpzUF1/s320/The+Blog+That+Time+Forgot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I liken living in the 21st century to a young child born in the 19th century who saw an incandescent lamp light their room for the first time and who lived long enough into the 20th century to watch on a black and white television an astronaut take one small step for man kind.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The only difference is now we don’t have to live to a ripe old age to watch the advancement of technology for it changes overnight, literally. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">For many of my devoted followers, thank you by the way, you may have noticed I have not posted many blogs articles over the past three months. If you are reading this today, I would again like to thank you for your loyalty, but please be assured it was not due to slacking off. I would like to think of my absence as more of conducting an experiment in time travel. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Let’s explore:</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">My last two articles posted were devoted to time and space in fictional writing. If you missed them or would like to discover them for the first time, (<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b><a href="http://www.tkmillin.blogspot.com/2012/02/from-seconds-to-eternity-time-and-space.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">click here for Part I</span></a> </b></span>and <a href="http://www.tkmillin.blogspot.com/2012/03/from-seconds-to-eternity-time-and-space.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b>click here for Part II</b></span></a>). </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In them, we explored techniques that can be used to help transport your readers through time. Afterall, writing is one of the unique forms of art in which all five senses can be used to achieve this! </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">During that time, I began to have flashbacks to when I first started writing. A time when I unequivocally knew that one day I was going to become a published author! So, I decided to take a blogcation. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">What did I discover during my time off? That I did become a published author and if I ever had high hopes of doing it again then some things needed to change. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Listed below are the top three major tips I discovered during my blogcation that I hope will help you too if you are at a point in your writing career where you may be wondering, “What am I doing wrong?”</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><b>REDISCOVER</b></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">By taking time to sit, in silence, and free write reasons why you ever wanted to become a writer helps to awaken dreams that have long ago been tucked away deep within your inner thoughts.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">For example, here are four of the numerous phrases that seemed to magically appear on my notepad, but once I saw them, I remembered.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Noteworthy Light'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">To make a difference </span></b></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Noteworthy Light'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 22.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b></b></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 18.0px Chalkboard; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">To bring wonder to a child!</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 18.0px Chalkboard; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 23.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 18.0px 'Apple Chancery'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">To inspire...</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 18.0px Chalkboard; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 23.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Zapfino; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Life long...dream<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">So go ahead, grab a notepad and pen and find a cozy quite spot to sit and ponder and then be ready to rediscover the writer inside you that’s still full of dreams and imagination just waiting to come alive! (Oh, and one important note, if you have a furry pawed ghostwriter like Efi Loo, don’t forget to include them too!)</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><b>REORGANIZE</b></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Prior to becoming a writer, I owned and operated my own interior design business where I not only helped my clients create the home of their dreams through design and color, but also through the art of feng shui. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">What is feng shui? Feng shui, (pronounced fung shway; fung, meaning wind, and shway, meaning water), is an ancient art and science developed over 3,000 years ago in China where the principle of five elements in shapes; water, wood, fire, metal and earth are used to bring harmony to a space through the use of color and the placement of objects.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">What does this all have to do with being a writer? Everything! Taking a blogcation helped me realize I could use the help of an interior designer to come in and help revitalize my work space. Then it hit me, I am a trained interior designer and I wasn’t living up to the advice people once paid me for! </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Clutter is one of the biggest no-no’s in feng shui, because it prevents positive energy, (chi), from flowing freely through a room. But wait you say, all writers know that clutter is our best friend because having all that paper strewn about our desk is a sign of progress, right? </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Wrong, think again. Clutter is nothing more than a sign of a bogged down mind which can prevent you from moving forward in a positive way. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">If you have been feeling heavy minded lately and can’t seem to get your creative juices flowing, look around at your work space with feng shui eyes and you just might be surprised at the amount of “progress” you have piling up in front of you! </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Take time to clear your workspace by creating folders for unfinished manuscripts and scribbled story ideas on crumpled up napkins and coffee stained work in progress’ you’ve been editing for months. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Then while you’re still motivated by the uplifting feeling, organize a closet or clean out a junk drawer and then get ready, because your inner writer will have come alive and nothing will stop it from wanting to write!</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: orange; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><b>RECONNECT</b></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">As with any structure, the foundation is its strength and the stronger its foundation the taller it can rise. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">One of the main lessons any coach can teach their players when they fall into a slump is to go back to the basics. The same lesson can be applied to any writer. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Often times, we find ourselves so caught up in our own works of art that we tend to forget we had a starting point. Then when our flame begins to flicker and burn low we feel lost and confused and don’t know how to start over again. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Whether you started fresh out of college or spent many years pursuing your dreams of one day becoming a published author, you had a beginning, and it’s important as time speeds by into the unknown future that you take time to revisit your past and those lessons learned that helped to build your foundation as a writer. It can renew and revitalize old forgotten lessons that once propelled you forward. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">To quote Albert Einstein, “‘Time is relative,’” and as I stated in the beginning, now we don’t have to live to a ripe old age to watch the advancement of technology for it changes overnight, literally. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I should know, for as the cliche goes, proof is in the pudding. During my three month blogcation, Facebook came out with a new look, as did Blogger and Twitter, and once again I had to learn new skills to catch up to the 21st century. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Only this time I realized there was one thing that remained solid over time, my foundation, and I’m glad I took time to revisit my past and add another brick from my memory as to why I wanted to become a published author.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">How about you, do you remember why you became a writer?</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Until next time,</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Keep on thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!</span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTZGNV5O-7XES9It2k1c6OSqjyJmpMZ4mjLijLxau9uY4kz2XoWdPoTDdfZ8hCjrgoQphRy_TsLIHm3nUdVZjXZFqmE5NM1YbXFO6TfDCM-Y8vib_6AfCyQcDuAwgOsuZZbFlXjSSmJhvG/s1600/unknown+author+signature+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTZGNV5O-7XES9It2k1c6OSqjyJmpMZ4mjLijLxau9uY4kz2XoWdPoTDdfZ8hCjrgoQphRy_TsLIHm3nUdVZjXZFqmE5NM1YbXFO6TfDCM-Y8vib_6AfCyQcDuAwgOsuZZbFlXjSSmJhvG/s200/unknown+author+signature+photo.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>T.K. Millin</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"></span></b></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></b></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5866395397797903293.post-67872224602138592242012-03-06T15:48:00.000-05:002012-03-06T15:48:32.591-05:00From Seconds to Eternity: Time and Space in Fictional Writing - Part II<br />
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><b>“For us physicists believe the separation between past, present, and future is only an illusion, although a convincing one.” - Albert Einstein</b></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">In </span><a href="http://tkmillin.blogspot.com/2012/02/from-seconds-to-eternity-time-and-space.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Part One</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">, we explored two methods used for capturing time and space in fictional writing. In short, we discovered summary deals with a long period of time in a short distance and scene is key to readers experiencing the elements of your character’s lives through the five senses.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-size: large;">Originally, in Part II we were going to discover two more methods for transporting readers through time; however, due to the length needed for each method I felt it necessary to break each one out into its own post. After all, time is crucial to any writer.</span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><div style="font-weight: bold; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-size: large;">
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The third method used in fictional writing time travel is flashback. Although a successful technique used in film, if used appropriately and sparingly, it too can be just as magical and powerful in fictional writing.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Let’s explore:</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When used properly, flashback can be more effective in transporting a reader into the past than film or stage can an audience. How? Because writing encompasses all the five senses, not just sight and sound, thus allowing a reader’s mind to live the experience as if they too were traveling back in time. However, when used improperly flashback can be intrusive or even down right annoying to the reader.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">So when and how should a flashback be used to strengthen a story? Here are four quick questions to keep in mind when you feel a flashback is necessary:</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<ol style="list-style-type: decimal;">
<li style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Could I obtain the same result using dialogue?</span></span></li>
<li style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Would a brief summary fill in the missing information?</span></span></li>
<li style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Is there a reference that could be made instead?</span></span></li>
<li style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">What about using a certain detail to reveal the information?</span></span></li>
</ol>
</span></div>
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; font-size: large;">If you can answer yes to any of these questions, then a flashback may not necessarily be your best option. But, if the answer is no, then ask yourself if using a flashback would contribute to the revelation of character and theme. If yes, it’s clear a flashback would be an effective method in revealing information at the right time.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><div style="font-weight: bold; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-size: large;">
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">It’s important to keep in mind when using flashback to provide some kind of transition. A connection between the present and what happened in the past will often not only transport the character into the past, but the reader as well.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Listed below are some helpful do’s and don’ts when using flashback.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Don’t use straight out transitions such as, “Larry thought back to when” or “My mind drifted back to when I was little.” It’s always best to assume the reader is intelligent enough to follow a leap back in time. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When writing in the past tense, do begin the flashback in the past perfect and use the construction “had” several times. Then by switching to the simple past; the reader will be with your character in the past! If writing in the present tense, it's best to keep the flashback in the past.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Don’t have a flashback within a flashback. Way too confusing to any reader and it may be a good sign you are attempting to use flashback to carry too much of your story.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Do be clear when ending the flashback and catching up to the present. A technique good for making the smooth transition is to use either an image, a sound, a smell or an action that the reader will remember from the time period the character is now living in. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In Part III, we will explore our last method for transporting our readers through time, slow motion.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Until next time,</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Keep on thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTZGNV5O-7XES9It2k1c6OSqjyJmpMZ4mjLijLxau9uY4kz2XoWdPoTDdfZ8hCjrgoQphRy_TsLIHm3nUdVZjXZFqmE5NM1YbXFO6TfDCM-Y8vib_6AfCyQcDuAwgOsuZZbFlXjSSmJhvG/s1600/unknown+author+signature+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTZGNV5O-7XES9It2k1c6OSqjyJmpMZ4mjLijLxau9uY4kz2XoWdPoTDdfZ8hCjrgoQphRy_TsLIHm3nUdVZjXZFqmE5NM1YbXFO6TfDCM-Y8vib_6AfCyQcDuAwgOsuZZbFlXjSSmJhvG/s200/unknown+author+signature+photo.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">T.K. Millin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
</span></div>
</span>Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5866395397797903293.post-50434109554551475982012-02-24T10:06:00.002-05:002012-02-24T10:19:29.929-05:00From Seconds to Eternity: Time and Space in Fictional Writing - Part 1<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>second seems like an hour. That's relativity.” </span>-Albert Einstein </span></i></b></span><br />
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Literature, in its own right, is tied to time like no other art form I know of. For example, a photograph or a painting is an image of a moment in time and last only as long as it takes to look at it. Same could be said about music. A song lasting 2.5 minutes represents the 2.5 minutes it takes to listen to it. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A book takes time to read as well; however, the reader can be transported through time whether they spend five minutes reading or several hours. For example, it’s possible to write a story that takes thirty minutes to read and covers thirty minutes of action or the time covered could be stretched out over a lifetime. There are no requirements when it comes to fictional writing. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As a writer, the possibilities to capture time and space in a story are infinite; but just like a scientist developing a time machine, there are methods to the madness and I’m not talking about something as complex as a flux capacitor! </span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Let’s explore:</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Summary and Scene</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Summary covers a relatively long period of time in a short amount of distance. It’s a useful method to help reveal information, explain a character’s background, change the pace or to advance forward or backwards in time.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Scene is to fiction what the five senses are to living. In other words, they allow your readers to experience the elements of your characters’ lives through sight, sound, scent, taste and touch.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It’s possible to write a short story in a single scene, without any summary at all, but it’s not possible to write a successful story completely in summary. By summarizing events rather than having them realized as moments of time in your character’s life, you disconnect the reader from putting themselves in your character’s shoes. </span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">To put it simply, summary allows you to speed up time in your story and fill in the gap of missing information, scene allows you to slow the pace and fill in the gap of missing details; smells, colors, sensations...etc., you get the picture. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Eventually, a story requires a trigger or a crisis to occur that is crucial to a turning point in your protagonist’s life and cannot be summarized, therefore, all stories require scenes. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One simple formula I use to help keep on track to bring balance between summary and scene is the following:</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Scene elements</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Summary elements</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Goal<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Emotion</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Conflict<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Thought</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Disaster<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Decision</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Action</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Basically, in a scene, a character has a goal (maybe to fix a cup of coffee, thus allowing smell and taste to be interjected) then a conflict arises (they knock the mug over, spilling hot coffee on their lap, in could come sight and touch) and next a disaster (the phone rings, Aunt Ruby just died, time for sound). </span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Moving from scene to summary will now allow the pace to quicken. The character reacts to the news (they remember when growing up they were the only one Aunt Ruby never sent a birthday or Christmas present to (a long period of time in a short distance)) then they think about what just happened (Aunt Ruby became filthy rich when her husband died) now they make a decision (they will go to the funeral and put on a show of sorrow) then the character takes action based upon their decision (they take their best suit to the cleaners). </span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So as we can see, by using the method of summary and scene we are able to transport our readers through time in a matter of a few sentences or several pages.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In Part II, we will explore two more methods for transporting our readers through time; flashback and slow motion.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Until next time,</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Keep on thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!</span></span></span></div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTZGNV5O-7XES9It2k1c6OSqjyJmpMZ4mjLijLxau9uY4kz2XoWdPoTDdfZ8hCjrgoQphRy_TsLIHm3nUdVZjXZFqmE5NM1YbXFO6TfDCM-Y8vib_6AfCyQcDuAwgOsuZZbFlXjSSmJhvG/s1600/unknown+author+signature+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTZGNV5O-7XES9It2k1c6OSqjyJmpMZ4mjLijLxau9uY4kz2XoWdPoTDdfZ8hCjrgoQphRy_TsLIHm3nUdVZjXZFqmE5NM1YbXFO6TfDCM-Y8vib_6AfCyQcDuAwgOsuZZbFlXjSSmJhvG/s200/unknown+author+signature+photo.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-size: large;">T.K. Millin</span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5866395397797903293.post-18437172093810845002012-02-07T14:48:00.002-05:002012-02-07T14:52:35.688-05:00Showing is Believing: Grasp the Principle of Filtering and Never Tell Again<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; font-size: large;">All writers start out as beginners. Whether they spent years in school or ventured out on their own in search of their dreams, there was an invisible start line etched across the beginning of their pathway to a writer’s life.</span><br />
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Like many beginning authors, I started out writing all my stories in first person <b style="color: red;">(<a href="http://tkmillin.blogspot.com/2011/01/who-should-tell-your-protagonists-story.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">read my post here</span></a>) </b>and ended every line of dialogue with an attribution of either she said, he said or they cried! <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b>(<a href="http://tkmillin.blogspot.com/2011/07/what-should-it-be-he-said-or-he-sighed.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">read my post about it here</span></a>)</b></span></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Then there was the infamous challenge of overcoming the don’t tell ‘em, show ’em syndrome. If you ever find yourself wondering how in the world can you show something to the reader without telling them, then you are not alone. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">For example: It’s easy to think if my character has walked into a room and sat in a chair by the window and looked out and saw her neighbor fall to the ground that the only way my readers are going to know they fell is if I write the scene like this:</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>{Mary made her way to the chair by the window and <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>graciously sat down. She looked out the window and saw her neighbor, Mr. Pepper, standing in his front yard. She noticed a strange look on his face and then she saw him clutch his chest and fall to his knees.}</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In writing fiction, you will often times be writing through some observing consciousness and when you ask the reader to observe the observer, you start to tell not show and inadvertently get in their line of sight. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">By removing the filters, you allow your readers to remain inside the character’s stream of consciousness. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Let’s explore:</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The filter is a common error and as a beginning writer, difficult to recognize. Even experienced writers can still fall prey to the natural urge to tell not show syndrome, but once you grasp the principle of filtering it’s an exciting way to make your writing more vivid. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Taking our example from above (I’ve highlighted the filters) and then removed them to “show” how our scene can be more vivid. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>With filters:</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>{Mary made her way to the chair by the window and <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>graciously sat down. </span><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">She looked</span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> out the window <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">and saw</span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"> </span></span>her neighbor, Mr. Pepper, standing in his <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>front yard. </span><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">She noticed </span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">a strange look on his face <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>and </span><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">then she saw</span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: red;"> </span></b>him clutch his chest and fall to his <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>knees.}</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Filters removed:</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>{Mary made her way to the chair by the window and graciously sat down. Across the street her neighbor, Mr. Pepper, was standing in his front <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>yard with a strange look on his face. Suddenly, he clutched his chest and fell to his knees.}</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Notice how in the revised version with the filters removed, it reads as though you are Mary observing the scene and not someone standing next to you telling you what she was seeing. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">So, the next time you are self-editing your story, make a mental note to watch for filters and experiment by removing them. You just might be amazed how vivid your scene becomes!</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">How about you have you learned to spot filters (or perhaps you refer to them as something else)? If so, I would love to have you share how it has improved your writing.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Until next time,</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Keep on thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">T.K. Millin </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div>Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5866395397797903293.post-34940636232113354282012-02-01T09:50:00.000-05:002012-02-01T09:50:39.291-05:00Defeating Deadlines: How Flash Fiction Improved My Writing Skills<br />
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Time is running out and all you can concentrate on is the ticking of the clock. The more you focus on the mesmerizing sound the harder it becomes for you to concentrate, and the less you concentrate, the only letters that come to mind to type on the keyboard are, D. E. F. E. A. T. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Sound familiar? Every author during some point in their writing journey succumbs to the inevitable dreadful deadline. Sometimes it may be out of our control and other times it may be self inflicted. No matter the reason, missing a deadline is one of the hardest things to accept, other than rejection, as a writer. The only difference between the two is at least with a rejection you’ve tried; you made every effort in your control to imagine, create and write a work of art. With defeat of a deadline, you continually say to yourself, “If only I hadn’t done this or that.” </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When I first started writing I found myself in awe of writers who could write a short story in say, a week, and then edit, revise, edit and revise some more and complete it in two weeks, maybe a month. At the time, I never saw myself as one of those writers.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Years crept by and holding to my beliefs of one taking responsibility for their own improvements I studied, practiced, studied, practiced some more and then I began to network with authors whom seemed to have mastered the art of writing stories in a flash. I’m not talking about just putting verbiage down on a screen, but actual stories that tell a tale, stories that are tight as they can be and stories that have been revised and edited all in one week! </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">How is that possible? Let explore:</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In June of 2011, I discovered a whole new writing genre called, Flash Fiction. Having never heard of it before I was very intrigued by the mere name of it and inquired with a new connection of mine, author <a href="http://www.blazemcrob.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Blaze McRob</span></a>, and he took me under his writer wings and introduced me to an exciting fast paced world of talented writers. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">There are many flash fiction writer groups out there, but they all</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">have one thing in common; write a short story usually in a thousand words or less, based upon a weekly theme and then post it on your blog. Then the group reads and comments on each others stories. In addition, there are many readers out there that enjoy reading flash fiction and discovering new authors! </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">So, how has writing flash fiction improved my writing skills? For starters, it has challenged me as a writer to jump right in and start a story smack dab in the middle of the action, for you don’t have much time to build up to it. It has also taught me how to strengthen my word usage. In other words, are my words specific, clear and simple and are my nouns and verbs strong? For when you only have a thousand words or less, less is more. Lastly, the encouragement and recognition I have received from fellow authors and readers of flash fiction has pumped up my self-confidence as if it were on steroids. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">If you’re looking for ways in the new year to challenge yourself as a writer, why not discover the world of flash fiction? You’ll be amazed at how much you will improve in tightening scenes, making words count, eliminating clutter from your writing and, best of all, keep your creative juices flowing!</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I’ve listed two sites that specialize in Flash Fiction:</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> <a href="http://vamplit.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Vamplit Publishing</span></a></span> is for writers of horror, and I am honored to say, I am a contributing author to their Friday Flash Fiction. They are open to new contributors and they and all their authors are encouraging and supportive of one another.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><a href="http://fridayflash.org/press/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Friday Flash.org</span></a><b> </b></span></span>host many genre’s of flash fiction and occasionally hold contests. A great place to meet new connections and grow as a flash fiction writer. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://thecatvampdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">The Cat Vamp Diaries: All Things Scary</span></a> is my friday flash blog where I feature my flash stories and more. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Hope to see you around the flash fiction scene!</span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Until next time,</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Keep on thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">T.K. Millin</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5866395397797903293.post-4515309359523734612012-01-03T17:16:00.003-05:002012-01-03T17:24:50.960-05:00What Fluffy Little Kittens Taught Me About Rejection<br />
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">A new year has begun. Twelve whole months of promise and hope just as if each one were a clean, crisp white page waiting to be filled with words that create a colorful new world! </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 15.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">With hope there comes opportunity, and with opportunity, there comes the possibility of the one dreaded word in all writer’s vocabulary, rejection; the dismissing or refusing of a proposal or idea. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 15px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">As writer’s, we’ve all experienced the emotional elements associated with having our ideas and words dismissed or refused. Although it’s been several years since my first rejection I can still remember as if it were yesterday when my heart and soul felt as though they had been gouged out with a frozen grapefruit spoon. Was I hurt? Yes. Did I die? No. Did I give up writing? Absolutely not, and neither should you! That is why I want to share with you what fluffy little kittens have taught me about rejection.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 15px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">Right about now you may be asking, “What does fluffy little kittens have to do with rejection?</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 15px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">Let’s explore:</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 15px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">Often times, you come across an article in a health magazine or listen to an expert being interviewed on t.v. about the importance of balance between work and play. Some people refer to something outside of work as a hobby, I prefer to refer to it as a passion. It doesn’t really matter which definition you choose, except for when you’re sitting across from your accountant, but what is important is that you have one.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 15px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">If you’ve been writing for a while then you most likely know it can become very easy for a writer to isolate themselves inside the make believe worlds they create, particularly when writing is a passion, and sometimes forget about the little things in life that are important. That is why having a passion outside your writing that you can get away to is very important for maintaining a healthy perspective.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">Whether it be about writing or an outside cause, most writers I know are very passionate people and a lot of times it’s their outside passion that is the driving force behind what they write. If you haven’t already discovered a passion outside your writing, dig deep down inside and remember why you became a writer in the first place. You may find its been lying there dormant waiting for you to rediscover it. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 15px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">For the past twenty years a personal passion of mine has been rescuing and saving abandoned animals and in many cases reuniting lost ones to their beloved homes for a happy ending. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 15px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">In total, there have been 32 cats, kittens, dogs and puppies I have helped along in their journey through life. Why? The answer to that question is even a mystery to me. The only thing I can equate it to is the same passion I have about writing. It’s just something I have to do. Some may describe it as a calling in life, just as certain people have a calling for missions work, teaching or serving. How about you, what special passion do you have in life outside writing?</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 15px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">Perhaps this may explain why I never go seeking animals to rescue, they simply show up at my doorstep. I often wonder if somewhere out there in the lonely world of lost and abandoned animals there is a make shift latrine with words scratched into a tree stump, “For a good home follow your nose to...”</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 15px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">My most recent rescue, and biggest one to date, happened two days prior to this past Thanksgiving. A mother kitty and seven adorable fluffy kittens showed up with nowhere to go. Since I was the one in the family entertaining this year and had only two days left to prepare I had two options; (a) call the local county and have them pick them up and forget about it all or (b) drop everything and set up a makeshift shelter in my garage and still have two days left to prepare for Thanksgiving. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 15px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">One decision would have resulted in lack of sleep due to a heavy conscious on the heart and the other decision would have resulted in lack of sleep, putting writing on hold, using money saved for Christmas and a heavy burden on the heart if I couldn’t find them all homes and had to call the county anyway.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 15px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">Which did I choose? I chose the one that had promise and hope. The one which its future had not yet been written and then I chose my words carefully as I filled in the clean, crisp white pages and created a new colorful world for fluffy little kittens who only knew rejection, but always had faith in their eyes. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 15px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">Each and every morning I would rise early to tend to my own that I have rescued through the years and then would set out on my new daily ritual of carefully transferring the kittens (with a hug or two) to a clean cage to eat while I cleaned and washed their carriers so I could start over again the next day. Every hour on the hour I would tend to them again due to the small confined spaces they were in. They never seemed to mind, they only seemed to care someone took the time. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 15px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">Then each and every day I would put calls out to every rescue organization in the area, but none could help, or were willing. With time running out (I had a deadline for I was going away for Christmas) I placed an ad on an online source and since being a writer I decided why not create one that would touch the heart. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 15px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">The responses were overwhelming! My email became full over night. Now having rescued through the years, I knew enough not to just randomly pass out kittens. I contacted and interviewed each person wanting to adopt and after two weeks of visiting and meeting the perspective new families, each and every fluffy little kitten, including Mom, had a new loving forever home! And, for all my animal loving followers, be assured they were delivered spayed or neutered and properly vaccinated.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 15px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">What did fluffy little kittens teach me about rejection? That sometimes the easy road out is the hard way out. That if you want to persevere and overcome you must take the road that has yet to be traveled, the one that is wide open with promise and hope, waiting to be filled with words that create a colorful world. For behind every slammed door, there is one that’s heart is always open willing to believe. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 15px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">Maybe after all there isn’t a make shift latrine with words scratched into a tree stump leading lost and abandoned animals to my doorstep. Maybe they too have learned to choose the hard road out and travel the one filled with promise and hope. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 15px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">Happy New Year and may this be the year that you never give up.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 15px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">Until next time, </span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">Keep on thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 15px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">T.K. Millin</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">The Unknown Author</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 15px;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5866395397797903293.post-47700487680917420632011-11-13T16:35:00.004-05:002011-11-14T14:30:43.785-05:00May I Have The Envelope Please?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">When I started writing The Unknown Author blog on September 27, 2010, I had one main goal in mind; share with other aspiring writers the techniques I had learned and the resources I had discovered when starting out.</span><br />
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 1.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 1.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Never did I imagine that little over a year later I would have befriended some of the best rising talent in the business, become published or be recognized with a blogger award!</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 1.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FSlFt4gFCIQXGnCHl4FQtrGetzfDxH1tXbdxFVM_tkyGakUV-5V_sjkZNpw3LrcRG4hq_KDbaNJlKu6oDiHCI7FZDzCXFsGcL7fuiVyZqwv-KVjmgXfIbKXrJ-pFuPRoaSo4FVRb1ABs/s1600/Versatile-Blogger-Award-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FSlFt4gFCIQXGnCHl4FQtrGetzfDxH1tXbdxFVM_tkyGakUV-5V_sjkZNpw3LrcRG4hq_KDbaNJlKu6oDiHCI7FZDzCXFsGcL7fuiVyZqwv-KVjmgXfIbKXrJ-pFuPRoaSo4FVRb1ABs/s200/Versatile-Blogger-Award-11.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 1.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 1.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div style="font-size: x-large; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Versatile Blogger award was given to me by Cindy Keen Reynders, author of The Saucy Lucy Murders and Paws-itively Guilty and the soon to be published, The Seven-Year Witch and A Killer Slice; the newest in her Saucy Lucy series. </span></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="font-size: x-large; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Saucy Lucy Wisdom, is Cindy’s new blog where she and her character, Aunt Gladys, talk about the writing world and other humorous topics life can throw at you. Cindy provides sound advice ranging from overcoming rejection to her seven ingredient recipe for writing story. You can discover Cindy <a href="http://saucylucywisdom.blogspot.com/2011/11/celebration-of-blogging.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b>(here)</b></span></a>. Cindy can also be found on Twitter and Facebook. Thank you Cindy for the award!</span></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="font-size: x-large; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Having been bestowed this honor, it is now my turn to engage the rules for receiving this award. They are, thank and recognize the presenter of the award, reveal seven facts about yourself and, then, pass the award on up to fifteen other bloggers whom you would like to recognize.</span></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="font-size: x-large; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">And now for seven things you’ve always wanted to know about T.K. Millin and her feline ghostwriter, Efi Loo.</span></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<ul><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<li style="font-size: x-large; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Efi Loo’s nickname is Loo Loo and she even has her very own theme song. It goes: “Loo Loo, so black she’s blue, is she black or blue? She’s blue Loo Loo!” (Except in October, she’s black!)</span></span></li>
<li style="font-size: x-large; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When growing up I used to tell people I was a cherry-blonde instead of a strawberry-blonde. </span></span></li>
<li style="font-size: x-large; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Efi Loo’s favorite thing to do is drink from the bathroom faucet. Not wanting to destroy her ego, I continue to let her think that is my only purpose for entering the room.</span></span></li>
<li style="font-size: x-large; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Prior to being a writer I enjoyed many other professions. They included being a tap dancer and instructor, a claims manager and owning my own interior decorating business. My favorite over all is being a writer!</span></span></li>
<li style="font-size: x-large; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Things I found scary as a child, and some still to this day, that you will often find in my stories: Clowns, dolls, ice cream trucks, carnivals, jack in the boxes, ventriloquist, mimes and cemeteries. </span></span></li>
<li style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> The </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">things I’m most passionate about are my husband, my pets, my family and friends and living in a country in which you have the freedom to pursue your dreams, thanks to individuals who voluntarily sacrifice theirs.</span></li>
</span></ul>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="font-size: x-large; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">May I have the envelope please?</span></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="font-size: x-large; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<div style="font-size: x-large; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Before I present the awards I would like to point out two people whom Cindy recognized that I would have and they are <a href="http://www.blazemcrob.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b>Blaze McRob</b></span></a> and <a href="http://staceyturner-authorspot.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b>Stacey Turner</b></span></a>. </span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: x-large; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: x-large; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Having said that, I would like to present The Versatile Blogger award to: </span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: x-large; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: x-large; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://carolegillofficialauthor.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b>Carole Gill</b></span></a> - Author of gothic romance such as The House on Blackstone Moor an its upcoming sequel, Unholy Testament. Carole highlights her stories along with other authors who write scary good books. </span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: x-large; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: x-large; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b><a href="http://bessiemac.com/blog-2/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Bessie Mac</span></a> </b></span>- Author of Holly’s Story and The Chronicles of Little Bear, Bessie shares heart warming stories about the world of fostering animals and events you can become active in to help our furry friends.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: x-large; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: x-large; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><a href="http://bobbiepyron.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Bobbie Pyron</span></a> </span></b>- Author of A Dog’s Way Home <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><a href="http://tkmillin.blogspot.com/2011/04/efi-loo-review-to-debut-of-efi-loo.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">(click here for Efi Loo's exclusive interview with Bobbie!)</span></a> </span></b>and The Ring. Bobbie highlights other authors and their furry muses through her post, Fido and Friends. </span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: x-large; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><a href="http://josephpinto.wordpress.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b>Joseph Pinto</b></span></a> - Author of Flowers For Evelene and Dusk and Summer, Joe shares heartwarming and sometimes an occasional scary good read on his blog. This month, for National Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, he has a touching series about his father’s battle with cancer. </span><br />
<div>
<div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 1.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In closing, I personally would like to thank each of the authors highlighted here for their connections and I wish each and every one of you a future filled with fulfilled dreams. </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 1.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Until next time,</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 1.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Keep on thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 1.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 1.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">T.K. Millin</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 1.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Unknown Author</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 1.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div>
</span></span></div>
<br /></div>Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5866395397797903293.post-82905824731681667492011-11-08T17:16:00.021-05:002011-11-08T21:31:48.616-05:00From Dreams to Reality: Why The Foundation of Your Platform Matters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">If you Google the word “collaboration” you’ll find several different sources defining “working together” in different ways. What you won’t find is this image . . . </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
<div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmasKOyGVy2re0oWX0ATAx7COTu6HsHRlhbddcHkTvyzH84mZbf_UH33V3aXQyrzgB2bSEgtWdMwm7Tvq7MENYRdrgn9fQRsL1unuhg9DqrpyWPTRFdmSyRIAYhQYDx47q47YNJELJozej/s1600/Satan%2527s+Toybox+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmasKOyGVy2re0oWX0ATAx7COTu6HsHRlhbddcHkTvyzH84mZbf_UH33V3aXQyrzgB2bSEgtWdMwm7Tvq7MENYRdrgn9fQRsL1unuhg9DqrpyWPTRFdmSyRIAYhQYDx47q47YNJELJozej/s320/Satan%2527s+Toybox+Cover.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of Angelic Knight Press</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"></span><br />
<div style="font: 15.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Back in July of this year when the newly formed publisher, <a href="http://www.angelicknightpress.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b>Angelic Knight Press</b></span></a>, announced they were accepting submissions for their first anthology many writers whom had met by way of Facebook, Twitter, Blog connections and other social media outlets were enthusiastic at collaborating together to work with the brand new publisher. Why?</span></span></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;">
</span><br />
<div style="font: 15.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">If you Google the word “integrity” you’ll again find several different sources defining “adherence to moral and ethical principles” in different ways, but the one common ground they all have in their definition is, honesty.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;">
</span><br />
<div style="font: 15.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Let’s explore:</span></span></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;">
</span><br />
<div style="font: 15.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Several years ago I had the unique opportunity to collaborate with two very special people who lived and breathed the word integrity. One was a decorated General who had not only served in Vietnam, but had led a very successful operation during Desert Storm and the other was a Colonel who had turned several military bases into highly productive operations; thus, keeping them from being shut down.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;">
</span><br />
<div style="font: 15.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">What does this have to do with the foundation of your platform? One word; integrity, and the foundation it is built on, honesty. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;">
</span><br />
<div style="font: 15.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I first met author, <a href="http://www.blazemcrob.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Blaze McRob</span></a>, through my connection with author, <a href="http://bloodygoodvampires.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Carole Gill</span></a>. It started out in the usual social media connection way; “Hi, I’m so and so and I write so and so, what do you write?” Then they respond with links to check out and you respond accordingly. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;">
</span><br />
<div style="font: 15.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Now, back to my collaborating with the General and the Colonel. They taught me to recognize integrity through their every day actions. Blaze McRob proved his integrity to me through his everyday actions of his words. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;">
</span><br />
<div style="font: 15.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">How did I know to trust his words? Because he always followed through on what he said he was going to do and everything he said he would do he did with conviction. In other words, he proved he was honest.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;">
</span><br />
<div style="font: 15.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">As the world becomes smaller, it brings opportunities that never existed before in publishing; both good and bad. </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">That is why the foundation of your platform matters.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;">
</span><br />
<div style="font: 15.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">If you’re out to make a quick buck and deceive authors out of their hard earned creative work it will not take long for you to be discovered as a fraud and a fake. But if your foundation is built upon your integrity and willingness to help others succeed so that you may also, then the future in limitless. How exciting is that!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;">
</span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">As the publishing world ventures into new and exciting territories yet to be discovered, it will be publisher’s like Angelic Knight Press who will lead the way in opening up new and exciting opportunities for authors. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Keep your sunglasses handy everyone, the future looks very bright!</span><br />
<div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;">
</span><br />
<div style="font: 15.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In closing, is it any surprise that Blaze McRob is also a veteran who served our great country? As Veteran’s day fast approaches, don’t forget to thank a Veteran. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;">
</span><br />
<div style="font: 15.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Thank you Blaze McRob, and, thank you General Draude and Colonel Maciewicz.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;">
</span><br />
<div style="font: 15.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Until next time,</span></span></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;">
</span><br />
<div style="font: 15.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Keep on thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;">
</span><br />
<div style="font: 15.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">T.K. Millin</span></span></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;">
</span><br />
<div style="font: 15.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Unknown Author</span></span></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;">
</span><br />
<div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;">
</span></div>Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5866395397797903293.post-5421082859693264572011-10-31T16:20:00.003-04:002011-10-31T16:40:27.180-04:00Countdown to NaNoWrimo: Helpful Do’s and Don'ts For Your Success<br />
<div style="font: 14.0px 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
</div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">It’s finally here, tomorrow is the start of NaNoWrimo!</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">Most writers by now are familiar with this month long challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in thirty days. But, if perhaps you are new to hearing about this strange acronym, which stands for National Novel Writing Month, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/dashboard"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">click here</span></a><b> </b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">to discover a whole new level of writing.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">Last year was my first year as a Wrimo (that’s what the writer’s who participate in the challenge are nicknamed. I did not misspell Wino!) and I wanted to share with those of you who may be returning to the challenge or attempting it for the first time, things I learned from my experience. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">I’ve put together a list of my top do and don’t tips that helped me push through the challenge, and when November 30, 2010 arrived, I had completed the first rough draft of the second novel in my middle-grade series, The Clara Jeane Mysteries. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">Let’s explore:</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Unknown Author’s Top Four Do’s</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">Do set a writing goal each and every day: </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">There are thirty days in November and when equally divided they equate to approximately 1,666.7 words a day. Does that mean you have to write that many words a day? </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">Absolutely not. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">In fact, in my first day, I wrote over 5,000 words. But by setting a numerical goal you commit yourself to at least achieving, and in some cases, exceeding your daily goal. I found there were some days I far exceeded my goal, which helped me on days when perhaps something arose or I just couldn’t muster the motivation (yes, unfortunately, you will have days like that). </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">Go for it, you just may surprise yourself! </span> </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Do allow yourself to freewrite:</span></span><span style="color: #c27ba0; letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">Recently, I wrote an article about the art of freewriting </span><a href="http://tkmillin.blogspot.com/2011/10/ramblings-of-writer-art-of-freewriting.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">click here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">. Basically, freewriting is a skill writers use to let their creative side have full reign when it comes to putting words to paper/screen; without allowing their critical side to interrupt and point out errors. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">So go ahead, ignore those misspelled words, incorrect commas and awkward sentences! Remember the end goal is to write a 50,000 word novel in thirty days. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Time for a did you know moment!</span></b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">When Stephen King writes a new story he does so at full speed ahead, puts it away for six weeks, and then begins the rewriting process. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">Do take a break:</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">It’s vitally important for your mental health, and your physical health, to take a break. Take a walk around the block, spend an hour a day at the gym or take time to find out how your loved one’s day went. Whatever works for you to relieve stress or recharge your creative juices, do it! The writer’s life can tend to be a secluded one, but only if you allow it to! </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">Do allow yourself to extend your word count by spelling out contractions!:</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">This tip is a fun one. In fact, I discovered it through connecting with other Wrimo’s last year. It was an eye opening experience for me to write out contractions. I never realized how often they are used. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">Go ahead try it, it’s fun!</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Unknown Author’s Top Four Don’ts </span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">Don’t stop to edit along the way:</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">This tip goes hand in hand with allowing yourself to freewrite. Don’t allow your self-editor to join in the NaNoWrimo fun. They have plenty of work to do when it’s finished. In fact, many months worth! So let them go on vacation, they’ll need it! </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">Don’t be afraid to write the end first or the beginning last:</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">Many writers, I for one, sometimes have the ending in mind before they even start to write a story. If this happens to you, create a file folder with the title of your novel and within that folder have individual files of scenes that come to you as you write. Then when it’s time to put it all together, it’s simply a matter of cutting and pasting. I have written several novels this way and it is a time saving skill. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">Don’t get distracted by Twitter, Facebook or surfing the Net:</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">Actually, this tip works with or without NaNoWrimo. Social networking has become a very important tool for writers to gain recognition, but at the same time, it has become a deterrence and often times an excuse not to write. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">Making the decision to write a novel in a month is a big decision for any writer, and even though there are no repercussions other than you fail the challenge if you don’t succeed, a lot can be said for self pride.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">My mother was right when she used to say, “‘spend your time wisely.’” </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"><u>Don’t forget to thank family and friends for their support and understanding and most importantly don’t forget to eat turkey come the 24th! </u></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">Unless you live in a household of writers, chances are the one’s closest to you, although they support your efforts, may not completely understand your deep seeded desire to write a novel in thirty days or what it takes to make your desire a reality. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">It does mean missing a dinner once in a while and many days turned to night and nights turned to day; holed up in a room creating a new world and bringing people to life through the strike of a keyboard or the stroke of a pen. </span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">But when all is said and done, no matter what, when No</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">vember 24th arrives, sit down to a table surrounded by your family and friends and give thanks to them and their support. And if you’re like me, you’ll give an extra thanks for the opportunity to live in a country where you have the freedom to seek your dreams and make them a reality.</span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">Good luck fellow Wrimos, and if this year is not the year for you, hopefully, some of these tips will help you in your everyday writing.</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">Until next time,</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">Keep on thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">T.K. Millin</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: large;">The Unknown Author</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 14.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<br />Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5866395397797903293.post-39883361311129212011-10-12T15:31:00.003-04:002011-10-12T15:37:19.944-04:00Ramblings of a Writer: The Art of Freewriting<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Freewriting is
a technique used to allow a writer to literally, <i>get something down on paper. </i>The technique is often times used to help overcome writer’s block or to
see what ideas come to mind when one allows themselves to turn off their natural
critic side of the brain and give full reign to their creative side. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Let’s explore:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Lately I haven’t
been publishing as many blog articls as I would like to but I’ve been so busy
lately with wriint and editing and Friday flash fiction which I reallt enjoy
doing because it has helped me to learn to write faster and it also helps me to
stay in a constant frame of creaitivy which I think is important to any writer. I hope to get back to a regulear schedule because I miss my blogging companions
but it is also important to keep on writing and writing and writnng. I really
don’t like seeing all the red underlines but I also like turning of muhy
internal cridict and not worrying about changing every little word as I write-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">That is
freewriting in a nutshell. No need to
worry about sentence structure, grammar, spelling or if it makes any
sense. I let my mind type what I was
thinking and the words just flowed out. Now it’s your turn, go ahead and try it! What did you discover?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">The first
couple of times I attempted freewriting, it was very difficult to turn off my
critic. I constantly wanted to hit the
backspace button and fix the word or add a comma or edit its meaning. One day, I got an idea to make a deal with Mr.
Critic. I agreed if he allowed me the
opportunity to just let my creative side run with their ideas, I would come
back later and let him do his job, and it worked!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">When I find
times where I feel my writing is stalling or the story needs to find its way, I go
into freewriting mode and let my creative side do their job. Not only has freewriting been an amazing
experience for me, it has also helped me to improve the speed at which I write. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Lesson
learned? As with any story, there are
two sides to writing. The fun side and the working side. By allowing your critic side to take a
vacation while your creative side works is the fun side of writing; the artistic
side if you will. Then once you have
something down on paper, whether it’s a story or a blog article, it’s time for
your critic to go to work. That is, the working
side of writing. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Unfortunately f</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px;">or the
creative side, it never really gets to take a full vacation like Mr. Critic, it
gets more of a restful nap. After all,
Mr. Critic may be good at polishing, but he’s not so good at plotting, creating
characters or twisting!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Although
freewriting is a technique, it can have a profound effect on the content of
your writing. In other words, you may
surprise yourself by what is hiding deep down inside of you when you’re not
constantly monitoring your every word. Some writers consider themselves to be a vessel for which the words can
flow from, rather than the creator of the words. No matter which side of the fence you are
sitting, it is worth finding out what you say when your critic is on vacation!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">If you’ve
never tried freewriting, or if you have but it’s been a long time, take a
little time during the week to set aside twenty or thirty minutes to just sit
down and write whatever comes to mind. Don’t worry about what you say, how you say it or whether your “T’s” are
crossed or your “I’s” are dotted. Then
set it aside for a day or two before revisiting it. You just may be surprised what was hiding
inside wanting to come out!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Until next
time, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Keep on
thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">T.K. Millin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">The Unknown
Author<o:p></o:p></span></div>Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5866395397797903293.post-41750379638919925962011-09-26T17:28:00.002-04:002011-10-12T13:37:13.169-04:00Are Human's Natural Born Writers?<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">As a writer, I
love meeting new people and discovering what they do for a living, and over the
years, I have met people from all walks of life.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">In addition to meeting teachers, doctors, dentist, veterinarians, mail deliverers, (you know most professions we deal with in everyday
life), I’ve had the fun of meeting, and in some cases working with, famous Hollywood
actors, (I once had a chance of Hollywood stardom as a movie extra!); an NFL
Superstar; a Vietnam Cobra Pilot and even a NASA Test Pilot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">As varied as
my encounters have been there has always been one thing that has intrigued me. Whenever I would talk about one day pursuing
my dream of being a writer or, as in more recent times, when I told the person
I was a writer, the general response has always been, “'Oh, I too want to write
a book one day.'” How about you, do you
generally get the same response?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Recently, this
has led me to wonder if human beings are natural born writers or if it’s
something else.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Let’s explore:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Whether it is to
tell a story or record history, it seems ever since the dawn of man, humans have
had the desire to write. One can only
imagine how the first storyteller felt when he had his clan fans huddled
together around the stone walls of the cave as he depicted his version of his first
encounter with a bear. Regardless if it
were fact or fiction, their drive to tell the story was probably the same as it
is for you and me today!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Often times
when people ask me why I wanted to be a writer, my answer is pretty much the
same, “'I don’t know I just know I’ve always wanted to write.'” I believe this to be true for most writers, established
or aspiring. But as with anything, there probably is an exception of a few writers
who write simply because they see it as a way to make a living at something they’re
good at.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Having said
that, for the most part I believe mankind has an inherent desire to write. For most, it’s probably to one day just write
a story, journal, keep a diary or tell stories to the next generation. And for others, it’s to become a published author
or make a living at something they’re really good at.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">No matter the
motive, perhaps the need to want to write comes from our human instinct to want to leave a legacy behind. After all, every life has a
story to tell. What’s yours?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Until next
time,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Keep on
thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">T.K. Millin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">The Unknown
Author <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5866395397797903293.post-48760238810316688382011-09-21T15:12:00.000-04:002011-09-21T15:12:22.921-04:00How My Sabbatical Paid Off<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">There comes a
time in every one’s life where they must make the difficult decision between staying
safe inside their comfort zone or stepping outside its boundaries and crossing
into unfamiliar </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px;">territory. As a writer, these
decisions should inspire you to rise to the challenge and push yourself to the
limit. Otherwise, you may never know
what you are capable of.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Recently, I
was faced with making this same choice. In
fact, the timing was perfect. I had just
written my post, <a href="http://tkmillin.blogspot.com/2011/08/break-free-from-archaic-fear-and.html" style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">Break Free from Archaic Fear</a>, when one such
challenge approached me, forcing me to put my words into action. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Let’s explore:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">After the
inception of this blog a year ago September 27<sup>th</sup>, I became
comfortable in my writing life of balancing between two middle-grade novels, an
adult mystery, maintaining a weekly blog and keeping pace with my
household duties. Not to mention the
occasional story of the century idea that sits neatly tucked away inside my
computer . . . never getting past the premise stage. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Since then, I’ve
added social networking to my writer’s schedule with Twitter, Facebook, Book
Blogs, She Writes, LinkedIn and a second blog,<a href="http://thecatvampdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b>The Cat Vamp Diaries: All Things Scary</b></span></a>, where I contribute a flash fiction short to <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b><a href="http://vamplit.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Vamplit Publishing's</span></a> </b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px;">Friday
Flash Fiction. So every day when I sat
down to work, I delighted in my ability to work on my novels, which I knew one
of them would be my first published story, and communicate with fellow authors. Does any of this sound familiar to you?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Then it
happened. A trigger was written into my
life and I found myself having to decide between staying comfortable or
creating what I thought at the time, chaos.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">What was the
trigger? An announcement in July from
<a href="http://www.angelicknightpress.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b>Angelic Knight Press</b></span></a> for submissions for their first Halloween Anthology, <a href="http://www.angelicknightpress.com/2011/09/satans-toybox-demonic-dolls-authors.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b>Satan's Toybox: Demonic Dolls</b></span></a>. The deadline for
submissions was August 31, 2011 and I hummed and hawed before making my
decision to go for it on August fifth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Once I made my
decision, I knew I had choices to make. Some things were going to have to be my sacrificial lamb. So I finished my Break Free From Archaic Fear
post and took inventory of my writing projects.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">At first,
everything seemed important, but once I analyzed each one I was able to
determine where my energy and concentration would best be utilized and that
meant I would have to take a sabbatical. So I put blogging, writing flash
fiction, my WIP’s and social networking on hold; with the exception of an occasional
tweet or shout out on Facebook. After
all, I didn’t want to disappear completely.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">What did I
learn from my sabbatical? Firstly, that
the writer’s world is filled with encouraging and supportive authors who know
and understand, because they too walk in your shoes. Secondly, epiphanies do happen outside of
fiction. I took a step outside my
comfort zone and pushed myself to the limit and discovered what I was capable
of. How about you, have you ever discovered
something about yourself by taking a sabbatical?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">And how did my
sabbatical pay off? I’m honored to
announce that my short story, Mr. Jingle, will be published in the upcoming
anthology, Satan’s Toybox: Demonic Dolls in October 2011. Stay tuned for more information on its
release, and I can’t wait to add another fish to my publication tank!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Next time, we'll
be exploring what it took to develop, write, edit and submit a short story, approximately 6,500 words, in less than 17 days!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Until then, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Keep on
thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">T.K. Millin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">The Unknown
Author <o:p></o:p></span></div>Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5866395397797903293.post-77205950405053578512011-08-08T16:38:00.002-04:002011-08-08T16:40:52.208-04:00Break Free From Archaic Fear and Persevere<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">The definition
of archaic fear, according to Merriam-Webster, is to feel fear in oneself. This type of fear can be a writer’s worst
enemy. I should know I persevere from it
all the time. How about you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">It’s not easy
for writers to admit from time to time they suffer from the fear of failure,
fear of not being good enough or the worst form of archaic fear; fear of
success. These three types of fear are
what many times cause the clichéd term, “writer’s block, and if allowed free to
grow and fester in a writer’s mind can lead to the difference between them becoming
a writer and only dreaming of being a writer. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Let’s explore:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">FEAR FROM FAILURE<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New';"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Often times,
the fear of failure and perfectionism go hand in hand. It’s not to say perfectionism is a bad thing. For some it is the drive behind the pride in
their work or the reason they never give up until the end. But it does become a bad thing for us writers
when we allow it to hinder us from moving forward by stopping at every ;, ., :,
“ “, !, ?. I bet that slowed you down in
your tracks and made you say, “Huh?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">That is what
happens when we let perfectionism take over and stop us from allowing the story
driving us crazy inside our head to come alive. By stopping at every sentence, paragraph or corner to self-edit before
the work is even completed we stop the creative process dead in its tracks and
suddenly we’re blaming, “writer’s block.”
Allow yourself to fail. There is
plenty of time for perfectionism in the rewrite.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">FEAR OF NOT BEING GOOD ENOUGH <o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New';"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Ah,
self-doubt, those mixed perceptions one has which only to the person having
them are reality. Many writers can
relate to being given the advice, “If you ever want to be a good writer, read,
read and read great literature so you know what good writing is.” Not bad advice if you are a student in the
history of literature, not so good if you have any desire to one day make your
dream of being a writer come true. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">I’m by no
means saying do not read great literature or the work of authors who are
best-sellers. Like anything in learning
doing so helps you set a compass to challenge yourself to become the best writer
YOU can be. Think about a literary world
in which everyone wrote the same way or produced the same stories. What a boring unimaginative world it would
be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Read books
that inspire you, books that get your creative juices flowing and books that
educate you. Then, smash the images inside
your head telling you you’re not good enough and write, write, write what you
know, write what you like and write what you have to say!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">FEAR OF SUCCESS<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New';"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">To some, fear
of success is an oxymoron. But for
others, it can be likened to fiction and as any writer knows, a well written antagonist
is a mirrored image of the protagonist. In other words, on one hand you have the possibility of success, perhaps
a six figure deal, and on the other hand, you have the possibility of it changing
you from an aspiring writer into a writer terrified of keeping the momentum.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">I believe it
important for a person to have a definition of what success looks and feels like
before they can judge whether they have succeeded or not. Success comes in many different sized packages,
and before that package can be opened I believe the single most important thing
any writer can do is to define what their success is going to look like. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">For some, it
may be to have a short story published; their novel turned into a blockbuster
or to simply have a certain number of members join their blog. Therefore, in order to overcome fearing
success, you must first know what your success looks like. Define it, strive for it and if at first you
don’t succeed, redefine it and fine tune it until you do. Success is what you make it, not what it
makes of you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Knowing what
you fear can help you overcome it and break free from its stronghold and
persevere in whatever endeavor you undertake. The next time you fear putting words to page, step back, take a deep
breath and confront what’s stopping you and write, write, write.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Until next
time,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Keep on
thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">T.K. Millin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">The Unknown
Author <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5866395397797903293.post-5774688383360665352011-07-28T15:37:00.001-04:002011-07-28T15:38:29.676-04:00Sharpening Your Imagery with Visual Aids<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px;">Most writers are
able to conjure up images from the depths of their imagination or memories when
describing a scene or a particular character. Then there are those who actually use photos or drawings in order to
push their creativity to the limit. How
about you, do you use visual aids when writing?</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">When I wrote
the first book of my middle-grade series, The Clara Jeane Mysteries, I used actual
photos from my childhood because the main character is loosely based on myself,
and some of the events that take place in the story are from actual events in
my childhood. Even though most of the
memories I had were enough, using photos allowed me to sharpen my description
of landscapes, weather and even smells for the visual images staring back at me
allowed my memories to come alive!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">In writing
school one of the exercises in a creative writing course I took was to write a
story based on a photo of our own or an image from a magazine. That is when I discovered using visual aids can
be a very effective tool used to help push the limit of your creativity. If you’ve never tried it I recommend taking
an old photo from a time in your life and discover how alive your memories can become!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">It’s not to
say our imagination is not an effective tool for imagery for sometimes we
conjure up places and people that never existed before. Not until we write them that is! However, I am saying there are times in which
visual aids can add a spark to our visual senses and help to sharpen our written
imagery. So go ahead, push the limit and
try adding visual aids to your writer’s toolbox!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">In closing, I
wanted to share a link to my new blog,<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b> <a href="http://thecatvampdiaries.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">The Cat Vamp Diaries: All Things Scary</span></a></b></span>, where I am honored
to join some very talented writers in the horror genre for Flash Fiction Friday’s
through Vamplit Publishing. If you like to
read all things scary or even want to try your hand at flash fiction stop by
and explore. You just may find a new favorite
author or two!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Until next
time,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Keep on
thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">T.K. Millin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Unknown Author</span>Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5866395397797903293.post-56751725572153797252011-07-19T17:17:00.001-04:002011-07-19T17:19:13.110-04:00Keeping the Beat With or Without Attributions<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Last week we
explored attributions and the different ways in which to use them <b><a href="http://tkmillin.blogspot.com/2011/07/what-should-it-be-he-said-or-he-sighed.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">(click here if you missed)</span></a></b>. This week we’ll
explore beats and how they can help reduce the amount of attributions or even eliminate
them altogether.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">A beat is a
small piece of stage action which transfers the focus from one character to
another. For example: Coughing, puffing on a pipe, plopping down on
a sofa or shifting one’s gaze. In other
words, the diversion from one person to another can be accomplished through
action instead of having to use attributions. Let’s explore: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">SCENE WITHOUT BEATS<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Mrs. Taylor shoved
her tiny frame through the crowd trying to join her husband who stood at the
start of the line. Trying not to stir up
any heated emotions she kept her eyes glued to the ground as she squeezed her
way past the man who was as wide as he was tall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">“Hey lady,
wait your turn.” He shouted. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">“I’m sorry,
but my husband is already in line.” She
said, turning around.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">“I don’t care
where he is. Get in the back of the line.” He ordered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">“Look mister, I
don’t want any trouble.” She
said, adding her best smile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">He reached out
and touched her right shoulder and before he knew it he was staring up at the scorching
sun listening to the roaring crowd. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;"> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;"> </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;"><b>^^^^^^^<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Not bad, we knew
who was talking, but let’s see what adding beats can do to the scene. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">SCENE WITH BEATS<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Mrs. Taylor shoved
her tiny frame through the crowd trying to join her husband who stood at the
start of the line. Trying not to stir up
any heated emotions she kept her eyes glued to the ground as she squeezed her
way past the man who was as wide as he was tall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">He clears his throat with the arrogance of a fighting bull dog and stomps his boot to the pavement, “Hey
lady, wait your turn.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Mrs. Taylor
turned to him and then looked toward the front of the line, “I’m sorry, but my
husband is already in line.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">He looked at
the crowded line behind him and then swiped his arm across his brow. “I don’t care where he is. Get in the back of
the line.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">She pretended
to lift lint from the cuff of her half sleeved shirt and gave him her best
smile. “Look mister, I don’t want any
trouble.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">He reached out
and touched her right shoulder and before he knew it he was staring up at the scorching
sun listening to the roaring crowd. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;"> </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">^^^^^^^^</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Beats are an effective
tool in transferring focus from one character to another, but more importantly they help to bring characters to life through action! Keep i</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px;">n mind when
using beats to place them before the character’s dialogue and have the dialogue
in the same paragraph as the beat.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">So the next time
you’re in a quandary over attributions consider adding a beat or two to spice things
up. It's okay, just beat it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Until next time,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Keep on
thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">T.K. Millin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">The Unknown
Author<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5866395397797903293.post-433582512224856542011-07-12T16:12:00.010-04:002012-02-07T13:27:46.887-05:00What Should It Be, He Said or He Sighed: The Basics of Attributions<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px;">Attributions
are the words used to define who is speaking, for many beginner writers it is difficult to
decide where to place them or even which ones to use. Even experienced writers can struggle with
them from time to time. How about you,
do you ever struggle with attributions?</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Usually, the straightforward
way of using attributions follows one certain standard: Dialogue–Character–Action, as in, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px;">“Good
afternoon.” Mary said. However, it’s also possible to reverse the order. Let’s
explore:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">“Good
afternoon.” said Mary. (Dialogue – Action – Character)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Mary said, “Good
afternoon.” (Character – Action – Dialogue) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">In my opinion, the second example is the better option. For two reasons: One, it reads smoother, and two, it works particularly well in long passages because it gives the
reader a clue as to whom is speaking. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Another
technique used to help promote smooth reading is to place the attribution after
the first phrase in the dialogue. For example: “I’ve been all over the world.”
Mary said, “but I have never seen anything like what you’re wearing.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">When it comes
to deciding which attributions to use I have found through experience, the
simpler the better. Often times, it’s
best just to leave it at “Said.” or "Says." However, there are many writers who feel using these attributions to be bland and they
worry that repeating them over and over would annoy many readers. But did
you know a majority of readers find them to be invisible? </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">It’s the use of synonyms which can make a
reader become annoyed, simply because most times they are physically impossible! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px;">Let’s explore:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">“Good
afternoon.” Mary sniffled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">“Good
afternoon.” Mary grunted. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">“Good
afternoon.” Mary sighed, slowly sipping a cup of tea.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">I truly would
like to see someone sniffle or grunt a word. The last one is a good example of being physically impossible, and it
contains an adverb!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Often times,
scenes with dialogue will have four or more characters and it can become extremely
confusing as to whom is speaking and it can become distracting if you are using “Said.” or "Says." each
and every time. That’s why it’s
important to keep in mind when writing dialogue to keep the amount of
characters limited, preferably to two or three at the most, that way you can use less attributions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Next week, we’ll
explore a technique used which will allow you to eliminate some of the attributions
all together and sharpen your dialogue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Until next
time,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Keep on
thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">T.K. Millin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">The Unknown
Author<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5866395397797903293.post-60738582100446371642011-07-06T16:45:00.002-04:002011-07-06T16:53:03.790-04:00Diction vs. Dialect: Deciding How to Characterize Your Characters<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px;">A writer
basically has two options when it comes to characterizing their characters in
the way they speak; diction and dialect. Diction is the way in which a character says something; in particular,
their grammar, word choice, and the way they express themselves. Dialect is how they pronounce their
words. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">For example,
when one character says he’s “going out for a night on the town” and another says
he’s “heading uptown for the evening,” those are differences in diction. When a character says “there ain’t no fog out
thar,” that’s dialect. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Diction and
dialect work well for telling anecdotes, because the characters are not
constrained by the back and forth of dialogue and can freely express
themselves. However, using dialect to
show a particular time in history or to make a geographical reference should be
done so in a careful manner. Let’s
explore:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Here is an excerpt
from Emily Bronte’s, Wuthering Heights, published in 1847:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">“Running after
t’ lads, as usuald!” croaked Joseph, catching an opportunity, from our
hesitation, to thrust in his evil tongue. “If I war yah, maister, I’d just slam t’ boards i’ their faces all on ‘em,
gentle and simple! Never a day ut yah’re
off, but yon cat o’ Linton comes sneaking hither; and Miss Nelly, shoo’s a fine
lass!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">It is quite
obvious Emily Bronte didn’t have the use of Microsoft Word’s grammar check;
otherwise, most of her manuscript would have looked like a lit up Christmas
tree! Kidding aside, Wuthering Heights
is a masterpiece and is akin to the work of the great Romantic Poets. However, outside of readers who love this
style of writing, I would venture to say it would be difficult to sell a book
today written with such dialect because most modern readers don’t want to deal
with it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">I am not
saying it can’t be done. If a certain
scene calls for its usage, then using it in small snippets may be a powerful
way to get a message across. But, if the
character is a main character, instead of them speaking throughout the book with
dialect which can be difficult to read, try using diction instead. It can be one of the best ways to overcome regional
differences in speech. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Take for example;
you have a conversation between two characters. One of the characters has just moved into a small New England town while
the other has lived there their whole life. By giving the local character the clipped speech of a New Englander, you’ll
make it easier to differentiate between the two characters. Furthermore, if you only give hints here and
there of their dialect and then use diction instead, like using a single word
like nope in a sentence, you’ll give enough clues that the reader will hear
the two characters differently. One
author who comes to mind that uses this technique quite well is Stephen King. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">So the next
time you are writing a story in which you want to differentiate between
characters, try playing around with diction vs. dialect and discover a writing
style that suits your story’s characters! Who knows, you just may be the next Emily Bronte or Stephen King!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Until next
time (oh, and don't forget to feed the fish!),<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Keep on
thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">T.K. Millin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">The Unknown
Author<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5866395397797903293.post-51543032006506166662011-06-29T10:32:00.001-04:002011-07-08T15:09:03.838-04:00Visions of a Writer and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfeMIP39CyHRtrKgkz-SZj_B-LYqOlFpEHapw4JkfFpnOkCXegNabtbxBXY0Kwv99X_OQKNO-5aDXcu_H_e00E2ODR9awwr3YIwLcJCvqfTx0vRiYNwnJavV1XHYWGb2btwVABj3wD-Bw4/s1600/DSC03805.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfeMIP39CyHRtrKgkz-SZj_B-LYqOlFpEHapw4JkfFpnOkCXegNabtbxBXY0Kwv99X_OQKNO-5aDXcu_H_e00E2ODR9awwr3YIwLcJCvqfTx0vRiYNwnJavV1XHYWGb2btwVABj3wD-Bw4/s200/DSC03805.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo property of T.K. Millin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><br />
This past week-end I finally
took the time to go to Universal’s Islands of Adventure just to see The
Wizarding World of Harry Potter. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px;">I have
to say as a visiting “tourist” I was amazed at the similarity of the park to
the actual sets used in the movie; but, as a visiting “writer” I have to say I
was awestruck!</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Why? Because I understand when a writer sits down
to write a story it’s something that comes from deep down inside their writer
soul, it’s something the writer has to tell. I don’t know of too many writers who set out to write a story just
because they think it’s going to become an international sensation, a
blockbuster at the movies and end up with its own theme park attraction. Now I’m not saying what writer wouldn’t be in
“writer heaven” if it were to happen, but I feel it’s safe to say most writers
would be harmoniously happy simply to just have their story published, read and
enjoyed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4C0qRk2EBkmP3REaECJrikmWPqu_Yw9hIbAsapphfXMzJekS47VzZ-PMrIj1W_LOX_oyI10rdAvJzRazYPWDHLnNLTdVnn16ZGMdrgMWfIrcUshk_NW8IyB8haMH_SRxATUWqVaiClqgK/s1600/DSC03807.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4C0qRk2EBkmP3REaECJrikmWPqu_Yw9hIbAsapphfXMzJekS47VzZ-PMrIj1W_LOX_oyI10rdAvJzRazYPWDHLnNLTdVnn16ZGMdrgMWfIrcUshk_NW8IyB8haMH_SRxATUWqVaiClqgK/s200/DSC03807.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo property of T.K. Millin<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New';">As I stood silently among the crowd gazing around at not only the glittering eyes of fascinated children,
but the amazed look on adult faces, young and old, I took a minute to put
myself in J.K. Rowling’s shoes, and cried. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">Not tears of sadness, but ones of shear and utter exhilaration! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">For being a writer, it was an overwhelming
feeling to imagine what it would be like to stand in the middle of a world you
created from a vision and be able to see, touch and feel how it makes people
believe they are living inside your dreams. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;">Even though I do not know J.K. Rowling personally, I feel I do share the
same passion for writing as she does which allowed me at that moment in time to
truly feel a sense of happiness for her, just as I would if she were a fellow
writer I knew personally.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Reflecting back on my
experience, I wonder if when J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s
Stone (which was re-titled, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, for the
United States’ edition) she ever once in her wildest dreams envisioned lines
two hours long just to take a peek inside the magic shop she created from her
imagination or that children would one day also have their very own magic wand,
just like Harry Potter? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Perhaps the next time I sit
down to write my visions of mysterious world’s and strange far and away places
I just might take a moment to wonder; what if? How about you do you ever wonder?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Happy vision’s my fellow
authors! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Until next time, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">Keep on thriving, keep on
striving and keep on writing!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">T.K. Millin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">The Unknown Author<o:p></o:p></span></div>Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5866395397797903293.post-78162034172907665432011-06-20T16:30:00.000-04:002011-06-20T16:30:22.488-04:00The Discovery<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in; tab-stops: 441.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In addition to writing mysteries
and an occasional Flash Fiction Friday Horror story, <a href="http://thecatvampdiaries.blogspot.com/2011/06/dr-heckle-and-mr-jive.html" style="color: red;"><b>(click here for my blog, The Cat Vamp Diaries)</b></a>, I also enjoy writing
human interest stories for publication in local news columns. So this week, I wanted to step aside from all
things writing and share one with you. You just may discover a little
something about The Unknown Author!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Discovery<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By T.K.
Millin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 1.0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The year
was 1976 and America was abundant with patriotism in celebration of the
Bi-Centennial, but I was too busy being a teenager with their whole life ahead
of them to appreciate the milestone America had made.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in; tab-stops: 436.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in; tab-stops: 436.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I spent
most of that year daydreaming my way through ninth grade about how one day I
was going to be somebody famous. The
dreams would flip back and forth between being a top cover girl model and an
academy award winning actress. Yep, one
day all the boys who walked past me in the halls without even a glance and all
the popular girls with their painted faces and styled hair would one day be envious
of how that unpopular girl from school who never stood out became so famous. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in; tab-stops: 436.5pt; text-indent: -4.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Little did
I know that day would come sooner than I dreamt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in; tab-stops: 6.0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It was a
beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon and my best friend wanted to go to the mall to get our hair styled. There was a hair stylist from New York doing
a demonstration and if we volunteered as models we could get our hair styled
for free. Wow an opportunity to be a
model! She didn’t have to ask me twice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in; tab-stops: 6.0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">As the VW
wagon headed toward the mall I sat in silence listening to the strange noise
only a VW wagon can make staring at the back of my friend’s father’s balding
head daydreaming about how beautiful my hair was going to look tomorrow. I’d be
a cover girl!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in; tab-stops: 445.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">When we
arrived at the mall a crowd had already gathered around the New York stylist
and my stomach began to spin with butterflies. "Oh no I have stage fright! How am
I ever going to become an academy award winning actress?" I thought. My friend and I stood there for a while watching
him snip, clip and blow dry all the volunteer model’s hair into a beautiful
piece of art and I knew I wanted to be one of them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in; tab-stops: 445.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">My friend
volunteered to go first and when the stylist spun her around toward the crowd I
couldn’t believe my eyes. She looked
like she belonged in a magazine! I was
next and couldn’t wait.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I closed my
eyes as the clicking and clacking of the scissors surrounded my head and when the
heat of the blow dryer swirled my hair around I squirmed in anticipation of
what it was going to look like. When the
stylist spun me around the crowd roared with applause. He held up a mirror and there in the
reflection was Farrah Fawcett from Charlie’s Angels. Yep, tomorrow all the
boys’ heads were going to turn!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The next
morning the sound of rain awoke me before my mother performed her daily school
day ritual of lightly knocking on the door and telling me it was time to
get up for breakfast would be on the table in five. I threw the sheets back and flew out of bed
and ran into the bathroom. I flipped the
lights on and there standing before me was The Bride of Frankenstein, “My
hair!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What happened to my hair?!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in; tab-stops: 441.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I quickly
ran back into my room and dialed the phone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All I heard when my friend answered was, “You too?” Before hanging up we both devised a plan we
would cover our hideous styled hair with a kerchief, no one would even notice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">For the
first time that year everyone’s head turned when I walked through the halls, not
with the ooh’s and ahh’s I had envisioned, but more with finger pointing and
laughter. Later that morning my friend
and I met in a corner under a stair well and with watery eyes reassured each
other it was only hair and it would grow back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
cafeteria seemed louder than usual that day and I thought perhaps the rain was
making everyone feel restless. My friend
and I sat side by side in back of the echoing room eating our lunch in silence
while staring at a blank wall. Suddenly
I felt a tug on top of my head and before I knew it my red, white and blue hairstyle concealment landed right on top of my half eaten bologna sandwich. I looked at my friend just as her American
flag kerchief landed in her plate of school lunch spaghetti and the cafeteria
broke out in applause, repeating in laughter, “The Kerchief Twins.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">My dream came
true that day I finally was popular and famous and for the rest of the school
year I was known as, The Kerchief Twin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 27.0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Many years
have come and gone since then leading to my discovery I am somebody. I’m a wife, a daughter, a sister and an
aunt, and even my kerchief twin is still a best friend. But the greatest discovery I’ve made is I am
me.</span></div>Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5866395397797903293.post-11046651879891925692011-06-16T16:15:00.006-04:002011-06-16T16:30:44.069-04:00Go Ahead and Say It: The Importance of Dialogue<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">Being able to create dialogue which is meaningful and believable
and at the same time move the plot forward and help build character development
can be one of the greatest challenges you as an author faces. It’s also one of
the most important skills to have in your writer’s toolbox. Why? Because dialogue is one of the most versatile tools there is when it
comes to making your characters come alive and connecting them to your
readers! </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">Dialogue has three main purposes; move the plot forward, connect
your readers to whom your characters really are, or both. In other words, things
should never come to a dead end once a character starts talking. Recently, we
explored scene and sequel </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b>(<a href="http://tkmillin.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-discovering-scene-and-sequel.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">click here for Part One)</span></a> </b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">and we discovered how scenes
help to move the plot along. Often times, this is done using exposition; however,
using dialogue can be very effective in helping to advance the scene.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Let’s explore:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When it comes to describing setting, dialogue is a great tool to
use in place of conventional exposition. So instead of using exposition to
describe the scene:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> When the taxi pulls
around the corner, Ashley looks up and sees the overgrown trees and the creepy dried
up vines crawling up the walls. She shivers thinking that she once called this place
home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Try interjecting dialogue and let the character do the
describing:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> When the taxi pulls
around the corner, Ashley looks up in horror, “What happened to my childhood
home?” She says seeing all the overgrown
trees, “It’s so dark and look at all the dead vines creeping up the walls!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Doesn’t using dialogue help you feel like you know Ashley a
little better? It also makes us feel a
little sorry for her because she does the actual describing allowing us to see
her feelings. Plus, using dialogue to
describe her arriving at her childhood home allows you as the author to move
the plot forward by having the taxi driver exchange conversation and perhaps
tell of a mysterious event that happened at the home. The possibilities are endless!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Dialogue is also effective when it comes to pacing. Sometimes scenes
filled with exposition can become long and drawn out making the reader feel
like the story is heading nowhere. By breaking
it up with dialogue, you can help bring the reader into the scene and make them
feel like they are right there with your characters!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Did you know even nonverbal communication has the power to carry
an entire scene? That’s right, having
one character not respond at all to another character’s actions can tell the
reader exactly what that character is like. Let’s examine:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> As Terri pushes the
sweeper back and forth across the living room floor she becomes angrier and
angrier every time Jimmy lifts his feet so she can sweep under the couch. “He hasn’t even once noticed my new lingerie.”
She thinks. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With her head feeling like it wants
to explode, Terri deliberately stands in front of the blaring television trying
to block the game. Jimmy simply glares at her and throws his hands up in the air,
trying to look around her. Knowing she isn’t going to win his attention she storms
out of the room, purposely forgetting to turn off the vacuum. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So don’t be afraid when self-editing to look for areas in which
you can strengthen character development through dialogue or nonverbal
communication. If you write for middle-grade or young adult, did you know when
they are perusing books to purchase if the first or second paragraph lacks dialogue
they usually end up not purchasing it? That’s right, so go ahead and say it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Until next time,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Keep on thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">T.K. Millin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">The Unknown
Author <o:p></o:p></span></div>Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5866395397797903293.post-17889023522845132212011-06-07T20:24:00.015-04:002011-06-08T20:33:37.572-04:00Discover Your Creativity Through Self-Discovery<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Recently, I read an interesting article about Edgar Allan Poe having
a feline muse named Catterina and I immediately connected to how he must have often
felt when he was writing since I too have a feline ghost writer; who happens to
also be a sagacious black cat! (Sagacious is the adjective Poe uses </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">to describe</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Pluto, in The Black Cat. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">(</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><a href="http://poestories.com/read/blackcat"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">read it here</span></a>)</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The article also made me wonder about what the journey of his self-discovery as a writer must have been like to have written such deep dark emotional
stories. If you haven’t read Edgar Allan
Poe in a while you may find it fun to check out this</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">great site <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">(</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><a href="http://poestories.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">poestories.com</span></a><b>)</b></span>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Now I believe for most writers, as it is for me, writing is one
of the most satisfying ways to discover your inner self. Characters come alive
through our feelings and often times they can reflect a little bit of ourselves.
After all, isn’t that why we write? How about you, does writing take you on a
self-discovering journey?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Since we’ve been exploring writing techniques over the past
couple weeks, let's explore how self-discovery can also be a writing
technique. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When we explored the difference between plot and story,<a href="http://tkmillin.blogspot.com/2011/05/plot-vs-story-defining-difference-and.html" style="color: red;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b>(click here)</b></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">,</span> we discovered story is the emotional element that drives the plot. Therefore,
self-discovery is the origin of your story! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Just like you, every character has certain capacities. They love, they
care about someone or something and they also hate. So when you write, ask yourself these
questions: "What am I feeling right now? How do I want the reader to feel? Do I
want them to feel the same way?” </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If you
could’t answer any of these questions, you may not yet have a complete </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">understanding </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">of your
inner self. By taking time to sit down and analyze your feelings you can help to
bring a whole new emotional level to what your protagonist is going through and
how they will handle the situation. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Here is a checklist of questions to ponder as you set out on
your journey of self-discovery:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> What emotions would I
be </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> feeling if I were the main </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> character?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> How would I handle it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Is my main character the right kind
of person to relay these feelings?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If you answered no to the latter, it may be time for you to remold them into the image you want
your readers to connect with. This may require you to dig deeper down into your
writer’s soul to discover who you really are and why you are writing the story
you are. Can you only imagine what was running through Edgar Allan Poe’s soul
when he wrote The Tell-Tale Heart, published in 1850! <a href="http://poestories.com/read/telltaleheart"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b>(read it here)</b></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So don’t fear the process of self-discovery, because you might
just discover it’s the secret to your creativity!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Until next time,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Keep on thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">T.K. Millin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">The Unknown
Author <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5866395397797903293.post-30213645956850725642011-05-30T18:48:00.010-04:002011-05-30T21:01:59.062-04:00How Discovering Scene and Sequel Changed the Way I Write Forever: Part Two<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In Part One, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b>(</b><a href="http://tkmillin.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-discovering-scene-and-sequel.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">click here</span></a><b>)</b></span>, we explored how the three elements of
a scene; goal, conflict </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">and disaster, plays a part in conveying plots. In Part Two, we’ll be exploring its
counterpart, sequel, and how it plays a role in conveying story. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A sequel acts as a transition or a bridge between scenes. Better yet, think in terms of how movies literally
use a visual scene of “crossing over a bridge” to show a transition between
scenes. In literature, it’s a technique
used to show your readers what your character is thinking and feeling about
what happened in the preceding scene. Sequels
also are a great way to provide backstory, convey logic and to convince readers
your story is believable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Let’s explore:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Sequels bring meaning to the action of a previous scene through
their four elements; emotion, thought, decision and action. It’s also important they are written in this
exact order. Why? Because emotion is the reaction your
character has to the end of the previous scene, the disaster, and thought allows
your reader to understand why they feel the way they do. Decision is how your character responds to
their feelings and action is the outcome of their emotional struggle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Let’s examine by breaking down Scene II from Part One’s example
of scene and add a breakdown of sequel to see how it adds meaning:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The desert flower was so unique it made me reach out and pluck
its sweet aroma {goal}, making the buzzing bee angry {conflict}. Feeling its
stinging pinch I reach into my back pack just as I remembered forgetting to
pack my EpiPen {disaster}. Suddenly, Emma’s soft touch and Billy’s blue eyes flashed
before my eyes {emotion}, adding to my panic. If only I had listened to Emma
when she said we needed life insurance after Billy was born {thought}. Frantically
taking in the surroundings I hear the roar of a distant engine and decide today
is not a good day to die {decision}. Throwing my back pack across my shoulder I
shove the desert flower in my pocket {action}; after all, it will make the the
perfect anniversary gift. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Scenes should often times be exciting and full of action, while sequels
should tend to slow it down and provide an opportunity for reaction. In other
words, if your story seems to be unbelievable, build up your sequels to make it
credible. If it seems to be slow, increase
the conflict by building up your scenes; thus, bringing balance to plot and story. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I was so amazed once I learned this technique I now keep a
typed written note directly in front of my writing zone which looks exactly like
this:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Scene</span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <u>Sequel<o:p></o:p></u></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Goal Emotion<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Conflict Thought<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Disaster</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Decision</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Action<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It helps me to keep a balance between plot and story as I
write and on those rare occasions when I suffer from writer's block, it helps to keep me
thinking forward and what my characters are going through. Try it, you just might be amazed!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Until next time,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Keep on thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">T.K. Millin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">The Unknown
Author<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></div>Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5866395397797903293.post-59263916074145522132011-05-27T16:36:00.007-04:002011-05-27T20:58:34.869-04:00How Discovering Scene and Sequel Changed the Way I Write Forever: Part One<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">I’ve never met an author who said they just one day woke up and decided
it would be cool to be a writer and set their life compass in that direction. For
most, wanting to write is a desire driven by a deep internal writer’s voice. Some
authors pursue a writer’s life straight out of high school or college, (and for
some while they’re still in school!), but I believe it’s safe to say most of us
go on to do something else while our ever persisting writer’s voice keeps nagging,
tugging and pulling at us until we eventually take the path we were meant to
walk. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So, many years ago when I finally succumbed to my writer’s voice I sought the wisdom and expertise of authors who
willingly and openly taught their experience to aspiring writers. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever
made.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Like most aspiring writers, I had a good understanding of the
three-act structure. I knew about
opening with a hook, creating a trigger for the crisis, having an epiphany before
the climax, and finally, The End. (Yes, I
was one of those “geeks” in high school who paid attention in English Lit, in
fact, I loved it!) What I didn’t know was
how scenes themselves are divided into their own internal structure known as
scene and sequel and how discovering this would change the way I write forever.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Let’s explore: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Scenes are mostly plot (action) and sequels are mostly story
(emotional). </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">Last week, we explored the defining difference between plot and story <b><a href="http://tkmillin.blogspot.com/2011/05/plot-vs-story-defining-difference-and.html" style="color: red;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">(click here)</span></a>.</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b> </b></span> Basically put, scenes move the action forward while sequels explore
the action’s effect on your protagonist. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Scenes and sequel always come in pairs for one cannot exist without
the other. For example, a scene without
a sequel would have no meaning and a sequel without a preceding scene would
have no reason to exist at all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This week we’ll break down scene and how it plays a role in
conveying plot. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">SCENE<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s important for every scene to do two things; provide
interest and move the story forward. Which
is why every scene has three elements: goal,
conflict and disaster, and it’s important they consist in this order. Why? The
goal is what your protagonist desires; it’s what sets them in motion. It can be a goal of an object, information or
even revenge. The conflict is a struggle
against some opposing factor and it can be a verbal, mental or physical struggle
which will provide interest and disaster is what keeps the readers reading to
find out how the character deals with it.
Without these three elements it’s most likely the reader will put your
book down and never return to it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Let’s examine: Which
scene makes you want to read more?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Scene I: The desert flower
was so unique, but remembering I forgot to pack my EpiPen the buzzing bee made me decide
not to pick its sweet aroma. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">Hint:(zzzzzzzzzzz) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Scene II: The desert flower
was so unique it made me reach out and pluck its sweet aroma, making the buzzing
bee angry. Feeling its stinging pinch I reach into my back pack just as I
remembered forgetting to pack my EpiPen. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">Hint: (Oh no, will they have an allergic reaction and die before they can get help?)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What’s the difference?
The first one lacks the three elements of goal, conflict and disaster
while the second one doesn’t. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Let’s break it down: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The flower was so unique it made me reach out and pluck its sweet
aroma <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">{goal}</b>, making the buzzing bee
angry <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">{conflict}</b>. Feeling its
stinging pinch I reach into my back pack just as I remembered leaving my EpiPen
at home <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">{disaster}</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So if you have a scene that fails to provide interest and move
the story forward, you need to cut it-even if it is one of your favorite
scenes. However, don’t delete it
forever, it you’re like me you save all your written words for you never know
where they may find a home!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s important to understand a scene can be as long as a paragraph
or as long as a few chapters. It’s also
important to understand a scene is not every single sentence. In other words, every sentence is not goal,
conflict and disaster. Some writers will
end a chapter at a goal or a disaster, both making the reader wanting to turn
the page. This is the same technique
used by script writers to create a cliffhanger. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Next week, we’ll explore sequel to find out how it plays a role
in conveying story and how when you combine scene and sequel together it can
change the way you write forever!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Until then, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Keep on thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">T.K. Millin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">The Unknown
Author<o:p></o:p></span></div>Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5866395397797903293.post-83302474462023676852011-05-16T15:36:00.004-04:002011-05-21T16:29:51.135-04:00Plot vs. Story: The Defining Difference and How To Find Balance<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A long time ago, I read a statistic which stated four out of
five professional writers agree on the difference between plot and story, but
not one in a hundred could define it!
How about you, can you define the difference?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Have you ever read a book that at the time felt like you were
eating your favorite junk food snack? In
other words, it was satisfying at the time, but an hour later you were hungry
for something with real substance. Often
times the answer as to why this happens can be found in an author failing to
balance between plot and story. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Let’s
explore:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A novel without plot can quickly become boring and a novel
without story can leave you feeling emotionally unattached. So what’s the difference? Simply put, plot is physical and story is
emotional. Knowing how to find balance
between the two is a key factor for any author who wants to keep their readers
engaged throughout and leave them with a sense of caring. How about you, have you ever read a book in
which you quickly became bored and put it down or one in which you felt you
could care a less about what happened to the main character?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So then, how do you find balance between the two? First, and foremost, it’s important to know and
understand the emotional (story) side because it ultimately drives the physical
(the plot) side. So when you begin to
develop your story, think in terms of emotions first, in other words, what your
characters are feeling, what they’re thinking and what they are struggling
with. Secondly, think in terms of
action, how can you show your character’s feelings, what kind of dialogue, or
better yet what kind of action, will reveal what they’re thinking or struggling
with? Knowing this first hand will better
equip you when writing out your scenes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For some of my fellow authors who may be thinking this is too
structural for them because they write “off the cuff” then tune in to next
week’s adventure for we will be exploring how scenes themselves have their own internal structure.
It helped to change the way I write forever (with or without an outline) and it is my hope it will help
you too!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Until then,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Keep on thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">T.K. Millin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt;">The Unknown
Author <o:p></o:p></span></div>Efi Loo Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344151113479309251noreply@blogger.com4