Category Archives: Writing

The Magic of John Wayne

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The Magic of John Wayne

By Natalie bright

 

While driving a carload of boys, I listened with interest to my 15yo son and his friends chat about movies. I was shocked to hear one of them say that their favorite movie star was John Wayne. What followed was a surprisingly in-depth discussion of his movies, and if the remake with Jeff Bridges lived up to the original version (they all agreed that both actors owned the part). 

I’d like to say thank you cable television. I guess those John Wayne marathons and boring summer days have a way of coming together in every young man’s life. Did you ever imagine that kids of the 21st century would still be watching John Wayne?

Satellite Dish Enchantment

I realized that the youth of today are exposed to so much more than we were. I really didn’t have control of the television channels until I moved out on my own. My children have a television, iPad, and gaming system, all affording exposure to a wide variety of material. My two boys like westerns and 007 and transformer movies, those ridiculous videos on YouTube, and the history channel. Plus we have horses and cattle and lots of chores. It’s a busy and varied life. 

Books for every Taste

And the same goes with books. I read across all genres, and I’ve come to realize that kids are like most adults.  When I speak at schools, I open discussion to talk about their favorite books. I’m always surprised at the variety of answers, and my kids read a mix of genres too, except it’s not the stories I would have chosen for them.  I’m clueless as to why my youngest refuses to read about Harry Potter and prefers zombies instead. And my oldest went from the Jack and Annie series straight into nonfiction about World War I. 

Editors and agents work hard to produce amazing stories, and thanks to social media and eBooks there’s so many ways for readers to discover them. Opportunities abound for writers too.

Rock Songs of the 70’s

As we drove along, we programmed my sons iPhone to the car so he could play his music. The teenagers sang along with today’s country, but the rock songs were from the 70’s and 80’s; Boston, Journey, Eagles. The same rock songs I used to sing to and the same songs that drove my parents crazy. This younger generation thinks they’re the first ones that came up with everything relating to hip. Does that ring familiar?

More Than a Feeling

As More Than a Feeling blasted through the car, my son asked, “How do you know the words to that song?” 

I smiled. Thanks to me, my children are watching excellent movie stars, expanding their interests, considering all the possibilities and realizing that they can be anything they want to be while being exposed to the technology of a new century.

Now if a cable channel would run a Clint Eastwood marathon and if some teenager would take out the trash, my modern world would be complete.

www.nataliebright.com

Learning how to lose – Part 1

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A Pinch of Rodeo
                                             By Joe R. Nichols
Learning how to lose – Part 1
It’s been said, “To learn how to win, you first have to learn how to lose.”
Wise words, but very hard to live by. We all want to succeed, and any set backs are easily perceived as failures. In sports, most chances for success are foiled by a lack of focus, yielding to a distraction, or simply not trusting yourself at the key moment. I plan to discuss all of these scenarios, but this particular story is one where the negative outcome was not influenced by performance. The execution was flawless, it was simply bad luck statistically.
I grew up competing in all rodeo events, but when I quit riding bucking horses, I devoted my efforts to team roping. It’s probably the most humbling event. When you consider you have the minds and personalities of two cowboys, two horses, and a steer whose purpose is to be uncooperative, it’s difficult to have a positive result. It’s also why it is so rewarding when it does come together in a fast clean run.
One of my best long time partners was Wayne Roberts from Elkhart, Kansas. Wayne wanted to win, and knew how to win. We won our share for several years, and we always enjoyed the competition regardless of the outcome. One year in Oklahoma City at the USTRC Finals, we had the opportunity to compete for a first place pay-off of $98000.00.
There were over 700 teams in the preliminary, and we made the top 30 cut to advanced to the finals. All teams in the finals began the four head competition equal. After three go-rounds, we came back to the final and fourth round in 17th position. The big money was paid out to the top twelve placing’s.
Our first three steers were tricky and hard running cattle. We made good runs on every one of them, and felt fortunate to be coming back in a fairly high call back. In the fourth go, we drew a small black steer that had wide flat horns, and also held his head low. Each of these characteristics increased the difficulty for me to catch him, much less catch quick.
It seemed as though we could do no wrong. We went after him aggressively, and had the fastest time of the round. When we rode out of the arena, we were sitting in the number one position. We retrieved our ropes from the stripping chute, and hurried up to the arena fence to watch the rest of the competition. Wayne reached to shake my hand and put his other hand on my shoulder. “I don’t know how this is going to turn out,” he said, “But right now, you and me are winning 98,000 dollars.” We both threw our heads back and laughed, living in the moment.
Now, we had no misconceptions about actually winning first and the top money, but there was a lot of money to be won. We were assured of a large pay-off. The next two teams missed, so with fourteen teams to go, and twelve monies paid, we sat back to see how rich we would become.
The historic statistics of an event of this skill level almost always resulted in fifty percent of the teams being disqualified with no-times. Also in our favor, we had posted a fast time. Even the teams that qualified would have to make a fast run to beat us.
I’ve never seen this happen before or since, but the next fourteen teams in a row all caught, penalty free, and all in fast enough times to beat our total time on four head. We didn’t win a dime. I still can’t believe it. You don’t wish bad luck on anybody, you don’t root for them to screw up or miss, you just know what the odds are and how these deals end up. When you roped to the best of your ability, overcame some bad draws, then put the pressure on your competition with a good run, and still wind up with nothing, it’s a shock.
We did win $2500 each for the fast time in the short-round, and normally that would be considered a great win, but we still felt a let down at the time.
Looking back, it is one of my fondest memories. I can still hear my dear old friend say, “We’re winning $98,000!”

Heart

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

Heart

By Nandy Ekle

The heart, the center, the core, the theme, the main idea. This is a very important part of your story. The heart is what the story is about.

Look at anatomy. On the outside we see skin, hair, fingernails. But we don’t see what’s under the skin. We don’t see the bones, the muscles, or the blood in its vessels. But we can look at the skin and see the evidence of those deeper body parts. Our skin has a firm shape because of the bones under it and it’s warm and has a rosy color because of the blood being pumped by the heart through the blood vessels.

Our stories are the same. We talk about story layers all the time, and that’s another good analogy—the onion theory. On the topmost layer of the story you have what’s happening at the moment. The next layer might be what’s going on inside the characters’ heads, and there might be a layer of tension between the characters because of the relationship between them. You could even have a layer of discovery and healing when the relationships change. But the very center of the story, the heart, is what the whole thing is really all about.

The other definition of “heart” I want to talk about sort of fits parallel with this one. Heart equals feelings. One of the best ways to connect with your reader is with emotions. You have a main character that wants something so much they are willing to risk everything to get it. You want your reader to feel this yearning and hunger as much as the character. You want your reader to feel every struggle, every disappointment, every victory with your character. When that happens, the center layer of your story goes right into the reader’s heart and they learn the same lesson the character learns.

In my blog next week, we will look at ways to burrow down into a reader’s heart and make your story become their story.

Congratulations. You have just received a post card from the muse.

Teamwork

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Outtakes 106

 

Teamwork

By Cait Collins

My division’s long-awaited and dreaded switch in computer programs went live this week. I clocked in Monday morning knowing we were in for a bumpy ride. My team was concerned regarding the changes. Even good training could not totally prepare us for the new software. Only actual processing would allow us the opportunity to work out the kinks in the system. Our stress increased as our manager will be out for the next several weeks. Two other managers and our new director are working with us to solve issues with the new programming.

I had no trouble getting started. In fact I was elated when I realized how simple it would be to build and save my research. The joy was short lived as one of my support programs quit working. I had to close down and restart. In so doing, I lost over an hour’s worth of research. I got behind on my reviews, and I forgot to log back in from break. But in spite of the problems, there was one bright spot. We worked as a team.

Everyone had taken the training, but we did not go on the same day. Different classes received bits and pieces of information from questions posed during the sessions. Instead of hoarding knowledge, we shared what we knew. It seemed that most questions could be answered by one the team members. Sure we grumbled, but the grumpies were offset by teasing and the managers reminders there was candy available if we needed to sweeten our dispositions. By the end of the day, work was being processed. Sure there are issues to be resolved. That is the nature of software upgrades, but by pooling knowledge and working together, we made it through day one. I didn’t even have to break open the bottle of Riesling I had chilling in the refrigerator.

Writers need to work as a team. We all have different levels of experience and expertise. It is wasteful and unproductive to possess an I-know-something-you-don’t-know attitude. Why not share what we know? An author who writes a dynamic synopsis can pass on some tips through workshops or blogs. All of us can let fellow writers know about calls for submissions. If you have a friend whose new work is due for release, send a message to the folks in your email address book and to your social media contacts. By pooling our efforts we all win. Not only do we write better books and articles, we expand our networking base, increase our sales, and we build reputations as writers who care about other writers. What more could we want?

Stories from A Third World Country

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Stories from A Third World Country

By Rory C. Keel

During a missionary trip to Nigeria, I observed a stark contrast in two different cultures.

On a street corner in the city of Aba, two young boys wrestled in the heat of battle. Each one flailed their arms, wielding tightened fists in order to land the most decisive and final blow. Words spewed from their lips with the intent to damage the mind and weaken the heart of the opponent. Each one kicked wildly, trying to topple the other in order to gain the advantage. An elderly gentleman slowly hobbled his way through the crowd that formed a circled arena around the two fighters. His Silver hair framed a face wrinkled by the frustrations of life and time. Bent at the shoulders, he steadied his feeble stride with a cane whittled from a branch that had fallen from a tree.

Raising the stick, he jabbed both boys to gain their attention as he yelled above the crowd, “Stop it! Stop this nonsense!”

At that moment, I became afraid for the old man.

In the American culture, this is the point where the cell phone videos of the old man poking the boys would be put on trial in the media. Newscasters on the hour, every hour, would instruct their listeners on what to believe about the situation. The parents of the boys, not knowing or uncaring about the location and activities of their children, would suddenly become violently concerned about an old man harming their sweet innocent children. Lawyers seeking riches or fame would immediately volunteer to file lawsuits on behalf of the boys. In America it would be the moment when the crowd would turn to heckle, mock and torment the one who had interrupted their gladiators. The two combatants would join forces, cursing with vile phrases to humiliate a new common enemy. They would claim self-defense and laugh as they struck him down in his feebleness.

I stood in this third world country located northeast of the Cameroon Mountains on the African continent, and watched with amazement as this event unfolded. The crowd immediately grew silent and stared at the two boys, who now glared directly into the eyes of the frail elder and said, “Yes, sir!”

And we want to Americanize everyone else!

Write interactions

What contrasts do you see in those around you? Take time to watch how people interact. Go to a mall, restaurant or park and observe different people, then write what you see and hear.

These differences will add depth to your characters.

Still A Little Book

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Still A Little Book

By Natalie Bright

E. B. White, author of Charolote’s Web, treasured a book he received from one of his professors at Cornell. The year was 1919 and the book had been privately printed by Professor William Strunk Jr. and “the little book” was well known on campus. Thirty-eight years later, Elwyn Brooks White polished, expanded and transformed the little book into a classic: The Elements of Style.

The last chapter lists suggestions and “cautionary hints” to help beginners “find the way to satisfactory style”. Here are a few:

*Place yourself in the background.

* Write with nouns and verbs.

* Do not overwrite.

*Do not overstate.

* Do not explain too much.

*Be clear.

It was the little book that I turned to, not as a writer, but as a mother. My oldest son had to retake the English portion of the state test. He had passed the essay part, but had failed the multiple choice questions about editing. He was required to take the entire test over again. What is the best way to write a sentence? How can you choose A, B, C or D for an answer when they all seem right?

The only thing I could think of to help him was section two of The Elements of Style, “Elementary Principles of Composition”. We read aloud the incorrect sentences and then I had him write the correct one. Which is why I love this book. It has two columns; one way and the best way.  I’ll let you know if our efforts paid off.

In the meantime, think about adding THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE to your writers reference library. It truly is a little gem of a book.

www.nataliebright.com

The Modern Time Machine

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

The Modern Time Machine

By Nandy Ekle

A show of hands; who here gets aggravated with Facebook. It’s okay, you can tell me. I get irritated myself. It’s not the periodic changes and up dates. I understand that things in the technological world constantly need to change. After all, we wouldn’t be where we are today if it didn’t. I also understand that sometimes tiny, minute little things slip between the cracks and that one small dot or slash mark can mean a melt down of enormous proportions.

But I’ll just tell you, the thing that aggravates me is when Facebook decides whose statuses I should be looking at and whose are inconsequential. I accept friendships for a reason—I’m interested in what these new friends have to say.

Now, I also work in a place where I cannot get on Facebook during the day. Therefore when I get home in the evenings, I have a whole day of statuses to go through. And I don’t want to skip around or be transported backward or forward in the day’s news. I want it in order and complete.

During one of these episodes of trying to catch up, the idea suddenly occurred to me that this particular form of social media is as near to a time machine as I’ve ever seen. When I get home in the evenings I am able to go back in time to the start of the day and read to the end of the day. I can even go back further than that. And good friends of mine who have passed on, I can visit their Facebook pages and read their previous statuses, which is almost as good as calling them back to my side.

Using modern amenities of today’s world can open up possibilities to all sorts of abilities for our characters. If there’s a new technological device, learn all you can about it. It will enhance your story and make it believable for your readers.

Congratulations. You have just received a post card from the muse.

 

 

Tag words: Facebook, time machine, technological device, up date

GEMS

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GEMS

 by Sharon Stevens

If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought

into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give.

George MacDonald

 

William, our son-in-law who is a classically trained executive chef at Blaze Sports Grill in Arlington Texas loaned what was to me a priceless gem… “MOTHER’S RECEIPT BOOK”. He had received this book from one of his colleagues, and immediately thought of me. Imagine, holding in your hand a book from 1906 filled with hundreds of “receipts”, and chapter upon chapters of household hints. Each page helpful advice for the busy wife. Even though this book wasn’t from around this area I could still relate. The year was 1906, after the city of Canyon was founded in 1888, and already a thriving city. The college, which would later become WTAMU was a dream in the minds of the city fathers, and in four short years would become a reality. At this time many of the residents of the city were still living in dugouts.

I wonder how many newlyweds carried these kinds of books over the plains in a covered wagon or on a train, packed in trunks in the baggage car along with the household goods. Can you believe how frightened a young bride was of making a happy home hundreds of miles away from the nearest neighbor. Who could she ask? Who would be there for her? Who would hear her cry? How in the world could she know what foods her husband liked, or what favorites HIS mother made especially for HIM. And what would become a family gem through the years for the family and the children.

I remember reading in Loula Grace Erdman’s book, “The Wind Blows Free” of a young woman coming out to start a life with her husband. As their team pulled up to the dugout she told her husband that the first item she wanted to put inside was the cloth calendar her mother sent with her where everything had been marked as to when to plant or to set the hens. She wrote that this was the one thing that she knew would make the earthen walls pretty in her new home reminding her of the treasures left behind.

My grandmother was a cook at the old Neblett Hospital and every time I saw Dr. Nester he would give his stomach a pat and tell me that his expanding belly was due to my grandmother’s creamed eggs on toast. He loved her cooking and she was the only one who could make them.

As writers we come across these “gems” day in and day out. We can use them as prompts, or as writing exercises or character analysis. With each sentence we can imagine the setting, the rooms, the colors, the mood. We can either celebrate the life contained in the book, or delve deeper into the sentiment expressed within. Imagine the loneliness with only a book to keep you company, or the joy of remembering family as you turn each page. And how in the world did so many woman find time to write when faced with all that they had to do? Phebe Warner and Laura Hamner, founders of Panhandle Professional Writers, were indeed miraculous women!

The “receipt” I found in this book was for “Gems” or otherwise known as muffins and I just had to include it in my blog as well as the instructions below for washing. And I am sharing it simply so that all of us can count our blessings! Thanks Chef Williams for sharing such a “gem”!

Enjoy!

I cannot leave this weeks blog without honoring the memory of George Koumalots and James L. ”Bunk” Brashears. Both veterans, both served in World War II. Koumalots was a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne that jumped on D-Day into Normandy. Brashears served in Japan and the Philippines and was on a ship parallel to where the Japanese commander was signing the end of the war. He got to watch it through binoculars. I took creative writing classes from George’s daughter-in-law Jodi Thomas and I was able to write this blog with the gifts she shared with me and her inspiration. May all of the families celebrating the life of these brave men have such sweet peace as they share memories together.

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”Few know how necessary care is in the making and baking of gems, and that often the recipes which they find unreliable would prove very different, if they were rightly used….Make a hotter fire for baking gems than for anything. If the oven is right, the gems will rise until about three times as large as when put into the oven, and but a few minutes will be required for baking them.”

 

BANANA GEMS

1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup water, 3 eggs, 1 teaspoon baking powder

Make batter and stir in 2 bananas sliced thin. Fill cups half full and steam an hour.

 Eat with thin cream.

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“To Wash With Kerosene-Soak white clothes over night, or an hour or two in the morning, in hard water. Fill a No.9 boiler two-thirds full of soft water. Slice one and one-half bars of soap into a basin of warm water; let it dissolve and come to a boil. Wring the soaked clothes dry. If the water is boiling in the boiler, and the soap ready, pour a little more than half of the liquid into the boiler, and immediately add three tablespoonfuls of kerosene; one tablespoonful of kerosene to one-quarter of a pound of soap is a fair proportion. Shake out the clothes, and put them into the boiler, leaving the coarse articles for the next boiling. Let the clothes boil ten minutes, stirring them almost all the time. If the water looks milky, greasy, or a little scum rises, pour in enough soap water to remove any such appearances. Take the clothes out from the boiler into the tub. and cover them with plenty of fresh water. Dip out part of the water from the boiler, add more hot water, soap and kerosene, and boil the rest of the clothes. Wring the clothes from the suds into plenty of clear water, rinse well, put them through the bluing water, and hang them smoothly upon the lines. Calicoes may be washed in the suds water, as enough of the soap and kerosene remain there to cleanse them well. Rinse, blue, starch, and hang them to dry. Plenty of soap and water with the kerosene, if these directions are followed, will give clear, white clothes with very little of the hard work necessary in rubbing clothes according to the usual manner of washing.”

“If time and strength are to be saved, be careful to shake out the clothes well, and see that sheets, pillowcases, towels, etc., hang smoothly from the line. When perfectly dry take down the sheets, fold and roll them into a smooth, tight roll, and pin down the hems. They will be without a wrinkle on the beds, though they may lack the gloss the iron gives. If there is time to iron pillowcases, treat them in the same way. Take the towels, snap them, fold them in the usual manner, and crease them with an iron. They will take less room on the shelf or in the drawer. Roll the nightgowns like the sheets. It is better to iron tablecloths, napkins and handkerchiefs, but they look fairly well if rolled like the sheets. Turn, shake, stretch, in shape stockings and flannels, and fold them ready for use. The starched clothes alone remain to be ironed. Let busy women try this plan of ironing.”

The List

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Outtakes 105

 

The List

By Cait Collins

I’m a list maker. I have shopping lists, packing lists, and even weekly lists for my Sunday school tote bag. You should see my Christmas list. It contains not only the receivers’ names; it has likes, sizes and colors. My meal assignments are there along with the recipes and the ingredients I need to buy. I know it sounds crazy, but these scraps of paper are essential to maintaining my sanity. Nothing aggravates me more than returning home from a shopping trip and realizing I forgot to buy a key ingredient.

Lists are helpful to writers. Pulitzer Prize winning author, Michael Cunningham, suggested making a list of 20 physical characteristics of your protagonist and then writing the first paragraph of the story. It’s amazing how sharp the lines are. By focusing on the character and his surroundings, you tend to start the story in the proper place, thus avoiding the dreaded fish head,

This is not to say every character has to have a detailed study or every scene must be outlined. A few short notes will keep the narrative clean and targeted. It’s an easy way for those of us who do not outline every scene to keep track of who’s who and their relationship to the main characters. I also like short time lines. These notes help me associate historical events with the players’ lives.

I keep a small journal for each novel. The main characters have sections in the book.  By allowing the extra space I can make additions and corrections as necessary. It’s a way to make sure Handsome Prince has the same color of eyes in the beginning and ending of the book. It’s also a good way to be certain Miss A and Mr. B are the correct age when they meet and become attracted to one another. It would be a shame to have a fifty year old man falling for a teenager.

International Standard Book Number

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International Standard Book Number

What’s the big deal about an ISBN?

What is the ISBN and why do I need one for my book?

The International Standard Book Number is most commonly known as the ISBN. It is a special numeric commercial book identifier based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering (SBN) code created by Gordon Foster, Emeritus Professor of Statistics at Trinity College, Dublin, for the booksellers and stationers W. H. Smith and others in 1966.

Before 2007, the ISBN consisted of 10 digits; however after January 1, 2007 every ISBN assigned is 13 digits long. An International Standard Book Number consists of 4 or 5 parts:

  1. For a 13-digit ISBN, a GS1 prefix: 978 or 979 (indicating the industry; in this case, 978 denotes book publishing)
  2. The group identifier, (language-sharing country group)
  3. The publisher code,
  4. The item number (title of the book), and
  5. A checksum character or check digit.

 

Note the different check digits in each. The part of the EAN‑13 labeled “EAN” is the Bookland country code.

The ISBN separates its parts (group, publisher, title and check digit) with either a hyphen or a space. Other than the check digit, no part of the ISBN will have a fixed number of digits.

Rory C. Keel