Painting From Corners and Cutting Off Branches

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

Painting From Corners and Cutting Off Branches

By Nandy Ekle

 

 

I love a good mystery show, especially if it has a twist. And sometimes the biggest twist is actually no twist at all. Here’s how it works.

You begin building the story in the usual way, introduce the character who is amazingly handsome and brilliant but who also has a sad little flaw. He reveals this flaw but justifies himself by listing the rules he has set for himself to control it. Then we go through a day or two of his life to see how it works. As the action/drama builds, we suddenly realize there is no way out for our character. He either has to break his own rules, or he has to give up. The more the story progresses, the tighter the noose gets and we are sure he’s about to be undone. Finally, at the end, just before he gives up, the light comes on and you realize what was forgotten. One of the smaller rules in his self-imposed control. As soon as that loophole opens up, he wins and lives happily ever after.

But then there’s the story line where he has to cut off his nose to spite his face. This is the character who does everything right. But the problems he faces grow huge enough and chase him out on a branch. You know he will have to do something, but everything he tries is thwarted. And in the end, he has to cut the branch he’s hanging from and drop to the abyss. But the twist is that he only drops a couple of feet. That’s when you gulp a deep breath of air and fall back in your chair.

This is great writing.

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

To the Extreme

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Outtakes 120

 

To the Extreme

by Cait Collins

I have a lot of respect for my doctor, but I hate taking medications. Medicines and I often do not get along. So whenever the doc suggests a course of treatment, I start researching a holistic approach. I visited one of our local health food stores recently to gather information to discuss with my doctor. I’d had dealings with the folks in this store in the past, so I was really surprised when I encountered the Health Food Maniac.

“I can help you but you have to be willing to change your diet.”

“What do you mean by change my diet?”

She handed me a sheet of paper. Both sides were covered with lists of food to avoid. There was a small section of approved foods. No more junk food, which meant anything she considered unfit for human consumption. The list continued. Soft drinks, chewing gum, cookies, throat lozenges, milk, processed cheese, breath mints, oranges, grapefruit, soup, pasta, white flour, white rice, margarine, corn, and Cool Whip were banned substances.

While I was recovering from the shock of fasting for the remainder of my days, she began she began a campaign of it’s your fault. “So you work 80 hours a week. You don’t have time to cook healthy food.”  “It’s your choice, but if you want to get better…” “You’ll need to take this.” She began to place boxes and bottles on the counter.

I tried to make sense of this nonsense. Where was the sweet, compassionate gentleman I worked with before? I picked up the sheet and left the store. Wow, what a witch. I don’t respond well to the “my way or the highway” mentality.

My disgust turned to an idea. The health food nut would make a great character in a novel. I saw so many possibilities. She is so obsessed with her causes she alienates her family and friends. Or she gets careless in her pursuit of her desires and destroys the lives of her neighbors. Or she could be the comic relief character.

Extreme characters can be fun.  They can be annoying or terrifying. But they are interesting and they are remembered. Think about some of the way-out folks you’ve met and how their obsessive traits can be written to add sizzle to a story? The people we encounter on a daily basis can be a fantastic tool in our writing arsenals. Do some people watching, write mini character sketches. Keep a file of these wacky folks and use them judiciously. There’s really something special about extreme characters.

National Novel Writing Month

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National Novel Writing Month

By Rory C. Keel

November is National Novel Writing Month, NANOWRIMO for short. For thirty days writers from all over the world will be cranking out words on computers and word processors trying to reach 50,000 thousand words.

The goal is to encourage writers to put out a novel size piece of work in a very short period of time. With that many words completed, the work can then go through rewrites and editing for clean up to produce a polished and completed novel.

This year, I’m going to attempt this challenge as a way of motivating myself to write. It will certainly be a challenge at an average of 1667 words a day. My plan of attack will be to put the outline of my story down, then fill in the spaces. Maybe I should have participated when I had a chatty six year old at home who couldn’t stop talking. I could have taken dictation and made the word count!

If you are interested in participating, go to www.nanowrimo.org and sign up. It’s free, fun and who knows, you even might get a novel out of it.

www.roryckeel.com


Being A Writer

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Being A Writer

By Natalie Bright

 

On the first night of class she scanned the room, looked us all in the eye, and said, “You are all writers, or you wouldn’t be here.” That comment shocked me to the core. A writer! Me? Just hearing those words gave me hope. Even though my day job involved writing, I never once considered working on the stories that floated around in my head. It was several years later before I could say the words out loud to anyone.

“I’m a writer.” Why is that so hard to explain?

What is it about being a writer that is so intimidating? I think it’s the pressure we put on ourselves. It’s not like we have someone standing over our shoulder saying, “Write. Produce. You MUST crank out those chapters. Don’t stop.” On some days I wish there were someone who could make the world go away and insist that I sit down at the key board.

Once you say those word, the world has great expectations. Non-writers think they’re being helpful. “You’re a writer? You must have a lot of time on your hands.” “What have you written?” “Do you even have a book?” “Are your articles in anything I’ve heard about?”

Now the pressure is on—write a book, win a contest, publish something, submit anything…the world is wondering what you’re doing.

What happened to the joy of writing? Where did the thrill go of finding the right word? I used to feel less pressure to do this thing that I love.

I ponder my sanity at the start of another NaNoWriMo. This November I will finish the WIP, but I’m going to enjoy the process. Just me and words. Just me and the world inside my head. I don’t care if you like it or not.

“Allow your characters to take you on their journey,” the writing instructor said so many, many years ago. In the end, that’s the key to this crazy process.

Just write it.

Goblins, Ghosts, and Ghouls

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Outtakes 172

Goblins, Ghosts, and Ghouls

By Cait Collins

 

I love kid holidays. Halloween is probably the best holiday for our young ones. Last Saturday night, our congregation held our annual Fall Festival. There were about 300 children participating in our Trunk-or-Treat event. I saw bumble bees, witches, scarecrows, Transformers, Captain America, Batman, Elsa and Anna, Olaf, a fairy princess, and a little zebra. I even met Velma from the Scooby Doo cartoon series. She reminded me a bit of Beezus from Beverly Cleary’s Beezus and Ramona series. Then there were the ghouls and zombies.

Seeing the array of costumes, I began to wonder what drew the child to their costumes .and to the characters. Did the glittery ice-blue dress make a little girl want to dress like Elsa from Frozen? Did the dress and crown make her stand taller, assume a regal air, and create an innocent beauty? Did the Batman costume make a young man feel like a hero? And did Velma finally become comfortable with her knowledge. Did the costume choice reflect a personality or a desire to be more like the alter-ego?

What if I could have sat down with just one child and asked questions in order to get my answers? What kind of story would I write about the child and his character? Would it be a happy tale or would my information reveal a frightened lonely child? If there were only time to visit and learn more about each child, I could have outlined and written 300 children’s stories.

WRITE TO MAKE DIAMONDS

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Write to make Diamonds

by Rory C. Keel

I recently conducted some interesting research on diamonds, how they are formed in the earth, the process used in mining these allotropes of carbon and what happens to them on the journey from mining to the market.

Dealing with diamonds the industry uses what is called the 4C’s. The first “C” is the Carat. This is a term used to reference the size of the diamond. The second is Color. This can range from colorless, the most valuable, to a yellow hue. On occasion a diamond of another color is found such as the blue Hope Diamond. These are rare. Thirdly is the Clarity. This describes the degree to which a diamond is free of blemishes and inclusions. Finally is the Cut. The cut is the jeweler’s touch. The angle at which a diamond is cut makes it attractive to the eye and gives it its shimmering brightness.

I have found that these “4C’s” are very useful in writing.

First, the carat. What size does my writing project need to be? Many contest pieces, devotionals, short stories and articles are subject to a specific word count. Publishers and agents may also require a word count in the length of some novels.

Secondly is the color. What is the genre’ of my writing? The answer to this question will not only help you in what to write, but in determining your target audience when it comes time to publish.

Third is clarity. What point of view are you writing from? Is it first person or third person, past or present? Double check your grammar usage and make it proper for the piece; and don’t forget the punctuation and spelling. These things can determine whether your story shines or is as clear as mud.

Finally the cut. The goal of this stage is to produce a faceted jewel where each angle between the facets optimizes the luster of the diamond. The jeweler cuts out weaknesses and flaws to focus attention on the beauty of the diamond. As writers, we type as fast as we can, elaborating on every little detail and sometimes find ourselves in a dark alley away from our storyline; or we add filler just to make the word count. Let’s face it; there are some things that will need to be taken out to make it shine.

At the jeweler’s a rough diamond is placed in a small vice, then carefully and strategically cut, and when it’s polished, it’s beautiful!

The diamond is your story.

www.roryckeel.com

The Semicolon

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The Semicolon

By Natalie Bright

 

To separate two closely related sentences joined without a connective.

To separate sentences joined by conjunctive adverbs (e.g. however, moreover, therefore, or other transitional expressions).

To clarify the main break when sentences joined by coordinating conjunctions, which are ordinarily separated by commas, contain enough internal punctuation to obscure the main break.

www.nataliebright.com

Painting From Corners and Cutting Off Branches

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

Painting From Corners and Cutting Off Branches

By Nandy Ekle

 

 

I love a good mystery show, especially if it has a twist. And sometimes the biggest twist is actually no twist at all. Here’s how it works.

You begin building the story in the usual way, introduce the character who is amazingly handsome and brilliant but who also has a sad little flaw. He reveals this flaw but justifies himself by listing the rules he has set for himself to control it. Then we go through a day or two of his life to see how it works. As the action/drama builds, we suddenly realize there is no way out for our character. He either has to break his own rules, or he has to give up. The more the story progresses, the tighter the noose gets and we are sure he’s about to be undone. Finally, at the end, just before he gives up, the light comes on and you realize what was forgotten. One of the smaller rules in his self-imposed control. As soon as that loophole opens up, he wins and lives happily ever after.

But then there’s the story line where he has to cut off his nose to spite his face. This is the character who does everything right. But the problems he faces grow huge enough and chase him out on a branch. You know he will have to do something, but everything he tries is thwarted. And in the end, he has to cut the branch he’s hanging from and drop to the abyss. But the twist is that he only drops a couple of feet. That’s when you gulp a deep breath of air and fall back in your chair.

This is great writing.

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

What If?

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Outtakes 171

What If?

By Cait Collins

 

It amazes me how little people know about history, geography, and basic civics. I watch some of these man-on-the-street interviews and cringe. How is it possible young people and adults do not recognize a picture of the Vice President of the United States? What country is the home of the Eifel Tower? I was shocked to hear answers like Rome, Africa, and Italy. Is it really imaginable that our young people cannot put the following events in chronological order: War of the Roses, the fall of Rome, the signing of the Magna Carta, the battle at Thermopile, the American Revolution? Why can folks not name the 50 states and at least half of the state capitals?

I have a couple of theories. One, video games, the Internet, and television have eclipsed homework and study. Two, so many of the text books and extra reading materials are dry and boring. So what do we do about it? What if we write history, geography, and civics better?

Bill O’Riley has hit pay dirt with his Killing series. While not excessive, the descriptions in KILLING LINCOLN put me in the action. Hour by hour events, introductions of cabinet members and military figures put a new perspective on the events. I actually enjoyed the reading. Young people like the books. So what if we take a page out of O’Riley’s play book, select an event, forget the politics and ideology, use verifiable facts, and write the story? What if we revealed the event through the eyes of an ordinary person?

I enjoyed Rick Riordan’s mythology lessens in his Percy Jackson series and Heroes of Olympus series. I began to realize how much I had forgotten and started to research the gods and goddesses. Myths and legends are a part of the culture and history of nations. They are viable influences on history. So what if we took other myths and legends and created stories?

With so many distractions, it’s a challenge to teach our children, teens, and even adults the past and how those old events affect today. If we don’t know where a city or country can be found on the map, how can we possibly understand the importance of events in that country? What if each writer chose an event, a location, or a person, and wrote a story? If we do our jobs well, we will not only teach, we will create readers.

A Thrilling Suspense

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A Thrilling Suspense

By Rory C. Keel

Whatever happened to action/adventure stories? Today they’re called thrillers or suspense stories.

This genre defines itself with stories that evoke an emotional thrill by placing the reader in the middle of situations such as a conspiracy or an eco-thriller.

Suspense might include an aviation story set in the past, or even a future time, and may include a familiar theme such as legal or medical thrillers. In thrillers that have espionage, exploration or treasure hunters, the protagonist’s life goes beyond the ordinary.

Thrillers are usually full of fast action and the hero always wins and leaves the reader wanting more.

roryckeel.com