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Time Travel

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Time Travel

 By Rory C. Keel

 

Intergalactic warp drives, transporter stations or a portal in a time continuum that can teleport us back to the future. The desire to travel through time is largely based on the desire to see the future and to know where life is going; or return to the past, perhaps to change the course of life, or simply for a sentimental remembrance of days past.

In writing there are two basic ways to travel through time: vertical and horizontal. Within each of these, several vehicles can be used to accomplish movement through time.

Vertical Time

Vertical time is thought of as climbing a ladder. While in a particular moment of time in the story — flashbacks, flash-forwards, grabbers, bookends and brackets — move the reader up or down in that moment of time. Think of it this way, the reader doesn’t move forward in time but has a deeper understanding with the knowledge gained.

Horizontal Time

Horizontal time is the movement of the story in a linear direction. It differs from vertical in that the moment or events actually move forward in time.

To accomplish this, techniques such as stretching, condensing, leaps, bridges, foreshadowing, cliffhangers and suspense are used to move the reader forward.

When you write, incorporate these methods to make your story richer and move the reader through time.

The Dump

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

The Dump 

By Nandy Ekle

 

“The most important things to remember about back story are that (a) everyone has a history and (b) most of it isn’t very interesting.”

― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

One time I read a story with a very complicated plot. A lot of this plot depended on the 200-year family history. The author had an incredible tale, but I was never able to finish it because the first one hundred pages gave the whole history at once. It was a very convoluted history with lots of characters and lots of twists and turns.

This is called information dump. I asked the author about the reason for placing the backstory at the front of the book in one giant swallow and the answer was that it was critical to understanding the present day story. And this was, to some extent, true.

However, there are other ways to accomplish this. If you’ve ever read any Stephen King books, you’ve seen this done brilliantly.

One of his methods is with dialogue. Two who have not seen each other in a while will have a conversation bringing each other up to date on news from the past. This can also be used to drop clues as to the trickier parts of the story.

Another one of Mr. King’s methods is to start the story at a place in the backstory as if it’s happening at that moment. After the pertinent information is out, he flashes forward to the actual story.

Another interesting way to get the history out there for the reader is in dreams. This can be fund because dreams are symbolic and just about anything can be used to transfer the important history.

And, of course, there’s always flashbacks. But always remember, elephants are best eaten one bite at a time instead of all at once.

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

Introducing…

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Introducing…

By Rory C. Keel

  

At one end of the street three bodies lay in the dirt, at the other end smoke drifted from the barrel of a pistol that a man in a trench coat held in his hand.

Who were these three dead men? Why did they challenge the man in the trench coat? What was this gunfight about?

The first few sentences of a piece of work should draw the reader into the story and cause them to read further. A good introduction may tell the reader what kind of story it will be and help them decide if it’s their kind of story.

Listed below are five basic opening techniques

  1. Picture or unusual image
  2. Dialogue
  3. Action
  4. Question
  5. Interesting fact

Try using each of these in your writing and see which one creates the greatest interest in your opening paragraph.

www.roryckeel.com

Top of the Ferris Wheel

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

Top of the Ferris Wheel

By Nandy Ekle

 

We hadn’t watched one of those court shows in forever. You know what I’m talking about—the Jerry Springer type judges, hearing the cases of Jerry Springer type parties. The cases sound contrived, the judges sound scripted, and the parties scream and yell at each other when the judge bangs her gavel.

As we flipped through the channels we came across one of these shows and decided to watch for a minute. There were two women, two best friends, who were suing a carny man. Their claim was negligence. They had been trapped at the top of the ferris wheel for more than five minutes. One of the women suffered from severe acrophobia, fear of heights.

The story was that one of the women, the one who was not afraid of heights, decided to administer some psychotherapy to her friend. The best way to overcome an irrational fear is to face it. So she talked her acrophobic friend into getting on the ferris wheel at the state fair. After all, the ferris wheel is a very tame ride—no terrifying speed, no slowly climbing mountains to plummet down toward the earth with a promise of death. You simply sit in a bucket and look at the landscape as the wheel turns.

As you can imagine, the wheel stopped while the two women were at the very top due to a sudden mechanical problem. According to the carny man, the wheel is inspected three times a day, so the sudden problem was very unexpected and the man immediately stopped the ride.

The acrophobic woman had a panic attack. She began screaming and flailing causing the bucket to rock and bounce. As her panic turned into outright terror, the door of the bucket flew open, causing her fit to peak, and the other woman also began to flail around.

Eventually the wheel was repaired enough to bring the women back to the bottom so they could leave and go on their merry little lawsuit-for-pain-and-suffering way.

After listening to this story in total disbelief, I realized what the women were describing was the perfect image of plot writing. You have a character with a problem who wants a solution to their problem. Then you have them do something so different from anything they’ve ever done before, only for everything that can go wrong to . . . go wrong. Then you have a character who seems to be at fault for every problem that comes up. And finally, we have the secret bad guy, the one who stands behind the machinery with a pair of wire cutters.

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

Nandyekle.com

 

Time Travel

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Time Travel

 By Rory C. Keel

 

Intergalactic warp drives, transporter stations or a portal in a time continuum that can teleport us back to the future. The desire to travel through time is largely based on the desire to see the future and to know where life is going; or return to the past, perhaps to change the course of life, or simply for a sentimental remembrance of days past.

In writing there are two basic ways to travel through time: vertical and horizontal. Within each of these, several vehicles can be used to accomplish movement through time.

Vertical Time

Vertical time is thought of as climbing a ladder. While in a particular moment of time in the story — flashbacks, flash-forwards, grabbers, bookends and brackets — move the reader up or down in that moment of time. Think of it this way, the reader doesn’t move forward in time but has a deeper understanding with the knowledge gained.

Horizontal Time

Horizontal time is the movement of the story in a linear direction. It differs from vertical in that the moment or events actually move forward in time.

To accomplish this, techniques such as stretching, condensing, leaps, bridges, foreshadowing, cliffhangers and suspense are used to move the reader forward.

When you write, incorporate these methods to make your story richer and move the reader through time.

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.

Introducing…

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Introducing…

By Rory C. Keel

  

At one end of the street three bodies lay in the dirt, at the other end smoke drifted from the barrel of a pistol that a man in a trench coat held in his hand.

Who were these three dead men? Why did they challenge the man in the trench coat? What was this gunfight about?

The first few sentences of a piece of work should draw the reader into the story and cause them to read further. A good introduction may tell the reader what kind of story it will be and help them decide if it’s their kind of story.

Listed below are five basic opening techniques

  1. Picture or unusual image
  2. Dialogue
  3. Action
  4. Question
  5. Interesting fact

Try using each of these in your writing and see which one creates the greatest interest in your opening paragraph.

www.roryckeel.com

Word Play

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Outtakes 170

 

Word Play

By Cait Collins

 

Halloween is a big deal at our office. Every year there’s a costume contest and a food contest. Work teams spend time planning great costumes. One year the Harry Potter gang lost to a school of fish “swimming” in an aquarium. And if you think the costumes are wild, you should see the food entries. The entries must be edible, but a vomiting pumpkin?

But let’s get back to the costumes. My team is a correspondence team, so we are working on costumes based on plays on words. There are some clever ideas floating around: First Class Mail, Bag Lady, Pig in a Blanket, Identity Thief; Serial Killer; Fruit Loop, Book Fairy, and Formal Apology.

So here’s the challenge. Think of a play on words or a pun and write a description of the costume. This is my entry. She is beautiful. Her hair is professionally dyed and styled in an up-swept do. Wisps of blonde hair caress her face. Make-up is skillfully applied so that her complexion is flawless. A soft blush tints her cheeks. She struts down the aisle in a form-fitting evening gown of deepest black decorated with varying sizes and shapes of silver nines. She is Dressed to the Nines.

Introducing…

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Introducing…

By Rory C. Keel

  

At one end of the street three bodies lay in the dirt, at the other end smoke drifted from the barrel of a pistol that a man in a trench coat held in his hand.

Who were these three dead men? Why did they challenge the man in the trench coat? What was this gunfight about?

The first few sentences of a piece of work should draw the reader into the story and cause them to read further. A good introduction may tell the reader what kind of story it will be and help them decide if it’s their kind of story.

Listed below are five basic opening techniques

  1. Picture or unusual image
  2. Dialogue
  3. Action
  4. Question
  5. Interesting fact

Try using each of these in your writing and see which one creates the greatest interest in your opening paragraph.

www.roryckeel.com

Balance

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Outtakes 162

Balance

By Cait Collins

 

Have you ever played Jenga? Players take turns removing one block at a time from a tower constructed of 54 blocks. The removed blocks are placed on top of the structure making a taller but less stable tower. The person who topples the tower loses. It’s really tricky and lots of fun. But there is a point. Keeping the tower upright is a matter of balance.

A writer’s life definitely needs balance. We build a tower one brick at a time and often do not realize how unstable the structure really is. We pile jobs on top of family obligations, add social commitments, kid’s activities, friends, writing assignments, social media, deadlines, editing, new creative, submissions, marketing, and pretty soon the house of cards is endanger of collapse. Every layer is necessary, but how do we manage to maintain balance and sanity?

I say we take a page from traditional housewives’ books. My mother managed get a husband and six kids out of bed each morning, fix breakfast, find lost socks, book bags, and homework, get Dad off to work and kids to school before having a cup of coffee. She made lunch, cleaned house, washed and ironed clothes, fixed dinner, cleaned the kitchen, helped with homework. She was the first one up in the morning and the last to go to bed at night. Everything worked. Her trick — planning and time management.

Writers need a plan. A good calendar is a must for keeping track of obligations and deadlines. I prefer a Daytimer, but some of my friends are more comfortable with an electronic organizer. Be sure to note all commitments, and never promise to do something before consulting your “secretary”.

Learn to say no. We get ourselves in trouble when we overbook or take on a project that does not help our work or capture our interest. We regret saying yes, but felt guilty saying no. If no is too difficult, try declining for now and ask for a rain check.

Honor deadlines and promises. Even when it’s difficult to get the job done, failure to keep commitments makes the writer appear unreliable.

Make time for you. A few minutes each day dedicated to yourself clears the head and allows you to be more focused and productive.

Prioritize. If you can put it off until tomorrow, do it. Take care of today, today.

Work hard, but balance work with play. Family and friends miss you when you over do it.

Know when to stop. Creative efforts are not well served when you are exhausted.

Balancing work with everyday life makes a writer more creative and a better all round person. It allows him to focus on the job without sacrificing life.