THE EXCITING JOURNEY OF Writing
a Fictional Book
"IT'S A LUXURY BEING A WRITER,
BECAUSE ALL YOU EVER THINK ABOUT IS LIFE."
AMY TAN
BECAUSE ALL YOU EVER THINK ABOUT IS LIFE."
AMY TAN
AN INVITATION
8/28/2016
The Complexities of a Second Book
8/12/2016
As I have previously mentioned when I wrote the first book My DIARY My LOVE I was writing a second book at the same time. Now that I am in the editing and re-writing stage of the second masterpiece, I think it is better to describe it as a 180-page outline.
To any aspiring author like me we are all slowly evolving; hopefully with time each author's own writing style improves. One positive part of my routine today is that I open yahoo and in the tabs section I open and keep them open until I finish my writing for the day. These are three or four helpful tools. https://litreactor.com/columns/8-words-to-seek-and-destroy-in-your-writing http://goinswriter.com/weak-words/ http://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus I keep them open to help me focus when I stray. I am working on eliminating the easy way out as a writer. Is it perfect, no, but it is an improvement. I have read several blogs and articles about dialog and its importance. My god there are so many articles out there that it is overwhelming. I had to find ones that I was comfortable with and that worked for me. I have also listened to several audio books, which are more helpful than reading a book, although I do read constantly. The audio books allow me to hear character dialog and to study the author's style. Personally, I favor Game of Thrones and Harry Potter because both authors have numerous characters who interact with each other. Of course, Jim Dale, (Harry Potter), and Roy Dotrice, (Game of Thrones), who are the voices on the audio books, only add to the richness of the novels, which I have also read. When I read over each page and look at my draft, quickly I see where adding voices to the characters brings a whole new degree of depth and strength to the story. It adds some degree of complexity and allows the story to move in numerous directions, while maintaining cohesiveness. Suddenly the story is no longer drudgery now I want to see where the characters are going. It takes a special type of person who can sit down in front of a computer screen and write for hours day after day. There must be a drive within those individuals, which few understand. Personally, I am always moved when a story is written about a human being who is absolutely compelled and driven. When they battle themselves and overcome all obstacles, which lay in the path ahead. On Thursday, August 11th, Aly Raisman won a silver medal in women's gymnastics. I have selected excerpts from this article about this extraordinary woman, which I believe exemplifies that it takes more than just desire to reach the top. From her coach-She was very excited to be the best,” Brestyan said. “The desire to work, it’s what I was looking for. I need this. The talent I can modify. Fears, I can change. But give me that discipline. Because if you don’t have that, I can’t work with you. She gave me that.” If Simone Biles has been a study in the impossible, Aly Raisman has been a display of what’s possible. It is rare for a gymnast to return after four years, to go through the sadness of missing a medal, to go through the soul-searching of what’s next, to go through the re-training, and then to go through more years of elevating to a brand new level at age 22. Brestyan said that now-famous first pass on the floor routine took two years to conjure and implement, and it pushed Raisman past where she already stood as 2012 Olympic champion of the routine. “I didn’t always think I was good enough,” Raisman said, “and that’s why I worked so hard.” Congratulations Aly Raisman on winning the silver medal! Robert Stephen WHAT MAKES A GREAT BOWL OF PASTA
8/1/2016
Have you ever said to yourself, "I just want to get away, sit somewhere, and read a good book." However, the big question in that statement is, what is a good book, or what makes a book good? Before I attempted tackle a task of this magnitude, I had to think about the question. Since it would easily take a book of several hundred pages to breakdown and answer those questions, I chose to take the smaller road. t is subjective, similar to when Uncle Bill goes to an upscale restaurant and wears a bright red polka dot tie! He thinks he looks great, his date on the other hand hopes that the evening ends quickly. The Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling I personally enjoyed, as have millions of other readers. Yet, there are readers out there who say that they could not read past half of the first book. George Martin, Game of Thrones to me takes a certain type of reader. Let's go back in time, James Michener, and his big novels. Mario Puzo, his one great novel, The Godfather. Yes, I have picked popular books, which makes me a schlub like millions of other readers. In my younger years, when I was learning to be a performer, my mentor said one thing, "Entertain the crowd kid, that's why they're here!" Isn't that what it's all about, entertainment. When I read a fictional novel, I want to be entertained, as do most people. I want interesting characters, those that have flaws, who are intelligent, but don't know everything. I want stories that are plausible, with some stretch of the imagination. I want humor, suspense, romance, sex in the right places, and most importantly, I want to keep turning the pages to see what's going to happen next. I don't mind period pieces, in fact sometimes I enjoy them the most. Probably the most important part for a writer of a good book is descriptive writing. If the main character has chased the antagonist into an old building, tell me about the building. However, learning to say just enough about the scene without it being all consuming, is truly an art that only comes with practice of a writers craft. Currently there is one writer in the marketplace today who is quiet successful, and I have read most of his books, but when people ask me what I think my reply usually is, "The books for the most part are great, but he is one of the few writers who takes pages to describe a character eating dinner." I am over exaggerating I know, but it's true. Some writers are too long winded, while others need to add more. The importance of descriptive writing is without a doubt, assuming the writer's story has direction, the single most important task set before them. The reason that this post is titled, "What Makes a Great Bowl of Pasta," is simple. Go to Google Images or Bing and type in "bowl of pasta," and select the one that appeals to you the most. Once you have found the photo of choice, ask yourself this question, "why?" Simple answer, because it touched several of your senses. Taste, smell, and see. Now, a novel has to do the same thing, it has to stir the five senses and more, it needs to also touch one's imagination. I want to be able to escape from the daily grind, and read a good book. One that I think is good, which simply stated, is good enough for me. Thanks, as always, for stopping by, Robert Stephen |
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