Trees fall, power fails,
Sirens wail into the night.
Thunder laughs; man sighs.
Fallen Hackberry tree, over 50 feet tall. Unfortunately, it has probably killed many blueberry bushes lying underneath the branches.
[Editor’s note: over 40,000 or the 100,000 customers served by the Knoxville Utilities Board were, at one time, without power due a powerful line of storms that passed through the area on July 5, 2012. I was without power for nearly four hours and have this downed tree to deal with.]
Filed under Freeform Friday, haiku, nature, Photo by author, poetry by author
Momentary light
paints the sky to my delight:
fireworks take flight.
Filed under Haiku to You Thursday, holiday, poetry by author
There once was a Yankee Doodle Dandy
who with the girls thought he was quite handy.
So on the Fourth of July
he gave it a flag waving try.
They told him to come back when he had brandy.
Filed under July 4th, limerick, poetry by author
By BRUCE HALE
Source: http://www.brucehalewritingtips.com/
Say you’ve got a great idea for a book (and judging from my barber, the guy at the YMCA, and my cousin’s neighbor, nearly everyone does). How do you judge whether it’s worth spending the time and effort to take your notion from idea to finished story?
Well, yes, I suppose you could pass it by your agent. But if you happen to be one of the many writers who don’t have an agent on speed-dial (and even if you do), you might also try running your idea through this quick test before you launch into writing…
CONFLICT-O-METER
First, does your cool idea contain plenty of potential for conflict, the engine that drives all story? Does your character face loads of opposition, whether internal, external, or both? Some ideas have conflict naturally built into them — a tale about fighting to the death on live TV in the Hunger Games, for example, is bound to have a wee bit of struggle involved. Does yours?
CHARACTER COUNTS
Next, how much of a grip do you have on your hero? If your idea is all concept and no character, spend some time mulling over your main character before you take things further. Do you know what makes her tick, what drives him? Is this hero someone that you’d want to spend a lot of time with? Guaranteed, if YOU aren’t keen on spending months with your character, readers won’t want to spend hours with her.
UNIQUE OR NOT?
If your idea involves another brooding vampire lover, or another kickass dystopian heroine, you might want to think it through again. Not that you can’t execute those themes in a fresh way, just that the market is so glutted with supernatural and dystopian tales, it’s harder to put your own stamp on the topic.
I’m not saying don’t be true to your story instincts or don’t fall in love with your idea. But before you invest time writing, it’s worth surveying the market. If there’s already been a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles book, pursuing your Teenage Mutant Ninja Squirrels idea might not be the best use of your time. Remember that you have to SELL the story after writing it. And if you’re going to accomplish this task, it helps to have at least a general idea of whether your type of story has been done before, and how well.
JUICINESS FACTOR
When you get right down to it, does your idea feel like fun? Is there plenty of juice in it, enough to sustain your enthusiasm through the inevitable challenging bits? Are you excited to tell the story or is it just one of those “this might make a cute book” ideas that you’re not emotionally drawn to? If it’s the latter, shelve it and spend your energy on an idea that’s really got some juice to it.
The more excited you are to write your story, the more readers will enjoy it. Or, to adapt a phrase from computer science: juiciness in, juiciness out.
Want to know more? This subject was covered in much greater depth in the teleseminar “Turning Your Idea Into a Story That Sells,” and you’ll find the recording here:
http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=O8uEK&m=JvxVObrEjFLsQz&b=WF_CK_xaXIG.p4elEtaXjg
Filed under Analyze Your Book Idea, Writing Tip Wednesday
There once was man who stole fireworks
and truth be told he was quite a jerk.
He went out for a dance
with more than loins in his pants.
Then cigarette ash made him quite berserk.
Filed under Fireworks, limerick, poem, poetry by author
There once was a woman named Liberty
who had a tough time in Puberty.
Her friends said, “Slow down.
You don’t have to go to town.
The men will find you, indubitably.”
[Editor’s note: Yeah, I took a little “liberty” with the notion of Liberty, but maybe you’ll find it fun if not enlightening. Happy July 4th. Be safe.]
Filed under liberty, limerick, poetry by author, political humor
A screenwriter comes home to a burned down house. His sobbing and slightly-charred wife is standing outside. “What happened, honey?” the man asks.
“Oh, John, it was terrible,” she weeps. “I was cooking, the phone rang. It was your agent. Because I was on the phone, I didn’t notice the cooker was on fire. It went up in seconds. Everything is gone. I nearly didn’t make it out of the house. Poor Moggie is…”
“Wait, wait. Back up a minute,” the man says. “My agent called?”
Filed under joke, Monday morning writing joke, writing humor
Spent yesterday preparing a short story, a novella, and three poems for writing contests. Deadline for entry was midnight. I had the last of them turned in by 9 PM. Now it is up to the judges, the skill of the writing, some luck, and whether or not I scared off enough other potential entrants. Yes, I am kidding about the last part. I have no idea who else entered. I wanted to enter a non-fiction writing contest, but did not have my entry ready in time. Oh, well, maybe another time.
So, here is a bit of silliness for a Sunday morning (at least morning where I am right now), a limerick inspired by someone who suggested they should be naughty.
There once was a woman from Port Townsend
who traveled quite far and came home again.
Now by day she styles hair
and by night styles with care
words about her “new” life with family and friends.
I know, it’s not naughty. Maybe the next one.
Filed under limerick, poetry by author, Sunday silliness, Workshop weekend
In case you’re wondering, and even if you aren’t, I would like to take a few moments and explain the new layout I am adopting for this blog. I have decided to make at least every work day specific to something. For example, Monday morning writing joke will be a joke focused on writing or about writing. It might also be a limerick (though nothing too naughty) or pun, which is something I have a weakness for.
Next: CarToonsday will be a cartoon, usually based in some way around writing, but not always.
Writing Tip Wednesday will have writing tips. It could also have recommendations of writing books to try, or information about writing conferences, or agents looking for new clients.
Haiku to you Thursday will be a haiku. At least for as long as I can write what I consider to be good quality ones. Sometimes I’m sure I’ll spit out a clunker, but sometimes you have to fail in order to succeed.
At times, the roadmap might be under construction.
Freeform Friday will be another poem, maybe not a haiku but something else, or writing such as a Blathering idiot installment, The Devil’s Dictionary, an essay. Maybe even something I haven’t tried before. Could even be another cartoon. (As if one a week is not enough.)
Story Saturday will be a part of a story. Something I am working on. Could also be a Found Story (photo with piece of writing about the photo). Could even be a whole story, if short enough. Or I may write something about my struggles to write stories, though I am sure that would get old and boring quickly.
Sunday? I may just take off. Or take off Saturday and make it Story Sunday. Or the whole weekend could be titled Workshop Weekend.
I have noticed on weekends there are usually fewer visitors to my blog. People are off doing other things, I assume. Plus a day off won’t hurt. I have a regular job, family obligations, and am working on a novel and short stories as well. On my days off, I aim for between 300 and 400 words of new writing on my stories or novel. So doing that and a blog entry can be tough. I might also skip a day here and there if I don’t have something that fits that day’s theme.
Certainly, comments and suggestions are welcome. And visits, too. The more the better. I aim to keep humor and wit of one stripe or another going on this blog. You may not be rolling in the floor laughing and sometimes you might even be rolling your eyes and groaning at the puns, but at least you’re not having to pay for the self-inflicted humor wound.
Last, but not least, thank you to all who have visited my blog and especially so to those who have linked up to receive notification when I post something new. I do appreciate it. Very much. Part of the reason for trying to more regularize the format is so that you know what’s coming.
Filed under blog, Workshop weekend, writing
