I've moved

Hello, would you please join me at shirley-mclain.net. I have been terrible at keeping my Blog going on Blogger but I have stayed active on wordpress. I am posting short stories, a my most current YA fiction called Sally's Warning (Name will be changed.) I look forward to seeing you at my site.

Thank You
Shirley

Twittering Away: Why do we do it?

'm just a bit messed up on my blogging but that's ok.  I'm not exactly a straight as a string  kind of gal. My actions just go with my flow at the time.  My blogging was intended for three times a week but there's nothing to say I can't add extra's.  Consider today an extra. That being said let me get on with what I want to blog about.

Today, Twitter is on my mind.  You want to know why? Whether you do or don't I'm about to tell you.  I joined and became active on Twitter last week.  Since I am an author and everything I read states I should be using Twitter and others to build my platform.  I have spent the past week getting close to 1000 people to follow me and will be doing more. Those 1000 people are doing the exact same thing I am.  They're trying to sell, whether it is a book, or some kind of other product.

I really can't figure out why I'm doing it.  It's not like the majority of these people really want to get to know the real me and I have found some really scary individuals that I don't want to know and refuse to follow.  I spend the majority of my time going through my email and following whom ever replied to my  tweet or their letting me know I've followed and are thanking me for doing so.  That is really the extent of our contact.

How is this helping me sell my books? I have to admit I have seen  some interesting titles and covers flashed before my eyes.  At  some point in time, if I remember them, I might purchase and read some of them.  The key word in that sentence is remember.  There are so many books and titles my brain is scrambled (more than usual.)

So why do we do it? As for me it is because someone said it was the thing to do.  Weather it is or isn't, I really don't know.  What I do know is it keeps me busy.

A simile and Metaphore

We use them all the time, but the majority of the time we do not put names to them. They seem

to come automatically when we are writing. A simile is defined as a figure of speeh where two unlike things are compared. Usually started with words like, or as. Exp.: She’s unraveling like a ball of yarn

A metaphor is something spoken or written which shows how the object or person resembles something else. “She is such a party pooper.” “It’s raining cats and dogs.”

To help with a simpler understanding since they are so close: A metaphor is an eququation, where a simile is an approximation. If it makes good sense it is probably a metaphor.

In writing we are suppose to use non-common semiles and metaphores. We want our descriptions to be vivid and pull out the readers imagination. Discriptions have the power to open up the world of your book or close the cover.

“”Metaphores feel more powerful, but similes are a far suppler instrument. You can do anything with them–stick them in dialogue, give them to a first person narrator, embed them in news headlines or gossip. Metaphors lend themselves to a heavier narritive style which may or may not work for your story, depending on its tone. (Writing Fiction by Gotham Writers Workshop)”

Today’s video is similes and Metaphores in Pop Culture, Enjoy

http://youtu.be/EQL-wEe03hc

What's The Word?

Do you know what the word is?  I certainly don’t know myself all the time.  The word is one little part of a whole that we writers put down on paper or screen to say what we want said.  Do we always use the right words?  I don’t because I don’t know them all.

We all search for the right words to use in our writing.  That one word that will add strength to what we are saying.  I was told that the dictionary or thesaurus, could be my best friend.  The English language as drawn words from other languages such as Latin, French, Spanish and Asian and more.  We do have quite an assortment of words to choose from.

We use words to describe what we want to say.  So how do we pick the right one? You and I as the writer determine that word or string of words.  I was told to beware of adjectives, and adverbs because it can lead to weak writing.

She skipped lightly into the large room, swiftly looking about to spot the one thing she wanted from the large ornate desk sitting amidst the shiny mahogany furniture.
The sentence above is just a bit heavy with adjectives that is not needed.  It can be written so simply by leaving out what is not needed.  She skipped into the large room, looking on the desk for the one thing she wanted.

We didn’t need all of the words in the first sentence to make a sentence which had a clearer read.  I had more than I needed.

Nouns and verbs can make a sentence very vibrant without all of the adjectives.  Focus on the best nouns and verbs  the find the modifiers that add to these words.

“Adjectives and adverbs are helper words, what the grammarians call “Modifiers.”  They help refine the impression cast by your true building blocks, nouns and verbs.  At a writers’ conference a few years ago, a supposedly clever expression was circulating:  Are your verbs working hard enough?  Granted, the expression isn’t all that clever, but it points to a truth.  The stronger your nouns and vers are, the better they can support your carefully chosen modifiers.”

This is a video by Adora Svidak which pertains to word choices.  Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCH3ciUK_X8

What Is Your Point of View

 

 

This is my downfall in the world of writing.  Maybe I should have said, one of my downfalls.  POV or point of view, has been such a headache to me.  I have  people review my writing and they can immediately tell me the where and when I have changed POV in the story.  Poor pitiful me, I am such a failure, NOT!!!

The point of view you choose for your story will affect the way your readers respond to your characters and actions.  The tone and theme of your story is also affected by the POV.

To determine your point of view, you may ask yourself the following questions.

1.  Who will be speaking:  the narrator or the character?

2.  Whose eyes are seeing the events of the story happen?

3.  Whose thoughts do the reader have access to?

4.  From what distance are the events being viewed?

 

The first person POV is a story narrated by the character in the story.  Usually it is the main character or the protagonist.  The story is from the I point of view.  I went, I saw, I felt, so forth.  The reader gets into the story through the narrators eye’s, touch, smell, action.  You write in the voice, words and tone of your character.

An example of first person POV:  I had to find out where Sam was headed, so I hid behind the shrubs next to the house.  I thought Sam would head for his car, but he fooled me.  He took off, on foot, heading south towards the graveyard.

You may also use three other first person POV’s: (1. Multiple vision, which lets multiple narrators tell the story.  (2. Peripheral would be having another character tell the story.  (3.  The unreliable first person is a person telling the story, has all the facts, but can’t be trusted.  It might be a schizophrenic, or a compulsive liar.

I am going to be dividing POV into parts to make it a little easier to digest.  I am posting a video on writing in first person.  Content is good, but the speaker doesn’t speak well, um, you know, um.  I like it, um, but, um, you um, will have to um look over um her bad speaking um.      http://youtu.be/ydlOjhkgr74

 

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I hope everyone is wearing "the green" for today.  One of the best things about today is I get to read my Irish Blessings book.  I am going to share a couple with you, and please know I mean what they say.

PS:  The Author is unknown.....I wish it were me, but was not to be

Here's wishing you the tops O' life
Without a single tumble
Here's wishing you the smiles O' life
And not a single grumble
Here's wishing ou the best O' life
And not a flaw about it.
Here's wishing you all the joy in life
And not a day without it!


May your home be filled with laughter
May your pickets be filled with gold
And may you have all the happiness
Your Irish heart can hold


A special Irish blessing
from the heart of a friend
"May good fortune be yours,
May your joys never end."

Plotting For the Progagonist

Plotting does seem to be for your main character.  Your plot is based around what your protagonist wants.  His/her needs, dreams, obstacles, feelings, any thing that affects your protagonist can contribute to your plot.

The plot has three main parts;  The beginning, the middle and the end.  The  structure of a plot hasn't changed for a couple thousand years.  Each section of the plot has its own role in the telling of a story.

The beginning of your story has to produce three things: 1.) The reader must be in the middle of action 2.) It has to establish the background information, and 3.) establish the major dramatic question.
The major dramatic question is one which can be answered by the end of the story.

 "Does the three little pigs escape from the big bad wolf?"  "Does Harry Potter kill Valdamort?"
 "Does Sleeping Beauty wake up?".  As you can see from my examples, it is the question that will drive your story telling.

The middle section of the plot take most of the space, because it is where you expand your story.  The characters grow, and where most of the problems arise for your protagonist. The middle is also where the core action takes place and your struggles grow.

The final section is the end section.  This is the section where everything comes together. ** "The end generally follows a pattern that could be called the three C"s"--Crisis, climax and consequences.  The crisis is the point where tension hits its maximum, and the climax is where the tension breaks and where we get the answer to our major dramatic question.  Then, the consequences , are alluded to at the very end of the piece."

Enjoy the video for today from Anne Rice: Developing Plot  http://youtu.be/xJX8uX_mjwM

** Writing Fiction by Gotham Writers Workshop

Do You Need Action, Baby?

As a writer, we all want action.  We want the action in our writing.  We want action to keep our readers interested and to keep the story moving along.  Would you read a book that did’t have any action written into it. Even the Bible had action within it’s stories.  Action can be oe of the methods of revealing a character.  Actions are all revealing, but in a crisis your character can reveal his/her true character, intentions.

Flannery O’Connor, once made the statement “If you put fourteen characters in the exact same circumstances, you should get fourteen very different courses of action and approaches to the situation; fourteen different illustrations of what each character will do?”
What sounds better to you?  John walked to the store, hiding as he went, or John ran to the store, dodging in and out of doorways to hide from the men in the black chevy.
Action can also help define your sceane.  Did John walking and hiding make you want to read more?  Did it tell you anything about John?

John running told you he was in a hurry, dodging in and out of doorways, shows you he was trying to be crafty.  Did you want to know why he is hiding in dorrways from the men?  Do you want to read on.  Action gives our stories interest by grabbing the reader and carrying him/her on through the story.
Do you Need Action, Baby?  That’s my two-cents for today.

Video today is Bald Worm on action scenes:  http://youtu.be/SxOD4zMFGzk

Creating Characters Part II

How do you get your characters?  Do you think about them for a long period of time and have them fully fleshed out in your mind before you start writing, or do you let them develope themselves.
I believe I blogged in an earlier blog, my characters in "The Tower" took on a life of their own and just were there.  I would come up with a name, and my main character developed as my story went along, plus several others.  I don't think there is a right or wrong way, unless you tend to have very flat one dimensional characters.

My characters for "The Tower," was not based on anyone I knew.  When my sister read the book she knew my main character was her.  I just let her go on thinking down that line.  Maybe she was, but it was on a unconsious level from me.

When it comes to your characters development there are questions you can ask yourself that will help the development.  Below is a list of possible questions.

1.  What is your character's name?  Is there a nick name?
2.  What is the character's hair and eye color?
3.  Any distinct physical features?  Scar, long eye lashes, birthmark, tatoo, ect.
4.  Who are your characters family and friends?  Who is the character closest to?
5.  Where and when was your character born?
6.  What type of personality does your character have?
7.  What is your characters desires and fears?
8.  Does your character have a secret?
9.  Where does your character live?  What type of abode? House, apartment, tent, ect.
10.  What does your character do when he/she is angry?

The questions can go on and on and with each answer you develop your character.  You man not use all of the information, but you have it, if needed.

If you are writing a story about good versus bad, then you would need to develop two characters, the protagonist(good) and the antagonist(bad).  You want to develop round characters and this can be accomplished with a little bit of thought and time for your characters.
Enjoy the video:  Joyce Carol Oates - On Writing Characters
http://youtu.be/LgJ809QKmas

Who Is That Character?

I decided I want to talk about sentences on today's blog.  So what is a sentence?    I have always thought you had to have a noun and a verb to have a sentence.  You can make sentences simple or compound with multiple clauses.

During critiquing of writings, I have come across a list of words with periods after them.  When I see a period I think there should be a sentence in front of it not a single word.  I am not talking about the alphabet going down the page with a period after each letter.  An example would be a conversation between two people that goes like this:

"I have missed you."
"Yeah, I know."
"A lot."    Is this a sentence?

Complete sentences have five parts to them. 1.) Capital letter   2.) Subject
3.)Predicate    4.) Complete thought  5.) Terminal Punctuation.

Everyone who writes knows the first letter of a sentence is Capitalized.

A predicate of a complete sentence is the action that is going on in the sentence. In other words, a verb shows action, a predicate is a how the verb is used in the sentence.

A sentence requires a complete thought.  It can't stop midway.  An example would be The car drove.  To be a complete sentence the thought process as to be completed.  The care drove itself down the highway.

Terminal Punctuation:  What goes at the end of the sentence.  We have a number of those to choose from: periods, comas, question marks, ect.

Complete sentences help us  convey the message we want conveyed to our readers.  We all are in the habit of making little notes and calling it a sentence.  In this day of Twitter, short cuts are used to convey the twitter message.  I don't believe the Twitter style of writing has helped in educating the young people of today, the importance of being able to write a complete sentence, but that's another blog topic.
Video: Write Powerful, elegant sentences    
 http://youtu.be/HZAofDIkjjo
That's my two-cents for today.

Who Is That Character?

I’ve been told you must know your characters.  Your main characters desires should be known.  If you want your character to gather the sympathy from your readers then give the character a strong desire.  What is being strived for, a new job, romance, riches, knowledge.  If your character doesn’t have a need, do you think your readers will find excitement in your book. How do you say “boring?”

You have to make your character multidimensional, and not leave him flat.  What creates the most vivid picture, 3D or regular television?   It is a matter of contrast in your characters.  As humans we are very complicated and you have to show that complication in your characters also. That way your reader can really get interested in your character.

You may also be tempted to make your character all good or all bad.  Both sides should be shown in your character.  “Dan thought his head would blow off he’s neck at any time.  His night out at the bar  has messed him up one more time.  He has to get up, and get to the church, because he is teaching Sunday School today.”  This sentence showed a man who appears to have a problem with alcohol (bad side), and he teaches Sunday School (good side.)  It shows at least two side of Dan.

Your contrasts should be worked into your story, so they do not become road blocks for the reader.  You want your story to keep moving forward.  You can have your character step out from the usual character portrayed as long as the tendency has been shown before.  That way it is not a stopping point.

Gotham’s  “Writing Fiction” states,” your characters should have the ability to change and the reader should know it.  Change is particularly important for a story’s main character.  Just as the desire of a main character drives the story, the character’s change is often the story’s culmination.”

This doesn’t mean your main character has to change but the reader should always know change is possible.  Predictability is created if you do not give the character the potential to change.
I have covered a few ways to help you create a character that your reader can get to know.  The video today is on creating characters.     That is my two-cents for today.
http://youtu.be/8VoZNlvSpdE   PS this video gives lots of  good information, but there is cafe noise in the background.

Are You Crafty?

I don’t mean making things.  I’m actually going to talk about the craft of writing.  Knowing the craft of writing means knowing the rules such as showing the story, not telling it.
It’s said writing becomes easier if you know the craft behind it.  Knowing the craft can get you to the end product faster, because you aren’t stalled trying to figure out if, what you have written works in the mind of the reader.  It was pointed out in one of my many books I read, you should study the masters of writing such as painters study the masters of painting.

Read what you like to read, because more than likely that’s what you want to write also.  Why do you like to read the particular books you do?  The main thing to watch for  emulating your favorite writers in books is not to imitate the writing.  You have to know the difference between emulating and imitation.

Why do you write fiction?  For me it’s the creation aspect of what ever topic I’m dealing with at the time.  In my Gotham “Writing Fiction,” one person wrote “Writing puts me into a world that has not been created yet.  Another person wrote, “It’s the only socially acceptable way to be a compulsive liar.”  Everyone has their own reason for writing what they do.

Knowing the craft of writing is the “building blocks of creative writing.”  It encompasses the development of your  characters, the plot, the dialogue, style and point of view.  So you can see how important it is to develop the knowledge of your craft (writing).
It’s hard for me to imagine my words may someday cause a person to say “wow,” when they’re read.  I want to learn the craft of writing and develop it to a point it will consistently receive those “wow” remarks.

That’s my two-cents for today.
http://youtu.be/R1TbTCDHKRY

What Is Fiction?

 

 

Fiction is a lie, an untruth, and for the writer it is a piece of writing using made up facts.  I love writing fiction because it lets me stretch my mind.  Use my imagination to make a world of love, joy, kindness, goodness, all of those Boy and  Girl Scout  ideals we learned so long ago.  I could also make a world so corrupt and dark, you’d cringe when you read the words.  It let’s the writer create whatever they want because it doesn’t have to be true.

As humans, why do we like stories?  They have been around as far back as man’s thinking abilities.  I can imagine a long ago ancestor, telling the family or a group of men how the hunt went that day.  I can see the proverbial “fish story” in the making.  It could have gone something like this; “You know what I saw today when I was hunting game, you’ll never believe it.  I sure didn’t when I first laid eyes on the creature.  You remember that huge rock  down by the lake?  It’s the one that won’t fit inside our cave.  The creature is bigger than the rock.  It is covered with brown hair and walks on two legs.  I could even see fangs hanging out its mouth.  I swear every word I’m telling you is true.”

We tell stories for entertainment, as well as to impart knowledge.  As humans we want to know about our existence, future and past.  The who, what, when, where and why of everything.  If we do not know for certain what the answers are then someone tends to create a story to fit the situation.

Fiction satisfies the need for entertainment.  We can use our imaginations and put ourselves in the world which has been created by the use of fiction.  The use of words and the imagination of us all is what’s needed for fiction.

Below is a video on Fiction Writing.  Enjoy

http://youtu.be/Nw7WGgPzvfM

"Daddy"

 

My life with my Dad is/was complicated. I love him, and I now know he loves me.  It’s not always been so. I was fifty years old the first time I heard daddy tell me he loved me.  It was if he had gone through his life not being able to get the words to come out of his mouth.  I think it is amazing how important those words are to a daughter.  I went through half of my life not knowing if daddy loved me or not.  Now, he is never the first to say it, but I always hear it, “love you too.”

 

My dad fought his demons.  The alcohol ruled his life from the time I was a child until I was almost fifty years old.  There were casualties from the fight.  For many years I was one of them.  As a small child my memories of my dad was his drinking, going fishing and watching the Friday night fights.  When I reached my teen years, I hated my father.  I couldn’t bring friends home with me, because I didn’t know if he would kiss them or cuss them.

 

He taught me how to manipulate him, so I could get what I wanted. I learned just the right time to ask for something.  He went through all the known stages of
drinking alcohol, from quiet to downright mean.  By the time he reached the mean stage I would try to disappear.  It didn’t always work because he would set me up for a fight.  It was strange, but that is how I learned to love books.  I could disappear into one of them.

 

There was so much verbal and physical abuse, around me. He and mom would get into an augment which intensified into a physical fight all too often.  I am surprised they let each other live to make it to sixty years of living together.

 

Through Gods grace I was able to forgive my dad.  I now see him as a kind loving father who now appreciates his family, and what he has.  I still remember the pain, but it doesn’t affect me like it did.

Daddy doesn’t remember the life we had or the pain he caused. He remembers the good things about his life and not the bad.  At his age it is alright, he doesn’t need to remember. He enjoys his daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

His world revolves around his family now, not the bottle.

The video I have posted below is called : Alcohol: Poison for body and mind. It is very interesting to listen to.  Please take the time to listen.  We can’t have enough education concerning alcoholism.

ttp://youtu.be/-rsBMyFqCl8

That’s my two-cents for the day.   http://youtu.be/-rsBMyFqCl8

I ran across this wonderful YouTube video about life as a pioneer, and it added further  to the respect I have for the courage of my forefathers in settling the land.

In the latest book I’m writing, ”The Dobyns Chronicles,” I follow one branch of my family starting in Virginia.  They migrate from Virginia in the 1700′s settling in Ohio and Indiana.  My Great-Great Grandfather then migrated with his family to Texas, living in the Sherman/Denison area on the Red River.

Everyone has stories of their family.  Have you ever stopped and thought
about how they managed to accomplish what they did.  It is mind-boggling when
you consider the obstacles they had to overcome in order to settle a new land. 
The hardships they must have endured day after day. The things we take for
granted today.

I was very fortunate having a mother who loved family history, and wanted to
talk about it.  I grew up listening to the stories about how life was lived when
her Grandfather was a boy, and living through the depression.  She taught my
sister and I how to survive.  I have her Grandmother’s lye soap recipe.  I truly
hope it never gets to a point I have to make my own soap, but I know how, if I
need it.  I can live without electricity and running water if I have to.  I know
how to plant a garden and preserve food.    This is where I am very grateful for
the life today.  I don’t have to do what was common place to the pioneering
families of yesteryear.

How many people today could make it across the miles
and miles of plains, not seeing a soul, or cross a mountain range?  I know I
couldn’t do it.  I use to live in Wyoming many years ago, and looked
at the wagon ruts cutting across the country.  The canyons, wagons would have to
be lowered into with ropes and then lifted up the other side.  The small
cemeteries, containing loved one’s that could go no further.  Between Rawlins and Casper, there is a
large granite rock.  The pioneers who traveled by this rock would chisel
their name and the year into the rock.  They wanted it known, they were
there.

Are They All This Way?

Since I began in the writing world last year, I have learned a great deal, but not enough.  When I published my book, "The Tower," I was as naive as I could be.  I went with Xlibris Publishing because they promised me the world (so to speak), if I let them publish my book.  Getting the world did not happen. 
Since I am now working on my second book "The Dobyns Chroncles," I have been looking around for another publisher to use.  I have contacted at least two and get the same answers to the questions I ask.  I always ask what kind of access do I have to find out the amount of books I have sold.  The answer, quarterly, that is when the reports come in from the outside sources, such as Amazon.com.  I also ask what type of help I get as an author who does not know everything I should about writing and publishing a book.  The answer: All the help you need.  We are here to assist you in any way we can.
My problem with those answers are this:  If I am spending my hard-earned money on marketing my book, how do I know the marketing is working, if I can only get information quarterly.  With Exlibris, I did not have access to the Amazon account because it's in Xlibris name. I asked Xliblis about access and the answer was, "I can understand your concern," and wasn't given any information about the account.  I can't accuse anyone of doing anything dishonest because i just don't know if I sold 10,000 books or ten.  Does every Independent Publisher do the same thing?
As far as the question about helping, I feel like I was taken down a rosy path with Exlibris.  I was supposed to receive help with the cover.  That didn't happen, I was asked to produce a picture for the cover.  That was my responsiblity.  I wanted someone to help me determine what type of cover I should have that would compliment the book, as well as create interest.  I also wanted a publisher who would tell me what I needed to do to improve my writing.  That didn't happen either.  I found out line editing (a term I didn't understand) was not enough.
I wrote a good mystery, but in hind sight it was not technically perfect.  I can write a good story, but getting all the I's dotted and the T's crossed is not my strong point.  Is there an Indie publisher who really helps their clients, or are they all after the money?  That's my two-cents for today.

Train Robbery (Micro Fiction)

This small piece of fiction was wrote for a contest where I could only use 100 words to tell my story.  I have also included an article by GW Thomas on how to write Flash Fiction.  I found it very helpful.

Train Robbery

Micro Fiction 100 words

 

The high-speed train was on time. Holly kept her purse draped across her body, making her feel secure traveling with all her money.  Usually time was taken to get travelers checks, but this trip she didn’t. She felt it was unlikely this train would be robbed, because of its rate of speed.

Holly looked at the ceiling of the car when she heard the thumps. She didn’t see the parachutes opening, and the precision landings on the top of the train.  A Loud noise and a burning smell come next.  Two men drop through, guns in hand. “Money please.”

Writing Flash Fiction By GW Thomas

With the advent of the Internet, editors are looking for shorter works, more easily read on a computer screen. The current term is “flash fiction”, a tale between 300-1000 words long. Longer than micro-fiction (10-300 words) but shorter than traditional short stories (3000-5000 words preferred by most magazines), flash fiction is usually a story of a single act, sometimes the culmination of several unwritten events.

 

This article will offer several strategies for writing flash fiction. Used by themselves or in combination, the writer can focus their story to that brief, interesting event.

 

1) The small idea
Look for the smaller ideas in larger ones. To discuss the complex interrelationship of parents and children you’d need a novel. Go for a smaller piece of that complex issue. How kids feel when they aren’t included in a conversation. What kids do when they are bored in the car. Middle child. Bad report card. Find a smaller topic and build on it.

 

.2) Bury the preamble in the opening

When you write your story, don’t take two pages to explain all the pre-story. Find a way to set it all in the first paragraph, then get on with the rest of the tale.3) Start in the middle of the action

Similar to #2, start the story in the middle of the action. A man is running. A bomb is about to go off. A monster is in the house. Don’t describe any more than you have to. The reader can fill in some of the blanks.

 

4) Focus on one powerful image
Find one powerful image to focus your story on. A war-torn street. An alien sunset. They say a picture worth a thousand words. Paint a picture with words. It doesn’t hurt to have something happen inside that picture. It is a story after all.

 

5) Make the reader guess until the end

A little mystery goes a long way. Your reader may have no idea what is going on for the majority of the story. This will lure them on to the end. When they finish, there should be a good pay off or solution.

 

6) Use allusive references
By using references to a commonly known story you can save yourself all those unnecessary words. Refer to historical events. Use famous situations from literature. If the story takes place on the Titanic you won’t have to explain what is going to happen, who is there or much of anything. History and James Cameron have already done it for you. Beware of using material that is too obscure. Your reader should be able to make the inferences.

 

7) Use a twist

Like #5, the twist ending allows the writer to pack some punch at the end of the story. Flash fiction is often twist-ending fiction because you don’t have enough time to build up sympathetic characters and show how a long, devastating plot has affected them. Like a good joke, flash fiction is often streamlined to the punch-line at the end.

Let’s look at these techniques in my story “Road  Test”. I wanted to write a story about taking my driving exam. I didn’t mention the pre-test or practicing. Just the test. (#1 THE SMALL IDEA) This narrows our subject down to a manageable scene.

 

I didn’t have room to describe the driving examiner in detail. I set my main character in two sentences.(#2 BURY THE PREAMBLE) “The man in the government-issued suit sat down without looking at the person across from him. We’ve established the main character and his chief flaws. (He’s mediocre and probably hates his job.)

 

I started in the middle of the action by having the driver very quickly go from good driving to dangerous driving. Johnson, the driving examiner realizes the driver is not human but goat-headed (#3 START IN THE MIDDLE). “He had changed. The beard was longer, the skin darker and two large curved horns crowned his skull.” This creates tension and has created an image: a man trapped in a speeding car with a monster (#4 A POWERFUL IMAGE). It pushes the reader on because they want to know what will happen next, maybe why is it happening? We won’t tell them until the end (#5 KEEP THEM GUESSING).

 

The monster keeps yelling the same word, “Pooka!” Johnson begins to understand. He knows the old fairy stories about the Pooka, about how they pretended to be horses so they could drown their victims. (#6 ALLUSION) Now is the time for resolution, our great twist ending that no one sees coming (#7 TWIST ENDING). As the monster crashes the car into a pond, Johnson realizes a modern-day Pooka wouldn’t look like a horse, but would use a car. The car crashes and we finish with: “They would die, only Johnson would live long enough to feel those large goatish
into jello. Windshield collapsed under tons of water, washing away the high, shrill laughter of the driver.”

 

“Road Test” clocks in at 634 words. It is essentially a man gets killed by a monster story, but the crux of the idea is “How would mythological creatures adapt to the modern world?” This is really the small idea. The allusions to the Pooka will work for some, but I gave enough explanation to help those that don’t know about the old stories.

 

This example story was chosen because it illustrated all 7 methods. Using only one in a flash story can be enough. Writing flash fiction is a great way for writers to  write everyday, even when larger projects seem to daunting or they are pressed for time. Using these short cuts can have you writing in minutes.

Not My Destiny (Flash Fiction)

This is a flash fiction piece I wrote a couple of days ago.  I believe it shows a woman in a bad relationship that is coming to terms with her strength.  Please let me know what you think.  That’s my two-cents for the day.

The heartless bastard abandoned me. Doesn’t he realize the cruel damage he caused my heart. I don’t regret loving him, but I won’t play second fiddle to anyone’s drinking.
I can’t stand to be around him when he is drinking.  He gets sickly sweet and then meaner than hell. I told him I was going to Angie’s for a while.  She always helped me cope with Don’s drinking. I was only gone two hours; he packed his clothes, and left.
The apartments empty, I have to sit down. God it smells in here. Rocking back and forth gives me a new perspective on my life. I haven’t lost my life, only my pride.  I may not have him, but that’s just fine. I know he’s not my destiny. I will keep looking until I find it. When I do, I will know I’ve arrived at my destiny.

Hard To Get, Or Is It?

Writing this particular blog happened, because I was listening to a video made by John Wooden, who I believe was a basketball coach at UCLA.  He made me start thinking about success in writing.  I do have to tell you I am not a sports fan at all.  Up until I watched this video, I had no idea who John Wooden was.  I have placed the video on the blog so you may listen to it also. (As you can see when you get to the end of this blog, it didn't work)
I liked his definition of success: “Having peace of mind after doing the best you can do.”  He also said a person must have faith and patience in whatever they do in order for it to be a success.  I can agree with that sentiment, but you also have to have the works to go with it.  As a writer, I can have the faith a patience that I am going to write a book.  Unless God steps in and creates a miracle (which I don’t see happening) and the book suddenly appears.  I am going to have to start working at it, to get the book written.
As far as success, that is something each one of us will have to determine for ourselves.  My girlfriend asked me last week, when would I consider my book to be successful?  I had a tough time answering that question.  I told her, I did not know because I hadn’t gotten there yet.  I think I will recognize it when it happens.  On the other hand, I was a success at writing my book, and at getting it published.  Do I think the book is a success? No, because it hasn’t sold a million copies, and yes, because I have received so many positive reviews on “The Tower”.   Maybe the question should be, when will you consider the book to be successful?  Am I really the judge of that answer, or is the reading public?
On eHow.com, I ran across ways to measure success and I want to share it with you.

Things You’ll Need:

• You are the Master of your own success
• You can measure success by failure being overpowered with something good
• You must measure by accomplishments and not failures

1.  Start by setting goals

2.  Understand your strengths and weaknesses
3.  Make preparation for the challenges of your success, and reassure yourself that you can be a success.
Tips & Warnings

• Be positive
• Be aggressive
• Be productive
• Be an achiever
• Be aware of those hindering blocks
• Be aware of the interests that pertain to you and your measure of success
• Be aware to avoid negative actions
• Be aware that time will bring on change

I would like to know what success means to you.  Since we have determine it for ourselves, there must be guidelines in your head on what you want.  I think it is a tough subject.  That’s my two-cents for today.

Mail Order Brides

I am reading a wonderful book call Hearts West by Chris Enss.  It is true stories of Mail Oder Brides on the Frontier.  It is facinating reading about how woman overcame their shyness, and became the women of the frontier.
Giving up everything they had known to venture to a place they've not been, in order to meet a man who is unknown to them.  They may have had a few words sent to them by letter, or it could have been as simple as a man came to town, posted an ad to single women to attend a meeting.  The meeting would then explain how the west needed woman to help settle it, and make it more genteel.  Not to mention the fact that men outnumbered woman by at least six to one.
These woman traveled by ship, by wagon train to get to thier destination.  Think of what kind of hardships they had to endure to get to "their man".  It is hard to think what they might have endured in the early to mid 1800's.
I am sure some of them stayed happily married while others were abused or abondoned.  Doesn't sound much different than today, does it?
Personal ads were used by woman to find a mate also.  The book shows an advertisment place by Dorothy Scaraggs, Marysville, Califorinia newspaper, April 1849.
                                                             A Husband Wanted
By a Lady who can wash, cook, scour, sew, milk, spin, weave, hoe, (can't plow), cut wood, make fires, feed the pigs, raise the chickens, rock the cradle,saw a plank, drive nailes, ect, (gold-rocker, I thank you sir),   These are few solid branches, now for the ornamental.  "Long time ago" she went as far as snytax, read Murray's Geography and through rules in Pike's Grammor.  Could find six states on the Atlas.  Could read, and you can see she can write, Can--no, could paint roses, butterfiles, ships, ect. great many things to numerous to be name bare.  Oh, I bear you aks, could she scold? No, she can't you, you ____  _____good-for nothing!
Now for her terms.  Her age is none of your business.  She is neither handsome nor a fright, yet an old man need not apply, nor any who have not a little more education than she has, and a great deal more guid, for there must be $20,000 settled on her before she will bind herself to perform all the above.
We still have mail order brides today.  Think about how many woman go on line and find compatable mates.  We haven't changed much in some areas over the past couple of hundred years.  I find it rather surprising.  As the saying goes, "What goes around, comes around".
Would you be a mail order spouse?  Let's discuss it.