I'm a big fan of words. I love them. Almost too much. I love to know how to use them, and I love learning their origins. If you're also a fan of words and language, then the video below should tickle you pink... or yellow (the color of smiley faces, of course)... Here's "The Three Little Pigs" in the style of Shakespeare, by John Branyan.
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I’ve never considered myself a particularly emotional person. My husband, who comforts me when the little fish dies at the beginning of Finding Nemo or when a nature show documents the lion eating that poor, sick little gazelle, might disagree. Still, I try to react from the basis of reason rather than emotion if at all possible. I really don’t like to cry around people, so I do everything within my power to avoid it.
Ah, yes. The evil pen at work again. Check out Savage Chickens (isn't that a great name?) to see more awesome cartoons. There's something magical and elusive about a wonderful first line. It's in those first few words that you draw a reader in or else inspire them to put the book down and get something to eat instead. The first line is the first impression, and it's true what they say; you don't get a second chance for a first impression.
I recently watched the movie Misery (1990) for the first time, and it worried me just a bit. I have a penchant for killing off characters. It’s not that I like to kill them off or really want to, but I find that death is a great device for moving a story forward. The death of a friend or loved one forces a character to show their true colors. It spurs them either to action or nothingness. It’s the ultimate test for a character, and it challenges them to pick up the pieces of a broken life and pull him or herself up by the proverbial bootstraps. I cry every time a character dies, but still, they die.
Misery, however, makes me stop and think. Today I'm working on rewriting a story I originally wrote for last year's NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, of course), and I'm reminded once again to KEEP IT SIMPLE. You see, the story is a mystery - a cozy to be more specific - and it's exciting for me, because it's my first real mystery. I've always loved reading a good mystery, but writing them never worked out. Why? Because I could never think of a good reason to knock somebody off.
Most people are very aware of the illness that plagues writers from time to time, namely, Writer’s Block. Merriam-Webster’s Medical Dictionary defines it as, “a psychological inhibition preventing a writer from proceeding with a piece of writing.” I’d like to offer up an alternate definition.
“A) An expletive, which writers classify as a four-letter-word. B) A malady of the soul which presents as an irritation of the “author bone” – the physiological anomaly exclusive to writers – and which stimulates the use of four-letter-words.” As prevalent as it is, the diagnosis of Writer’s Block is all-too-often a misdiagnosis of very different problem. PACS. Passive Aggressive Character Syndrome. |
AboutCalled "The Semi-Sane Writer", this blog used to have its own home. However, it felt lonely and decided to join the rest of the author's information on this site. The author took pity on the poor, lonely blog and very nicely relocated it. Categories
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