Hello Bookworms!
I haven't been blogging in a little while, so today I'm doing a very fun, very simple post. Basically, I'm writing 10 of my favorite words, and explaining why I love them. Simple, short, and it gets me back into the routine of blogging. Plus, who knows? Maybe they'll help expand your vocabulary!
#10: Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia
Despite what spellcheck says, this is a real word! It means fear of long words. I simply love saying it and wigging people out, but it's also ironic. People get scared because I can basically say it in one breath, but they generally end up laughing when I explain what it means. It's just something I like.
#9: Eclectic
This is a lot like eccentric, but eccentric implies a higher level of insanity. Eclectic simply means using a little of the best of everything. I think it's a beautiful word, and it describes my writing style beautifully.
#8: Abscond
DON'T ask me why I fell in love with this word, but I did. It means to run away with. I sometimes like to say that my muses have absconded with my sanity, and have been informed that only writers use words like that. Okay, so I know exactly why I fell in love with this word! It's one that I like. So...nothing else to say. Moving on.
#7: Catalyst
I have never seen this word used in normal writing, which really stinks. Science doesn't get to claim our words, people! So, according to the dictionary, a catalyst is someone or thing that precipitates an event or change. Basically, it makes things happen. In simpler terms, it's a plot device. But it makes me feel smart to say it. :)
#6: Asinine
Why do I love this word? To start off with Harry used it in The Flash. Wait, I need another reason to love it? Oh, all right. It's a great insult. There. You sound intelligent as you call someone an idiot. Perfect reason to love the word.
#5: Photosynthesis
Another sciency thing. Wait, sciency isn't a word either? Wow, spellcheck is picky! Alright. I love photosynthesis because it's a very fun word to say. Photosynthesis. It sounds like someone likes taking pictures of themselves, while in actuality it has something to do with sunlight and plants. If you are interested in learning more: check out a book on plant biology. I'm a writer, not a scientist.
#4: Psychosomatic
I PROMISE I'M NOT A SCIENTIST! I really love the words psychosomatic, firstly because it's used in BBC's Sherlock. (Yup. I'm a fangirl. Hello everyone!) Secondly, because it's a fascinating principle. Someone can hear of symptoms and their neurological pathways will tell them that they're experiencing those symptoms? That's amazing!
#3: Harmony
Why do I love the word harmony? Because it is a very peaceful, calming word. It seems so calm, so simple. So easy to spell! Also, it's a very musical and respectful word. You can almost imagine yourself in a Gothic cathedral listening to the music of the Reformation whenever you hear the word. Harmony. (Yes. I have issues. Feel free to talk to me about it in the comments!)
#2: Tariff
Basically it's a fancy word for taxes.(Not entirely, Tariff has to do with a specific tax, but close enough.) Still, it sounds a lot better to say you're going to go do your tariffs than your taxes. Perhaps it's just me, but I feel more like I'm in Sherwood when I use the word Tariff. It's nice!
#1: Pity
Alright, so this one isn't complicated or anything, but his is one that I really want people to understand! All the time, in books, TV shows, and movies, these really strong characters say: "I don't want your pity." And we're supposed to like them for it. I looked up the definition. Pity is another word for showing compassion. WHAT IS WRONG WITH PITY?! Refusing pity doesn't make you stronger, or braver. It makes you a jerk and an idiot. What's wrong with letting someone look at you and say: your life is hard, I'm sorry you have to go through what you're going through. That is what pity is. So, reason I love this word: it's misunderstood. Please, oh writers out there who read my blog: show someone accepting pity and it NOT BEING SEEN AS A PATHETIC THING!
So, those are 10 words I really like. Please leave a comment, they really help me know what you're thinking! I hope I'm back to blogging, but I really don't know.
Scribe ergo quae vidiste vivere!
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Writing Block Corner: the muse
Hello Bookworms!
Today I am doing another writing block corner. It seems that those are actually mildly helpful for people! Today I am talking about the ever present, ever invasive: muse. This is a term which has been used by several people, and I'm not sure who first coined it for writing, but it was a Grecian mythological creature. The teller of tales. The inspiration for writing. So, I have labeled the insane inspiration which comes to me and tells me to write: my muse. I have a different muse per each book. Sometimes the muse has the same name as the book. Sometimes it really doesn't. Anyway, on to my advice!
The muse is the foundation and the downfall of a writer. It will give you ideas, show you how things will happen, and be a great friend. It will also annoy you to death while you're trying to focus on anything else. As far as I can tell, the muse goes through several stages, in no particular order:
1: Awake.
This is the peaceful muse, who will give you story ideas when you ask for them, and will leave you alone for the most part otherwise. If this is the state your muse is in: you're new to writing. Don't get used to it, it won't last.
2: Comatose.
Your muse hasn't talked to you in a while. It hasn't given you anything to work with for a couple of months. Your muse is asleep, indefinitely. This muse is rather commonly misdiagnosed as writer's block. In my experience writer's block is when all of your muses go on strike, but I'll get to multiple muses later. The comatose muse will wake up when it wakes up. Leave it alone and go find another muse to talk to.
3: Sleepy.
Maybe your muse has just woken up. Or, maybe your muse has been awake for a while, and wants to go to sleep. It will give you an idea here or there, and for the most part will leave you alone, but it won't care when it talks to you. If you are trying to talk to it, it will be testy and make little shooing motions at you. If you are busy doing something else, it will collapse on you, and spout out some random piece of information, maybe two or three, then leave you alone. This muse is trying to decide whether or not to go get coffee, or go to sleep.
4: Caffeinated.
This muse is awake, it knows it, and now you know it. It will give you story ideas on Pinterest, while you're at your desk, while you're writing, while you're taking notes on something, while you're cooking. It will take a lot for this muse to leave you alone. The muse has found its coffee. It will probably make you write a whole chapter in one day, then maybe leave you alone for a week or two, maybe even a month or two if you're lucky.
5: Highly Caffeinated.
If the previous muse had coffee, this one just got about 10 shots of espresso. This muse will not leave you alone. This muse will refuse to let you sleep. This muse will keep you up at night, wake you in the morning, and pester you through the day. The caffeinated muse could write a chapter in one day. This muse will write two in one day, then come back and pester you to do the same thing tomorrow. You cannot work, you cannot sleep, you can barely eat without the muse yanking on your shoulders, pulling you back to the desk. This muse is impossible to deal with. Find something to act as a sleeping pill for the muse, and get it to shut up.
6: Napping.
This muse state usually goes along rather well with the caffeinated muse. After your muse has made you write about a chapter or two, it will decide that it needs time to think, and so will take a nap for a few days, maybe even a week or two. This is a nice break. While it is napping, you can catch up on all the normal life things you could have been doing while your muse decided to nag your ear off about writing.
7: Stubborn.
This muse is awake, it knows it, and it doesn't like you. Everything you see makes you think: Oh! This would go great in the story! And every time you go to write your muse turns its head, shakes it deliberately, and gives you the ultimate silent treatment. This muse is temperamental, and should change in a few days to a week or so.
8: Dead.
Yup. This muse is dead. It's gone, it won't be coming back. The story has died, and there's nothing you can do about it. This state usually occurs after you have found plot hole after plot hole, and the story no longer seems worth writing. The story hasn't been worked on for at least a year or two, and there's nothing there. You have no ideas. The characters have abandoned you, and you can't change it. Goodbye muse.
9: Ghost.
The dead muse has come back. It gave you a random story idea, and suddenly there's something there. But, like every ghost, it won't stay still long enough for you to see it. This muse will hover about your shoulders, whispering random ideas into your head, and waiting till it drives you mad. Mad enough to pick up the pen and start writing it again.
10. Zombie. (Contributed by Esther.)
This dead muse comes back in the form of letting its characters invade other stories. Sometimes, believe it or not, a zombie muse can be a good thing. Most of the time it just tries to take over the planet and makes a mess of a perfectly decent storyline. Beware of the zombie muse.
This is just my experience with muses. Do any of you other writers out there have different experiences with muses? What terms have you come up with to describe your inspiration? How have you coped? I've found that there are triggers for what makes my muses change temperaments, but I can't figure out what the triggers are. Anyway, please let me know if this helped!
Scribe ergo quae vidiste vivere!
Today I am doing another writing block corner. It seems that those are actually mildly helpful for people! Today I am talking about the ever present, ever invasive: muse. This is a term which has been used by several people, and I'm not sure who first coined it for writing, but it was a Grecian mythological creature. The teller of tales. The inspiration for writing. So, I have labeled the insane inspiration which comes to me and tells me to write: my muse. I have a different muse per each book. Sometimes the muse has the same name as the book. Sometimes it really doesn't. Anyway, on to my advice!
The muse is the foundation and the downfall of a writer. It will give you ideas, show you how things will happen, and be a great friend. It will also annoy you to death while you're trying to focus on anything else. As far as I can tell, the muse goes through several stages, in no particular order:
1: Awake.
This is the peaceful muse, who will give you story ideas when you ask for them, and will leave you alone for the most part otherwise. If this is the state your muse is in: you're new to writing. Don't get used to it, it won't last.
2: Comatose.
Your muse hasn't talked to you in a while. It hasn't given you anything to work with for a couple of months. Your muse is asleep, indefinitely. This muse is rather commonly misdiagnosed as writer's block. In my experience writer's block is when all of your muses go on strike, but I'll get to multiple muses later. The comatose muse will wake up when it wakes up. Leave it alone and go find another muse to talk to.
3: Sleepy.
Maybe your muse has just woken up. Or, maybe your muse has been awake for a while, and wants to go to sleep. It will give you an idea here or there, and for the most part will leave you alone, but it won't care when it talks to you. If you are trying to talk to it, it will be testy and make little shooing motions at you. If you are busy doing something else, it will collapse on you, and spout out some random piece of information, maybe two or three, then leave you alone. This muse is trying to decide whether or not to go get coffee, or go to sleep.
4: Caffeinated.
This muse is awake, it knows it, and now you know it. It will give you story ideas on Pinterest, while you're at your desk, while you're writing, while you're taking notes on something, while you're cooking. It will take a lot for this muse to leave you alone. The muse has found its coffee. It will probably make you write a whole chapter in one day, then maybe leave you alone for a week or two, maybe even a month or two if you're lucky.
5: Highly Caffeinated.
If the previous muse had coffee, this one just got about 10 shots of espresso. This muse will not leave you alone. This muse will refuse to let you sleep. This muse will keep you up at night, wake you in the morning, and pester you through the day. The caffeinated muse could write a chapter in one day. This muse will write two in one day, then come back and pester you to do the same thing tomorrow. You cannot work, you cannot sleep, you can barely eat without the muse yanking on your shoulders, pulling you back to the desk. This muse is impossible to deal with. Find something to act as a sleeping pill for the muse, and get it to shut up.
6: Napping.
This muse state usually goes along rather well with the caffeinated muse. After your muse has made you write about a chapter or two, it will decide that it needs time to think, and so will take a nap for a few days, maybe even a week or two. This is a nice break. While it is napping, you can catch up on all the normal life things you could have been doing while your muse decided to nag your ear off about writing.
7: Stubborn.
This muse is awake, it knows it, and it doesn't like you. Everything you see makes you think: Oh! This would go great in the story! And every time you go to write your muse turns its head, shakes it deliberately, and gives you the ultimate silent treatment. This muse is temperamental, and should change in a few days to a week or so.
8: Dead.
Yup. This muse is dead. It's gone, it won't be coming back. The story has died, and there's nothing you can do about it. This state usually occurs after you have found plot hole after plot hole, and the story no longer seems worth writing. The story hasn't been worked on for at least a year or two, and there's nothing there. You have no ideas. The characters have abandoned you, and you can't change it. Goodbye muse.
9: Ghost.
The dead muse has come back. It gave you a random story idea, and suddenly there's something there. But, like every ghost, it won't stay still long enough for you to see it. This muse will hover about your shoulders, whispering random ideas into your head, and waiting till it drives you mad. Mad enough to pick up the pen and start writing it again.
10. Zombie. (Contributed by Esther.)
This dead muse comes back in the form of letting its characters invade other stories. Sometimes, believe it or not, a zombie muse can be a good thing. Most of the time it just tries to take over the planet and makes a mess of a perfectly decent storyline. Beware of the zombie muse.
This is just my experience with muses. Do any of you other writers out there have different experiences with muses? What terms have you come up with to describe your inspiration? How have you coped? I've found that there are triggers for what makes my muses change temperaments, but I can't figure out what the triggers are. Anyway, please let me know if this helped!
Scribe ergo quae vidiste vivere!
Friday, April 22, 2016
Shady Friday #21
Hello Bookworms!
Two posts in one week? Shall I jinx myself by saying: I'm getting back to blogging? Yup. Jinxed myself. Oh well, I'll still try to keep up with the blog!
Today's Shady Friday is from Mildly Normal Insanity. (If any of you can think of a better title, I'm all ears!) So, my book woke up big time. It has several P.O.V.s, (Point of Views, as a friend of mine pointed out that she didn't know what I was talking about when I said that!) and Athena, due to the nature of her insanity, now sees the world in 3rd person. However, Eros, (who has a VERY important role in the book) is now speaking in 2nd person. Or at least his P.O.V. is in 2nd person. I'm still working on him. He's crazy. Anyway, back to the story at hand. A lot is going on, and I can't explain much, but here's a scene. This particular scene is told from the perspective of Hades. (Hades is a good guy in this. Yes, that's spoilers, but in the original mythos he was a perfectly normal person. Well, perfectly normal god.)
I don't think you need to understand too much about the plot other than the fact that Aph. is short for Aphrodite, Ode is short for Odysseus, and Poison is short for Poseidon. Have fun reading!
~
Aph. had some difficulties talking about the zombies after that. I can’t really blame her, they looked so human. It was like looking at the last twinges of an animal our cats brought in at the farm. It was clearly gone beyond all help, but it still looked so pitiful. You wanted to reach out and help it, it looked so damaged. But trying to help wouldn’t do any good, and if the thing had rabies, or in this case a dangerous neural anti-agent, you could get seriously hurt. Then again, with the topic they had changed to, getting hurt was likely to happen anyway.
Two posts in one week? Shall I jinx myself by saying: I'm getting back to blogging? Yup. Jinxed myself. Oh well, I'll still try to keep up with the blog!
Today's Shady Friday is from Mildly Normal Insanity. (If any of you can think of a better title, I'm all ears!) So, my book woke up big time. It has several P.O.V.s, (Point of Views, as a friend of mine pointed out that she didn't know what I was talking about when I said that!) and Athena, due to the nature of her insanity, now sees the world in 3rd person. However, Eros, (who has a VERY important role in the book) is now speaking in 2nd person. Or at least his P.O.V. is in 2nd person. I'm still working on him. He's crazy. Anyway, back to the story at hand. A lot is going on, and I can't explain much, but here's a scene. This particular scene is told from the perspective of Hades. (Hades is a good guy in this. Yes, that's spoilers, but in the original mythos he was a perfectly normal person. Well, perfectly normal god.)
I don't think you need to understand too much about the plot other than the fact that Aph. is short for Aphrodite, Ode is short for Odysseus, and Poison is short for Poseidon. Have fun reading!
~
Aph. had some difficulties talking about the zombies after that. I can’t really blame her, they looked so human. It was like looking at the last twinges of an animal our cats brought in at the farm. It was clearly gone beyond all help, but it still looked so pitiful. You wanted to reach out and help it, it looked so damaged. But trying to help wouldn’t do any good, and if the thing had rabies, or in this case a dangerous neural anti-agent, you could get seriously hurt. Then again, with the topic they had changed to, getting hurt was likely to happen anyway.
“What about you, Ode? Did you have any family?” I
shuddered, not wanting to remember mine. Not remember my parents, my brothers,
my sister.
“I had a girl back home, actually.” Ode replied,
leaning back. A part of me was curious, and another part realized what a
dangerous path this was. Talking about what could never be again, that was
tricky ground to cover. “She was something else.” Ode smiled as he thought of
her. I wondered what she looked like. Where was she from? Was she an American,
or was she from oversees? Had she had a simple job before this, like waitress
or secretary? Or was she something exciting? Had she served with him in the
military? Had she been a secret agent?
“What happened to her?” I asked, despite myself.
Ode just smiled. “I don’t know. And for that I’m glad.
She was developing early onset Alzheimer’s when I left for my last tour. Then
this happened. I can only hope that she made it out alive, but that’s better
than knowing otherwise. I’ll never know, and right now I think it’s better to
believe a good lie than know a tragic truth. It won’t make a difference one way
or the other.”
“Alzheimer’s? How old are you?” Asked Poison.
Ode laughed. “56, why? How old do I look to you?”
I gaped. “You’ve given over half your life to the
military?!”
Ode smiled at me. “I’ll take that as a compliment. Yup.
Joined up in ’83. Got my degree while serving. Met her there too. Penelope was
her name, but we just called her Nelly. I fell in love the day I met her.” He
sat forward. “’course it took longer for her to feel the same way ‘bout me. But
once she did, well…” His smile grew fond, and I could tell the rest of the
conversation was carrying on in his head. I still couldn’t shake it. All the
way out here, there were still people who held to their convictions. Their
morality. Their love. Maybe, if Ode could find a way to make it, then so could
we.
~
So? Thoughts? Some of my characters are still sorting themselves out, and some I know where they're going. I'm trying to not include too much that will probably get changed, but this is a brief example of what I've got at the moment. I have a few more posts in my head to get out, so I'll be working on those!
Scribe ergo quae vidiste vivere!
Thursday, April 21, 2016
Writing Block Corner: Villains
Hello Bookworms!
So, a friend of mine actually requested that I do another writing block corner, so here I am! Today I'm covering a little something I've learned about villains. This isn't applicable to everything, but it's something to keep in mind while writing whoever ends up being the antagonist of your story.
There's a saying: a hero is only as good as his villain is evil. I think I can expound upon that. Well-written antagonists tend to be almost a flipped-coin version of the protagonist. They have gone through similar experiences to that of the protagonist, or they have similar goals, or they care about people the same way. They have to relate to each other in such a way that makes you realize that the hero could very easily become the villain. If the hero had taken a different path, or if different people had been in his life, then he would have been just like the villain. Possibly worse. That's what makes it an interesting story: seeing the dynamic of what could have been, and what prevented it. Seeing how thin of a line there actually is between hero and villain. What makes an amazingly sympathetic villain however, is seeing that in the same circumstances, we ourselves as the audience could be just like the villain. But there's a fine line between making the circumstances understandable, and excusing them. Horrible actions are still horrible, you just have to know where the blame actually lies, and make sure the characters reflect that. Finally, some of your villains might be totally not understandable at all. There are some great, crazy villains who don't have any sympathy whatsoever. (Examples: Moriarty. Need I say more?) If you know what you're going for in a villain, great. Have fun writing your first draft. If you don't though, try looking at your hero. Find what makes him or her the hero. What if they didn't have that? What if they were almost exactly the same, but they didn't have that one thing? What would be different? Would they become something terrifying? Show the audience. And show yourself.
Ok, so was this helpful? Please let me know! And if you have any requests, please let me know! I actually have a few ideas, so we'll see how this goes!
Scribe ergo quae vidiste vivere!
So, a friend of mine actually requested that I do another writing block corner, so here I am! Today I'm covering a little something I've learned about villains. This isn't applicable to everything, but it's something to keep in mind while writing whoever ends up being the antagonist of your story.
There's a saying: a hero is only as good as his villain is evil. I think I can expound upon that. Well-written antagonists tend to be almost a flipped-coin version of the protagonist. They have gone through similar experiences to that of the protagonist, or they have similar goals, or they care about people the same way. They have to relate to each other in such a way that makes you realize that the hero could very easily become the villain. If the hero had taken a different path, or if different people had been in his life, then he would have been just like the villain. Possibly worse. That's what makes it an interesting story: seeing the dynamic of what could have been, and what prevented it. Seeing how thin of a line there actually is between hero and villain. What makes an amazingly sympathetic villain however, is seeing that in the same circumstances, we ourselves as the audience could be just like the villain. But there's a fine line between making the circumstances understandable, and excusing them. Horrible actions are still horrible, you just have to know where the blame actually lies, and make sure the characters reflect that. Finally, some of your villains might be totally not understandable at all. There are some great, crazy villains who don't have any sympathy whatsoever. (Examples: Moriarty. Need I say more?) If you know what you're going for in a villain, great. Have fun writing your first draft. If you don't though, try looking at your hero. Find what makes him or her the hero. What if they didn't have that? What if they were almost exactly the same, but they didn't have that one thing? What would be different? Would they become something terrifying? Show the audience. And show yourself.
Ok, so was this helpful? Please let me know! And if you have any requests, please let me know! I actually have a few ideas, so we'll see how this goes!
Scribe ergo quae vidiste vivere!
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