Friday, May 3rd, 2013 I’m reading a book by a new-to-me author and I’m really enjoying it, despite my reluctance to start. It was one of these world-traveling books where the modern-day protagonist finds a magic item at a yard sale and is whisked to another world. Quite the trope set up.
But I read a blog post by the author (on something completely unrelated) and her voice caught my fancy.
The intriguing twist in the book is that when our lovely world-traveling protag ends up in her other world, she can tell the future of anyone she touches.
So, of course, my mind is on fortune-telling. Fortunes make wonderful leaping off points for story or scene starters. I imagine they’re great for jogging your memory if you’re writing your memoir.
With that in mind, your prompt today is set of “fortune-teller like” predictions.
Here’s Your Prompt
- “…it came to pass that…”
- You are in the woods. You must prepare a sacrifice.
- The architect of your destiny is…
- You are walking the city streets, randomly turning corners, when an animal approaches you and tells you something…
- You’re on a journey, between heaven and earth, approaching the sacred site. And the sacred site looks like a shiny diamond, protected by the worst of hell’s fatal traps…
- Down into the deepest depths you look…and see what?
- You have the opportunity to visit a seer. What is the one question you’re allowed to ask? What’s the answer?
- Stones by the road tell the future of what’s to come.
- You receive an invitation from a casual acquaintance, and find yourself at a party attended by hundreds in a large, elegant mansion in the ritzy part of a town. An hour after you arrive you receive another invitation — delivered by one of the caterer’s staff — to meet the Lady of All Wild Things on the balcony, overlooking the pool…
- A stranger approaches you in a grocery story and hands you something, saying, “Wear this for protection.”
If you don’t like my suggestions, try the on line Fortune Cookie. You can reload the page to find new suggestions.
Good Luck!
Friday, April 26th, 2013  I had lunch with a writer friend yesterday, and as usual, we talked shop.
I finally asked him if he wouldn’t mind looking over a short story I’m writing, because I seem to have written myself into a corner. It’s science fiction, which I love reading, but never seem to get around to writing.
Absolutely he said yes, but then he offered a nugget of advice while plotting: write the last line first.
His method is to write the last line, ask himself how the characters got to that point, then ask how they got to the point preceding that, and so on.
Brilliant!
I’ve never suffered from “writer’s block” because (as I tell anyone who asks) I always “know where I’m going” when I’m writing. How can you be blocked if you know what’s coming next?
Starting from the end is the nth-most point of this. Now, why didn’t I think of that?
(Thanks, Carl!)
Here’s Your Prompt:
- Write a poem, a short story, a scene or vignette by writing the last line first. Think: how will this end? And start from there.
- Think of two story/scene/poem endings, then think of how they each begin. Switch the beginnings of each idea and then write one of these ‘twisted’ stories.
- If you’re having trouble thinking of endings, here are a few ideas you can steal (re-write them once you get to the end!):
- Like thee, may New Switzerland flourish and prosper–good happy and free! – Johann Wyss, Thw Swiss Family Robinson
- “Now, that’s something like! Why, it’s a million times better than pirating. I’ll stick to the widder till I rot, Tom: and if I git to be a reg’lar ripper of a robber, and everybody talking ’bout it, I reckon she’ll be proud she snaked me in out of the wet.” ~ Samuel Clemens, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
- Then he closed his eyes and humbly surrendered his vanquished throat to the comfort of the blade. Miguel Torga – The Bull, from Farrusco: The Blackbird and Other Stories
- I reckon I got to light out for the territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can’t stand it. I been there before. ~ Samuel Clemens, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
- In this vessel, after a long voyage, I arrived in England, June 11, in the year 1687, having been 35 years absent. ~ Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe
Good luck!
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Photo by | Dreamstime Photos
Monday, April 22nd, 2013  I like my champagne with sparkles, and my vampires without. So, I was thrilled to find A. R. Hill’s A Light Against the Darkness. In a sea of sparkling wannabes, her vampires are dark and brutal and every bit as exciting as vampires should be.
Oni is a Japanese vampire. He’s barbarous and savage and equal parts evil and insecure. He kidnaps a young girl, Samara Takeshi – who he renames Oreno – and turns her into his bride. He forces her love and keeps her locked away in his home. He takes her freedom, her childhood, and her life…
Slowly, Samara realizes that Oni has turned her into a vampire. When the horror of it finally dawns, she feels compelled to get away from him and forge her own destiny. But it’s not until Oni kills her parents that she gains the strength to flee.
After some adventure, Oreno stows on board a ship bound for the United States, makes her way to Hawii and eventually the mainland, where she finds others like herself. They take her in, teach her the ways, and embroil her in politics that only vampire societies can create. She is judged and sentenced by the council yet takes it in stride, earning her place, learning their ways, and makes a “life” for herself.
And then Oni comes calling again.
Samara is just a school girl when she’s faced with the tremendous loss of her humanity and the realization of the horror she’s become. It’s watching and learning how she handles the crisis – choosing to be more than just a monster – despite the knowledge of the long road before her which makes A Light Against the Darkness such a good read. We see the path from her point of view and feel her struggles. We’re with her every step of the way.
But don’t let Oreno’s school-girl history fool you into thinking the book is light on action. Hill keeps the pages turning with: escalating politics, sword fights, gun battles, explosions! There’s just enough blood and gore to satisfy.
Never a dull moment, A Light Against the Darkness is chock-full of intrigue and action. If you like your vampires dark and gritty, this is a must read for you.
Meet the Author – Buy the Book
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Amazon: Paperback: A Light Against the Darkness
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Friday, April 19th, 2013 I finished reading three stories this week in which the main character died. I didn’t plan it, it just happened.
In case you’re interested, the characters are:
- Lily Bart in Edith Wharton’s House of Mirth. She accidentally committed suicide by overdosing on a “sleeping aid,” conveniently tying up the unraveling strands of her life.
- Delilah in Jennifer Roberson’s Sword Singer. Tragic and abrupt, it probably couldn’t have been handled in any other way. (Spoiler Alert: Okay, she really doesn’t die. But Roberson leaves you hanging like she does: The sword fight ends with Tiger lamenting that Del paid a very high price…and the final chapter sees him in the graveyard riding off alone. Well, what are you supposed to think?)
- Benjamin Button in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. (I’m interpreting this as death, but Button’s unmaking could probably be described better in scientific terms. Maybe he was simply un-born.)
Frankly, I call bullshit on principal characters who die.
(Especially when the story is first person, and the person telling it dies. But that’s a topic for another day…)
That being said, there are a lot of reasons to kill off main characters: they deserve it, they’ve lost their usefulness as a story tool, or – the best reason, in my opinion– to yank the reader’s chain. There’s nothing better than building up an awesome character and cutting short his life. It just tugs at the heartstrings of readers.
(Hello Ms. Roberson? Brava!)
Still, a character shouldn’t be killed off without good reason. And when there’s not a good reason, I call bullshit.
Benjamin and Delilah’s ‘death’ are well-justified, but I feel Wharton took the easy way out by killing off Lily. It’s convenient for her, because the story was really dragging on, and double convenient for Lily who had been cut off socially by friends and faced a woeful future of penury.
(I couldn’t wait to finish the book. If poor Lily would have defended her social position – she had the means – and discarded a bit of her pride, she would have fared much better. I don’t mind when a character makes stupid mistakes, but I can’t stand it when they make them over and over and over again. Makes me spitting mad.)
Here’s Your Prompt
Good luck!
Friday, April 12th, 2013  I’m looking to purchase another robot floor cleaner.
I’ve had both the iRobot Roomba and iRobot Scooba robots: one to vacuum and one to wash the tile floors.  
I loved them both…
..to death, you might say. As both have been used long past their usefulness. It’s time for a new pair.
(I’m doing research, since there are a few more manufacturers on the market since I bought my first, but I’m still leaning toward the iRobot brand at this point.)
But as much as I love them, I want something more. Something like…
…Rosie the Robot, from the old cartoon series, The Jetsons.
She dusted, she did the dishes, she ironed. And she talked back. If you’re going to have robot help, you might as well have something which also speaks its mind. It could come in useful:
Me: What do you think of Chapter 3, Rosie?
Rosie: Where’s the drama? It just drones on and on without passion. Too many adverbs. Not enough dialogue.
You get the idea.
I could think of another million uses, too. Like: making sure there aren’t any stinkbugs in the house, pulling the weeds in the front garden, and watering all the plants. Oh, yeah, and making dinner. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve burned dinner while diddling over a scene.
While she’s at it, she could pay the bills, balance the checkbook, and make sure everything is filed away nice and neat… because those piles of paper tend to linger around here until they’re a fire danger.
So…
Here’s Your Prompt
- What job in your life would you like to see replaced by robot — or appliance — help? How would it change the way you do things?
- Write a story about this fascinating new robot (or appliance). What negative aspects could cause significant drama?
Good luck!
Friday, April 5th, 2013
I got inspired by doors today.
Doors are like choices, or decisions. Prompts for action: should you open it or leave it shut? Should you step through, or remain on this side?
And there are so many doors, and an equal (if not double!) amount of choices.
What’s more, the sight of a door leaves one with the impression of what might be behind it. A set of French doors with sheer white curtains might inspire a light and airy dining area. A solid wooden door on the face of a Boston brownstone might convey upper-crust society. A green door, surrounded by ivy and flowering potted plants might imply adventure.
But the frightening aspect is that the appearance could be illusion. A giant troll could live behind the fairy door. An impoverished family — self-imploding on the fracturing nature of drug addition or alcohol abuse — might live behind the brownstone door. The French doors might conceal the dark recess of a sociopath’s hideaway.
Here’s Your Prompt:
- As you drive, or walk, down the street today, take notice of doors. Choose one which inspires you and write the story of what lies behind it.
- If you’re writing a story or a novel, make a list of all the figurative doors (choices) which your character might have to walk through. Make the list long and detailed. Choose the most horrific option for your character, and write how he or she resolves the situation. Don’t just write about the scene, show the scene: let us know how the character is feeling — and thinking — about the decision. Was it the right decision to make, despite the horror of it?
- If you journal, or write memoir (or even family history) write a story about when you — or someone else — literally stepped through a door. Were your expectations met or not? Were you surprised by the situation you found behind the door? How did you feel about what happened?
- If you write poetry — make a list of doors. Describe them: their color, their surroundings, their ornamentation. Decide what lies behind each door. Write a poem about the most interesting one, or, write a poem about all of them.
Good luck!
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Photo © Colleen Coombe | Dreamstime Stock Photos
Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013 David Fryxell’s book, Write Faster, Write Better, has been on my shelf for a long time. I’d started it several times over and just couldn’t seem to make it through. I finally pushed myself to get through it (it was really tough)…and now I can get rid of the book. Definitely not a keeper for me.
I might have rated this book higher, if I didn’t feel the premise were so misleading. The intro and first few chapters or so make you think Fryxell is talking about how to write novels faster and better: but he really doesn’t.
The meat of this book — and the solid advice — is geared toward making you write NON-fiction faster and better. And there’s some good information there. Fryxell makes his living writing non-fiction about writing, so I’m not surprised that there’s good information here for non-fiction, and some so-so information about fiction.
There’s a good deal of time spent on organization — and time management — being the key to getting more done. I don’t doubt he’s right, but once again I felt misled. This book was supposed to be about writing better and faster, not about getting organized or finding out what 15 minute increments of my day are sucking time out of my writing.
If you’re a disorganized writer (or maybe a semi-organized writer) — and I mean this mostly in the physical sense of your surroundings… Or, if you’re lacking the time to get your writing done, you’ll benefit from this book.
If you’re intent on a non-fiction — even freelance — career in writing, you’ll find some gems here, too.
If you write chiefly fiction, there are better books to turn to.
Friday, March 29th, 2013 It’s been a while since we’ve done a prompt dedicated completely to poetry, so I thought we’d start there this morning.
Writing poetry the tanka way dates back nearly 1,200 years. The subject matter usually deals with nature and the seasons, or very strong emotions. It’s highly structured.
I like all kinds of poetry, but the structured kind holds a certain appeal to me because it’s often like fitting a puzzle together — and I really like puzzles. The “pieces” are the rules of the poem, usually a syllable count, but sometimes there can be others.
For example, the tanka is much like a haiku (I’ve a prompt about haiku, too) in that it requires a certain number of syllables and lines. But to be true to itself, the tanka must also use a simile, a metaphor and a personification.
Some definitions*:
| simile: |
a figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced by like or as (as in cheeks like roses) |
| metaphor: |
a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them (as in drowning in money) |
| personification: |
attribution of personal qualities; especially : representation of a thing or abstraction as a person or by the human form |
Merriam-Webster didn’t provide an example of personification, so here’s one from Toni Morrison in her book Love: A Novel:
“Pimento eyes bulged in their olive sockets. Lying on a ring of onion, a tomato slice exposed its seedy smile . . ..”
The other rules of the tanka are:
- It must contain five lines
- The first line contains 5 syllables.
- The second line contains 7 syllables.
- The third line contains 5 syllables.
- The fouth line contains 7 syllables.
- The fifth and final line contains 7 syllables.
Here’s my first try:
Waves crash like boulders…
“All hands on deck,” Captain cried.
“We’re lost,” the mate sobbed.
Fierce wind shears the mast in twain–
We are stone, sinking to death
It needs work, but it’s a start.
Here’s Your Prompt:
Write a tanka!
Suggestions: Think of your idea first and write the simile, metaphor and personifications without worrying about the syllable count. Once you’ve laid this groundwork, massage your passages to fit the structure. This could mean swapping out words or even adjusting the lines in the poem to fit the pieces.
Good Luck!
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* All definitions are from Merriam-Webster on line dictionary.
Tuesday, March 26th, 2013  If you’re interested in reading my latest story, “Lucky Clover,” in the new anthology, Deep Cuts: Mayhem, Menace, & Misery, you might want to grab it today or tomorrow at Amazon.
The publishers are offering it FREE for the next two days (March 26 and 27) – so get it now.
Deep Cuts also includes stories by Nancy Holder (of Buffy fame, and a five-time Bram Stoker Award™ winner), Mehitobel Wilson (nominated for a Bram Stoker Award™ and awarded Honorable Mention in the Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror Anthology five years in a row!) and Yvonne Navarro (also a winner of the Bram Stoker Award™).
Here’s the link: Deep Cuts Anthology at Amazon.com.
You don’t need to own a kindle to read the book, as Amazon has a free viewer you can use on your computer.
Please spread the word!
(And if you do read the antho, please leave a review somewhere. Reviews are golden!)
Friday, March 22nd, 2013  It’s that time of year: I’m getting bombarded by realtor mail.
It seems like that once the crocuses start to pop up in this neck of the woods, the realtors are out like vultures, looking for new prospects. I’m not in the market for a new house. I’m not interested in selling my current one.
Dear Realtors: please leave me alone.
Nonetheless, the topic is interesting for a writing prompt.
True Story: In the spring, when I was about two, my parents moved into a new house. Only a few days after the moving truck departed and they were busy with ripping up carpet and applying fresh paint to all the rooms, a knock sounded at the front door. My Mom opened it to find a young man, fresh on leave from the army. He’d come home to see his parents, but his key wouldn’t work in the door.
Imagine his surprise to learn that his parents had moved out, leaving him no forwarding address! (I’ve always wondered what happened to this young man.)
Here’s Your Prompt:
- Write about the serviceman who comes home for a visit, but finds his family packed up and moved away.
- Imagine this: a man is selling his house. He’s approached by an old woman soon after he puts it on the market. She doesn’t want to buy the house. She explains that she’s a former owner of the home tells him about something really horrific that happened there once. Write that story.
- Page through the real estate section of your local newspaper (or find one on line for some place abroad). Choose a home, castle, houseboat, etc. that catches your eye. Write a story about it.
- If you want to write poetry, write a poem about the feelings the image evokes.
- If you journal or are writing your memoirs, write a story about a place where you’ve lived. Take care in providing rich detail (without resorting to purple prose!) and how you feel about the place. Was it good or bad? Do you have happy memories or sad? Involve all five senses when telling the story
Good luck!
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Image © John Hix | Dreamstime Stock Photos
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