Is marijuana harmless?

A few weeks ago a young man in Miami, Florida was shot and killed by police after he chewed off the face of a homeless man. Only in Florida, right? Anyway, the story made international news. It was first rumored that the man might have used bath salts to get high. Bath salts? However, when doctors examined the dead man’s system for drugs, all they found was marijuana. This has prompted researchers to want to conduct more research into the effects of marijuana. For those of you who think marijuana is just a herb that has gotten a bad rap, think again. Marijuana (which comes from the cannabis plant) is a hallucinogen. Got it? A stuff that makes you hallucinate. If I ever get an update on the research I’ll pass it along.

Fifty shades of gray

By now you have heard of it. Everyone has heard of it, but just to make sure, a London hotel recently removed the Bible from its rooms and replaced it with that book. A publicity stunt, some said. Maybe, but I haven’t seen their occupancy rate.

Legitimate rape?

As a writer I’m always looking for ideas for my next breakout novel. This week I think I may have stumbled on one. Picture this scenario: Young woman walking through dark alley hears footsteps behind her. She stops and so do the footsteps. She starts again and the footsteps sound once more. Scared, she begins to run. Footsteps pound closer and before long, the young woman’s neck is held in a vise-like grip and something pointed sticks her between the shoulder blades. A bone-chilling voice says, “What kind of rape do you prefer? Legitimate or ill-legitimate?”

A few months later a judge faces the rapist. “You have been found not guilty because you raped the woman legitimately.” The rapist pumps his attorney’s hand and scuttles out of the courtroom to find his next legitimate victim. In other courtrooms similar scenes are played out. A judge pounds his gavel. “The defendant is found not guilty of legitimate theft.” “This was a legitimate murder. Case dismissed.” And somewhere in Missouri a senator sits sobbing over his tea: “it’s not the words … but the heart that I hold.”

I have to hurry and write this thing before John Grisham does. It could be the next Oscar-award movie.

More laughs

Phyllis Diller died yesterday at the age of 95. She was one of the earliest successful female comedians and, get this, an ad copywriter. She attributed her long life to laughter. Here are a few of her popular lines:

You know you’re getting old when –

Your rocker comes with an airbag
Your birth certificate is written on a scroll
Someone compliments you on your alligator shoes and you are barefooted.

We live in an age where new words keep popping up faster than microwave popped corn. A lot of this has to do with the internet. Words such as blog, webinar, branding, social media were either not known, little used or meant something entirely different before the turn of the century. Now I’ve come across another one: blovel. This means a blog that has been turned into a novel or vice versa, I’m not sure which. However, some people think that writing a blovel can help an author build a platform, leading to a book deal with a major publisher. After all, that’s the reason many of us write, isn’t it?

One advocate of book blogging says it’s very easy to turn your blog into a book. Simply write a short blog post every day starting from the beginning of your book and at the end of a year you should have a book, er, blook. I’m sure you can figure what that is. While she admits that blogging your book lends itself best to non-fiction, she thinks it is also possible to turn out a good blovel. She advises that you
a) plan your story arc well,
b) divide your chapter into mini-scenes,
c)decide how you will weave your posts into a manuscript that flows.

These all sound plausible, however Jane Friedman, professor, media professional and former publisher of Writer’s Digest pleads, “Please don’t blog your book.” While Jane agrees that some blogs may make for excellent books, these are the ones that fall in the information category or are memoirs, like Julia and Julia. Jane’s reasons for not blogging your book are also straightforward and plausible. They are:
a) Blog writing is not like book writing. Think SEO, keyword etc.
b) Blogs can make for very bad books – unless it’s an e-book or an illustrated book.
c)If a book sounds like a series of blog posts, she considers it a failure.

In some of the forums I visited on the subject, one author brought up the very important of original work. Publishers tend to shy away from anything that’s considered already published, and if it appeared on your blog then it qualifies as published work. Another person said he has been blogging scenes from his book, but he has yet to acquire a readership.

I’ll continue this discussion in another post. Meanwhile, drop me a line and let me know if you think blogging your book is a good idea, or if you have done it what kind of results have you had.

Well, we are down to the second-to-last letter. I never thought I would be able to get this far. It just shows what a little challenge plus determination can accomplish. I can’t wait to see what my fellow bloggers have come up with for the letter Y. For this post I decided to feature the blog of my friend and critique partner, Yvonne Anderson. Yvonne’s blog is called Ys Words, and as you will see from the entry below, she does give some Ys words on writing in particular and on life in general. Yvonne is the author of Story In The Stars, the first in a series of speculative fiction about life on the planet Gannah. In this entry, Yvonne’s main characters, Dassa – protagonist – and Pik, Dassa’s husband argue about who should be the protagonist. Let’s listen in:

Author: All right, then, ladies first. Dassa, why do you believe the term protagonist applies to you?

Dassa: Since the book opens with a scene in my point of view, it stands to reason that my character is the one upon whom the whole book hinges. Isn’t that some sort of a writing rule? That the protagonist is introduced first?

Author: I don’t know if it’s a rule, but—

Pik: There is no such rule. I’ve checked with a number of industry professionals, and they tell me—

Dassa: Industry professionals? Name one. Probably a guy who drives a forklift in the Book Bargains warehouse. No—more likely, some agent’s dermatologist.

Pik: Not true! I—

Author: We needn’t name names and draw innocents into this. But I’ve raised this question at conferences and such, and from what I’ve been told, there is no hard-and-fast rule. Generally speaking, the reader meets the protagonist first, but there are legitimate exceptions. So I’ll give a point to Dassa for this while conceding that her argument isn’t definitive. And now, let’s move on. Dr. Pik, why do you think you’re really the protagonist?

Pik: First, and most obviously, readers love me best. You said yourself, when you were submitting your chapters to critiquers for feedback, everyone commented on how much they loved my character. And if you hadn’t submitted anything for a while, it was me they asked about. “What’s Pik doing these days?” No one inquired about Dassa.

Author: Well, that’s true, but—

Pik: But more objectively, I think everyone here will agree that my character is the one that shows the most growth. Don’t several reviewers comment on the impressive character development in this book? Which character are they’re talking about? Certainly not Dassa, who remains a cold fish throughout the entire story. My character gives the story its depth and adds a lively humor. It’s my words in the last line that put a smile on the reader’s face as she closes the book with satisfaction. Dassa is merely the straight man, so to speak, around which my character revolves.

Author: “Cold fish” hardly describes Dassa. It’s true that she never gets carried away by her emotions, but she does clearly feel them. And her role is far more vital than that of a mere straight man. Nevertheless, you raise a good point about the character development. Your character shows amazing growth between his introduction in chapter 2 and that last line of the book that you mention.

So what do you have to say about this, Dassa? Pik seems to have scored two points to your one so far. Can you offer another reason why you should keep your protagonist status?

Dassa: Absolutely. It’s true that the doctor shows the most character growth, but plainly, the reason for that is because he had more growing to do. I may be younger than he, but I was more mature at the beginning of the book than he is by the end. No, don’t argue, Pik, it’s true and you know it. However, all that aside, I believe the biggest reason why I should remain the protag is because it’s my character who has the most to gain or lose. You had a life—a career, a family, and a future—before I came on the scene, and if I had never made an appearance, you’d have gone along your merry way without a care in the galaxy. I, on the other hand, lost everything. The story is more about my struggle than it is about your character growth. Clearly, that gives me every right and reason to be the protagonist.

Author: This is quite the dilemma. All your arguments are valid. I think we should put it to the vote. Readers? Who do you consider the protagonist of The Story in the Stars? I’m asking that question on my own blog today, too, so if you don’t mind, would you go to YsWords.com and cast your vote?

Intriguing, isn’t she? To learn more about Yvonne and her writing, you may visit her blog at www.YsWords.com.

Writers are supposed to be creative individuals who spin spell-binding yarns out of nothing. After all, that is what creating means, right? Making something out of nothing? So you get your coffee, soda or water bottle, position yourself at your desk or on the floor with your laptop and your fingers dance over the keys like they are dancing with the stars. Right? Wrong, most of the time. You might be more likely to sit for several minutes staring at a blank screen, turn it off, go get a sandwich, come back, type a few lines, then hit the delete button in disgust. So, what does it take to ignite this great stuff that fathers so many excellent works? Learning a few tricks may help.

1. Always keep a pen and a little notebook handy. An idea might come to you when you least expect it. At the supermarket, on the bus, while driving (wait until you stop before you reach for the pen) and in many unexpected places. You may even awake during the night with an idea for a novel. When this happens, jot down as much of the detail as is available, then lay it aside.

2. Use your senses. Your senses can help you conjure up a story. The next time you go for a walk, look at your surroundings. What lies beyond that vacant lot? Why is that car parked in the same spot for the last two weeks? Every morning on my way to work, I pass an area with overhanging trees and under them are three old vans parked in parallel parking. That’s all I can see. The vehicles look like they’ve been there for ages. I can’t see any house behind them, just the trees hanging over. I wish I could get out of my car and investigate. I should get some material for a good story. Don’t be afraid to eavesdrop, but do it without being obvious. Other people’s conversation can make a great story.

3. Keep a journal. Similar to # 1, keeping a journal can be a way to unlock your creativity. Try to write in it first thing in the morning. Don’t worry about grammar or style or even spelling. Simply write what comes to your mind and after a month, you’ll see things emerging that you never knew you had in you. It could be the beginning of a memoir, a novel or a non-fiction book.
4. Read. I’m sure you already know that this is a surefire way to spark your creativity. My love for writing and, I daresay, my creativity grew out of my love for reading. Growing up, I read voraciously and that led me to begin writing at an early age. Reading can supply you with a lot of ideas for your own work, while at the same time teach you to recognize good writing.

So there you have it. In my next post I’ll talk about some other ways to release your creativity. Meanwhile, leave me a comment and let me know what you do to get your creative juices flowing. Until next time …