Adversity makes the story
Posted: August 13, 2021 Filed under: Character Development, Conflict, Fiction, Writing, Writing Tips | Tags: Adversity, Character Development, Conflict, Emotion, Writing, Writing to be Read 9 Comments
When Donald Trump ran for election the first time, in 2016, he was heard saying that he got his start when he borrowed a half million dollars from his father to start a business. He went on to say that he created a successful business and paid back that loan in something like six months. He was very proud of this feat and used it as an example of what good business sense he has, which he claimed qualified him to run the country. My response to his claim was to think to myself, ‘Yeah, if someone loaned me a half million dollars, I bet I could create a successful business, too.’
Everything I have ever done in my life, I have done on my own. There has never been anyone who would extend me a loan, or support me in my efforts. I’ve had a lot of failures, like the landscaping business I tried to start and got taken to the cleaners by my very first customer, leaving me in debt on the endeavor, but I picked myself up and tried again. Now, I have created a small independent press and I offer author services through WordCrafter. It’s small and I do it all online, out of my home. To me, that is more of an achivement than former President Trump’s multi-million dollar corporation, because I didn’t have any help in getting where I am today. I struggled to overcome all obstacle that stood in my way, and I built my business a little at a time, without loans or other help from anyone. To me there is no real story in what Trump did, but the road to success for me has been paved with obstacles and setbacks to overcome. He may be a lot richer than I am, but my story is ever so much more interesting.
Several years ago, one of the nurses that I worked with came up to me and told me how happy she was to learn that I had continued writing after my son died. She said that it meant that I was healing. The truth was, after Mike died, I had to write. I had so much grief boiling inside me that my only recourse was to write and let it all flow out. After Mike died, writing was what helped me keep my sanity. I wrote poetry. I wrote stories about Mike. I wrote and delivered his eulogy. More than likely none of it will ever be published, but the stuff I wrote during that time was powerful. If I read it now, it still brings tears to my eyes.
The negative emotions- grief, sadness, hate, anger – are all powerful emotions and to write a story that stirs those emotions is to draw your reader into the story and make them care. The positive emotions like love or triumph are powerful, as well, but they are made more powerful if the character has to struggle to achieve them. If the character is happy when the story begins, and remains happy throughout, then it’s really no big deal when he is happy at the end. But, if the character has longed for happiness, struggled to overcome the obstacles that prevent him from being happy, and the reader has been right there feeling his frustration and sorrow along the way, then the reader will be elated when, at the end, the character accomplishes his goal and achieves the ever sought after happiness. The negative emotions are what makes the positive ones that much stronger. In life, happiness is fleeting, easily forgotten as we move on to the next goal, but the negative emotions are always there, just below the surface, waiting to be called forth. They don’t go away. I miss my son now just as much as I did the day he died, and all I have to do is think about him for the tears to start to flow, even eleven years later. The negative emotions don’t fade away, like the positive seem to.
Adversity creates conflict, and conflict is why we keep reading. We have to see how the character is going to overcome whatever obstacles are placed in his way. We must read on to find out who wins the battle, to learn if our character will be triumphant, or if he will be ruined for life. Adversity, or conflict, is the key to writing a good story. Going through the characters struggles with them makes their revenge sweeter, their triumphs more elating, and their love so much stronger. Adversity is what makes us care about the characters.
So, make things hard for your characters no matter what genre you write. Beat them up, make them walk over hot coals, climb mountains, jump out of airplanes, or dive to the ocean’s depths to get the girl, find the treasure, win the race, or achieve self-discoveries. And just when they are at the lowest point they have ever been at, and it seems that there is no way to come out ahead, throw a burning building in their path, raise the stakes, throw in a ticking time bomb. Don’t make it easy for them. If a good looking guy walks into the bar and sweeps the girl off her feet without even blinking and there is no one to object, no one will care if they live happily ever after or not. When the reader is aware of the price that has been paid to achieve the goal, then your readers will care so much more. Give your characters conflict and adversity. They’ll thank you for it later, and so will your readers.
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Where do you find inspiration?
Posted: August 2, 2021 Filed under: Inspirational | Tags: Birds, FFlowers, Gardening, Inspiration, Writing to be Read 10 Comments
Many of you may know that I started my writing career as the Southern Colorado Literature Examiner for Examiner.com, but what you might not know, is that I was also a content writer for Demand Studios. And I wrote D.I.Y. gardening articles, because I have always been an avid gardener, so it was an area I was knowledgable in. It’s been many years since I wrote gardening articles, but I still enjoy gardening and landscaping. I find it to be relaxing, soothing – a time when I can contemplate in my mind and find inspiration while engaged in the physical labors of hauling, digging, pulling and planting. So, when I get bogged down or stressed out, I go out and work in the garden to mellow out and regain my center.
Looking out over my yard today, I am taken aback with what I have accomplished over the years. For the first years that I had this beautiful mountain property, there wasn’t much except the natural forest, as far as landscaping goes. I started out by creating a quartz rock garden with a few Irises, which I had transplanted from my old home in Canon City and a few old metal wash pans with rocks placed in them for the birds to bathe in. I added to quartz to that garden for many years, but didn’t do much else as the focus was on getting a cabin built.
I still add quartz to that rock garden; it’s an ongoing process. But I have also collected and added rocks to create paths and what has turned out to be a huge landscaping project. You see, gardening doesn’t just provide inspiration in my writing endeavors, it inspires me in the design of my garden.
It began when I buried a cut-off water tank with the idea of creating a water garden. Then, I buried an old bathtub in the gully running down to the ‘water garden’ and bolted a trellis over it. That first year, I planted mixed flower seeds and Morning Glories to grow up the trellis. I began placing flat rocks around the edges of the bathtub to create an area where I could sit and maintainence the flowers planted in the bathtub easily.
While staying in place due to the pandemic, I had a lot of time on my hands, but not a lot of money, so I set about making my yard into a bird sanctuary – a place where all types of birds, especially Hummingbirds, would be attracted. I have always put out feeders and provided birdbaths in the quartz rock garden, and I’ve always had a good amount of avian visitors to my garden, but last summer was absolutely crazy. In addition to the multitude of Rufus and Allen’s Hummingbirds, I counted over thirty different bird breeds visiting, with more than twenty different bird families nesting for extended stays – Robins, Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, Chick-a-dees, Flickers, Blue Jays, Grosbeaks, to name a few. I went on rock collecting excursions around my property and I began to expand my rock work extensively, and I planted sixty-five Gladiola bulbs and a Butterfly Bush. When the Glads came into bloom, my yard was aburst with color. They were gorgeous. The Hummingbirds thought so, too.
I made a lot of progress last summer and into the fall, and the work continues. It seems to be an ongoing process. I don’t know if it will ever be completely finished, because I seem to always be inspired in new and different ways. This year, the rock work has all come together well, and I added a couple more Butterfly Bushes, Westeria, Daylillies, and a Rose. The quartz rock garden had Iris blooms in both yellow and purple. I planted a wild flower patch near the ‘water garden’ opposite the Pussy Willow, and added a larger trellis and three tier grecian urn planter. I threw some mixed flower seeds and Love Lies Bleeding in with the Glads in the bathtub garden, which has now turned into a small forest in which I can no longer find the Gladiolas. I didn’t know that Love Lies Bleeding could grow so tall and I planted it everywhere, but it certainly makes my yard look spectacular.
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Paid Writing Opportunity – Call for Short Fiction Submissions
Posted: July 30, 2021 Filed under: Anthology, Books, Dark Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Science Fantasy, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Stories, Writing | Tags: Anthology, Call for submissions, Fairytales, Mirror Mirror, Myths, Short Fiction, Short Stories, Writing to be Read 8 Comments
I recently embarked on the journey toward yet another degree – an M.A. in Publishing at Western State Colorado University – and I am studying under the prolific bestselling author and founder of WordFire Press, (and inductee into the Colorado Authors Hall of Fame), Kevin J. Anderson. For one of the publishing projects that must be completed for graduation is a cohort produced anthology. This will be the third year that the publishing cohort at Western has been headed by Kevin, and the third anthology that they have published.
Each of the previous year’s cohorts have produced an outstanding anthologies featuring stories by reputable author names, as well as new discoveries. You can see my review of Unmasked, last year’s anthology, here. The first year, Monsters, Movies & Mayhem received the Colorado Book Award. Both of these exceptional anthologies are available from amazon, your favorite bookstore, or buy direct at wordfirepress.com/gpcw.
This year’s cohort worked hard to develop the theme and guidelines over the past two weeks, and I’m really excited about this anthology. One of the cool things about this opportunity for writers is that it pays per word, if your story is chosen. Since I am a part of the publishing team, I’m not eligible to submit, but all of my readers are. I strongly encourage you to check out the guidelines below, get the gears turning and crank out an original story to submit for this year’s anthology. Feel free to share with anyone who might be interested.
Tips for getting your story accepted: Read the submission guidelines and follow them.
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MIRROR, MIRROR:
Modern Myths
Executive Editor: Kevin J. Anderson
When you’re alone with your reflection, are you prepared for what you see?
A prince in disguise? A monster revealed? An alien race?
Mirrors can be truth-tellers, wish-granters, face-concealers, illusion-makers, even monster-summoners. Maybe the mirror shows an evil twin, or an echo of the life that should have been. Or a portal to another world.
What happens when it shatters?
Once upon a time, no one knew the phrase “Once upon a time.” You’ve read the classic stories. Now write the lore you’ve always wanted to read. Explore this creative challenge from your own unique perspective informed by your roots, culture, and background. We want original fables, folklore, and fairy tales for an eclectic anthology showcasing a new dawn of an old artform.
Imagine a canon of diverse characters for today’s readers to love and loathe. Gaze into the mirror, whether literally or figuratively—classic or genre-bending, grim or whimsical, as long as it is new and fresh.
We are looking for original short stories (prose poems will also be considered) to include a mix of fantasy, science fiction, horror, magical, and romance elements. Must be appropriate for a “PG-13” audience. Please, no copyrighted characters. Previously unpublished stories only. Women, BIPOCs, LGBTQIA+, neurodiverse individuals, and other minorities are strongly encouraged to submit.
Length: up to 5000 words (firm limit)
Rate: 6¢/word on acceptance.
Rights: First Anthology Rights and audio rights as part of the anthology; rights revert to author one month after publication; publisher retains non-exclusive right to include in the anthology as a whole.
Due: We are open to submissions from August 30 through October 15, 2021.
Submit: A Microsoft Word or RTF file in standard manuscript format to
https://wordfirewestern.moksha.io/publication/2/3/submit
If you don’t know what standard manuscript format is, review, for example, https://www.shunn.net/format/classic/
One submission per person, please. NO SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS.
Edited by Kevin J. Anderson with an editorial team provided by Western Colorado University Graduate Program in Creative Writing, Publishing MA students. Anthology made possible by a generous contribution from Draft2Digital.
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Capturing Enlightenment: A brief tale of humor
Posted: July 26, 2021 Filed under: Fiction, Humor, Stories | Tags: Capturing Enlightment, Kaye Lynne Booth, Short Stories, Writing to be Read 2 Comments
Buddy and Holly came bouncing up to Egbert, ready with any number of humorous things to say to tease him. Teasing Egbert was one of their favorite pass times. Buddy liked to say that Egbert wasn’t one of the brightest bulbs in the batch, and Holly usually commented on the squirrelly round glasses that magnified his eyes and made them appear to be popping out of his head, or the way that he stuttered when he talked. When they ran out of jibs on those subjects, they could always make fun of his name, telling him that his mother must not like him at all to give him a name like that; obviously, she didn’t love him or she would have given him a better name than Egbert, uh! Usually long before they got that far the tears were running down Egbert’s face. Sometimes he started tearing up as soon as he saw them coming.
That wasn’t the case today. Today, Egbert was actually happy to see them. He had something wonderful to show them and it was so special that once they saw it, they wouldn’t make fun of him anymore. “Hi Buddy! Hi Holly!” he said, heading over to meet them with a huge grin on his face.
“What are you so happy about, Egg Head?” Buddy asked.
“Yeah. You look ridiculous. That grin is almost bigger than your face. Close your mouth, so I can see you.” Holly said with a giggle.
“Wait until you see what I found!” Egbert said. “You guys aren’t going to believe this.”
“Oh, right,” Holly replied. “What could you possibly have that would even interest us?”
Egbert grinned even bigger as he looked from Buddy to Holly, and back to Buddy again. He was absolutely beaming with excitement.
Holly looked over at Buddy uneasily. When he glanced back at her, the uncertainty showed in his eyes.
Finally, Buddy broke the silence. “Well, are you just going to stand there with that silly grin on your face or are you going to show us whatever it is that you found?”
Egbert came out of his reverie. “What? Oh, yes of course. Just wait until you see!” He turned, running back toward his house, leaving the two of them standing there in puzzlement.
They looked at one another. “What do you think has him so excited?” Holly asked through the side of her mouth in a hushed voice, but Egbert could still hear her.
“Probably some old seashell from the beach or something,” Buddy replied.
“I don’t think so. He wouldn’t show us something like that anyway because he knows we’d just take it from him if it was cool or smash it if it wasn’t.” Holly said. “Besides, don’t you think it’s weird that he hasn’t stuttered at all?”
Before Buddy could answer, Egbert came racing around the side of the house with a jar which glowed from within.
“A firefly?” Holly said in disbelief. “We’re supposed to be impressed by a firefly?”
Egbert shook his head. “It’s not a firefly.”
“Then what is it?” Buddy asked. “It sure looks like a firefly to me.”
“Does it look like a firefly?” Egbert said, holding the jar up higher, so that they could see better. They squinted as the light coming from the jar seemed to get brighter, much too bright to be produced by a little firefly. Finally, they turned away, unable to look directly at it.
“Actually, that doesn’t look like any firefly I ever saw.” Buddy admitted.
“I told you, it’s not a firefly,” Egbert said.
“So, what is it? What did you find?” Holly asked. Egbert now had their full attention.
Egbert beamed and grinned once more. “I found enlightenment! I was playing down at the beach, when I saw it sitting, half buried in the sand. I scooped it up and carried it home and put it in this baggie for safe keeping.”
Buddy was skeptical. “Enlightenment? How do you know that’s what it is?”
“Because I can feel it.” Egbert replied. “I know things now that I didn’t know before.”
“Like what?” asked Holly.
“Like I know that you guys aren’t really bad people. You only do all of those mean things to me because you don’t feel very good about yourselves.” Egbert replied.
Buddy and Holly looked at each other nervously. Then they looked back at Egbert.
“It’s okay. Don’t be afraid,” Egbert said. “I also know now that all the things that I dreamed about doing to get back at you came from petty feelings. I want you guys to be my friends, just like I always wanted, only now I know that I don’t have to change who I am to do that.”
Buddy shuffled from foot to foot nervously. Usually ready with a smart comeback to anything, it seemed he suddenly had nothing to say.
Holly eyed Egbert distrustfully. “What do you mean?”
“Here,” Egbert said, holding the bag up closer to them. “If you just feel it, you’ll understand everything.”
“That’s okay,” said Buddy, backing into Holly.
“What are you afraid of?” Egbert asked.
“I-it’s nothing.” Holly said, stumbling over her own feet to get out of Buddy’s path. “I-it’s just that, well…, w-what if you’re wrong?”
Suddenly, Buddy found his voice. “Yeah, that might not even be enlightenment at all. Even if it is, how do we know that that is something that we would want to have any part of?” He spoke bravely, but he kept backing away.
“Doesn’t everyone want enlightenment?” Egbert asked, truly puzzled by their strange behavior.
“I’m not sure that I d-do.” Holly said, stammering the words. “L-look at y-you. L-look at the ch-changes that it has m-made in you already. And l-look at m-me, too. I d-don’t know w-why I’m st-st-stuttering all of a s-sudden!” Tears streamed down Holly’s face. She turned, rushing out of the yard and down the street.
“Hey wait, Holly!” Egbert called after her. “I know a good speech therapist. I’ll give you her card.”
“I uh, I think I should go and see if she’s okay.” Buddy said, running out of the yard, as well.
As he watched him go, Egbert got another grin on his face, this one however, had a sly cast to it. “Tsk. Tsk.” he said, shaking his head. “My speech therapy finally paid off. I really thought that they would be more impressed.” He opened the jar and lay it down in the grass where two small winged beetles crawled out and seperated from one another before flying away into the night. “Imagine getting so upset over two little glowbugs.” Egbert chuckled to himself all the way back into his house.
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“Watching Glass Shatter”: Some secrets are better left buried
Posted: July 21, 2021 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Drama, Review | Tags: Book Review, Family Drama, James J. Cudney, Watching Glass Shatter, Writing to be Read 16 Comments
In Watching Glass Shatter, by James J. Cudney, secrets threaten to destroy a family and a legacy with the solidest of foundations. Olivia is a staunch matriarch who controls with an iron fist, or so some have said. When her husband Ben dies in a car crash, she is forced to take a close look at herself as she struggles to deal with the huge secret that he kept from her in what she thought was an open and honest marraige. Once it is dropped in her lap, she must decide how to handle this new knowledge that has the potential to rip apart the life of one of her five sons and change their familial relationships forever.
Olivia decides to spend some time with each of them before making her final decision, but the closer she gets to her sons the more secrets she learns that her family is harboring from one another, each with the potential to destroy family bonds and crumble all they have worked for. This family drama would be worthy of a television soap-opera series, such as Dynasty or Dallas.
The Glass family is well off, having built up a successful law firm which was to be the family business. Although the story is well-written, it seemed to me that things seemed to resolve a little too easily to be fully believable to me. It is a very different world in which I live, but maybe money does bring with it the solutions to many of life’s difficulties more easily. I give Watching Glass Shatter four quills.
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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“Jaguar”: A thought provoking psychological thriller
Posted: July 19, 2021 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Fiction, Psychological Thriller | Tags: Bill Ransom, Book Review, Dreams, Jaguar, Psycological Thriller, Writing to be Read 2 Comments
Dreams: A journey into the unconscious mind.
For Eddie Reyes and his friend Maryellen, dreams are much more than that. Dreams are an avenue for learning. Dreams are a means of breaking through to parallel worlds and making connections with their friends, Africa Lee and Rafferty. Dreams are a way to control people and a weapon which causes madness. To those who don’t know, it sounds like a cool superpower, but it’s one that carries a heavy price.
For Eddie, it’s the only way to hunt down the Jaguar to save their friends and the rest of the Roam from the persecution of the jaguar priests. But the Jaguar has reached Maryellen’s father through his dreams in this world and he’s intent on keeping she and Eddie apart at all costs.
Can Maryellen and Eddie escape her father and the other traps set on this side by the Jaguar long enough to hunt the him down in his own dreams before he destroys the Roam, and both worlds in the bargain?
My Review
Although Bill Ransom’s Jaguar unfolds the story slowly and it takes a little while to put the puzzle pieces together to form an idea of how the characters are connected and how they fit within the full picture of the story, it is just odd enough to keep your curiosity raised and keep you reading long enough to see it all come together. And by then, you’re hooked. You have to keep reading to find out how it all turns out. You can’t put it down. And it’s a good thing, because if you don’t read through to the end, you will miss the big reveal that changes the game and raises the stake even higher for Eddie.
A well-crafted psychological thriller that will keep you riveted to your seat. I give Jaguar four quills.
Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Jaguar-Bill-Ransom-ebook/dp/B0054SLB88
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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In case you missed it
Posted: July 12, 2021 Filed under: Blog Tour, Book Promotion, Books, Plays | Tags: Cendrine Marrouat, In the Silence of Words, Plays, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours Leave a comment
Last week we had a great tour for In the Silence of Words, a three-act play by Cendrine Marrouat. If you weren’t able to follow last week, but would like to know more about Cendrine and her wonderful play, I’ve provided the tour stops below. I do hope you will drop by and see the posts you missed.
In the Silence of Words, by Cendrine Marrouat – July 5 – 9
July 5 – Intro. Post/Interview – Writing to be Read
July 6 – Guest post – Robbie’s Inspiration
July 7 – Review – Writing to be Read
July 8 – Guest post – Roberta Writes
July 9 – Guest post – Zigler’s News
http://ziglernews.blogspot.com/2021/07/day-5-of-wordcrafter-in-silence-of.html
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Last stop on the WordCrafter “In the Silence of Words” Book Blog Tour
Posted: July 9, 2021 Filed under: Blog Tour, Book Promotion, Books, Guest Post, Plays, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours | Tags: Cendrine Marrouat, In the Silence of Words, Play, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours Leave a commentJoin us over at Zigler’s News, for a fun guest post about which actors and acrtresses might play the characters in In the Silence of Words. I hope to see you there.
http://ziglernews.blogspot.com/2021/07/day-5-of-wordcrafter-in-silence-of.html
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#Blogtour – Day 4 of the In the Silence of Words Three-Act Play Blog Tour
Posted: July 8, 2021 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentDay 4 of the WordCrafter “In the Silence of Words” Book Blog Tour finds us over at Roberta Writes with a guest post by author Cendrine Marrouat. Join us and find out what attracts her about the play format and the poetry style that this play is based on.
Today I am delighted to host Cendrine Marrouat with her Three-Act Play, In the Silence of Words as part of her WordCrafter book blog tour.
You can read the other posts in the tour here:
‘In the Silence of Words’: A Behind-the-Scene Look by Cendrine Marrouat
When I started my artistic career in 2005, I knew I wanted to be more than just a poet.
Theatre has always fascinated me. I studied many plays in high school and at university. One of
the first things I realized is that theatre is an excellent genre to delve into difficult topics. The
best playwrights have mastered the “show, not tell” approach. They sprinkle clues everywhere
and force you to pay attention to details, so you can read between the lines and infer the overall
meaning when needed.
In 2006, I was in the…
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Book Review: Mudflap – A character concept many of us can identify with
Posted: August 9, 2021 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Book Review, Books, Fiction, satire | Tags: Book Review, Jay Alden Bailey, Mudflap, satire, Social Commentary, Writing to be Read | 4 CommentsIn Mudflap, by Jay Alden Bailey the character’s name isn’t really Mudflap, but that is the name he identifies with because life always seems to be throwing him under the bus. We’ve all been there, so the character concept is easy to identify with. Every time Mudflap gets up, life knocks him back down again. But he just keeps getting back up again, even starting over from step one when necessary. This story makes a suttle social commentary as Mudflap’s tale unravels that readers with a keen eye will be sure to pick up on.
Sharing in the life and experiences of Mudflap makes one appreciate the circumstances in one’s own life more. If you need cheering up or are just looking for a chuckle, this story is for you. I give Mudflap four quills.
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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