And the Plot Thickens...

                        Plotting away...

Telling the Truth

#Fiction #Truth1 #Truth2 #Truth3 #Truth4

Rules on Truth:

1. Always tell the truth (at least most of the time).
2. Tell the whole truth (more or less).
3. Tell nothing but the truth, with a few embellishments, of course.
4. But...

A Web Poet

A beautiful haiku.
We stumble head first
Into another Season
the leaves watch us fall.
--Tyler Knott Gregson  has become well-known on Instagram and Tumblr.

[There is] a new generation of young, digitally astute poets whose loyal online followings have helped catapult them onto the best-seller lists, where poetry books are scarce. These amateur poets are not winning literary awards, and most have never been in a graduate writing workshop.

...their appeal lies in the unpolished flavor of their verses, which often read as if they were ripped from the pages of a diary. Their poems are reaching hundreds of thousands of readers, attracting the attention of literary agents, editors and publishers, and overturning poetry’s longstanding reputation as a lofty art form with limited popular appeal.

--Alexandra Alter, NYT 11Nov15

http://tinyurl.com/WebPoetsSociety

#exposition #author

If exposition is on the menu,

you had better serve it right and make it tasty.

-C.Wendig

Black and White

#brasileiríssimo

Categorizing people as simply black or white is nonsensical to my sensibilities. No one is white; no one is black. When people see the color green, there is no discussion as to whether to label it yellow or blue. Mix the two and they make green. Green is green. How about describing the physical appearances we see: rich cream, luscious marzipan, perfect cafe-au-lait, rich chocolate. And for anyone interested in significant differences between people, culture is a far more important determiner of how and why they differ.

Whether writing fiction or non-fiction, I think it is more effective to describe the appearance of a person/character with visually observant and descriptive terms. When writing, I can save black and white to depict a person/character who has a narrow-minded, metaphorical black-and-white perception of the world or to demonstrate that said person/character has a categorical attitude toward race. 

The following books are helpful in understanding the very significant impact of cultural differences between people:

On Race and Culture by Thomas Sowell

Intercultural Communication by Tracy Novinger

A Conundrum

#fiction #characters

Finishing the Nth book in a thriller series (yes, I confess, that is how I escape), I was bemused. I still liked the hero despite all of his flaws apparent in the unfolding of the plot, but I found I felt annoyed with the author for some plot details that I found overly sordid. What? Feeling pro the fictitious protagonist and annoyed with the author? How ironic. What does that mean? It clearly means a tour de force by the author in creating his character. Kudos.

Beyond Craft

#tuesdays #writing #wordcraft #wordmagic

On writing: "We are talking about tools and carpentry, about words and style...but...you'd do well to remember we are also talking about magic."  --Stephen King

Pixar's 22 Rules

#fiction  #novel  #theme

I would like to have the 22 rules printed in color and affixed to a storyboard by my desk. At first glance #3 struck a chord with me. After five drafts of my manuscript, I have stepped back for a few weeks to just consider my story's concepts. No writing allowed. I came across this list of 22 and at first glance, #3 jumps out at me. Yes. It's true that I now understand what my theme is--what the story is actually about. For the next complete rewrite I will write to that theme.

http://mic.com/articles/101740/the-22-rules-to-perfect-storytelling-according-to-pixar?utm_campaign

http://mic.com/articles/101740/the-22-rules-to-perfect-storytelling-according-to-pixar?utm_campaign

Beware!

#fiction #plot #laborious

I am plotting!

And the Plot Thickens...

What an exquisite image! J.K. Rowling plots...