Reblogging: Stone Hearts, by poet, Delia. . A real, tell-it-like-it-is poem about the social jungle and trying to find authenticity where there is little to none. Delia often writes, real, raw and authentic prose and poetry that will catch you unawares, and reach inside you, grab you, and make you see beyond the obvious. K. D.
via https://artemisdelmar.wordpress.com/2017/04/13/stone-hearts
Tag: Writing
The Tyranny of Fire and Fury
Looking back in human history, one can see that war is the quickest way a Tyrant can assert power to destroy democracy and rule as dictator. However, how does a nation recognize a Tyrant? Here are some famous quotes to consider.
All those who seek to destroy the liberties of a democratic nation ought to know that war is the surest and shortest means to accomplish it.” Alexis de Tocqueville
“In every age, it has been the tyrant, the oppressor and the exploiter who has wrapped himself in the cloak of patriotism, or religion, or both to deceive and overawe the People.” Eugene V. Debs
The world is made up for the most part of morons and natural tyrants, sure of themselves, strong in their own opinions, never doubting anything. Clarence Darrow
Ignorance has always been the weapon of tyrants; enlightenment the salvation of the free. Bill Richardson
The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants. Albert Camus
It is no coincidence that the growth of modern tyrants has in every case been heralded by the growth of prejudice. Henry A. Wallace
Tyrants always have some slight shade of virtue; they support the laws before destroying them. Voltaire
Secrecy is the freedom tyrants dream of. Bill Moyers
“Those who are capable of tyranny are capable of perjury to sustain it.” Lysander Spooner
“The essence of tyranny is not iron law. It is capricious law.” Christopher Hitchens
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How to Give Your Narration Flavor
How to Give Your Narration Flavor is certainly a way to add life and personality to each of your characters. Great Post!
by Andrea Lundgren
Readers frequently talk about the style or narrative flavor of authors they enjoy. They’ll say, “That sounds like something __ wrote,” or “This reminded me of ___” or “The tone of that was flat.” But sometimes, we authors we sometimes don’t know what gives us our writing voice. What makes writing sound different or interesting and engaging?
Our voice is really the flavor that is distinctly ours. It’s like the spices that make Italian different than French or German cooking. They may have similar topography or features; in certain portions of those countries, there may just be an imaginary line between one part and another, to where the climate, soil types, and weather are identical. Similarly, our writing might be similar to that of another in genre, plot elements, and character types but yet be unique because of the “spices” we employ.
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21 Do It Yourself Tips on Writing!
21 Do-It-Yourself Editing Tips by Melissa Donovan http://www.writingforword.com, July 4, 2017
*proofreading and editing
*Tips for Editing Your Own Work.
*The human mind is a funny thing; it likes to play tricks on us.
For example, when we proofread and edit our own writing, we tend to read it as we think it should be, which means we misread our own typos and other spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes as well as problems with word choice and sentence structure, context, and overall readability.
Do-It-Yourself Editing Tips
Here are twenty-one do-it-yourself editing tips that you can put into practice for polishing your own writing:
- Proofread and edit every single piece of writing before it is seen by another set of eyes. No exceptions. Even if you hire a professional editor or proofreader, check your work first.
- Understand the difference between proofreading and editing. Edit first by making revisions to the content and syntax. Then proofread to check for proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
- Use the Track Changes feature in Microsoft Word when you edit. This feature saves your edits. You can then review the changes you’ve made and approve or reject them.
- Step away from a piece of writing before you proofread it. The longer the piece, the longer you should wait to proofread it. Let a novel sit for a few weeks. Let a blog post sit overnight.
- Before proofreading and editing, run the spelling and grammar checker. Then run it again after you’re done polishing to check for any lingering typos. However, don’t count on software for spelling and grammar. Use it as a fail-safe.
- Read your work aloud. Pronounce each word slowly and clearly as you read and check for mistakes.
- Proofreading should never be a rush job. Do it s l o w l y.
- Don’t review your work once and then send it out into the world. I recommend editing until the piece reads smoothly and then proofreading it at least three more times.
- At the very least, proofread until you don’t catch any more errors.
- Read the piece backward so you can see each word separately and out of context.
- Look up the spelling of proper names as well as scientific and technical terms that you’re not familiar with to make sure you’re spelling them correctly.
- Don’t make any assumptions. If you’re not sure about something, look it up so you can fix a mistake (if there is one) and learn the correct way.
- Don’t forget to proofread titles, headlines, and footnotes.
- Pay attention to the mistakes you’ve made in your writing. You’ll find that you tend to make the same ones repeatedly. Keep track of these and work on avoiding them during the initial writing process in the future.
- Choose one of the many style guides and stick with it. This will make your work more consistent, and you’ll have a trusty resource to use when you have questions about style and formatting.
- Start building a collection of grammar books and writing resources so when you do run into questions (and you will), you have access to reliable and credible answers.
- If you intentionally let grammatical mistakes slip through, do so by choice and make sure you have a good reason. It’s okay to break the rules if you know why you’re breaking them.
- Pay attention to formatting. Use the same formatting on all paragraphs and headings for a professional level of consistency. Learn how to use these features in your word processing software (in MS Word, this feature is called Styles).
- Proofread when you’re fresh and wide awake. Proofreading doesn’t go over well when you’re tired or distracted.
- Proofreading and editing can be tedious, so break up your revision sessions by doing other tasks that help you clear your mind: exercise, play with the pets or kids, go for a short walk, or listen to some music. Try to avoid reading or writing during these breaks.
- Make it your business to develop good grammar skills. Read up on grammar or subscribe to a blog that publishes grammar posts (like this one) to stay up to date on proper grammar.
Some people love the proofreading and editing process. Others despise it. If you’re into grammar, the mechanics of writing, and polishing your work, then proofreading and editing will be easier and more enjoyable for you. If not, just look at it as part of your job — something that goes along with being a writer. And once you’re done proofreading and editing, make sure you get back to your writing.
Adventures in Writing: The Complete Collection
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Stone Hearts
Reblogging: Stone Hearts, by poet, Delia. . A real, tell-it-like-it-is poem about the social jungle and trying to find authenticity where there is little to none. Delia often writes, real, raw and authentic prose and poetry that will catch you unawares, and reach inside you, grab you, and make you see beyond the obvious. K. D.
via https://artemisdelmar.wordpress.com/2017/04/13/stone-hearts
Stone hearts
And stoic faces
Bodies moving
Unfamiliar places
Trying to adjust
Appearing to fit in
Harboring inside
What can’t be shared at all
Internally digesting
Events that make you cringe
Knowing that it’s yours to keep
Preserving classification
Your privacy in tact
No one privileged enough
To get through the external hallowed out remains
Who dares dig deep?
Into your darkest night
Tunneling through
That formidable wall
Destruction
Obscurity
Gloom
And despair
Grunts of dejection
Exhaled in the night
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8 Ways to Convince Book Bloggers to Review Your Book
8 Ways to Convince Book Bloggers To Review Your Book
Book bloggers actually do want to review your book! But we don’t have a lot of time so when you forget to include vital information or don’t follow the submission instructions, your requests end up in the trash bin. Here are 8 ways to convince me—and other book bloggers—to review your book:
via http://www.bookdaily.com/ There’s no reason to pile on and make your request email an epic read – that’s your novel’s job. When approaching reviewers keep your request on point. Give each blogger exactly what they ask for – no more, no less. Remember, we get lots of emails and the easier you make it for us, the greater your chance of acceptance. Here’s what should always be included.
1. Reviewer’s name: Guess what? You may have to read through the blog a bit to find it. Check contact information. Read all the way to the bottom of submission guidelines. It’s there. Now address your email to an actual person. Don’t write a generic salutation like To whom it may concern, Madam, Sir or other nonsense. Personalize it like Hi, D or Ms. Bale. Start requests using a smidgen of professionalism.
2. Your name: State this in your first sentence and again at close. Something like My name is Wendy Woman, author of Windy Woods, and… Sign off with Sincerely, Wendy/Ms. Woman. You get the drift.
3. Book title: Again, include this in paragraph one similar to the example given in #2.
4. Word count: If your request is for an eBook, include word count. If for print, reference page count. Reviewers need to have an idea of the time investment required.
5. Genre: Thriller, Mystery, etc. In a world of crossovers and sub-genres it can be difficult to classify your novel’s niche. Try and focus on the main thematic element. Is it something taking place in a galaxy far, far away? Science Fiction is for you. A post-apocalyptic world? Dystopian. Who done it? Mystery. Fast-paced, high stakes? Thriller. Even if your novel has elements of romance, action, or mystery classify it under one main heading then choose the underlying classifications to further identify it, such as Romantic Suspense – a romance novel with elements of suspense. As a reviewer if I’m told a novel is thriller, then I expect a fast-paced read. If it ends up plodding and drags my review will reflect this perceived negative due to deviation from the genre’s norms. But if this same book was referenced as a fantasy, I’d expect a more character-based journey and the slower or uneven pace would fit. Therefore my review would not perceive this as a negative. Simply put – KNOW YOUR GENRE – and know it well.
6. Time frame: If you have a hard date for reviews (release party, tour, campaign), tell a potential reviewer up front. Otherwise, don’t even mention time frame in your email. If a hard date is the case, always give a minimum of two months lead time. This allows reviewers to decide if they can meet your deadline. Don’t email two weeks before said date. We may not even get to your request within that time. Conversely, if you are like most authors and have no established date by which you need reviews, don’t say anything about a time frame. Referencing you want a timely review goes back to the slap in the face moment mentioned earlier. We try to make reviews timely – but timely to authors and timely to reviewers are very different. Authors are happy when reviews are posted the following week. Reviewers are happy when we post the following month (or two, three…).
7. Book blurb/synopsis: Sell reviewers on your book. Make it sound like something we’ve gotta read ASAP. Don’t do the lazy thing and simply provide a link. Copy/paste description/synopsis/blurb into the email body. Make it easy for reviewers to take a chance on you, an unknown indie, to want to read your novel.
8. Subject line: State Review Request or Book Review. Don’t get all flowery or funky and make the email subject line long and convoluted. Anything longer won’t show up in a condensed line anyway.
***
See? It isn’t difficult to compose a concise request detailing a novel’s basics. You don’t need to write another manuscript to get your point across. You don’t need to brow-beat reviewers or blow sunshine up dark places. You don’t need to denigrate or puff yourself up to get a point across. If reviewers want more simply go off submission guidelines – follow reviewer guidelines first and foremost.
Otherwise, lean on the side of KISS – Keep It Simple, Silly!
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🐦CLICK TO TWEET🐦 #Authortip from @BookDailycom: 8 Ways to Convince Book Bloggers To Review Your Book by @DABale1 http://www.bookdaily.com/authorresource/blog/post/1966703 #amwriting #writerslife
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: In her previous career, D.A. Bale traveled the United States as a Government Relations Liaison, working closely with Congressional offices and various government agencies. This experience afforded her a glimpse into the sometimes “not so pretty” reality of the political sphere. Much of this reality and various locations throughout her travels make it into her writing.
She dreams of the day she can return to visit Alaska.
You can find out more about her on her website www.dabalepublishing.blogspot.com and on Twitter
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Book Review Monday! Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews
A Uniquely Magical, Alien, and Danger-at-Every-Turn Mystery Thriller! Great Story!
This magical, alien driven, strong female heroine story, first captured my attention by its interesting cover and title. This story takes place in a normal appearing small town in the present day, with chapter one opening with, “Brutus is dead”. Well, I had to find out what happened to Brutus and from that moment, I was hooked and couldn’t stop reading. Our intriguing Heroine, Dina, keeps us guessing about who, what, where, and when, as she struggles to resolve the mysteries surrounding her – while managing to stay alive. This fascinating story takes you by surprise with exciting and scary alien adventures from the very first page with unique mysteries, good writing and complex characters that will make your head spin. The ending left some unresolved issues, however, they are carried over to book 2. Anyone looking for a good mystery involving human and alien magical interactions, this is it.
