29 April 2016 - WRITING TIPS

WRITING TIPS

G'day folks,

Here are some tips for you writers, compliments of IUniverse Publishing … And some authors who have been there and done that.

Tip1: "My first rule was given to me by TH White, author of The Sword in the Stone and other Arthurian fantasies and was: Read. Read everything you can lay hands on. I always advise people who want to write a fantasy or science fiction or romance to stop reading everything in those genres and start reading everything else from Bunyan to Byatt." — Michael Moorcock

Tip 2: "Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you." — Zadie Smith

Tip 3: "Introduce your main characters and themes in the first third of your novel. If you are writing a plot-driven genre novel make sure all your major themes/plot elements are introduced in the first third, which you can call the introduction. Develop your themes and characters in your second third, the development. Resolve your themes, mysteries and so on in the final third, the resolution." — Michael Moorcock

Tip 4: "In the planning stage of a book, don't plan the ending. It has to be earned by all that will go before it." — Rose Tremain

Tip 5: "Always carry a note-book. And I mean always. The short-term memory only retains information for three minutes; unless it is committed to paper you can lose an idea for ever." — Will Self

Tip 6: "It's doubtful that anyone with an internet connection at his workplace is writing good fiction." — Jonathan Franzen

"Work on a computer that is disconnected from the internet." — Zadie Smith

Tip 7: "Interesting verbs are seldom very interesting." — Jonathan Franzen

Tip 8: "Read it aloud to yourself because that's the only way to be sure the rhythms of the sentences are OK (prose rhythms are too complex and subtle to be thought out—they can be got right only by ear)." — Diana Athill

Tip 9: "Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass." – Anton Chekhov

Tip 10: "Listen to the criticisms and preferences of your trusted 'first readers.'" — Rose Tremain

Tip 11: "Fiction that isn't an author's personal adventure into the frightening or the unknown isn't worth writing for anything but money." — Jonathan Franzen

Tip 12: "Don't panic. Midway through writing a novel, I have regularly experienced moments of bowel-curdling terror, as I contemplate the drivel on the screen before me and see beyond it, in quick succession, the derisive reviews, the friends' embarrassment, the failing career, the dwindling income, the repossessed house, the divorce . . . Working doggedly on through crises like these, however, has always got me there in the end. Leaving the desk for a while can help. Talking the problem through can help me recall what I was trying to achieve before I got stuck. Going for a long walk almost always gets me thinking about my manuscript in a slightly new way. And if all else fails, there's prayer. St Francis de Sales, the patron saint of writers, has often helped me out in a crisis. If you want to spread your net more widely, you could try appealing to Calliope, the muse of epic poetry, too." — Sarah Waters

Tip 13: "The writing life is essentially one of solitary confinement – if you can't deal with this you needn't apply." — Will Self

Tip 14: "Be your own editor/critic. Sympathetic but merciless!" — Joyce Carol Oates

Tip 15: "The reader is a friend, not an adversary, not a spectator." — Jonathan Franzen

Tip 16: "Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose. If you have the knack of playing with exclaimers the way Tom Wolfe does, you can throw them in by the handful." — Elmore Leonard

Tip 17: "Remember: when people tell you something's wrong or doesn't work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong." — Neil Gaiman

Tip 18: "You know that sickening feeling of inadequacy and over-exposure you feel when you look upon your own empurpled prose? Relax into the awareness that this ghastly sensation will never, ever leave you, no matter how successful and publicly lauded you become. It is intrinsic to the real business of writing and should be cherished." — Will Self

Tip 19: "The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you're allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it's definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I'm not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter." — Neil Gaiman

Tip 20: "The nearest I have to a rule is a Post-it on the wall in front of my desk saying ‘Faire et se taire’ (Flaubert), which I translate for myself as ‘Shut up and get on with it.’" — Helen Simpson

Clancy's comment: Thank you to IUniverse Publishing. Great collection of tips. So, get on with it ...

I'm ...

 

28 April 2016 - CLANCY TUCKER PHOTOGRAPHY - PLANTS

CLANCY TUCKER

PHOTOGRAPHY

- PLANTS -

G'day folks,

Welcome to part-three of my series of photographs taken recently. This one is plants. Anyone who has been to Asia will know how lush it is and how easily plants grow. Check out these ...

Clancy's comment: There ya go; some of many hundreds. And, yes, I did try to photograph the local squirrels but they were hard to keep still. All of these were taken in Vietnam and Thailand. Vietnam was bloody cold and misty, yet Thailand was hot and sunny. If you are keen to learn how nature ticks, buy a good camera and get up close and personal.

I'm ...

27 April 2016 - QUAKER GUNS

QUAKER GUNS

G'day folks,

You may well ask yourself, 'What are Quaker guns?' Read on ...

Used in warfare to fake out an enemy, a Quaker gun is a dummy piece of artillery, typically constructed of wood and sometimes painted black. The term comes from the fact that Quakers, members of a religious group formally known as the Society of Friends (or Religious Society of Friends), traditionally believe in pacifism and non-violence. Quakerism began in England in the mid-1600s as a new Christian sect that rejected grandiose religious ceremonies, didn’t have clergy and held that the presence of God existed in every person. 

In 1682, Englishman William Penn, one of the many early Quakers who faced persecution in his homeland, arrived in America and founded the colony of Pennsylvania as a place for religious freedom.

It’s uncertain exactly when the term Quaker gun originated, but one such sham weapon was employed in the Revolutionary War battle at Rugeley’s Mill in South Carolina. (The Quakers’ anti-war stance stopped them from actively participating in the American Revolution.) During that engagement, on December 4, 1780, Continental forces under the command of Colonel William Washington attacked the fortified barn where some 100 Loyalists under Colonel Henry Rugeley were holed up. When the attack failed, Washington, lacking artillery, had his soldiers construct a phony cannon from a log—and then called for Rugeley and his men to surrender or else. The ploy worked and the Loyalists gave up. 

During the U.S. Civil War, Quaker guns were used as a means to make fortifications seem from a distance as if they were stronger, as well as a way to make it look like troops were occupying a certain position when in reality they’d already retreated. In one example during Union General George McClellan’s 1862 Peninsula Campaign, the Confederates placed logs made to resemble cannons at their earthworks around Centerville, Virginia, and duped Union scouts into thinking these sites were heavily fortified. As a result, McClellan delayed his troops’ advance and the rebels escaped the area.

 

 Clancy's comment: There ya go. I guess all stops are pulled out to win a war. 

I'm ...